Go to lighting in today's market?

[NCStateFisher]

Just recently got back in to the hobby and curious to see where the technology has gone.. all I have right now is a basic Aqueon LED that's several years old.

Looking for recommendations for the following:

White light strong enough for low light plants. but not extremely bright would prefer something mildly Dim as Polypterus will be the primary residents in the tank
Moon Light Feature
Reliable but not top of the line

I like the idea of some of the Cloud Cover/Lightning modes but not a dealbreaker...

Basically I guess I'm looking to see what the most common/reliable go to LEDs are these days that I can grow a few anubias etc with and have the 75g looking nice!

Thanks

 

[Fishnerd360]

I’ve heard good things about beams work and nicrew for the costs. I have the fluval aquasky and that was working for me very well.

 

[esoxlucius]

Just recently got back in to the hobby and curious to see where the technology has gone.. all I have right now is a basic Aqueon LED that's several years old.

Looking for recommendations for the following:

White light strong enough for low light plants. but not extremely bright would prefer something mildly Dim as Polypterus will be the primary residents in the tank
Moon Light Feature
Reliable but not top of the line

I like the idea of some of the Cloud Cover/Lightning modes but not a dealbreaker...

Basically I guess I'm looking to see what the most common/reliable go to LEDs are these days that I can grow a few anubias etc with and have the 75g looking nice!

Thanks

If you're just getting back into it, and you look online at lights, trust me, you're head will start hurting, lol. I was a tube guy up until about 3 years ago and when I wanted to go the LED route I was completely lost. Loads of different brands were quoted on here but at the end of the day it was me who had to make that blind choice.

I opted for Nicrew. Relatively cheap(ish) so if my first fitting was rubbish, no harm done. They come in different lengths, remote controlled and have all your different settings and such. Three years later I have four Nicrew of varying lengths. I have them on my large unplanted 360g which is 3ft deep and i'm happy with the light coverage, and I have them on my planted 180g. The brightness isn't too much and my val is growing like crazy.

Overall i couldn't be happier with them. I love them. That said, I have only ever tried Nicrew, I have no doubt other people will chime in with other brands.

Good luck deciding, lol.

 

[BIG-G]

Beamswork and Nicrew from Amazon for me.
I’ve got three of each about two years now the only issue I’ve had is one of the beamswork started getting dim. Turned out to be the power pack. The light still works for well on the blue setting so I just use it for that.

 

[Gourami Swami]

LEDs are the standard fare and there are many options available. I've used a ton of them.
For what you need I would go for finnex. They are mid-priced, reliable, grow plants well. There are a few different models. I have the 48" "planted plus" and i am happy with it. Also has clear legs so looks great on my rimless setup.
Another brand that I have and like the aesthetics of is "chihiros" a chinese company. Light seems to work well but only has white, no colors mixed in. Plants don't seem to mind that though.

 

[FJB]

I too use "Finnex Planted+" and have 2 36" side-by-side over a 125gal, and a 48" over a 75gal. Both tanks are moderately planted. Have had them for ~3 years. I have not noticed any degradation in brightness or color. I have them connected to 3rd-party timers and seem to work well. They get warm, not hot. Plants have done well and I am happy with them. Good Luck!

 

[NCStateFisher]

Awesome guys, I'm going to check all of these out and it gives me a great place to start!!

Prices are fantastic too!!

 

[FreshyFresh]

Like mentioned above, it you want something that's going to last, go with FInnex, Current Satellite, or any of the name brand stuff.

I've got nothing against Beamswork, Odyssea, etc.. I've had those too, but the electronics tend to be more sketchy. All of my Beamswork 48" LEDs and T5HOs are long gone due to problems with LEDs going out, ballasts burning out, end sockets going brittle, etc. I have yet to try Nicrew.

 

[NCStateFisher]

Yeah I had bad luck with odyssea back in the day.

I was looking at the current satellite on sale last night but even then the prices on nicrew and finnex seem a lot lower (which means more money for start up plants haha)

 

[eon aquatics]

led bulb with a screen cover