Well, I will preface this with saying I don't have experience with either of these lights, haha.

I do have the current satellite freshwater + though, which is quite a good light.

So wattage with LEDs doesn't mean a whole lot when it comes to PAR, the "watts per gallon" rule is an old adage from the tube fixture era. Wattage is a measure of the amount of power drawn per fixture and does not necessarily correlate with the light output, so the Beamworks draws more power than the Current USA. The current uses 29 LEDs (presumably around ~1 watt each) while the Beamworks uses 110 0.5 watt LEDS, so theoretically that means each individual LED on the current fixture puts out more light than the Beamworks. You should be able to find the PAR data on the new Current USA, I believe it's quite high if memory serves. Meant as a high-light fixture to compliment the standard model. You could probably find PAR data on the Beamworks as well.

Check out the sticky on the top of this section for some LED lighting info as well.

I think the price difference is for several reasons: 1) Current is a more popular brand, IMO, so it can draw more money, 2) the controller is also going to make that one more since those are an attractive, kinda pricey feature, and 3) the fact that the Current light was just released, haha.

I personally would probably go with the Current USA Pro fixture, assuming it doesn't break the bank. The controller on that one is not just a timer, but let's you adjust the color temperature of the fixture and cater it to your plants needs or your own mood, haha.

Good luck with your decision!

 

Well, within a margin of error, the 2 are probably pretty equiv. PAR wise..
I wouldn't make any decision based on that alone..

But if you think about it, you could get 2 of the Beamswork and have way more PAR than one Current.. If you so choose.

 

Just got the 24" Satellite + Pro and have it on my 29g tank. So far I think it's a great light. Love the options to dim and adjust the color temperature. Definitely a lot more light than my 2 bulb T5HO Aquaticlife fixture I was running.

 

If you want more PAR the .5w beamswork is not where you should be looking. Look at the 1w or 3w per LEDs from beamswork. I have both a 48" Hi Lumen W/ .5w ELD and a 48in Planted 3300 with 1w LED. The 3300 is much brighter at the bottom of a 55g tank, but the beam is also a bit narrower due to the individual lenses so keep that part in mind. It will light up the whole bottom of a 55g (12in wide at 21" light height) but might not get the tops of taller plants at the back of the tank.

 

FWIW, wattage on an LED is meaningless, as is the number of LEDs. There are hundreds if not thousands of LED types out there, in all different wattages and efficiencies. A 1w LED from company A can be far less efficient (in terms of converting electricity into light) than a 1w LED from company B. A Philips 1w LED that was top of the line 5 years ago won't be able to touch the light output from a CREE 1w LED that just came out this year. (these are random examples to illustrate the point, not actual product recommendations)

The ONLY way to meaningfully compare two LED fixtures is via PAR data. You need to know the PAR for your fixture at the substrate depth. Any other figure is truly meaningless for comparison, including wattage, number of LEDs, and even lumens (considering there are zillions of ways to measure lumen output and without knowing which method was used for each, it tells you nothing, especially considering different reflectors can change things further!).

The 24" Sat+ PRO puts out 100 PAR at 12", but your 29 gal tank is 18" deep. I can't find PAR values for the PRO lights at that depth but I would guess it's similar to the Ecoxotic E-Series, so probably around 60 PAR.

I can't find any PAR data for the Beamswork lights, but IMO, it doesn't look promising, to be honest.

 

I'm all for the plus pro.. but noot strictly for PAR reasons..........

 

Current tech support sent me PAR data for the Sat+ PRO. Looks like it's probably inline with my earlier estimate.

 

Been googling for this exact info, but had some issues. How do I read this chart? The vertical axis (as identified by the "D" after the measurement", and the range of numbers present) has to be depth. But what's the horizontal axis? Distance from center? So, if the light is directly centered, then directly under it, you get the max value, but it falls off as you approach the front and back of tank?

Aye?

Then, with a 55G, I've got 12" front to back, meaning the most distance from center it can get is 6". And I've got 4-5" of substrate (too much, I know, but trying to claw out every bit of PAR I can without buying extra lights), on a 21" depth tank. And the light sits no more than 2" from the water. So, Light is 18" from substrate, or ~67 PAR (rough mathing out the numbers not provided by Current USA). A glass lid takes a few off of that, so maybe 60 PAR at center of tank, under my conditions. Guessing. And, applying the same math to the front-to-back-6" numbers, I get maybe 45 or so PAR at the edges of the tank.

Yes? Can anyone verify that I'm reading it properly, and my numbers seem decent?

60 PAR at center descending to 45 at the front and back, puts me at what? Smack dab in Medium Light? Is that pushing High light? Anyone give my old simple mind a rough comparison to what this would've been in WPG terms of olden days? 3ish?


Thanks, TPT.

 

I love my Current Satellite Plus Pro

 

I have both on a 90 gallon. The Beamswork looks brighter than the Satellite Pro when they are side by side.

My Beamswork was $90 and the Current set me back $120.

Sometimes I think I should have gotten another Beamswork.

 

Do you have the satellite plus or plus Pro? The pro is typically more than $120 unless you got an amazing deal.

 

Those PAR numbers are on the Gen 2 or 3 just due to the date they were posted(2013). The Gen 4 uses newer SMD so even comparing them to their older gen SMDs becomes hard.

As for the RGB settings for mood on the + Pro that is a moot point if you do not mind a little DIY, plenty of info on how to add RGB strips.

I still like my Sat+ but being a 24" it is not enough once I upgraded to the 55g and I could not justify spending the money on the Sat+ Pro so that is why I ended up with my Beamswork. The Sat+ gets the areas up high in the back where my beamswork misses and it also adds the ability to influence color temps for now.

 

Has anyone had trouble with the Satellite Plus Pro timer not working? I have setup the Time, On-Time, and Off-Time settings but the fixture does not turn on or off unless I manually do it with the remote or fixture.

 

After you have the on/off times set you need to hit the "resume" button so that it says "timer on". Do not ever use the on/off button if you want the timer to work.

 

The 30" beamswork 0.5W x 5 rows LED has 58 PAR at 18 inches on center in air.

 

10-15% reduction for dirty glass..25% reduction @ 6" off center (12" total)..
Add a few percent if Currents measurements were in air..

67PAR is a reasonable guesstimate..


normal range would be 57 to 43PAR across the bottom..

Larger fixtures will have more.. smaller less.