# What Lighting Is Used These Days?



## ElNaturalPurist (Feb 11, 2021)

So, back about a decade ago when I had multiple El Natural tanks going, all that was available was florescent lighting. That was it. Well, that or incandescent which didn't work for so many reasons.... Now, as I get back into this hobby, I'm floored by all the LED options out there and I'm just curious... aside from sunlight, what LED light fixtures do people use? I've even seen LED lights that are programmable, I'm a little overwhelmed with the lighting options for my up-coming setup! lol


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## shudaizi (Jun 9, 2020)

I use a 12" Finnex Planted+ (LED) for my 7.5g cube. I suspect it's a bit over-powered as I had some algae issues for several months at the start. And I had to buy a separate controller to set both timing and intensity of light levels (never above 80%).

And then in my 3.5g nano, I have an ONF Flat Nano+ (also LED), which is really pricey but very, very nice and comes with a iOS app that I used to set up the light schedude and intensity (never above 65%). Despite the outrageous price, the ONF is very sweet. The ease of programming the light periods and intensity is just too cool. EDIT TO ADD: Just noticed in the last day that the Red Root Floaters in this nano tank are now *blooming*! Teeny, tiny flowers, but so awesome.

But, I do think the ease of the old way was that you could more or less calculate watts per gallon. Now, it's way more variable since LEDs are such a new technology and so non-standardized in their output levels. Unless one does real PAR measurements or manufacturers start giving real PAR figures for different depths, we are left to a lot more guesswork.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Attached is information on the LED lighting that I use for my 8 tanks.

The 24" LED lights for a 20 gal long are about $35. I don't do programming.


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## GadgetGirl (Sep 25, 2013)

I use the Finnex Stingray (the 1st gen, not the Stingray 2). It's advertised for low light.

Anybody else use this light? What are your thoughts?


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## jrIL (Apr 23, 2005)

GadgetGirl said:


> I use the Finnex Stingray (the 1st gen, not the Stingray 2). It's advertised for low light.
> 
> Anybody else use this light? What are your thoughts?


I use it on a 20 long. It grows plenty of crypts, anubias, buc and two swords directly under it. Been using it for three years or so.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I use the Finnex Plant+ on my 29 and it seems to be adequate for moderate (lower end of moderate) light. Can grow a few stems, swords, crypts...anything that doesn’t require “high light”. 
Have the Finnex stingray clip-on on a 5.5 gal, and it seems to be low-moderate (can grow crypts, but stem plants struggle).


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## Bwooster (Apr 4, 2018)

An interesting cheap option that I first heard from the youtuber MD fishtanks, and have tried with some success is using 6500 kelvin LED floodlights!

Otherwise I also use a cheap aquarium LED brand sold on amazon called Nicrew. They also work well in my experience. 

Enviado desde mi CLT-L29 mediante Tapatalk


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

If you're a good DIYer, you can make your own LED lights using LED light strips. The newer efficient LEDs are coming out of China and takes a month to get to the States.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

mistergreen said:


> If you're a good DIYer, you can make your own LED lights using LED light strips. The newer efficient LEDs are coming out of China and takes a month to get to the States.


Making your own LED light from the strips of LEDs is lots of fun and not too difficult. See: https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com...1917-diy-led-light-coralife-biocube-32-a.html


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

1 Finnex Planted+ over a 75g, 2 Finnex Stingrays over a 40b, 1 Finnex Stingray over a 20l. All of these are the "old fashioned" non-programmable versions. Over all the other tanks I have VERY old fashioned incandescent fixtures with spiral compact fluorescents or screw-in LEDs from the hardware store. Eventually I will replace all of those with LED fixtures.

It is almost impossible to compare different brands of LEDs without a PAR meter. I'd love to hear how other brands compare to my Finnex fixtures.


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## ElNaturalPurist (Feb 11, 2021)

OMG, none of these responses make any sense to me!! lmao!


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## GadgetGirl (Sep 25, 2013)

What don't you understand? People have suggested:

1. Finnex Stingray
2. Finnex Planted + (may be a bit strong, may have to raise)
3. Beamwoks
4. Feit 
(GLP24FS/12W/LED)
5. D.I.Y. (wouldn't recommend unless you like that sort of thing)

The hardest part of LEDs is understanding that there is no real way of measuring output except by PAR which requires an expensive PAR meter which most of us don't have. (PAR stands for photosynthetic active radiation.) Very few manufacturers list PAR in their product description.There are no easy measurements like watts. You just have to go on recommendations, reviews, and product info.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

GadgetGirl said:


> What don't you understand? People have suggested:
> 
> 1. Finnex Stingray
> 2. Finnex Planted + (may be a bit strong, may have to raise)
> ...


We don't need to know the "PAR" for our lights with much accuracy. We do need to know if it is 10, 30, 60, etc. PAR. So, we can use a cheap lux meter to measure the PAR. For example you can get the Lux Meter shown in the attached pic, and use in to measure the intensity, in lux, of the light you want to use, in the air, with the meter sensor the same distance from the light as the substrate is. Then divide it by about 60 and you have a good rough estimate of the PAR reading. (Just don't try to put the sensor in water.) From Google: "How do you convert Lux to Ppfd?
Multiply the PPFD by the conversion factor to get Lux. For example, full sunlight is 2000 µmol m-2 s-1 or 108,000 Lux (2000 ∗ 54). Multiply the Lux by the conversion factor to get PPFD. For example, full sunlight is 108,000 Lux or 2000 µmol m-2 s-1 (108,000 ∗ 0.0185)".

Yes, the water can reduce the light intensity, but that is more than offset by the reflected light from the front and back glass, if it is clean. I have seen the light intensity double with a really clean class! The glass is rarely that clean though.

I still have one of those lux meters which I used to convert to crude PAR meters.


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## Dude (Nov 14, 2018)

I second the Beamswork brand. Specifically the DA FSPEC models, as they're brighter and supposed to be full spectrum.


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## jercarr2018 (Jan 17, 2018)

2 NilocG 16" Freshwater Prizms over a 40b








16" SB Freshwater light over a 16g waterbox 









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

I use a combination of strip and submersible LEDs I bought from eBay, all cheap and made in China. They are not big name brands but reliable and effective. I have limited real estate to fit lights on the glass lid and the submersible are handy as I can tie them on the front and side rims inside my tank


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Submersible lights, that's pretty cool!


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## seadreamer90 (Jan 19, 2011)

I use this (pic below) on my tall jar, and I'm really pleased with it. It's not available now, but I'm sure you can find something comparable. It was $18. The last time I bought aquarium lighting LED stuff wasn't an option. The only reason I got this is it was the only thing that would safely clip onto my tall narrow jar.

On my other bowl (doing great) and the 6-gallon aquarium (nothing but problems) I use regular desk lighting and clip-on lighting with whatever bulbs I had. In other words, not daylight or full spectrum, just plain bulbs. I love the industrial look of the clip-ons.


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## terazfish (Dec 30, 2020)

I use a NICREWClassicLED that is 6 watts and 400 lumens.

My tank has pearl weed, bacopa caroliniana, some crypts, and dwarf hairgrass.

I am unsure if the NICREW is enough light (tank is only 2 weeks old). I am getting some growth but it is nothing as rapid as I've seen from others' tanks with pearl weed.


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