good quality led lights

4301 Views 14 Replies 8 Participants Last post by discsluv, Oct 15, 2017

Khua

Discussion Starter · Feb 8, 2017

Hi, I would like to upgrade my lighting for my 55-gallon tank from fluorescents to LEDs, so I don't have to change the bulbs every 6 months or so. Tank is running pressurized co2 and I'm aiming for medium light. I have been looking into the Finnex fixtures, current satellites, Fluval 2.0 and the fluence(BML) ray. While reading reviews it seems that most of them were written at the time the fixture arrived and some were updated that their lights failed after a year or after their warranty ended. I don't need all the gimmicks some of these lights provide, I just need something to turn on when I need to it and be reliable. If anybody has had these lights for over a year and tell me if its still working or has a light to recommend that would be greatly appreciated. My budget is $200 but I don't mind spending more for a quality fixture. Thanks

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roadmaster

· #2 · Feb 8, 2017

Finnex Ray II medium light on 55 gal IMHO
I use Finnex planted plus on 55 gal and it is low light but still able to grow anubia,crypt's,mosses,Val's,water sprite,other lower light tolerant plant's.
Fluval 2.0 would be in running also for medium light.

DaveK

· #3 · Feb 8, 2017

I think any of the lights your looking at would work well. I don't thing your going to go too far wrong here.

One thing to keep in mind here is that most people will highly recommend the lighting they are using. This isn't necessarily bad, but make sure the person making the recommendation has experience across several brand and styles.

Consider the following only telling you what I'm doing, and what works for me. Others might do lighting very differently, and get as good or even better results.

On my own 90 gal planted tank I use two Current USA Satellite+ Pro fixtures. A 55 gal tank has the same length, not quite as tall, and only 12 inches wide. A single fixture should work fine here. The downside is that it's a bit more expensive than what your looking to spend, coming in at about $288 for a 48" fixture. All that being said, this fixture might be more that what you want to get involved with, so shop carefully.

Immortal1

· #4 · Feb 8, 2017

One option that you might explore would be looking thru Current USA's refurbished light section on FleaBay (search for refurbished current usa satellite).
On my 75g tank I purchased a brand new Satellite Plus Pro - works great but did not have enough light spread. I ended up getting a Satellite Plus from the refurbished site and was amazed at how nice the light was for about half of the list price. It was shipped in factory packaging with the manual and pretty much everything you would expect to get. Have had both lights for more than 1 year and have no complaints.

As for the Fluval Plant 2.0 light - I have one of these on a 40g cube (24" version). Really does put out a lot of light, is completely water proof (yes, I dropped it into the tank once) and pretty much built like a tank. The down side is I hate the on/off switch. But, as you stated, once the light is set up you can run it off a timer and just leave it alone (which is what I am doing). Have had the light about 1 year now and have no other complaints.

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DaveK

· #5 · Feb 8, 2017

Immortal1 said:
...
On my 75g tank I purchased a brand new Satellite Plus Pro - works great but did not have enough light spread. ...

That's how I got two of them on my 90. Good light, and bright enough, but like all LED fixtures the light wants to go straight down, and this leaves dark areas in the top of the tank.

Khua

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 8, 2017

Thank you all for the replies. Ill be looking into the refurbished Satellite Plus Pro and since they're cheaper than new, I don't mind trying it and see how well I like it.

Reactions: 1

micheljq

· #7 · Feb 9, 2017

Hi, the Fluval 2.0 has 3 years warranty. If you look for something that should last long : TMC Aquaray Grobeams have 5 years warranty, but may cost higher than 200$ for your tank.

Most led fixtures have 1 year warranty, Finnex has six months warranty.

Michel.

Reactions: 1

MChambers

· #8 · Feb 9, 2017

Satellites

Khua said:
Thank you all for the replies. Ill be looking into the refurbished Satellite Plus Pro and since they're cheaper than new, I don't mind trying it and see how well I like it.

I don't think you'll see the Plus Pro refurbished, but maybe I'm wrong. I see mostly Satellites and Satellite Pluses.

Khua

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 10, 2017

MChambers said:
I don't think you'll see the Plus Pro refurbished, but maybe I'm wrong. I see mostly Satellites and Satellite Pluses.

I found quite a few plus pros reburbished and different sizes on fleabay and they are sorted by "A" and "B" models.
"A" for barely used and "B" for used for quite some time.

Seattle_Aquarist

· #10 · Feb 10, 2017

Hi Khua,

Welcome to TPT!

+1 for Michael's suggestion of the Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0; I own two of them and they have been trouble-free. Here is a comparison I did when I was considering LED lights for my tanks.

Khua

Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 10, 2017

Seattle_Aquarist said:
Hi Khua,

Welcome to TPT!

+1 for Michael's suggestion of the Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0; I own two of them and they have been trouble-free. Here is a comparison I did when I was considering LED lights for my tanks.

Thanks and that thread is really helpful being able to see the par. I've been debating between the fluval and the satellite plus pro. So from what I've researched the fluval is sealed, has a 3 year warranty, touchpad can be a little difficult to use and par is a little higher compared the plus pro. While the plus pro isn't sealed, and only has a 3 month warranty on refurbished units. I think I'm gonna go for the fluval because of it's warranty and I get a new unit within my price range.

Reactions: 3

MChambers

· #12 · Feb 10, 2017

Okay

Khua said:
I found quite a few plus pros reburbished and different sizes on fleabay and they are sorted by "A" and "B" models.
"A" for barely used and "B" for used for quite some time.

Interesting, because I just searched again and don't see any Plus Pros, just the Plus (which is a different and less desirable model).

Khua

Discussion Starter · #13 · Feb 10, 2017

MChambers said:
Interesting, because I just searched again and don't see any Plus Pros, just the Plus (which is a different and less desirable model).

Search "current USA plus pro" and refine it to used only.

Reactions: 1

MChambers

· #14 · Feb 11, 2017

Thanks

Khua said:
Search "current USA plus pro" and refine it to used only.

Still don't know why I didn't see these before, but you are right! I think I used "current satellite plus pro", which should have worked, but didn't. Weird.

discsluv

· #15 · Oct 15, 2017

In my opinion, you must go with current usa or finnex fugeray planted+

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