Question of the Day What type of lighting do you have and why?

[Monk]

Still using two 72" BML on the 125G

 

[DTWGulo]

Still using two 72" BML on the 125G View attachment 1108

My #2 choice for lights, really wish they were still around. I gave my 2 72" inch lights to a friend locally when I bought the Orpheks.

 

[BrooklynTankster]

I am using the Fluval Plant 3.0 on my 37g and the ONF Flat Nano on my 7g cube. I was going to upgrade the Fluval to a Chihiros for my new 55g build but I am pretty happy with how it works so I will save some money and will keep it for a little longer.

 

[GreggZ]

Still using two 72" BML on the 125G View attachment 1108

These have a cult following now. I never had them but everyone who did said they were the best FW LED ever made.

 

[Monk]

My #2 choice for lights, really wish they were still around. I gave my 2 72" inch lights to a friend locally when I bought the Orpheks.

What a lucky friend!

 

[Art]

These have a cult following now. I never had them but everyone who did said they were the best FW LED ever made.

I'm one of those in the cult. After I interviewed Cara Wilde from BML, I went out and purchased one for my nano at the time.

The LEDs, enclosure and spectrum were fantastic. They were behind the times with their control system. It was antiquated even back then. But it was a small price to pay for the quality of light and the price.

I hope they decide to re-enter the market some day.

 

[*Ci*]

Nobody seems to use Current Satellite fixtures - are they held in poor regard? I bought a Plus Pro years ago for a desert terrarium, and when I set up my first planted tank in 2020, I decided to use that light along with the stock t5ho fixture that came with the tank. I found that I liked the colour adjustability on the led’s so much that I bought a second Plus Pro, so that both the front and back of the tank had good coverage, and turned off the t5ho.

When I added the second planted tank, I just went ahead and bought two more Plus Pros, as I like them, am familiar with their capabilities, and they are easy to source in Canada (Amazon).

Are they too expensive for what their output is, or something? Curious why nobody likes them … ?

 

[DTWGulo]

Has anyone tried the new Aqua Illumination Blade lights?
Think I'm going to order one for a new build, so I'll report here on what I think about them.

 

[Jellopuddinpop]

I'm using 3x Chihiros Vivid II

 

[plantnoobdude]

I'm using 3x Chihiros Vivid II

View attachment 1704

Chihiros here too. WRGB2 running 100% for 10 hours

 

[Jellopuddinpop]

Chihiros here too. WRGB2 running 100% for 10 hours

That's crazy! Have you measured the PAR with the lights at 100%? Mine are like 30-40% and measure around 80 PAR at the substrate. I can't imagine that the WRGB2 and Vivid II are that different.

 

[Ed Wiser]

I love controllable LED’s. The problem for the freshwater hobby is that people don’t want to invest in their equipment the same way Marine hobbyist’s do. So manufacturers in the freshwater space don’t offer programmable LED’s.

 

[plantnoobdude]

That's crazy! Have you measured the PAR with the lights at 100%? Mine are like 30-40% and measure around 80 PAR at the substrate. I can't imagine that the WRGB2 and Vivid II are that different.

Nope, don't have par meter unfortunately. How deep is your tank? Mine is about 14 inches deep.

 

[anewbie]

I have used
wrgb-2 - super bright; weak blue tooth module; never liked the spectrum no matter how i adjust it - visually with eyes it is not bad; but all my photos are too blue.
plant-3 - love the ip67; pretty bright if not injecting co2 - great app and warrranty - while not awful it is really is a bit yellow visually
onf (warm model) - not bad - nice app - kind of limited in adjustments - very limited form factor- fix length with no extending legs - it does fit on 40B.
blade freshwater - i'll probably test par this weekend but on the surface i like it a lot better than the above mentioned lights. It has some flaws such as not ip67 and sits on the tank unless you diy - seems very neutral visually and in pictures.
-
I'll be getting a couple of ghl 7006/7004 in a couple of months and hope they work well. They are kind of pricey so i'm not sure if they will offer much over the blade other than ip67.
-
I've not tried the twinstar (I think the newest model allows configuration but you used to have to pay extra for those features and i found that scummy at their price point).
kessel - something as twinstar (again i think they have a new model that address that point)
I've not tried the new wrgb-2 pro - this probably would fix my balance complaint but i don't think it is cost effective with the new blade.
plant 3.0 really set the bar at ip67 and 3 year warranty - something all these expensive models lack.
-
I'll be honest i'm pretty happy with how the plants do with the plant 3.0 in my low-tech tanks but wish they would update it with more balance set of led - on hi-tech it kind of lack the punch that the stronger lights provide. Even my wrgb2 struggle on my 40 (of course finding a proper balance that won't zap some plants while providing needed light for other plants is in itself a challenge since i just randomly toss in different species )

 

[Immortal1]

I have used
wrgb-2 - super bright; weak blue tooth module; never liked the spectrum no matter how i adjust it - visually with eyes it is not bad; but all my photos are too blue.
plant-3 - love the ip67; pretty bright if not injecting co2 - great app and warrranty - while not awful it is really is a bit yellow visually
onf (warm model) - not bad - nice app - kind of limited in adjustments - very limited form factor- fix length with no extending legs - it does fit on 40B.
blade freshwater - i'll probably test par this weekend but on the surface i like it a lot better than the above mentioned lights. It has some flaws such as not ip67 and sits on the tank unless you diy - seems very neutral visually and in pictures.
-
I'll be getting a couple of ghl 7006/7004 in a couple of months and hope they work well. They are kind of pricey so i'm not sure if they will offer much over the blade other than ip67.
-
I've not tried the twinstar (I think the newest model allows configuration but you used to have to pay extra for those features and i found that scummy at their price point).
kessel - something as twinstar (again i think they have a new model that address that point)
I've not tried the new wrgb-2 pro - this probably would fix my balance complaint but i don't think it is cost effective with the new blade.
plant 3.0 really set the bar at ip67 and 3 year warranty - something all these expensive models lack.
-
I'll be honest i'm pretty happy with how the plants do with the plant 3.0 in my low-tech tanks but wish they would update it with more balance set of led - on hi-tech it kind of lack the punch that the stronger lights provide. Even my wrgb2 struggle on my 40 (of course finding a proper balance that won't zap some plants while providing needed light for other plants is in itself a challenge since i just randomly toss in different species )

Will be interested to hear your thoughts on the GHL 7006/7004 lights. I have the g4 EcoTech Radion XR15 lights and am very happy with the power output, color, and software.

 

[anewbie]

Will be interested to hear your thoughts on the GHL 7006/7004 lights. I have the g4 EcoTech Radion XR15 lights and am very happy with the power output, color, and software.

Remind me in august

 

[DTWGulo]

I ordered an AquaIllumination blade this week for a new non-planted build, but I can compare to my other lights and see how it looks. I'll post some info and photos once I get it.

 

[Art]

I ordered an AquaIllumination blade this week for a new non-planted build, but I can compare to my other lights and see how it looks. I'll post some info and photos once I get it.

Thanks. please do.

 

[anewbie]

I measured the par of the blade on my 29 (30 inch unit) this morning; at the very top just under the light it was 500; at the bottom of the 29 which was approx 15 inches (2 inches for substrate and 1 inch for the sensor) it was at 60; this is with the light set to 65%; so if the ramp up is linear at 100% we would presume the par would be around 90 at the bottom of the 29.

 

[klibs]

BML gang here. Hope they never die