Reply With QuoteKessil lights? They are top of the line and pretty expensive. You can hang them from the ceiling.
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Lighting
Hey everyone. So, next up for me is lighting research. I’ve seen a lot of different LEDs suggested here, such as the Finnex Vivid+ or Finnex Plant+, but many of these threads are 5 or more years old.
When I move my discus over to the big tank at 4”, I’m going to establish a lightly-planted tank, so I need a light that makes fish colors pop and feed plants as well. Also, and this is SUPER IMPORTANT…I’m looking for an LED with hanging kit. I don’t want to put the lights on the tank. I’m already setup for hanging. Not looking to go cheap. I want quality.
Edit: forgot to mention I want control-ability (timer, ramp up/down).
Any suggestions?
Last edited by Gremi16; 11-14-2022 at 12:41 AM.
Re: Lighting
Kessil lights? They are top of the line and pretty expensive. You can hang them from the ceiling.
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Kessil are definitely quality, but I’m looking more for a 48” one-piece LED. I’m not stranger to expensive lights…I have 2 Illumagic X4s hanging over my reef tank that I bought for $1200/piece. I’m gonna sell them and downgrade so I’ll have money to spend.Originally Posted by solasis
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Makes sense. Have you checked out current USA? It's what I use on my discus tank. You can buy their hanging kit: https://current-usa.com/products/led-hanging-kit. I don't have it setup that way with my tank, so I would definitely check if you need anything else to make it work. You can customize lighting power and it cycles through night and day timers. It also has some fun modes to play around with, like lightning storm, rainstorm, etc. My fish don't care but it's fun to watch. The serene pro bundle includes the backlighting and speakers in it as well.
Last edited by solasis; 11-14-2022 at 01:26 AM.
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Just checked out the Orbit Marine IC PRO Dual LED Light and that seems intriguing. Fully controllable with Bluetooth. An even hook up wave makers to it. I’m just wondering if you can fit the hanging kits on them. If so, I may be sold on them. I sent Current USA an email. Thanks for the suggestion.Makes sense. Have you checked out current USA? It's what I use on my discus tank. You can buy their hanging kit: https://current-usa.com/products/led-hanging-kit. I don't have it setup that way with my tank, so I would definitely check if you need anything else to make it work. You can customize lighting power and it cycles through night and day timers. It also has some fun modes to play around with, like lightning storm, rainstorm, etc. My fish don't care but it's fun to watch
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How deep is your tank? Are you looking for low light or high light plants?
At my age, everything is irritating.
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If looking to spend money all above will please you. If looking for a good led to grow plants and fully programable look into the hygger 957. I’ve got a 48” on my 125 for 2 yrs now and it works great. This year I put a 36”+a 30” on a 180 and they’ve been great. Lol if cheap prices scare you stay away.
My opinion on current usa lighting is they spend more money on the box the light comes in than the light.
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Tank is 18” deep. As for the plants, I’m not really sure about that yet. I just know that I’m not going to stuff the tank…just lightly planted. Maybe some small ones around driftwood and some tall ones to block the view of anything in the tank (ie., overflow, hoses). Do you have suggestions for both?
Re: Lighting
If you're just tying Anubias to driftwood, it's a low light requiring plant and almost any light is going to work. If you're going to plant Vallesneria, they'll grow up to the light. In both cases, you can just pick a light that show off the discus. But if you're looking at Rotala, Ludwigia or Alternathera species, these are going to require much more light. You should pick lamps with higher wattage for more illumination. Also, 18" is not a particularly deep tank so any strong light should work for you.
The point I'm trying to make is to select equipment based on the job that needs to be accomplished. Otherwise, mortgage your house to get a Kessil and don't worry about anything.
At my age, everything is irritating.
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Thanks. I'll keep searching. I know I said I not looking to go cheap, but that doesn't mean I want top of the line, take out a loan, LED light, lmao. I already have bought and paid-for great MARINE LEDs, but I didn't see a need for them now, since you don't need great LEDs over a discus tank. Although, I'm very curious to see how the tank and fish would look with them...it is 100% fully controllable on all color levels, intensity adjustment, has ramp up/down capability, and Bluetooth capability as well. Marine LEDs isn't really an issue for a freshwater tank, right?If you're just tying Anubias to driftwood, it's a low light requiring plant and almost any light is going to work. If you're going to plant Vallesneria, they'll grow up to the light. In both cases, you can just pick a light that show off the discus. But if you're looking at Rotala, Ludwigia or Alternathera species, these are going to require much more light. You should pick lamps with higher wattage for more illumination. Also, 18" is not a particularly deep tank so any strong light should work for you.
The point I'm trying to make is to select equipment based on the job that needs to be accomplished. Otherwise, mortgage your house to get a Kessil and don't worry about anything.
Last edited by Gremi16; 11-14-2022 at 11:57 PM.
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Marine LED's are very powerful lights designed for corals. You may already knows this but corals live in symbiosis with microscopic algae. The algae photosynthesize the sugars leak into the coral, so strong lights are needed for the algae.
In general, marine LED's are more than sufficient for aquatic plants. In fact, you may have to reduce the intensity or duration to control algae in a freshwater tank.
At my age, everything is irritating.
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I would think for blue discus, anything between 6400K to 10,000k would like nice. 6700k if you can find them. Plus the blue will penetrate deeper more so than red light;3500k - 4500k lets say. I do like some of those LED that make the water shimmer.
Last edited by bluelagoon; 11-15-2022 at 02:06 PM.
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The Finnex Stingray II really makes my discus pop. Color temperature is 7,000k. They're cheap, but the build is somewhat flimsy.
At my age, everything is irritating.
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Oh yeah, I knew that. And you just confirmed my thought…if I do keep these lights, I’m gonna have to turn the intensity way down. I’m still gonna keep looking, but I think what I said before about quality was misunderstood…I’m not looking to purposely spend a load of money. Obviously I want lights that work good, but I want them to look goo too. My current tank is setup to hang from a shelf above and I wanted to go the same route with the next set, but it’s not easy finding freshwater lights with hanging kits. I was looking at the Current USA freshwater model and to me, it looks cheaply-made. And some of the other “cheaper” brand models just look wide and clunky. The Current USA Orbit Bluetooth light setup is sweet, but you have to buy special brackets to make the hanging kits work.
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I like AI Prime Freshwater.
Easier to control. My tanks have floating water lettuce so I use higher intensity plant spectrum but you can lower the intensity and change the spectrum depending on what you are doing. Love the sunrise and sun set so no startling the fish. Made specifically for freshwater. And, less expensive than Kessil.
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