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(New) Current Satellite Freshwater LED+ Fixture (6500K/RGB)???

85K views 314 replies 69 participants last post by  Current USA 
#1 ·
What's up guys...

I've been toying with the idea of getting a Finnex Monster Ray RGB LED 24" to work along side my Finnex Ray 2 24" on a 26g Bow Front. I'm getting a decent amount of growth from my plants with a single Ray 2 with about 40 PAR (medium light). However, all the plants grow green. I want to boost this up a bit but just enough... I am running pressurized co2 and dosing micro/macros via PPS-Pro method.

I've been thinking of getting the Monster Ray for the extra Red spectrum but was thinking the green would be useless and the Blue would be okay. Then I got to thinking, this would be a lot easier if Finnex just made a Ray 2 with Red LED's w/ White. I think I've heard un-confirmed rumors of this somewhere?

Well, then I stumbled upon this new fixture, the Current Satellite Freshwater LED+ Fixture (which the 24" version has 48x White / 24x RGB LEDs = 18 watts). I like that is mixes 2 rows of (4x) 6500K white LED to every row (2x) of RGB along its strip.



So what do you think of this fixture to work in tandem with the Ray 2 at about 18" distance from light to sub? Will I get the extra boost, especially in the red spectrum to get the plants growing better? More importantly, to get my Rotala sp. to color up? I just don't see PAR numbers on this... I do like the controller though and the ability to customize the color output -- like increase "red". The "modes" on there like cloudy day and storm or what not are gimmicky, but I don't mind them...LOL, I actually think its neat to just entertain friends! But my main purpose is to grow color in my stems! Thoughts???

More info:
http://www.current-usa.com/aquarium-led-lights/satellite-freshwater-led-plus

^^^^
 
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#74 ·
Sorry, my first reply was tied in to the OP regarding the specific light fixture. I thought it was an appropriate topic for those interested in this light that wanted to know what else would be required to grow some low light plants. It's difficult to find information regarding the intensity for this light - as well LED lights in general - at least it was for me, being a new hobbyist. I did go off in a tangent, though. My apologies.
 
#73 ·
Yeah it sounds harsh because it is. Excel is no exception. Both have to be used with the same precaution as you would with let's say, bleach. Anyway... Glut works the same as Excel for a fraction of the price. Get comfortable using Excel and down the road, if you wanna save money, get some Glut. Go on Amazon and compare the prices. Just remember, metricide is about 2.5x the strength. So you can dilute it and you'll have so much versus Excel.

Look at AquariumAdvice's January TOTM 220g. Beautiful planted tank not using co2. Just high light, glut, and PPS-Pro.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/january-2013-totm-rivercats-220-gallon-planted-community/
 
#75 ·
IMO, we're not too far off topic. Lighting and ferts work in concert with each other. I'd like to know if your plants start showing improvement under the Current Sat LED+ with the addition of Excel and Flourish in a low tech application, especially in a 21" tall aquarium. We merely discussed an alternative to Excel, all of which is relevant to helping the plants thrive under the main topic if this thread, the Current Satellite LED+. So in my view, no apology is warranted. But thank you anyways for the courtesy.
 
#76 ·
IMO, we're not too far off topic. Lighting and ferts work on concert with each other. I'd like to know if your plants start showing improvement under the Current Sat LED+ with the addition of Excel and Flourish in a low tech application, especially in a 21" tall aquarium. We merely discussed an alternative to Excel, all of which is relevant to helping the plants thrive under the main topic if this thread, the Current Satellite LED+. So in my view, no apology is warranted. But thank you anyways for the courtesy.
My plants are in a 75 with this light strip. I wasn't expecting the kind of growth I am getting from my swords, and even my nymphaea sp. To me some of the stem plants are growing slower than I expected, but everything else is doing well.
 
#79 ·
Well to put it in perspective, the low light I was getting from my 18W aqueon for a 20 gallon high wasn't enough, and the CO2 booster type dosing and Flourish dosing I was doing didn't really perk up the plants much - nothing dead, but nothing really growing. Oh, the poor green cabomba did melt though, and some of the micro swords, tho the swords are already re-growing - the cabomba might be too far gone.

So enough of that. Blasting with Current starting yesterday, installing pressurized CO2 tonight, and PPS-Pro dry fert coming by Friday, root tabs before then, and I'll flourish in the meantime. Nitrates already sucked almost dry by the plants, so the ferts will be a crucial part of this - bought a phosphate test as well to make certain there's enough in the water.
 
#81 ·
Oh no, the Aqueon is retired. Funny enough, it was a 18W floro full spectrum bulb hiding in a 24" light hood, so the Current filled that space without any adjustments needed - lift hood off glass, put Current just above glass, done. It's so low profile that it's actually lower than the front access swing hood of the Aqueon in front of it! I had to mount the IR bulb on top of the Current just to get clearance for a good remote shot above the swing hood.

If I was going to get some high light plants I may have considered the dual light combo, but since the tank is all low light and some med light plants, plus some incoming floaters to block light too, the Current alone is good enough for the dry fert program I have planned.
 
#83 ·
Pics!

Here's the Current LED. Look at how low a profile it is on the Aqueon Deluxe hood!



The full spectrum light is very bright (you can see it above a bit there, see how bright even during daytime?), but for the evening I like this orange/white mix - you dial down the white until it's almost moonlight setting but still lets the tetra stripes pop and the shadows become sharp:

 
#85 ·
Light drives co2 demand and that drives fert demand, but back to the Satellite LED light. I run 2 Marineland Planted tank LEDs on my 20" 34 gallon cube tank along with an Aquaticlife 2X 18 watt T5 with one purple bulb and one rosette bulb. The Aquaticlife fixture is strictly for color enhancement. I get 130 PAR at the substrate with just the 2 Marineland fixtures, so tomorrow, I'm picking up the Satellite fixture to see if it gives me the color that the T5 fixture does with the advantages of lower power consumption and much longer "bulb" life. Plus, it will match the Marineland fixtures much better than the T5 fixture. One day, there will be the perfect planted aquarium LED light. For now, I'll give this a try for $100. As far as being able to program the random storm effects etc... I like the ability to initiate these effects with the remote versus having them happen randomly when no one is watching. My 2 cents and I'm sticking with it...for now.
 
#86 ·
Couple of things that would be cool

I am going to go for one of these but I am also going to contact Current to ask a couple of questions.
1. Can two be linked together so that they work in unison. I think this would be very cool. Should only need two connections. One for syncing the two fixtures to same spectrum and for on/off
2. Do they intend to create a higher output one for those who wish to grow high lighting plants.
3. Can they provide info on what settings needed to grow the red colored plants.
4. Instructions say to turn unit on with remote. So if one wants to use a timer I suspect he just never turns it off?

Any thoughts.

Also wonder if one of these and a finnex Ray II would look very similar together
 
#88 ·
I am going to go for one of these but I am also going to contact Current to ask a couple of questions.
1. Can two be linked together so that they work in unison. I think this would be very cool. Should only need two connections. One for syncing the two fixtures to same spectrum and for on/off
2. Do they intend to create a higher output one for those who wish to grow high lighting plants.
3. Can they provide info on what settings needed to grow the red colored plants.
4. Instructions say to turn unit on with remote. So if one wants to use a timer I suspect he just never turns it off?

Any thoughts.

Also wonder if one of these and a finnex Ray II would look very similar together
The remote can control both units I have two and they can work in unison. Mine are on timers and come on at what ever setting they where on when turned off. I have red plants and they are growing. I keep mine on full spectrum. It looks best to me that way. I only occasionally play with the colors and storm settings. My favorite is the moon setting with the lighting! As far as more powerful that would be awesome! Hope this helped.
 
#89 ·
Wonder if each light can be on different spectrum settings.

Also I am going to set up Nano 16 a Nuvo Nano 16. The display area is 13.5 gallons. So two of these should provide about 2.66 wpg of light. I would think that is enough to grow about anything I might want to.
Do the lights come off the tank easily or tilt to accommodate cleaning? Also do they feel secure when mounted on tank.

Thanks
Bob
What settings are you using and how long have you had them on your system?
 
#91 ·
I imagine you can unplug one while you adjusting settings for the other and vice versa, but as soon as you change a setting via the remote, both will change. I guess you can get away with it if you just use timers and never mess with the remote.

I have the 48" fixture. It doesn't tilt but it is easy to remove. Basically just two adjustable arms at either end holding it snug and on top of the rim. I've never had an instance where I thought it wasn't secure. In fact, I'm considering taking off the glass tops and running it open. There's some serious calcium deposits on the pieces directly below the light and taking them out would really brighten things.

EDIT: I've only had my plants in a week. I personally like the first "orange" setting, aesthetically, though I've been experiment with just white and red full up.
 
#96 ·
My 20 gallon is 12 3/8" deep 24" wide and 16 1/2" tall. My 55 gallon is 13" deep 48"wide and 19 7/8" tall. My 55 also has a 48" aqueon modular that I modified to have an extra strip and moon lights on a separate power. The 55 I would say is med to high light. My 20 gallon I would say is low to medium low.
 
#97 ·
So I picked up this light today. It's cool for the price. It has no where near the output of my Marineland Planted Tank LED's (130 PAR at 18" deep), but that's not why I bought it. I wanted more control over the color of my tank. The light just about does what I want it to do, but I wish that the RGB channels used more powerful LED's. The Marineland fixtures are so much brighter that the effect of the new fixture is almost lost...almost. With that said, it is an acceptable replacement for the 2X 18 watt T5 rosette/ purple fixture that I was using to add color to my tank. The storm/ cloud etc...effects are cool when the main lighting is off, but otherwise, you can't notice it. I run a high light, high co2, high growth tank and this light would not cut it as the main source of light. For a low light tank, it would work great. For adding a bit of color like I wanted, it works well. FWIW...The wife likes the way it looks compared to the big ugly T5 fixture.
 
#99 ·
Well i wrote a LONG review, well more like an initial impressions review.

Anyway..lots of pics of the Current Satellite LED+. BTW, i got confirmation from Current today that they just received their first prototype of their "plant LED." Not sure what to expect exactly but I'm guessing more intensity? Keep an eye out for that! :)

Anyway, 56K warning here...lots of pics :)

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-initial-impressions-lots-of-pics-262398.html
 
#100 ·
Well i wrote a LONG review, well more like an initial impressions review.

Anyway..lots of pics of the Current Satellite LED+. BTW, i got confirmation from Current today that they just received their first prototype of their "plant LED." Not sure what to expect exactly but I'm guessing more intensity? Keep an eye out for that! :)

Anyway, 56K warning here...lots of pics :)

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-initial-impressions-lots-of-pics-262398.html

that will be my upgrade for the 72 bow
 
#102 ·
Do you know if the PAR values provided by Current were taken thru air or water?

I ask because they provided PAR values of 36 @ 12" and 21 @ 24" (i'm assuming for a 24" fixture).

Finnex specs for the 24" Fugeray are 45 @ 12" but only 13 @ 24".

It would seem that it is less powerful that the Fugeray in shallow applications, but stronger for deeper set-ups. That doesn't seem possible so that is why I'm wondering if Current took their readings thru air instead of water.
 
#103 · (Edited)
I'm looking for a lighting option on my 36x24x20 rimless aquarium, will have CO2 (once I get around to finishing the reactor) and ferts. Currently have two Amazon Sun Kessils over it that I'm not liking. The two options I've come up with so far are a Radion or the new Satellite+ fixtures. I'll want the fixture(s) to be hung over the tank so the extra height from the substrate would have to be taken into account.

Have a Radion over my SW tank and love it and know it can be set to proper FW spectrum, but coverage on a 36" tank is an issue and can't afford two. Only information I have on the Satellite+ fixtures is what has been posted here...

What do you all think? Emailed Current about coverage and what not and they recommend 3-4 fixtures for "high" light.

Appreciate any and all input, thanks :)
 
#112 ·
Does the wire pull out adjustable tank mounts provide a solid sure grip on the sides of the tank. What I mean are they firm enough that they don't need constant adjusting to the tanks sides each time you have to move it or remove it.
No, you will need to readjust the arms when you move or remove it. It doesn't have a mechanism to secure the arms into position, other than friction from the arm's housing itself.

That being said, when the light is in place and not being moved I've never had an issue with the arms pulling out on their own. They've always stayed just how I've positioned them.
 
#115 · (Edited)
If I go with this fixture I would get at least two, maybe three as Current suggested 3-4 for my tank. Might hang my Radion (Gen2) over my FW tank one night this week to test coverage.

Current told me this fixture covers "roughly 6-8 inches both ways", which I imagine is why they suggest 3-4 fixtures for my tank.
 
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