# Switching from T5 to LED



## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Hey gang..

On my 48" Malawi tank, I've got 1 48" dual T5 and 2 24" dual T5 fixtures...I've currently got all colormax bulbs in there, since the daylight bulbs are too yellow for me

I REALLY want to switch to LED's because they are cheaper to run, don't get as hot, and some have different color combos.

3 questions...

1) What is everyone's favorite fish only LED right now?
2) Would 1 48" be enough? Or should I get 2 to cover the front and back?
3) Does anyone have side by side photos of their tank before/after going from T5 to LEDs?

I'm sure this has been discussed multiple times, but as products change so do people's opinions, like I like a fresh start.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Good question. I currently have a Beamworks Freshwater Bright that is several years old on my 150 gallon tank. This tank was unplanted because my Uaru eats everything green. I had some excess Java fern from another tank that I put in the 150, and for some reason he is leaving it alone.

The Beamworks Freshwater Bright isn't quite as bright as I would like, and certainly not bright enough to grow plants. I'm thinking of either adding another unit or replacing the current unit.

I've heard good things about Finnex and Current Satellite. A more expensive option is buildmyled.com

I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks.


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## Sparrow19 (May 31, 2013)

I use Beamsworks LED lights. I have a 210 gallon, 72x24x29. I use two 36" and they work perfect. Excellent light all the way to the bottom and the tank glows beautifully. It is a little dark in the upper back corner, but not by much. Besides a few of my fish like it to hide or just hang out.

This is what I got and a lot cheaper than what I paid too, HA. https://www.aquatraders.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=56366


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Current Satellite...going to start with 1 48", but I have a feeling I'll be getting a 2nd...which will be annoying if I have 2 remotes, I guess...


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

3rd on the Beamworks brand.


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## Sparrow19 (May 31, 2013)

I originally leaned towards the Satellite. The ability to adjust the lights color was appealing. The more I thought about it though, the more I figured I wouldn't mess with it once I got a good color. And I wouldn't use the "Lightning, clouds, etc" effects. So to save money I went with Beamswork, and I'm Very happy I did. At the price they are now I might buy another, just as a backup or something. ha

BTW, I've read and heard that even if you have 2 of the Satellite lights, you can still use 1 remote. Just have to make sure you have your sensors together. (That was another reason I decided not to get them, didn't want extra wires around with a sensor on them)


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Is Beamswork an old brand or something? I can't find a good website for them other than like Amazon or a third party site.


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

When I picked up my 48" 75G tank off CL, I ordered the 36" Sat+ right away, so I don't have any real before/after thoughts. I will say that the fixture is low profile, easy to move (it sits on top of the acrylic eurobracing) and does a great job of lighting the tank (48"Wx15"Dx24"H). No plants, but the tank is well lit. I find the dynamic "cloud settings" useful and I use them ALL the time. The gently changing light color is subtle, and gives a nice feel to the room at night. I hardly ever just put it on one color and leave it. I use the memory slots, mostly for low level light settings, as the moonlight setting is a bit too blue for my tastes. I find the remote to also be useful, as the light itself is under my canopy, and its just easier to pick up the remote off my desk and aim it at the tank. Purely luxury, really, and YMMV.

I also have some shorter Finnex Planted+ fixtures on two planted tanks out in my garage (a 30" light on a 29G, and a 20" over a 10G), and I like them as well for higher quality, crisp white light that is better for the plants, but much less flexibility in terms of color and display (just two sep switches, one for the red/white LED's, one for the blue moonlights, both on together give me the best results. The real downside to the Sat+ is the lack of integrated timers, and that you can't use their stand alone single or especially the "pro" ramp timer with the "dynamic cloud" modes because you'd be giving the LED controllers two separate sets of instructions and they don't much appreciate that, apparently. You CAN use the timer to bring on the light when it's set to a solid unchanging color though, so its usable, but with restrictions.

Lastly, I think EcoXotic is a sister company for current, and is offering a similar line with the integrated timer and (I think) higher quality/power LEDs that are significantly more expensive. IMO, the Sat+ is pretty strong bang for the buck, but you probably can't go wrong with any of the solid, proven LED options out there. Perhaps a larger LFS in the Denver area has several up and running over some tanks for you to check out? Best of luck.


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

hose, this may seem like a silly question, but how does the 36" light look on your 48" W tank?


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Not silly at all, and there are two perspectives I guess, in the tank and what the light looks like from external, since it's shorter than the overall length. I don't have a good "before" reference point since this is my first light, but looking at the tank currently, you couldn't tell that its a 36 inch light unless you physically open the canopy and look over the edge. Light diffuses equally across the full 48" of the tank, and to the naked eye, there doesn't appear to be any dark spots except where the rockpiles create shadows in the caves. I have never once thought "I wish the light was longer because the ends of the tank are dim".

I imagine that if the light was exposed (without a wood canopy enclosure), it might look funny to some. The extendable wire legs aren't totally unfashionable though, and I think it would look ok on top of a glass tank, with the legs resting on the plastic rim at either end. That look would probably be a personal preference issue.


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Yea I don't have a canopy, just glass lids, so it would probably drive me up the wall...hopefully I can find a full 48" at the store...for whatever reason, I hate buying stuff online...probably the 'Murican in me that wants stuff right away!


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## Sparrow19 (May 31, 2013)

I got mine from aquatraders.com They were very fast and like I linked, a good price for a great product.


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## LouIE82 (Nov 6, 2012)

I looked into Finnex for a few weeks and eventually went for it. Couldn't be happier. I was worried because my tank is awkwardly tall but the light works perfectly, it spreads out much better than florescents do. They're reasonably priced as well, this one was about $90 on Amazon, the 48'' ones are in the neighborhood of $130-160 depending which model you want. I like the slim design and overall coloring of the light. Some don't like the single plug/dual switch design since they can't use a timer for the blue lights to come on independently but I don't mind a bit, I normally switch it to blue lights at night.

By the way, mine showed up in 4 days flat. I also hate waiting for things and getting that bad feeling that maybe it will get stolen/misplaced along the way.

Before, 50/50 24" T8 bulb on 37 gallon tall tank

















After, Finnex 30" planted plus (104) 7000k + (56) 660nm RED + (8) Blue Moonlights


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## slb.76 (Jul 30, 2012)

I bought my Current USA Sattelite Freshwater LED+ a month ago, and all I can say that it's just simply AMAZING!!!!


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I just added a 48" Finnex planted tank LED to add to the 2 36" Beamworks LEDs on my 150 gallon tank. The Beamworks were the original Freshwater Bright models and weren't quite bright enough for my tastes. I'm very impressed with the build quality and light output of the Finnex model.


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Got my Satellite Plus last night.....yea, I love it...it's super bright, colors are great, remote is cool, and it's super slim...only downsides are the lightning features are pretty lame, and the remote sensor looks a little tacky...overall I'm loving it, and the fish seem to love it too...although when I switched on the 'blue' moonlight, they FLIPPED out, darting around the tank, chasing each other, then when I went back to full spectrum they quit...so strange.


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## Daffypuck (Feb 25, 2012)

I bought 2 36" Current USA Satellite LED's for my 125. IMO, they aren't enough. I ordered 2 more for a total of 4 on a 6' long 125 and its perfect! A tick bright, so I lowered the white light one or 2 settings on the front and it looks great. My only issue is, I also bought a ramp timer to control the lights. But Current only offers a 3 way splitter and not a 4 way model. I tried an after market 4 way which works fine until you hook up a 4th light. Then it just blinks and flashes. The lights are only 15w each and according to the manual the ramp timer can handle up to 84w. Does anyone have any idea why the 4 way splitter doesn't work? Also, why would Current only offer a 3 way or 2 way splitter. Now I have a ramp timer that serves no purpose. Another gripe I have is that the Current FAQ states that the single ramp timer can handle more than one light, but fails to mention that you need an additional splitter to do so. Its a bit ambiguous IMO. Performance wise, the lights work great, but Im a bit disappointed about the timer and the inability to run 4 strips for one tank.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

This has been an interesting topic to read since I will be purchasing a new LED fixture soon.

I have two beamswork hi lumen plant LED fixture and I do like them. THey are plenty bright for low to medium light plants and seem to have good build quality. The only thing I don't like about them is the way they reproduce the color of my mbunas. Red and definitely blues are muted since the light is 6500k.

If you are wanting a light that does a good job displaying colorful fish look at either the satellite+ or finnex monster ray.


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