Current USA Freshwater Satellite LED+ Light Fixture

[PokeSephiroth]

I've been so anxious to try out this light ever since one of our customers at Aquarium Co-Op mentioned about this light. I'm definitely happy with it!

Design and Build
The light fixture is sleek and VERY light, compared to other LED lights out there, build feels nice and sturdy. The legs that come out of the light are a bit troublesome to slide, but I'd definitely prefer that, over super loose legs. The fixture also contains a plastic splash guard, so it makes it perfect for aquariums without tops. Because of its sleek appearance, it will make any aquarium look that much better! The light does come with a wireless remote AND a spare battery (Awesome!), don't lose that remote though, otherwise you're SCREWED. You can, however purchase the remote separately, so... there's that too  :cheers: 

Performance
This light is definitely not meant for plants, especially if you have a tall tank like a 40 Gallon Breeder, or a 55 Gallon tank. It's just not bright enough to get sufficient light to the plants, especially for high-light plants. I'm still unsure how it will do with shallower tanks such as my 12 Gallon Rimless (by Mr. Aqua) but it does seem adequate enough to provide more than enough light for viewing fish and the like. A neat thing about this fixture is that it contains RedGreebBlue LEDs, similar to the LEDs that are used in the Finnex Monster Ray light. That means, I can "simulate" the same light/color combination on my light to mimic the Finnex Monster Ray. Now, granted, the Finnex Monster Ray is still superior as far as color enhancing and brightness is concerned, but it's still pretty neat that I can reproduce siimilar results with this light.
With this particular size (36") it only uses 25 Watts, which is great in terms of power conservation! They also don't run hot at all!

Another person did a review on this light on THEIR 12 Gallon Rimless tank, stating that their plants did great in it, so I'm still on the fence on this.
(Source: http://tinyurl.com/m2j9epy ) - Review
(Source: http://tinyurl.com/kub3jw9 ) - PAR data on his 12 Gallon Rimless

Price
I thought it was an excellent price for what you get! DON'T BOTHER BUYING THESE LIGHTS AT ANY STORE!!! Amazon has them at such a lower cost. Petco sells the 36" with legs that extend to 48" at like $168.99 if I remember correctly. Amazon prices fluctuate around $105-120, I got mine from Amazon, at $115. Not bad. Even better if you have Amazon Prime. Free 2-Day shipping! WOOT WOOT!!

Conclusion
While I haven't tested this light out for plants at the moment, I am DEFINITELY happy with this light! It's got the bells and whistles that I think make the light really charming. Are they practical? Maybe for some. I know there are some fish species that trigger their breeding habits during simulated thunder/lighting storms, so that's a plus. Only drawback I can think of is the lack of PAR for deeper tanks. I have heard rumors that Current USA is coming with a newer light fixture (Current Satellite Freshwater LED+ version 2.0?) that will be bright enough for plants, but I've yet to get any confirmed evidence that backs this up... But really, why WOULDN'T they? =P

Here's a video/demonstration of me unboxing and reviewing the light on my 12 Gallon Rimless tank:

[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/_fH0HUFM9Fo" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]

 

[JimA]

Nice review! I am glad you mentioned about the depth issue as I found this out to be true on my 8ftr.. That being said if you wanted a darker tank I think you would be fine with this light. I thought the settings were cool but after playing with them a bit I probably in the long run would just find one I liked and left it at that. I did end up sending mine back which they refunded without an issue.

 

[DMD123]

Nice review, poke!

Ive have had mine since the end of November 2013. I got them on a great Black Friday sale online and got two 36" fixtures for $159. These replaced Beamsworks LED's and were worth every penny. The Beamsworks were one of the first gen single bright style and the tank would look a bit dim at night and the fish looked bleached out. With the Satellite + it is nice and bright. This is on a 210g which is 24" wide and 29" deep, which can be a challenge for a light fixture.

The color choices are nice and I use the full spectrum setting and the fish really look good. The rose setting is nice for the fish too but in the end the full spectrum just looked the best. The effects freak the fish out and are gimmicky. I just run it as a normal light with no effects.

I have the Current single ramp timer on another LED on my 72g bow and love it. So my next upgrade will be the dual ramp timer to go on my 210g. This will be an awesome combo with the Satellite +! The only issue is you can only use the ramp timers if you run just the normal preset colors with no effects on. If you try and use it with custom color combos or effects, Ive heard it will strobe.

I highly recommend this fixture for a fish only tank. The colors in your fish will amaze you.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

JimA: Thanks! It does seem like their customer support is really good, I'm glad you were able to return the one you had, hassle free. And I do feel the same about the light settings, and ending up keeping them at one setting, but I do also like that I can change them whenever I feel like it. Just an added benefit for utilizing the RGB LEDs, that's for sure

DMD123: Thank you as well! I do recall you mentioning about these lights before, in your Single Ramp Timer review! That was going to be my next purchase, however, I'm still unsure if I really need it or not. I'll cross the bridge when I get there, I s'pose. I might end up getting the dual ramp timer instead, because I do plan on getting another fixture. They're so awesome!

Even at $159, they're worth it! I'm glad the price has gone down though, that's definitely an added bonus! Currently, Amazon still has the best price for the 48"-60" ones, running at $122 currently. Last week, they were $116.

Last week, the 36"-48" ones were $115 (can't believe the next size up was only a dollar more! LOL)

 

[DMD123]

I found mine on sale for Black Friday at petsolutions. I paid $169.59 total for two. Had a coupon + sale so $84.80 each.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

OH. Okay, that sounds even better! LOL!

 

[DMD123]

I had to go back and look at the receipt. I thought $159 for both but it was $169.

I always look for a coupons when buying things like this online. Petsolutions always seems to have 10% off coupons. I think on the Black Friday sale it was on sale and like a 20% off if you spent $200, so I had bought some food with the light order. Whatever the case, I am so happy with these lights.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

I am not one of those who are in love with these lights. Well, these and Finnex. =D

 

[jrygel]

I've got great growth in my 30 gallon running one of these as the main light (also have a Marineland hidden 21", but that is more of an accent, and much dimmer than the Current). Nothing too difficult to grow though: Vals, Balsanse, Wisteria, a sword, some anubias and some crypts. I had some dwarf hairgrass, but gave up on it because it wasn't really spreading - it was growing, just not all that well - not sure if that was due to the low-ish light or the lack of CO2. I think that this depth tank (16" deep) is about the limit for anything but truly low light plants for the Satellite LED+.

I also use the ramp timer with it, and it works pretty well - I leave the light in the full spectrum (light yellow) setting and let the timer do its thing, it works well this way, but I can confirm that some of the other settings, including custom color settings, will strobe as it ramps up and down.

 

[Anthraxx]

has anyone found a good setting for low light plants? ive recently purchased one of these guys (petco.com on sale for 80$) just curious which setting would be best, as i understand it red is the spectrum plants use so ive been using the orange button and then tweeking down the white and uping red over green/blue. im just curious really if anyone has a good setting, ex. orange, then max red, down 3 green/blue.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

I use the full daylight spectrum setting (yellowish button) and then tone down the white lights a bit. Then have it saved on the M4 button.

 

[Anthraxx]

sweet, and you get good results with your plants? thanks for the fast response as well

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Yeah I have it on my 40 gallon breeder tank with axolotls. Most of the plants in there are low light plants such as anubias and java fern. There's an amazon sword in there that's doing pretty well too.

 

[Anthraxx]

sweet! im literally building the same type of setup. no room for a sword but lots of java and hopefully my anubias take hold

 

[PokeSephiroth]

That's the way to do it! You'll have to play around with the brightness levels depending on how deep your tank is.

I find that on a 40 gal breeder, with the lights on max, it's a good medium light for a tank that tall. I have the whites toned down by about 6 levels and then I leave everything else on max.

 

[ShortyKiloGyrl]

I recently bought this and I'm awaiting it's arrival. I bought it for my 20L puffer tank. It's planted but brackish so the flats are a bit harder to grow. But even with the stock old light currently on a different tank with the plants they are 3 with new growth. So I'm looking forward to getting this tank set up.

 

[DMD123]

It is a nice fixture, Ive enjoyed having mine since the fall of 2013. I use two of the 36" on my 210g and it provides plenty of light have been tempted to get one for my 40B but I got the cheaper Satellite which works great for a fish only set up but does not have the cool color of the full spectrum setting.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Woohoo!! Congrats on the new purchase, ShortyKiloGyrl! You will love the light, although, as other members have stated, once you've seen all the presets/settings on it, you'll eventually find yourself sticking to just one setting. LOL... granted, I still like to show my friends the "lightning storm" settings, they're pretty much gimmicky.

And if you're using it for a planted tank (which sounds like you are), then you'll want to use the full spectrum setting (yellow button) most of the time, if not, all the time. =P

I usually put my current satellite+'s on a different setting whenever I have friends over LOLOL!!

 

[PokeSephiroth]

It is a nice fixture, Ive enjoyed having mine since the fall of 2013. I use two of the 36" on my 210g and it provides plenty of light have been tempted to get one for my 40B but I got the cheaper Satellite which works great for a fish only set up but does not have the cool color of the full spectrum setting.  

I did notice on your lights, that your infrared receiver has the "eye" bubble looking thing... (like in the picture)

But the two that I got, have something else... I don't know if it's just Current USA's cost cutting to make things more affordable, but that's something that I also should have pointed out in my initial review.

I'll have to take pictures of mine when I get home, and I will edit this post with the picture of my infrared receiver (not to be confused with the remote control)

ShortyKiloGyrl, please let us know which kind of infrared receiver yours comes with!

 

[ShortyKiloGyrl]

I got the basic one as well "Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED" I paid $52.54 with tax and free shipping for this one. It's the 24-30" size.