Need help picking the right lighting

[RobbieRobV]

I am in the market for some lighting for my 125g tank. It is the standard 6' long tank and I just want to make sure I get a light that would penetrate the depth of the tank. I would like to stay away from the blue toned lights as I prefer a more natural colored light around the 6500k range. Currently I am between two lighting setups and I would like the input from you guys to nudge me one way or the other. The two lights I am deciding between are the:

T5 Quad 72 Timer 6500K LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Discus 4x 80W Odyssea
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291798354946

Beamswork DA FSPEC LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Full Spectrum
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291863326976?var=590866718434

I am leaning toward the beamswork because of the great reviews and the fact that it is a ton less wattage but it is just 8k lumens. The Odyssea seems great but the reviews aren't great, it is 320w, runs a lot hotter but it is 23k lumens. I also like the way the LEDs make the discus' colors pop but I'm not sure if the T5 will have the same effect with the color spectrum it emits.

Just want some input from you guys and if anyone has either of these or both and wants to chime in, that would be amazing.
Thanks!
Rob

[Ryan925]

I am in the market for some lighting for my 125g tank. It is the standard 6' long tank and I just want to make sure I get a light that would penetrate the depth of the tank. I would like to stay away from the blue toned lights as I prefer a more natural colored light around the 6500k range. Currently I am between two lighting setups and I would like the input from you guys to nudge me one way or the other. The two lights I am deciding between are the:

T5 Quad 72 Timer 6500K LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Discus 4x 80W Odyssea
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291798354946

Beamswork DA FSPEC LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Full Spectrum
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291863326976?var=590866718434

I am leaning toward the beamswork because of the great reviews and the fact that it is a ton less wattage but it is just 8k lumens. The Odyssea seems great but the reviews aren't great, it is 320w, runs a lot hotter but it is 23k lumens. I also like the way the LEDs make the discus' colors pop but I'm not sure if the T5 will have the same effect with the color spectrum it emits.

Just want some input from you guys and if anyone has either of these or both and wants to chime in, that would be amazing.
Thanks!
Rob

Also check out the current USA satellite pro plus. I love the light and lots of customization

[RobbieRobV]

Also check out the current USA satellite pro plus. I love the light and lots of customization

will do!

[RobbieRobV]

Hey Ryan,
Just finished researching the USA Satellite Pro. I do see that it is very customizable and has a ton of cool features but it is totally out of my price range. I would prefer to keep the investment under $160 and if I were to purchase 2 of these at 36", I would be closer to the $500 range. Would love to win it in a raffle, hahaha, but coming out of my pocket would not be possible at this point in time.

[Ryan925]

Hey Ryan,
Just finished researching the USA Satellite Pro. I do see that it is very customizable and has a ton of cool features but it is totally out of my price range. I would prefer to keep the investment under $160 and if I were to purchase 2 of these at 36", I would be closer to the $500 range. Would love to win it in a raffle, hahaha, but coming out of my pocket would not be possible at this point in time.

Ahh right forgot about the 6' length

[RobbieRobV]

Ahh right forgot about the 6' length

It's cool Ryan... Thanks for the suggestion tho!

[Ryan925]

It's cool Ryan... Thanks for the suggestion tho!

I believe Neptune uses a beamsworks hopefully he will chime in with his thoughts

[JBurgo]

I just want to point something out about good lighting, that I wish I knew before I got cheap LED lighting. Here is an extract from an article that I got reading about UV sterilization. UV sterilization does more than kill microbes. According to this information, it can change the chemistry of your water making some essential elements more readily absorbed by the fish. Good quality lighting can do a similar thing. Lights aren't lights; they're not just for you to view your fish. I mean, who knows how much of this stuff is hype to sell products, but it's interesting to take it into account. Reefers use good quality lighting, reptile enclosures need specific lighting, and we just buy the cheapest LEDs? No judgement here, I just want to try to open up the question.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Redox_Potential.html

Good Lighting, Although not as common a problem for most marine aquarists, especially reef keepers as these aquarists usually have (& know the benefits) of good lighting, in freshwater aquariums this is often a contributing factor to a poor Redox (and to other problems as well).

The reasons are admittedly not completely clear, however from my observations, tests and research, I believe correct lighting plays a role similar to UV Sterilization as explained above, when lighting with poor PAR qualities which are generally found in lights with approximately 6500 Kelvin temperatures.
My suspicions are that although PAR has been scientifically established to be important for plants, it may also play an important role for fish as well (both in electromagnetism of the water and similar to how humans derive the benefit of vitamin D production from sunlight).

As noted earlier, the red spectrum has also been recently proven to aid in Redox Reduction and healing of wounds, so this is another reason to maintain good lighting, not just for your reef inhabitants or planted freshwater aquariums but for your guppies, goldfish, etc.!!

It is also noteworthy that in tests using a Redox meter, we found that full spectrum aquarium lighting lowered Redox, acting like a reducer (similar to how a UV Sterilizer acts on Redox)

[Mattgoanna]

The problem I have with LEDs is that you can't replace anything and (based on my own experience over a few years) they just don't last. You can replace parts and tubes on T8 and T5 systems. They are great for marine tanks because you don't need expensive halides or mercury vapour, but on freshwater I will be going back to fluorescent as I replace my lights.

[RobbieRobV]

I just want to point something out about good lighting, that I wish I knew before I got cheap LED lighting. Here is an extract from an article that I got reading about UV sterilization. UV sterilization does more than kill microbes. According to this information, it can change the chemistry of your water making some essential elements more readily absorbed by the fish. Good quality lighting can do a similar thing. Lights aren't lights; they're not just for you to view your fish. I mean, who knows how much of this stuff is hype to sell products, but it's interesting to take it into account. Reefers use good quality lighting, reptile enclosures need specific lighting, and we just buy the cheapest LEDs? No judgement here, I just want to try to open up the question.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Redox_Potential.html

Good Lighting, Although not as common a problem for most marine aquarists, especially reef keepers as these aquarists usually have (& know the benefits) of good lighting, in freshwater aquariums this is often a contributing factor to a poor Redox (and to other problems as well).

The reasons are admittedly not completely clear, however from my observations, tests and research, I believe correct lighting plays a role similar to UV Sterilization as explained above, when lighting with poor PAR qualities which are generally found in lights with approximately 6500 Kelvin temperatures.
My suspicions are that although PAR has been scientifically established to be important for plants, it may also play an important role for fish as well (both in electromagnetism of the water and similar to how humans derive the benefit of vitamin D production from sunlight).

As noted earlier, the red spectrum has also been recently proven to aid in Redox Reduction and healing of wounds, so this is another reason to maintain good lighting, not just for your reef inhabitants or planted freshwater aquariums but for your guppies, goldfish, etc.!!

It is also noteworthy that in tests using a Redox meter, we found that full spectrum aquarium lighting lowered Redox, acting like a reducer (similar to how a UV Sterilizer acts on Redox)

Interesting read.. but I am hesitant to believe too much about the effect it would have on my water as I am changing almost all of it daily. I could see how they would benefit from light just like many other living things that naturally live in direct sunlight, but I'm not about to go drop more than $160 or so bucks on a high lumen setup at the moment. Would just like to have some opinions on which of these two someone in my shoes with more experience might go with.

[RobbieRobV]

The problem I have with LEDs is that you can't replace anything and (based on my own experience over a few years) they just don't last. You can replace parts and tubes on T8 and T5 systems. They are great for marine tanks because you don't need expensive halides or mercury vapour, but on freshwater I will be going back to fluorescent as I replace my lights.

Yes, I thought about the fact that the LED's could go out and it will leave me with a couple of burnt out diodes. But what would be cheaper in the long run... buying 4xT5's every so often and the electrical costs of running a 320w setup.. or a low wattage LED lighting system that I would have to replace every 18-24 months because of burnt diodes? This strongly leans towards the LED setup even if I have to buy one every 2 years.

[JBurgo]

Yes, I thought about the fact that the LED's could go out and it will leave me with a couple of burnt out diodes. But what would be cheaper in the long run... buying 4xT5's every so often and the electrical costs of running a 320w setup.. or a low wattage LED lighting system that I would have to replace every 18-24 months because of burnt diodes? This strongly leans towards the LED setup even if I have to buy one every 2 years.
Tell you another story.. I have a few tanks, and recently (about 18 months ago) I replaced all the old fluorescent lighting with LEDs. I went down to the LFS and got what they had in stock, I like to support local businesses wherever possible. I bought 5x 4" and 1x 3" lights at $150 each. AquaSyncro LED. I've had to take back 5 out of the 6 units! 3 switches, 1 row of LEDs went dark, and 1 transformer packed it in. In all cases that involved switches and transformers, when they went they got very hot. I don't run the lights when I'm not home, but I'm still concerned about them in the back of my mind. Sounds like others have had more success than me with cheap lighting though.

[jim LI]

Have you checked these out yet? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H3Y4YLW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Mattgoanna]

They tend to overheat after a while and become dangerous versus a few lights going out. One option is to use the T8 units with replaceable LED tubes. I am using these now on two tanks and find them better than LED units.

[Neptune]

I do have a Beamswork over my planted tank. I use it to supplement a Finnex Stingray.
It's OK, it is a tad on the yellow side for me. The one I have is very basic, all white leds and the only customization is to turn half the leds on or off.
But in terms of quality it has held up well for two years straight.

Take a look at the Finnex Vivid and the Monster RGB lights. I don't have any personal experience but I'm intrigued.

[Clawhammer]

The water is pretty murky in the Amazon and tributaries in which discus are native, so I am dubious on the need for an expensive light fixture for discus health. Unless, you have a planted tank, I think you guys are overdoing it. Discus do not love bright light.

This is what I use. Can can adjust the color temperature and has some interesting presets. The only thing it is lacking that I wish it had is a ramp up timer.
https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Aquasky-Led-Rgb-36in-48in/dp/B013U25DE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489027809&sr=8-1&keywords=fluval+led+aquarium+light

[JBurgo]

The water is pretty murky in the Amazon and tributaries in which discus are native, so I am dubious on the need for an expensive light fixture for discus health. Unless, you have a planted tank, I think you guys are overdoing it. Discus do not love bright light.

This is what I use. Can can adjust the color temperature and has some interesting presets. The only thing it is lacking that I wish it had is a ramp up timer.
https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Aquasky-Led-Rgb-36in-48in/dp/B013U25DE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489027809&sr=8-1&keywords=fluval+led+aquarium+light
Ramp up and, more so down, would be awesome! In my opinion with Discus, a deal breaker on lighting. My cheap lights don't have that.

Have a read of that article about Redox, it's pretty interesting. You'll see that it's not the brightness of the light, as much as the wavelengths that are important, and they can help with the `actual water chemistry`, which is unseen. Of course, they can help with photosynthesis as well if you have a few plants, you don't need a heavily planted tank to have that in mind. I'm not trying to argue or anything, the OP clearly wants bang for the buck. But it's interesting to consider, and I didn't have anyone bringing up these things when I chose lighting, which I would have appreciated in hindsight.