[H2Opets]

I’m going to be setting up a 120 gallon 4’ aquarium this spring.
planning everything out, from substrate, filtration, stand, plants and whatnot.
I’m going to diet the aquarium and cap with sand. All time favorite set up. Low to medium plants, lots of crypts, jungle Val, Val nana, some anubias, and some stem plants. Most likely a few type of swords as well. Jungle style pretty much.
I’m looking at Finnex lights, I cannot afford fluval 3.0s.
What are your thoughts, I was looking at the model below, 2 of them. Going off of their website this model has the best Par for a deep tank.
88 par at 18”, pretty good for a budget light I think.
Anyone know better ?

 

[minorhero]

If that light is producing 88 par at 18 inches then I would say 2 of them is too much light for low to medium light tank without co2. One would do it for you. If you wanted 2 for coverage then prepare to turn them down to half strength.

What fertilizer will you be using?

 

[Kubla]

The par will drop considerably from that if it's a standard 120 g
@ 24" tall.

 

[Noahma]

I currently have two of the ALC fixtures over my 75 gal. aquarium. I would probably start with 1 fixtureif your wanting to stick with low to medium light, or 2 fixtures set at a max of 50% brightness during its highest light time. I really like the fixtures and have found the best schedule for my tank. The only thing I would say is an annoyance is only having 9 slots to set brightness levels. They transition very smoothly between each though, so if you have say 100% brightness at 3pm, and you set the 6pm slot down to say 60%, it will transition from one smoothly to the other over 3 hours.

Finnex has said that this light fixture might be a limited release. They lost their manufacturer for the LED's used in the fixture, and were trying to find another one. If they sell enough of them they would find another supplier.

 

[jeffkrol]

2 just for the 24" width.
Raising ine just cuts par
Dimmable so overkill really isn't an issue

 

[H2Opets]

What are some other good options that won’t break the bank, that can handle a 24” tall aquarium with carpeting plants?

 

[minorhero]

The beamswork DA FSPEC is the cheapest around I believe. You can buy a dimmer for it as well which you would probably want.

Regarding carpeting plants, none of the plants previously mentioned are carpeting. Also unless you are doing a dry start or inject co2, you won't really get plants to 'carpet' in a reasonable period of time (meaning years instead of weeks or months). If you did decide to go with co2 or dry start an easy to grow plant the FSPEC could handle it.

 

[jeffkrol]

For an all out PAR delivery and around the $250 mark of 2 Finnex's you can get this:

The Awesome 32" sBox Freshwater Plant LED Light for your Aquarium.

In stock in the USA warehouse sBox Basic 32" Fresh Water Plant Light: -SB Reef Lights proprietary layout and spectrum -3 channel with moon lights - 3 power cords -363w (121x3w diodes) -Moon light channel -Upgraded thicker heat sink -Upgraded, quieter fans with higher CFM flow -Built in mounting...

sbreeflights.com

Manual dimming only of course.

 

[H2Opets]

I didn’t list the dwarf sag, but that is what I’m leaning towards.
or something alike.

Do you think 2 beamswork lights would be enough to penetrate a 24” tall tank and supply enough par for let’s say dwarf sag?
I need most like two lights to get front to back coverage with the tank being 24” front to back. I’m more concerned with getting the correct amount of like to the bottom.

 

[minorhero]

Do you think 2 beamswork lights would be enough to penetrate a 24” tall tank and supply enough par for let’s say dwarf sag?
I need most like two lights to get front to back coverage with the tank being 24” front to back. I’m more concerned with getting the correct amount of like to the bottom.

Dwarf sag is a fairly low light plant, you will definitely get enough light penetration. Actually I'd be more concerned with having too much light for a non co2 tank. You would need to buy a dimmer for each light. Still not very expensive, but don't skip this step. You likely want half strength.

 

[H2Opets]

I’ve been thinking in my mind I needed the most powerful lights due to the height of the tank.
thank you! That will save me some money.

 

[Aaronious]

So you probably just need one Fluval 3.0. Those ALC I think are just on/off and if I remember are very bright, made for plant health not for our viewing pleasure. I have just one Fluval 3.0 on my 75 gal, averaging out all the light settings it's at like 45-50%. Finnex also has the HLC, little more than the ALC but all the control the Fluval 3.0 has for less $.

 

[Noahma]

So you probably just need one Fluval 3.0. Those ALC I think are just on/off and if I remember are very bright, made for plant health not for our viewing pleasure. I have just one Fluval 3.0 on my 75 gal, averaging out all the light settings it's at like 45-50%. Finnex also has the HLC, little more than the ALC but all the control the Fluval 3.0 has for less $.

All of the Finnex Planted + 24/7 fixtures are controllable through an included remote. They are bright at 100%, but the ALC looks great! It has the red 660nm red LED's for good plant growth (Which look GREAT!), whereas the HLC does not have those red LED's, and has lower PAR ratings at full brightness. The only one that is not controllable is the Original Planted +