[littleredridingmech]

Hello everyone!
I started my aquarium in early April and it's been cycled for about a month and a half now. It currently houses a school of glowlight tetras. I only wish I'd done as much research on the plants as I did on the fish XD. Can you guys help me choose a light that is best for my ideas?

Aquarium details:
- 20 gallon long, 30x12x12 inches
- Filter: Aquaclear 30 on the low setting
- Lighting: Some sort of fluorescent bulb from PetCo that can only keep my tall plants alive, light timer set to: 10am to 6pm
- Temp: 78-80 F
- pH: 8.2
- GH and KH: I don't have the test kits but if I let a drop of water air dry on any of my faucets it leaves hard water deposits so whatever it is, it's crazy high.
- 20% weekly water changes
- Dose with Flourish twice weekly
- Substrate: Eco-complete capped with sand
- Plants: Anubias, Java fern, Java moss, micro sword, cryptocoryne wendtii, slowly dying dwarf hairgrass (not trying to carpet, btw)

Things on the way:
- DIY co2 kit (citric acid and baking soda)
- Flourish root tabs

Things I want eventually:
- Very heavily planted
- Amazon frogbit or red root floaters
- Maybe a red plant or two

I'd prefer not to spend huge amounts of money on this, $200 is pretty much my cap and lower would be appreciated. Although, if it's a cheap light but fails after 3 months I'd much rather get the more expensive option.

 

[jeffkrol]

Current USA Satellite LED+ (Plus) PRO Freshwater Light, 24"-36"

You can get high light cheaper, but not w/ out some sacrifices..

 

[littleredridingmech]

Added to the list, thank you! What do you think of the Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0?

 

[sohankpatel]

Finnex Planted + 24/7, it is dimmable and can easily get high light in a 20 long. The Fresh and Plant 2.0 is OK. I personally went for a Ray 2 instead of it, you may have issues with algae with the fresh and plant.

 

[latchdan]

Hello everyone!
I started my aquarium in early April and it's been cycled for about a month and a half now. It currently houses a school of glowlight tetras. I only wish I'd done as much research on the plants as I did on the fish XD. Can you guys help me choose a light that is best for my ideas?

Aquarium details:
- 20 gallon long, 30x12x12 inches
- Filter: Aquaclear 30 on the low setting
- Lighting: Some sort of fluorescent bulb from PetCo that can only keep my tall plants alive, light timer set to: 10am to 6pm
- Temp: 78-80 F
- pH: 8.2
- GH and KH: I don't have the test kits but if I let a drop of water air dry on any of my faucets it leaves hard water deposits so whatever it is, it's crazy high.
- 20% weekly water changes
- Dose with Flourish twice weekly
- Substrate: Eco-complete capped with sand
- Plants: Anubias, Java fern, Java moss, micro sword, cryptocoryne wendtii, slowly dying dwarf hairgrass (not trying to carpet, btw)

Things on the way:
- DIY co2 kit (citric acid and baking soda)
- Flourish root tabs

Things I want eventually:
- Very heavily planted
- Amazon frogbit or red root floaters
- Maybe a red plant or two

I'd prefer not to spend huge amounts of money on this, $200 is pretty much my cap and lower would be appreciated. Although, if it's a cheap light but fails after 3 months I'd much rather get the more expensive option.

I have frogbit and rrf. Gimme a week notice ill hook ya up.

 

[ichy]

finnex stingray is another good option.

 

[littleredridingmech]

Finnex Planted + 24/7, it is dimmable and can easily get high light in a 20 long. The Fresh and Plant 2.0 is OK. I personally went for a Ray 2 instead of it, you may have issues with algae with the fresh and plant.

Is it possible to alter the 24/7 cycle on the finnex planted + 24/7? Or make your own? I don't like how bright it is at night.

 

[sohankpatel]

Is it possible to alter the 24/7 cycle on the finnex planted + 24/7? Or make your own? I don't like how bright it is at night.

You can just set it to a specific brightness and put it on a timer

 

[littleredridingmech]

Ok

Are the current and finnex planted plus 24/7 as fragile as the reviews say? Some of them say that even the moisture from evaporation will break them after a few months.

 

[jeffkrol]

Fluval is over $200 w/ controller. Other than that..no issues.

 

[steveo]

Finnex Planted + 24/7, it is dimmable and can easily get high light in a 20 long. The Fresh and Plant 2.0 is OK. I personally went for a Ray 2 instead of it, you may have issues with algae with the fresh and plant.

The Fluval Freshwater and Plant 2.0 is a high quality light that is awesome for growing plants. It is dimmable too!

 

[sohankpatel]

The Fluval Freshwater and Plant 2.0 is a high quality light that is awesome for growing plants. It is dimmable too!

It costs a lot more as well. And it needs a controller for higher functions.

 

[jeffkrol]

How good are you at DIY??
You can put practically any strip type LED w/ a separate
power supply in the 12-24v range on one of these..
No channel choices (well there is for some but that does complicate it a bit).

tc-420
TC420 1.4" LED Programmable Time Controller - Black (12~24V) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme
Can be found a bit cheaper here and there...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/1034889-vivagrow-24-7-works-tc420.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...timer-pro-works-beamswork-led-fixtures-4.html

 

[littleredridingmech]

I'd rather not go the diy route, I can't even operate a drill properly, I'd probably break $200 dollars worth of LEDs anyway before I figured it out XD

I knew that about the Fluval, I thought it had all the colors and you could adjust that. I looked more and I think it's just white and blue.

I'm looking closest at the current and finnex ones. Again, are the sat +pro and planted +24/7 as non-water-resistant as the reviews say?

 

[pdela]

Is it possible to alter the 24/7 cycle on the finnex planted + 24/7? Or make your own? I don't like how bright it is at night.

The 24/7 cycle is NOT adjustable. You can set the brightness for a static time throughout the day and put that on a timer but you will lose the 24/7 feature. I actually use 2 24/7 fixtures cause I like the 24/7 cycle so much, one is set on 24/7 and another with adjusted brightness for 8 hours a day.

Bump:

I'd rather not go the diy route, I can't even operate a drill properly, I'd probably break $200 dollars worth of LEDs anyway before I figured it out XD

I knew that about the Fluval, I thought it had all the colors and you could adjust that. I looked more and I think it's just white and blue.

I'm looking closest at the current and finnex ones. Again, are the sat +pro and planted +24/7 as non-water-resistant as the reviews say?

I haven't had any issues with my 24/7s for the 6 months I've had them. Then again, I'm pretty careful while handling them. I do have them on an open top with a high water level. But I've never dropped them or have gotten any serious amount of water on them. I have heard several complaints about them not being the most durable lights but have no experienced any of those issues myself.

 

[jeffkrol]

I looked more and I think it's just white and blue.

Yea a bit restrictive..

Bump:

I'd rather not go the diy route, I can't even operate a drill properly, I'd probably break $200 dollars

well you know your skill set but keep in mind the point of getting the controller is to use cheap lights..

Like this........
http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-Beamswork-Tropical-Fish-p/66375.htm

If you can replace a plug at the end of an extension cord.. you can do this..

 

[littleredridingmech]

Hmm, maybe in the future once I understand lights better and have a more constant source of income than birthday and Christmas money (I'm 14, can't get a job.) For right now I'd rather have something that will definitely work, even if the diy is easy.

 

[jeffkrol]

Amazon.com : Finnex Stingray Aquarium LED Light, 36-Inch : Pet Supplies

Back to this:

 

[littleredridingmech]

I ended up getting the sat +pro. Thanks everyone!