About to buy lighting...

D

Dark Rose

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 27, 2013
443
0
0
United States
So in the next week or so, I'm about to pull the trigger on a light for my planted 40g breeder...

I think I've got it narrowed down to one of three lights...

BeamsWork Reef bright led (42x1w 10k white LEDs)
Odysseas dual or quad T5HO...

Would any of these put me into the medium lighting range?
I've heard about the drivers on the Odyssea under driving the bulbs and not getting full brightness, is that true?
I like the idea of the Beamswork for low temp, low current draw, and not having to replace bulbs yearly, it seems like it might be a good fit for my tank, and fits the high end of the price range I'm shooting for... But I'd really like to hit medium light range to help with a wider variety of possible plants, since I do want to do some easy carpeting plants...

Sent from my DROID4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
D

Dark Rose

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 27, 2013
443
0
0
United States
I'll try, difficult on my phone. It would be the 36" version of all three... let me see if I can get multiple links copied and pasted...

Sent from my DROID4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
N

Newt

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2005
1,105
1
68
Michigan's UP
I have two Odyssea 48" HO t5 fixtures, one is the dual bulb and one is a quad. I've had no problems with either of them.

I will say that the bulbs do make a difference; the actual Odyssea bulbs that come with the fixtures just aren't good quality and seem to cause more algae than plant growth. I replaced them with ZooMed and Coralife bulbs and the difference is amazing.
 
J

jeremoose

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 10, 2011
599
2
48
Canada
You definitely don't want that LED fixture for a freshwater planted setup. If you're not going to ever want to get CO2, just get the 2 bulb T5HO setup, if you're planning on possibly going high-tech at some point, grab the 4 bulb fixture.

If you want to go with a beamswork LED fixture, try this one: http://www.aquatraders.com/EVO-36-LED-Bright-FW-Planted-p/56233p.htm . It has gotten generally good reviews and I doubt you'd need CO2 to keep algae in check.
 
D

Dark Rose

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 27, 2013
443
0
0
United States
Ok, well I'll probably go with that EVO fixture, or possibly the quad T5HO, I don't want to do CO2 right now, but possibly in the future...
After replacing the Odyssea bulbs with better ones, the cost is probably about the same as the EVO LED fixture I'd imagine...

Sent from my DROID4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
J

jeremoose

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 10, 2011
599
2
48
Canada
Dark Rose said:
Ok, well I'll probably go with that EVO fixture, or possibly the quad T5HO, I don't want to do CO2 right now, but possibly in the future...
After replacing the Odyssea bulbs with better ones, the cost is probably about the same as the EVO LED fixture I'd imagine...

Sent from my DROID4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Click to expand...
Just FYI: I haven't had a problem with Odyssea bulbs growing excess amounts of alage, but that's just my experience. If you go with a T5HO setup don't just replace the bulbs immediately, try 'em out first, in your setup they may not be algae magnets.

EDIT: I've been following all your posts about selecting your lighting, I want to see some damn pictures when you get it all setup! lol
 
D

Dark Rose

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 27, 2013
443
0
0
United States
Oh when I start putting things together, there will probably be a build thread started.
I'm hoping this one turns out well, I've learned a lot from my first two tanks, and this one I want to go a different direction, so I'm hoping it all comes together like I imagine.
Already picked up a nice main driftwood piece...

Sent from my DROID4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store
Top Bottom