New Finnex Leds

[Ron]

I saw this on another forum and I thought I should share. I was about to purchase a Finnex fixture but I think I'll wait now.

http://www.theaquaticplantsociety.org/finnex-the-new-breed-is-coming/

[PistolPete]

Very cool

[blink]

Hmmm... This is a dilemma.

Do I wait for people to sell their used ray2s or get one of the new lights.

Thanks for the heads up.

[PistolPete]

This is just the start. We are going thru a lighting technological boom. I can only imagine how awesome the lights will be in ten years. As soon as marijuana growing became so main stream in some places. Lighting took off. With the current boom in the states I can only imagine the trickle down that will reach all diodes. Plus there's even better technology on the way....

[Ron]

Hmmm... This is a dilemma.

Do I wait for people to sell their used ray2s or get one of the new lights.

Thanks for the heads up.

I'm waiting for the new ones, I love the control I have with my AI Hydra 52s on my reef tank. I don't need the same control over my shrimp tank but the ability to dim will be cool.

[blink]

The dimming is the main reason I'm considering waiting, the new features seem pretty great but people have had a LOT of success with Ray2s already and I'm not doing anything revolutionary with plants. Color adjustability seems like something I'd use once or twice to amuse visitors and ignore the rest of the time.

Guess I'll see how many early adopters dump their lights and at what prices and do the math vs. the new light's pricing.

Is there any word on when they will be available?

Edited September 16, 2014 by blink

[jumpsmasher]

Ya there are some exciting thing coming down the pipe for LED lights. WiIl be interesting to see where they land in terms of pricing - the Ecoxotic E-Series has a nice combination of power and features but they are pricey

http://www.ecoxotic.com/e-series-led.html

If they come out at the same pricing as the current Ray II they would be a big hit; only wished they have a better mounting solution for hanging them.

That being said, I ordered a couple 5m rolls of LED strips to test out for my new rack

Edited September 16, 2014 by jumpsmasher

[Ron]

Is there any word on when they will be available?

I've been told they're trying to keep pricing close to the current fixtures but no date set for release. I'll probably order as soon as they announce the pre-sale.

[flyfisher]

This is just the start. We are going thru a lighting technological boom. I can only imagine how awesome the lights will be in ten years. As soon as marijuana growing became so main stream in some places. Lighting took off. With the current boom in the states I can only imagine the trickle down that will reach all diodes. Plus there's even better technology on the way....

Agree when I worked in the lighting industry way back LED's were starting to creep into the industry over 20 years ago they suffered because of reliability & cost and continued to languish until recently, now main stream manufacturers are taking notice and throwing their weight & money into the technology.Costs are coming down quickly and innovations are taking off.

[Ron]

All current stock is on sale at finnex.ca now so it's a good sign that new light release is on it's way. Getting tough to decide now as Aqua Illumination is releasing a smaller clip on pendant that will retail for $199 USD. It'll be WiFi compatible so it can be controlled by your cell or computer with no need to buy an additional controller. I believe there are 7 colours and they should all be individually controllable. I know cloudy periods and lightning isn't necessary on my new shrimp tank but sure is cool on my reef tank.

[armybubbles]

Finnex is no longer available in Canada. They couldn't get Canadian certification so they closed shop. You can still get them in the states but they won't ship in Canada anymore. Its a shame too, I bought two planted+ lights and really like em.

[armybubbles]

Finnex is also certified in Europe and asia. Not that that helps us really.

Edited November 25, 2014 by armybubbles

[blink]

I saw Finnex.ca was gone. That sucks if Finnex won't ship up here, guess I'll need to pick em up myself next time I'm down there.

[Percilus]

I know it's a little late but I too was searching for a good led for a planted tank. I am new to the hobby but I do a lot of research before I jump into something and I've come to the conclusion that for best bang for my buck the Aquaray led's by TMC are a great choice. J&L in Vancouver stocks them and that says something in itself and gives us a great place to order them from at fair prices for the quality. Anyone looking to get through a lot of hoops on this issue should research PAR vs PUR in led lighting and the difference from say T5 par and LED par readings. http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2012/03/pur-vs-par-in-aquarium-lighting.html good link on the subject. If you dig deeper and look hard you will find the pros using aquaray for it's awesome pur and pwm technology at a good price. Apparently in Europe these lights are all the rage but unknown to the masses in north america for many different reasons. I encourage everyone to do research on these lights, and the numerous opinions on them and the science of led lighting in general before buying say a Finnex unit. Especially when we Canadians would be jumping threw so many hoops for that light at the moment when for the same price we could get something far superior for what we want to do any ways right out of Vancouver.

I plan on purchasing the aquaray mini 400 for a small chi or standard 5.5 betta tank to start learning from experience and keep costly mistakes cheaper. Even though I've researched planted tanks to death I think it's something you gotta do a lot of the stuff not just read or watch on you tube.

I'm not saying I'm correct. But I read a lot of different articles on this subject from a lot of different sources. What I found was a bunch of marketing hoopla or un-researched bias opinions promoting this light or that light and not a lot of science backing any of it up until I ran into a article about pur vs par and started digging into things that route.

The only draw back I can see about this form of lighting is it may not make the tanks look as good as say a T5HO setup would to the actual human eye. But for me less carbon footprint, lower energy costs and great light for plants and animals is my #1 concern. Anyone who has gone to a place like Bigal's or petsmart in Edmonton or Calgary know it would not be expensive to augment looks with a cheap LED light on top of the one getting things done any ways But finding one that grows plants as well as a T5HO setup is another matter entirely.

Oh and one more thing when your looking for quality in a product look for the warranty to be massive. TMC warranty is 5 years. Good comparatively priced LED's running on decent but outdated LED technology generally have a 3 year warranty and a lot of knock off garbage has a 1 year or no warranty at all. There is a reason for this and I encourage all who invest heavily in lighting to not be lazy in finding out why.

Edited December 13, 2014 by Percilus

[jumpsmasher]

I know it's a little late but I too was searching for a good led for a planted tank. I am new to the hobby but I do a lot of research before I jump into something and I've come to the conclusion that for best bang for my buck the Aquaray led's by TMC are a great choice. J&L in Vancouver stocks them and that says something in itself and gives us a great place to order them from at fair prices for the quality. Anyone looking to get through a lot of hoops on this issue should research PAR vs PUR in led lighting and the difference from say T5 par and LED par readings. http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2012/03/pur-vs-par-in-aquarium-lighting.html good link on the subject. If you dig deeper and look hard you will find the pros using aquaray for it's awesome pur and pwm technology at a good price. Apparently in Europe these lights are all the rage but unknown to the masses in north america for many different reasons. I encourage everyone to do research on these lights, and the numerous opinions on them and the science of led lighting in general before buying say a Finnex unit. Especially when we Canadians would be jumping threw so many hoops for that light at the moment when for the same price we could get something far superior for what we want to do any ways right out of Vancouver.

I plan on purchasing the aquaray mini 400 for a small chi or standard 5.5 betta tank to start learning from experience and keep costly mistakes cheaper. Even though I've researched planted tanks to death I think it's something you gotta do a lot of the stuff not just read or watch on you tube.

I'm not saying I'm correct. But I read a lot of different articles on this subject from a lot of different sources. What I found was a bunch of marketing hoopla or un-researched bias opinions promoting this light or that light and not a lot of science backing any of it up until I ran into a article about pur vs par and started digging into things that route.

The only draw back I can see about this form of lighting is it may not make the tanks look as good as say a T5HO setup would to the actual human eye. But for me less carbon footprint, lower energy costs and great light for plants and animals is my #1 concern. Anyone who has gone to a place like Bigal's or petsmart in Edmonton or Calgary know it would not be expensive to augment looks with a cheap LED light on top of the one getting things done any ways But finding one that grows plants as well as a T5HO setup is another matter entirely.

Oh and one more thing when your looking for quality in a product look for the warranty to be massive. TMC warranty is 5 years. Good comparatively priced LED's running on decent but outdated LED technology generally have a 3 year warranty and a lot of knock off garbage has a 1 year or no warranty at all. There is a reason for this and I encourage all who invest heavily in lighting to not be lazy in finding out why.

Well I would say most people buy Finnex because they are "good enough" for their intended use and of course their pricing. They have good experiences with the light so they recommend them to orders. Some people want more bells and whistles and are willing to spend the money on high end lights. I don't believe Finnex does much marketing, especially here in Canada. They get recommend because they are probably the best bang for your buck lights for most people.

I had both the AquaRay and Finnex LED fixtures; the AquaRay were pretty good when they first came out on the market but I believe there are better options now; at least for larger sized tanks; LED fixtures haver advanced so much in the last year or so unless you have a strict budget; i.e. under $150, there are many options out there.

The AquaRay GroBeam 500 I had for around 4 years now; in those 4 years I had to replaced the power supply twice. My oldest FugeRay is around 2 years old i believe and haven;t had any issues with any of them. The light itself is not bad but not great either, the single 19in strip would be comparable to something like a Finnex FugeRay; although by eye, I would say the FugeRay is brighter.

For a budget build, again the FugeRay would be comparable in terms of costs and budget; there would be a couple of issues with the AquaRay; the main issue is mounting over the tank; unless you are mounting them under a hood or rack, or have a glass top, you will not be able to use them out of the box. They are geared more towards the marine crowd as most marine fixtures are designed to be mounted on rails and hung. The mounting legs are sold separately and not really ideal as they are designed work with two rails; you are looking at about another $50 for tank mount. The other issue is the odd length (19"); they are not bad if you have a standard 2 foot or 4 foot tank but anything in between you are generally stuck with a single 19" module if you use their tank mounts.

Second thing is their price; there mini tiles are not bad for small cube tank, as are their single modules but once you get into two or more modules and/or their large tiles you are moving beyond the budget lights and you are moving into the higher end LED lighting where there are lots of other options like the AI Hydra, Maxspect, Exo Tech Radion, etc; For what it is (as a single module); I would say the Finnex Ray II cost about 2/3 the price with probably twice the output. From my limited plant experience, I would definitely say the plants that i have (mostly mosses) seems to better under the Ray II than AquaRay. To light up a 4 ft tank with the AquaRay you will probably need 4 of the GroBeam 600's or 2-3 of the GroBeam 1500's.

I get the whole PUR vs PAR argument; and i think that why we are starting to see more different coloured LED in planted LED lights but my requirements are fairly simple; i just want to light up my tanks with a decent amount of light for the lowest cost possible while still being able to grow some mosses and such.