[Lancz]

I'm looking for recommendations on a light to pair with my 24/7 mentioned above to keep carpet plants. The substrate is approximately 18.5 inches from where the light sits flat on the top. Glass tops have been removed and the light sits under a canopy.

I have been looking at the finnex stingray, beamworks, green element and other various fixtures. I don't really want to spend much over $100 unless it makes sense. I think the double row 3w green element is $105 on ebay which I was leaning toward. There was an elf penta 48 fixture for $50 but it's out of stock. If there is some way to have enough par and save some money I'm all ears. I'd rather spend a little more and be certain I'll have enough light though.

I own an old hagen glo 48" which I thought I might be able to find LED tubes that fit but they seem to be nearly as expensive as a new fixture.

I was running the 24/7 at max for 3 then 4 hours daily with a couple hours break in between. I recently switched back to 24/7 mode because I really enjoy having it on all hours. I've been running CO2 primarily most the day when the fixture provides decent light. My current plan was to get an additional light to run during prime light hours. I'm currently dosing PPS-Pro graciously provided by meowschwitz.

Any and all comments are welcome!

 

[d33pVI]

I'm in the same boat, similar set-up running 24-7 on a 75. I'm not looking to grow a carpet, but I don't feel like I'm getting good light coverage front-to-back with the 18" deep tank. First I'm going to try just turning the 24-7 to max when I leave in the morning, and resuming 24-7 when I come home from work. If that doesn't get things going I'll also be looking for a supplemental light. I've had my eye on the Beamsworks fixture you mentioned. Looks like the best bang-for-buck option to just blast a little extra light during the main photoperiod.

 

[jeffkrol]

finnex 24/7 PAR @ 18" is about 47 in a 1ft sq area...
AT full mind you not all day:

100%.. not 100PAR............


Any additional light will push you up quite a bit..at least at "peak"...
And since you have some "color" you may get away w/ a more "reef centric" light.. like this:
LED Aquarium Lighting by BeamsWork
Possibly 6500k variety somewhere on "the bay"....
90 degree optics will push more light to the bottom..
Certainly will punch the PAR up for under $73..
If you get real ambitious you can change diodes..

Ideally of course one would just get another 24/7...

 

[aja31]

Ideally I think you could just get another 24/7. Then run them out of sync by about 3 hours, giving you higher PAR over a longer period and prevents you from going too high during the peak period.

 

[Immortal1]

Interesting situation - one that I am familiar with. I have a 75 also and was running 1 Satellite Plus Pro. To get a better spread of light I picked up a factory referbished Satellite Plus light for well under $100. I really do like aja131's idea of running the 24/7 out of sync.

 

[Lancz]

I thought about another 24/7 but didn't want to spend $150. The one I have I got on sale over Christmas for $100 on a lightning deal. I should have had a friend buy another on their amazon account but at that point I already had invested in a CO2 setup and fish, etc. I thought I could possibly squeak by growing some DHG. If the option was available to make the max period longer I'd just stick with the one light but unfortunately that isn't possible. I may do the same with turning it on max at the start of the day as d33pVI mentioned. Then I can still enjoy 24/7 feature in the evening which is really when I dig it the most.

I was also worried about having two 24/7s running 3 hours out of sync ending up in a night period that was too bright. Perhaps turning one off with a timer is possible though? I don't know if it would pick up where it left off or if it would mess up the timing by pausing at the time when it lost power.

Thanks for the input thus far. If anyone happens to find anything that may work or has other comments, further replies are more than welcome. I really spend way too much time doing research when I buy something... Do any of the China LED fixtures have warranties?

Bump: I considered the ecoxotic 48" that is on sale at fostersmith but at half price it was $156 before tax and it has not so great reviews. It appears comparable to the satellite plus pro but has overheating issues from the reviews I've read.

 

[jeffkrol]

Do any of the China LED fixtures have warranties?

companies likw DsunY have fairly good warranties.. ONLY problem is it usually involves them sending parts.. You fix it yourself..
Certainly not for everyone

It appears comparable to the satellite plus pro but has overheating issues from the reviews I've read.

Not really buying that as an "issue".
One had the user that ran it in a 78F room.. Now it "should" take something like this but, again, few would do this. no mention if it was in a hood or not either. or laying on a glass top..
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...ights-overheating-switching-off-too-much.html

A google search of ecoxotic e series overheat or issues yields few results...........
I'll gladly review any links you can provide. Certainly don't want to support a defective product..

 

[Lancz]

A google search of ecoxotic e series overheat or issues yields few results...........

I'll gladly review any links you can provide. Certainly don't want to support a defective product..

There weren't a lot of reviews on it, but that was what I noticed. Seeing it on sale for half price made me think perhaps it did have problems and they were clearing out inventory.

Are you by chance familiar with the ELF 900 6500K LED Pent 36" 0.50W? I found the 48" version was sold out and was going for $50 iirc. I could try to hold out for that.

Where do you look to find the degree of angle for fixtures? Would you recommend I go for a 90 degree optics in this situation?

Thanks so much for the responses. It's nice getting info from someone familiar with these products rather than just wonder what I should do.

 

[Bishop61]

I've been using a Beamswork fixture along with my 24/7 on my 90 gal for 8 months or so... the Beamswork comes on for 4 hours. I've been very happy with the combo.

 

[jeffkrol]

There weren't a lot of reviews on it, but that was what I noticed.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...our-e-series-tank-links-journals-more-31.html

 

[Lancz]

I've been using a Beamswork fixture along with my 24/7 on my 90 gal for 8 months or so... the Beamswork comes on for 4 hours. I've been very happy with the combo.

What model did you end up going with?

Bump:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...our-e-series-tank-links-journals-more-31.html

I didn't think to search here for reviews. I should have figured there would be a club for it. The few reviews I found were from vendor sites.

 

[Bishop61]

What model did you end up going with?

I'm using the 48" 54 1W 6500k LED

It gives me just enough "boost" during my peak period

 

[d33pVI]

F&S e-series clearance just went to 75% off. Almost criminal to NOT buy one at that price!

I just picked up a 48" and another 18" for my 20g.

 

[jeffkrol]

F&S e-series clearance just went to 75% off. Almost criminal to NOT buy one at that price!

I just picked up a 48" and another 18" for my 20g.

Fuuny, just got an 18 for the 30 as well.. Cheaper than DIY.. well almost. A lot easier..

18" are gone now....

 

[Lancz]

I picked up the 48"... I can always add fans to my canopy if needed. That is crazy cheap for what was a $300 light.

 

[Jaye]

Yeah, I just grabbed a couple of 36" ones for the 125 I'm plannng to set up this spring. Not sure they're right for that tank, but for that price, I don't really care. I'll find somethg to do with them, I'm sure.