LED lighting suggestions

DMD123

DMD123

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Well after a big fiasco with an Amazon vendor who posted LED's for too cheap and then backed out, Im on the hunt for LED suggestions.

The tank is a 40B, so 36" in length, 18" wide and 16" tall. I am doing freshwater with fish only, no plants.

I have used Beamsworks single brights in the past and while a good value not happy with the light output. I have the Aqueon LED on my 72g bow because it came with it when I bought it. I added a single colormax and its better than it was stock but the lights dont blend well and at times you can see the red lighting spotting on the gravel. This one can add up quickly in price with the adding of extra LED modules. My favorite out of what I own is my Current Satellite + on my 210g. I am using a rose setting and the fish pop. The thing I dont necessarily like is the sensor and cable, the remote and gimmicky 'effects'. I just like it for the rose color and full spectrum settings.

So I would like suggestions of what else you guys have used and liked. Finnex? MarineLand? Aquatic Life? Others?
 
DMD123

DMD123

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I saw Pokes review on it and I did not like how it looked when it was ran just by itself. In conjunction with the second light he had I liked it. But I dont want multiple fixtures. I had considered the FugeRay, any comments on that one?
 
A

Anonymous

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Since 40g breeders are so wide do you need to either raise lighting, or have 2 fixtures to evenly illuminate the whole tank?
 
Cory

Cory

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I like the fuge rays. Although at the same price point I'd just go with a planted plus. I find it nearly impossible to convey the differences in the light without showing someone in person. When you can see 3 or 4 LED fixtures on tanks in the same room you can compare them.
 
DMD123

DMD123

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fishNAbowl said:
Since 40g breeders are so wide do you need to either raise lighting, or have 2 fixtures to evenly illuminate the whole tank?  
Click to expand...
Thats why I was thinking the FugeRay since it sits higer up.
 
H

Hiney1

Member
Not to de-rail the thread, but I'd like to know if anyone has had any experience with BeamWork products at all? Doing an LED light for the 55, fish only, and would like to get max color from the fish.
 
DMD123

DMD123

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Not a derail at all. I have used the Beamswork single bright and they are just OK, nothing special. They really do not enhance fish color and only provide enough light to see your fish and not much else in my opinion. I have the Aqueon with the colormax and the Current Satellite + which both have a red tint and the fish color pops a lot. That was my reason for bringing up the Beamswork pink light. I think it would work wonders for fish color.
 
J

Jubs

New Member
Google the hack to the beamworks legs, a lot of people have bent the legs down (with the legs extended obviously) to raise the fixture up. I personally have PAR30 LED lights (still need to get the 3rd one for the left side) above mine hanging from conduit similar to the ADA style for suspending their lights above tanks.

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J

JimA

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I don't think the beamworks is the best lighting but for the price they do pretty good.  He is my tank with 2 48" reef bright on it.   I wouldn't waste money on single brights.   I also popped off the littile plastic lenses for more dispersion made a world of difference...

 
DMD123

DMD123

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Yeah, I was not happy with the single brights. They were great as a replacement for the T5 HO that I had when it came to energy savings and algae growth. They were very dim at night trying to light up a deep tank. For my 40B project I wonder if it would be better to stay with the single bright due to the fact the tank is pretty shallow.... thoughts?
 
J

JimA

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I have never seen the single brights but my guess is they would be ok in a shallow tank. You could go with the reef bright and tape over some if it were too bright..
 
DMD123

DMD123

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The single brights struggled on the 210g which is 29" deep. The 40B is only like 16" deep but then will I get full coverage on the 18" wide tank? Decisions, decisions... I think if I did go with the Beamswork, I would just try out that Pink fixture. With all my other LED's this combo seems to make fish really stand out. Im just trying to get a good fixture with out dropping $100+ on it. While I love the color tone of my Satellite + and kind of like the Aqueon Colormax, I dont want to be in those price ranges for this tank.
 
DMD123

DMD123

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So I am still searching for LED's but trying to do this on the cheap. I found a company that makes an interesting modular system. http://elivepet.com/fish/lighting

The 36" model comes with 7 pods but can be expanded and hold up to up to 23 pods! The pods are not super expensive and can be found for about $4-$5 each.
I think I like this a bit better than my Aqueon modular with the glass tube LED's.
 
A

Anonymous

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By reading this thread it seems you really get what you pay for. I've read a lot of "what's cheaper, what's cheaper". Then.... Ohhh, they are ooookaay...

I've never said that with a Finnex. You want color enhancing, choose a monster ray. You want bright? Perhaps a Ray2. You want warm natural tone? FugeRay planted+. Tank is 16" deep? Get one fixture. Tank is 2' deep, get 2 fixtures. You get what you pay for. You want quality , it'll cost. You want ho humm quality and an "okay" LED output, choose something listed above.

I would be interested in a build. However if I DYI'd a LED fixture I would still go with top shelf components.
 
DMD123

DMD123

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I do agree you get what you pay for. I have no issues with my Satellite + fixture in performance but dont want to drop $100 on a fixture that is not really a show tank. If my pockets were deeper I would like to try one of the Finnex.

Looks like with this one I might just have to get a single bright Beamswork which would keep it under $50. Was just hoping to find that noticeably better light for just a little bit more....
 
A

Anonymous

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Sometimes I see used LED fixtures for sale. Is used fixtures an option?
 
DMD123

DMD123

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Used is an option. Sad thing is Ive sold off lights that would have worked!  :roll: 
 
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