# Fluval Fresh and Plant 2.0 First Impressions



## Vociferus (Aug 10, 2016)

Hi Everyone.

I'm sure lots of us have looked at online reviews for lights when thinking of purchasing, and even YouTube reviews. I recently picked up a Fluval Fresh and Plant 2.0 48" model for my 75 gallon tank, which originally came with a 36" LED (with extension legs) from Marineland.

I've recently added some plants to my South American tank, and the original light was not cutting it anymore. After doing some research, I decided to try out the Fluval light.

Let me start by saying that YouTube video reviews of aquarium lighting are almost always terrible, because no one locks their cameras to the same exposure, so when a dim vs bright light is used, they almost always look almost identical on camera. I would say Aquarium Coop's light reviews are the best because he actually uses a PAR meter, but it's hard to picture in your head what a light with 60 PAR vs 130 PAR will look like.

I chose the Fluval because:
a. It's one of the brightest lights out there in terms of PAR.
b. It has a 120° spread, so it should be able to light my whole 75 gallon tank well.
c. It's waterproof.
d. It's dimmable.

The Fluval does have some disadvantages though:
a. It's very expensive (especially in Canada).
b. There's no built-in timer functionality.
c. Out of the box, you only get white and blue (night) lighting.
d. If you want to add any timer functionality with light ramping, you have to buy the (ridiculously expensive) Fluval WiFi adapter.

I don't really care about sunrise/sunset or especially the gimmicky effects like thunderstorms, and I already use just a normal light timer, so the disadvantages weren't as big of an issue for me. I would have still preferred the light had a timer built-in.

OK, the results. This light is INSANELY bright. I would easily estimate it at being ten times brighter than my Marineland 36" model. In only a couple of days, my plants already look a lot better. The build quality of the light is excellent, and the touch controls have been fine. Some people have had issues with the touch controls, but once you get the light set, you can just use a timer and never touch them again. Right now, I'm running it at 100% brightness, but I may dim it in the future slightly depending on how my plants are doing.

It easily covers my entire tank, including the corners. That can be an issue with some of the narrower beam LEDs, and Fluval has done a great job here. The full spectrum makes the fish look great as well.

Basically, don't be fooled by YouTube reviews of these lights, when they look similar to others. I would imagine some of the other higher end lights can keep up, but the Fresh and Plant 2.0 is far brighter than most LEDs I've seen. You can dim it easily, if needed, but if you need some extra PAR for your plants, wow. It's not a perfect light, and it's more expensive than most others, but it is very impressive. If you are thinking about one, you likely won't regret it. The add-on WiFi module does fix some of the disadvantages, but it costs as much as some other lights, so it's far from a perfect aquarium LED system, but if you just need PAR and can do the timer on your own, it's fantastic.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for the review!! If you can, I also suggest posting it in the Product Reviews section as it will help other members who check for reviews of products and won't get lost in the regular forums.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

I have Fluval LEDs on all my tanks and they have been great. I also run mine on a normal timer instead of the wifi controller.


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## Vociferus (Aug 10, 2016)

Deeda said:


> Thanks for the review!! If you can, I also suggest posting it in the Product Reviews section as it will help other members who check for reviews of products and won't get lost in the regular forums.


I'd be happy to but I don't see a way to post it there...


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

This product was not listed in the Product Reviews so I just added it though it will take a few days (hopefully) for it to show up.


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## Vociferus (Aug 10, 2016)

Great thanks!


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