Finnex FugeRay or Ray2?

[Jcp12211]

Just a little info on the tank I am setting up first....It is a 55gal hex tank. The height of the tank is 29in. I am looking for a low-med light tank that does not require co2. For substrate I plan to use 100% clay kitty litter, azomite, osmocoat, mgocpm, (possibly some dolomite and latrite) with a cap of pool sand. So here is my question...because my tank is 29 inches high, would I need the Ray2 to penetrate that depth and give me low-med light? or will I still need co2 with that much light? There is only a $15 difference on amazon so I figured why not go for the Ray2 but not if I am going to need co2 and get overrun with algae.

 

[Brookster123]

Look at a Kessel, ray 2 though of not. An exotic e series would be my best recommendation atm

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[Jcp12211]

Great, Thanks!

 

[Jcp12211]

Brookster (or anyone willing to help me lol) what about the finnex planted plus?...can you tell me the difference between that and the ray2? I read the ray 2 has "Daylight: 7000k Dual LED Strips" and the planted+ has "TRUE 660nm intensive photosynthesis RED LEDs(88) 7000k + (48) 660nm RED + (8) Blue Moonlights 17.8 Total Watts." but that doesn't mean a whole lot to me! haha Would the planted + also be a good option for my needs? Thank you, as usual, for all your help.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'd go with the planted+ over the Ray 2. It has a more appealing warm color and the reds will help colors look more vibrant. Plus the built in moonlight is cool. But if your budget can swing it, I'd also go with the Ecoxotic E-Series. It's dimmable so you'd be able to fine tune it in case algae appears. Plus the color control, FX, and built in ramp timer are neat!

 

[Fishperson]

I agree. The height of this tank makes it very hard to light and I'm honestly not sure if a planted+ will suffice. An E series would be a great option.

Keep in mind that the spread of the P+ is really bad so if this tank is very wide you might be better off running a dual setup with something else.

 

[Jcp12211]

Ok, thanks, guys. I checked out the e-series and that's an option to upgrade to next year but I shouldn't really be spending more than $100 at the moment. The tank is only 24 inches wide so I am guessing the spread won't be too much of an issue, right? There were a few medium light plants I was interested in like downoi, giant hairgrass, dwarf sag, and rotala wallichii....should I stay away from them with the planted+?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

If you're going to upgrade anyways, if you want to save money, look into t5ho options. Although, a Finnex would have a better resale value.

 

[Jcp12211]

I'm sorry to ask so many questions! But I have one more...Is the output similar with the finnex and t5ho? The t5ho I looked at for aquariums (in my $$ range) comes with 2 bulbs or I could get a regular t5ho with 4 bulbs.

 

[Jcp12211]

Actually, I just remembered my birthday is in less than 2 weeks....maybe I will make everyone else buy me the ecoxotic....hmmm soo many decisions haha

 

[Fishperson]

Yeah that might be a good idea.

I'd think that in this tall of a tank you would want one with good spread and power, so 4 bulbs would be good. Then again, I've never used fluorescent bulbs for planted tanks so I'm not really the one to tell you.

The ecoxotic might be best for you.

Brian does it have a choice of beam angles?

 

[Brookster123]

Get the exotic! Can't go wrong there

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[Jcp12211]

I bought this tank 5 or 6 years ago before I was into planted tanks, otherwise this would not be my tank of choice right now! I might just go with the ecoxotic and then just post pone setting up my 75gal for a while so I can do this one right from the start. According to the website, at 30in the ecoxotic is still only a 30 par, so even though I only know the basics of par, I imagine the other lights would be considerably lower. My tank is 29in and with 2-3in of substrate maybe I can get some lower medium light plants....Look for my journal in about 3 weeks so you guys can help me with that remote lol

Alex, I just checked the site and I didn't see that it said anything about beam angles in the specs.

 

[eddyk]

Brookster (or anyone willing to help me lol) what about the finnex planted plus?...can you tell me the difference between that and the ray2? I read the ray 2 has "Daylight: 7000k Dual LED Strips" and the planted+ has "TRUE 660nm intensive photosynthesis RED LEDs(88) 7000k + (48) 660nm RED + (8) Blue Moonlights 17.8 Total Watts." but that doesn't mean a whole lot to me! haha Would the planted + also be a good option for my needs? Thank you, as usual, for all your help.

I have 2 36" planted + They are affordable ( relatively ) and rock ! I highly recommend them. I use them in my planted 125g planted community and the tank is going nuts with growth and ferts!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

The E-Series has 120° optics with 60° reflectors, basically engineered a collimator on the fixture itself to control spillage and direct the beam better..

But if you need more focused beam for penetration, you can go with BML (buildmyLED.com).

 

[Jcp12211]

Eddy, While buying the 2 planted + will still save me about $40 than buying 1 ecoxotic. I think If I am already going over my original budget I would want all the bells and whistles of the ecoxotic. It seems I am very limited with the height of this darn tank...

Brian, I have looked at the BML's but I was under the impression you had to buy everything separately and that is way over budget while I am still in school. It could be that the light comes with everything and those were just replacement parts but I didn't think so.

 

[Brookster123]

If you're going to double up on finnex do a ray 2 and a planted plus..

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[Jcp12211]

Brookster, now you are giving me too many options! lol What would you do? Would you double up or just go for the ecoxotic?

 

[Brookster123]

If it were my tank?? If money was budgeted I'd do the ray2 and planted plus, next up would be the eseries that could always be doubled up later, end all would be a bml, Kessel is alway an option to, they're great for tall hex tanks, just pricey..

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[Fishperson]

I'd just double the P+ but thats probably because I'm OCD and one Ray two and one P+ would very simply not suffice.

Yes you are very limited with such a tall tank. If you decide on a Planted+ (or really any Finnex) remember that they have poor spread. At 12" deep a P+ gets ~90 PAR, 6 inches to the right is a third of that.

Huge difference.