Aquarium Light Question! Beamswork Or Finnex Planted Light

[Mike1995]

i know this isn't the correct place for this but i couldn't figure out where it goes :/
i need some advice on lights for my 20g planted tank. It 30" long. I currently have one of those aqueon optibright plus lights. It's bright but not that bright.
is beamswork a good choice? Or any of the three finnex planted plus lights/or 247 varities a good choice? Which is the best for a 20g?

or any other options are appreciated.

 

[TexasDomer]

What plants do you have in there?

 

[Kapitalfisht]

I own both brands, and currently have 20 gallon longs with both types of lights. One has the 30 inch Beamswork light, and another has the Finnex Planted Plus 24/7, 30 inch light.

So long as you aren't keeping any delicate, high light demanding plants, I'd say Beamswork is not only the better choice, but the most economical, too. The 30 inch Beamswork is currently 36 dollars on Amazon, however, the same vendor, Topdogsellers, is offering the same light on Ebay for 31.95. I recently ordered a third for another 20 long because I haven't experienced any issues, and although most of my plants are easy to keep, they appear well.

Don't get me wrong, I like Finnex. I have the Planted Plus, the Stingray, the Vivid, and a few Ray 2's. Lately, I've been opting for the cheaper lights. Beamswork, Koval, and if you really wanna be frugal... 5000k LED floodlights, and put them in those metal shop lamps. Altogether, you'd spend about 10 dollars per light!

 

[Culprit]

i know this isn't the correct place for this but i couldn't figure out where it goes :/
i need some advice on lights for my 20g planted tank. It 30" long. I currently have one of those aqueon optibright plus lights. It's bright but not that bright.
is beamswork a good choice? Or any of the three finnex planted plus lights/or 247 varities a good choice? Which is the best for a 20g?

or any other options are appreciated.

No, don't use beamswork. Everything I've read say they work OK for about 6 months then give out for most people. Finnex Planted plus is good, you won't use the 24/7 feature or you'll have huge algae growth. Ray 2 is good too but I don't have that one. For a budget light that works awesome, look at the chihiros A series. Cheap, knockoff of the ADA Aquasky, but it is powerful, well built, good looking, and long lasting. You can also dim it so you can grow everything from low light plants to high light. If you want to go a step up from it get the RGB version.

 

[TexasDomer]

The Ray2 is overkill unless you're injecting CO2. The Planted Plus will likely also give you algae issues unless you have lots of plants and good surface cover or injected CO2. I'd go with the Stingray for low light, low tech plants, but we need to know what types of plants OP has/wants before recommending a light.

 

[danhutchins]

i know this isn't the correct place for this but i couldn't figure out where it goes :/
i need some advice on lights for my 20g planted tank. It 30" long. I currently have one of those aqueon optibright plus lights. It's bright but not that bright.
is beamswork a good choice? Or any of the three finnex planted plus lights/or 247 varities a good choice? Which is the best for a 20g?

or any other options are appreciated.

I have a nicrew on my 55 gallon that grows dwarf hairgrass fine it's also around the same price as a cheap beamswork. I do have a beamswork as well but I dont use it since I got the nicrew. I think I paid around $60-$70 for the nicrew and its perfect for all plants I have had including the dwarf hairgrass and dwarf baby tears.

 

[TexasDomer]

I have a nicrew on my 55 gallon that grows dwarf hairgrass fine it's also around the same price as a cheap beamswork. I do have a beamswork as well but I dont use it since I got the nicrew. I think I paid around $60-$70 for the nicrew and its perfect for all plants I have had including the dwarf hairgrass and dwarf baby tears.

Are you injecting CO2? Because that's likely the big difference. DHG and DBT don't usually do well in low light, low tech setups.

 

[danhutchins]

Are you injecting CO2? Because that's likely the big difference. DHG and DBT don't usually do well in low light, low tech setups.

Yes I am.. I also dont have DHG or DBT anymore but yes with the combination of co2 and the nicrew everything was perfect.

 

[Mike1995]

What plants do you have in there?

a lot of ludwigia and rotala, java ferns, hornwort, anubias, pennywort and few others i don't know how to say the names of

 

[Mike1995]

The Ray2 is overkill unless you're injecting CO2. The Planted Plus will likely also give you algae issues unless you have lots of plants and good surface cover or injected CO2. I'd go with the Stingray for low light, low tech plants, but we need to know what types of plants OP has/wants before recommending a light.

i have a stingray on one of my my 10g betta tanks. Very dull in comparison to other lights. I'm thinking of actually getting something different

 

[jlm418]

I have a beamswork on my 36 bowfront for a few months now and I have no complaints. It really makes my fish's colors pop and all my plants have been doing much better.

 

[Mike1995]

I have a beamswork on my 36 bowfront for a few months now and I have no complaints. It really makes my fish's colors pop and all my plants have been doing much better.

would it be good to grow any medium to high light plants? i have rotala and ludwigia and one other similar plant that I'd like to help with higher light.

 

[jlm418]

Well my tank is about 2 feet deep. I'm guessing yours is about half that. So I would think it should be plenty for medium at least. I haven't been able to try out any new plants yet to know for sure.

Here is a link for my thread that was similar to yours. Question - Beamswork Da Any Good?

If your interested I can put up some before and after photos this afternoon if you want to see the growth I've experieced

 

[Mike1995]

that would be awesome if you could! thank you

 

[TexasDomer]

i have a stingray on one of my my 10g betta tanks. Very dull in comparison to other lights. I'm thinking of actually getting something different

That's weird. I have a Stingray on my 20 gal long and it is very bright, and my crypts and susswassertang are flourishing.

would it be good to grow any medium to high light plants? i have rotala and ludwigia and one other similar plant that I'd like to help with higher light.

Are you injecting CO2? If not, you don't want high light. You'll have way too many algae issues.

Can you take a pic of your tank?

 

[Mike1995]

 

[Mike1995]

no CO2. are the stingray lights usually really bright? I'd get one but if its dull like my other tank I don't wanna ruin this tank lol

 

[danhutchins]

no CO2. are the stingray lights usually really bright? I'd get one but if its dull like my other tank I don't wanna ruin this tank lol

If you go with any plant that requires high light and do not use co2 you are going to loose your mind cleaning all the algae all the time. I would take everyone's advice on this. Either get co2 or forget about med-high light. I'm not trying to come across aggressive but it seems like you are ignoring some key comments from others.

 

[DarkOne]

Beamswork makes a few different lights. The DA is the brightest. I have one on my 40b and I use a dimmer to lower the light output a little as it's really bright. As bright as the Fluval Plant 2.0 on my 75g. I got a Beamswork ET for a 20g long and it's less than half as bright but I didn't want a really bright light so it works well for that tank.

If you decide to go with Finnex Planted+, Dr Foster & Smith has them on sale. Still more than a Beamswork DA but cheaper than on Amazon.

 

[Mike1995]

If you go with any plant that requires high light and do not use co2 you are going to loose your mind cleaning all the algae all the time. I would take everyone's advice on this. Either get co2 or forget about med-high light. I'm not trying to come across aggressive but it seems like you are ignoring some key comments from others.

Get off my post. I'm not ignoring anyone.