Question about lighting

[Pezzep]

I plan on getting a 75g for Christmas. I don't know a single thing about high output lights, I've been looking at the Finnex Ray II Ultra Slim LED DS - Dual 7000k the 48" says it's 39watts how many of these would I need to have high light? Since it's dual strips does this mean 39watts x2 or do both strips equate 39watts? Any other light systems that people have in mind would be great, I want to try LEDs this time around rather than fluorescent. If it takes say 2 units to have high light, would I be better off getting one build my led light fixture and just pick high light for the 270 dollars since it's like the same price for one as it is for the 2 finnex?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

The two strips in the Finnex Ray 2 equate to the listed wattage.

IMHO, I'd go with the BML fixture because it's full spectrum. It has chips (LED) that are specific to wavelengths on a spectral graph (i.e. 460nm / 640nm). The Ray 2 is nice and all but it's very blue spectrum heavy, really lacking in red. The light it emits washes out red hues, giving a stale color production. It does perform well on green plants though, if an all green tank (i.e. iwagumi) is what you're after. But if your goal is something along the lines of Dutch style (really colorful stem plants for instance), get the BML Dutch spectrum. The optional dimmer is a nice touch as well.

 

[Pezzep]

Thanks for the reply. When getting the build my LED do I need just one fixture or more than one?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

One 48" BML with 90° optics.

 

[Pezzep]

One 48" BML with 90° optics.

Perfect, thanks a lot Brian.