Freshwater Plated Light ideas?

[matttimms49]

Hey everyone, I had great feedback and ideas from my substrate topic and now I ask for light recommendations for a 40 gallon breeder.

it's 36" across and 16" deep. I'm not sure what plants I want in it at the moment but I would like to try a carpeting plant in one area of the scape. I would also like to keep my options open in terms of trying out different plants apart from the easy ones. (java fern, Anubis etc)

I'm not using Co2 and I'm going to be using a mix of Fluval stratum and Tropica for the planted areas of the scape.

So please hit me up with your experiences/opinions on lights. I'm looking at LED and would preferably I would like to keep it under $200.

Thanks everyone, looking forward to your responses.

Cheers

[Gilbotron]

If you go with a fixture that provides "high" light, you'll want to make sure it has a dimmer or a dimmer can be added.  Without running CO2, if you blast high light you'll end up with crazy algae and not so nice plants (pin holes, tearing, weak stems, etc.).  The light will push the plants to grow, but without a carbon source they will try to grow more than they should and algae will be able to bloom...  With a dimmer you can run at reduced power and then crank it later if you add CO2.

The Current USA Pro Plus has treated me well, but without CO2 I can only run it at ~50%.  You can adjust RGBW intensity independently so great if you want that perfect colour for your fish. Built in ramp up/down timer is nice, but the other features like thunderstorm effect are novel but pointless.  Great customer support - they sent me a brand new 48" fixture for mine that failed that was over a year old and I didn't have a receipt for.  Not sure if this is a good fixture for a CO2 setup - will find out soon though.

I've just started using Chihiros LED lights. Excellent price but they are just bright white LEDs - full blast they make my cardinals look pink. Comes with a simple dimmer (5 settings).  I haven't enough experience with mine to say how good it is but my frogbit, rotala and pearlweed have taken off since I added it.

[Kalemh]

I have used the fluval fresh and planted 2.0 and I have been able to grow almost any plant I want in my 40 breeder I purchased the 24 inch fixture and it works fine for most part and grows most plants but corners I have to keep more medium light plants. I bought the light for 210$ but if you want a little lower light version that is a bit less intense I have heard good things about the fluval aquasky .

[matttimms49]

I'm very tempted with the Chihiros LED as I have heard good things for the price. I've also heard good things with the Fluval fresh and planted also though. The fluval does comes with a 3 year warranty as well which is pretty awesome.

@Kalemh is there any chance of some pictures how it looks on your 40 breeder? would be great to get an idea of how well the light spreads.

Cheers,

[Kalemh]

I unfortunately do not as I am currently on vacation

[matttimms49]

Any other recommendations on LED lights?

[matttimms49]

Does anyone have experience with the Aquatic Life Edge LED lights? I was looking at getting one for my new set up but not sure if the light is high enough.

Here is a link to the specs:

https://www.aquaticlife.com/aquatic-life-edge-led-light-fixture.html

Cheers