40 Gallon Tank What’s a good budget light for medium light plants?

I’m looking to upgrade the light on one of my 40g planted tanks. The one I have, a Beamswork EA F-spec, does fine for my Java ferns, Anubias, and Cryptocoryne wendtii’s. My Amazon sword, however, looks pretty sad. I’m also about to order some more plants in the medium-light category—dwarf sag, Vallisneria, another sword (either another Amazon sword or an Ozelot sword), and maybe one of the smaller sword species as well.

I’ve heard good things about the Vivagrow 24/7 light and the Nicrew Planted Plus light. Should I try one of those?

Side note: I also have a 50g with Anubias and Java ferns. That tank still has the fluorescent fixtures that came with the tank. Should I upgrade that as well? (This directly affects how much money I’m willing to spend on the new light for the 40g.)

 

I’m looking to upgrade the light on one of my 40g planted tanks. The one I have, a Beamswork EA F-spec, does fine for my Java ferns, Anubias, and Cryptocoryne wendtii’s. My Amazon sword, however, looks pretty sad. I’m also about to order some more plants in the medium-light category—dwarf sag, Vallisneria, another sword (either another Amazon sword or an Ozelot sword), and maybe one of the smaller sword species as well.

I’ve heard good things about the Vivagrow 24/7 light and the Nicrew Planted Plus light. Should I try one of those?

Side note: I also have a 50g with Anubias and Java ferns. That tank still has the fluorescent fixtures that came with the tank. Should I upgrade that as well? (This directly affects how much money I’m willing to spend on the new light for the 40g.)

I highly recommend the Finnex Stingray for low-medium light tanks. They're no frills (no app controls), but I prefer that. Bluetooth has a tendency to misbehave at the worst of times IME - a power switch almost never fails. And outlet timers are cheap.

If it's a 40 breeder, the 36" version would be the correct length for the tank. I use one 30" Stingray over my 40B and get enough light for a couple Crypts and Anubias. A 36" fixture would likely grow all the plants you listed, and the coloration the light provides is very nice.

As for the 50, I'd only upgrade if you wanted to. If the plants are doing well enough and you don't mind replacing the bulbs every now and then, it should be fine. Eventually, the fixtures themselves will burn out and need repairs - at that point it'd probably make some more sense to actually switch to an LED fixture.

 

I highly recommend the Finnex Stingray for low-medium light tanks. They're no frills (no app controls), but I prefer that. Bluetooth has a tendency to misbehave at the worst of times IME - a power switch almost never fails. And outlet timers are cheap.

If it's a 40 breeder, the 36" version would be the correct length for the tank. I use one 30" Stingray over my 40B and get enough light for a couple Crypts and Anubias. A 36" fixture would likely grow all the plants you listed, and the coloration the light provides is very nice.

As for the 50, I'd only upgrade if you wanted to. If the plants are doing well enough and you don't mind replacing the bulbs every now and then, it should be fine. Eventually, the fixtures themselves will burn out and need repairs - at that point it'd probably make some more sense to actually switch to an LED fixture.

Thank you for your quick response!
Are you thinking of this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Stingray-Aquarium-Light-36-Inch/dp/B00NAFQ6D2
Or this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07RDMB99R/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile


The light from the first link is temporarily out of stock, and I wanted to start ordering very soon (because I have an extra day off work next week, which never happens, so I’ll have time to set up the plants and lighting then).

 

I was thinking of the first one They don't have it on sale, so it's a few bucks more, but they'll usually have it at your door within 3-4 days provided you're in the lower 48.

Finnex Stingray LED Lights | Aquarium Lighting for Planted Tanks

 

I was thinking of the first one They don't have it on sale, so it's a few bucks more, but they'll usually have it at your door within 3-4 days provided you're in the lower 48.

Finnex Stingray LED Lights | Aquarium Lighting for Planted Tanks

It honestly doesn’t matter that it’s a little more—I was initially going to end up spending roughly $120 on lights (thinking I HAD to upgrade the 50g) so you still just saved me $50.
Thanks for your help!

 

It honestly doesn’t matter that it’s a little more—I was initially going to end up spending roughly $120 on lights (thinking I HAD to upgrade the 50g) so you still just saved me $50.
Thanks for your help!

I'm glad you found it helpful!

I'd do some quick reading before you buy the light just to make sure everything lives up to your expectations - I'd hate to make a recommendation you end up not liking. But mine work very well for me, so I think you'll have the same experience.

 

I'm glad you found it helpful!

I'd do some quick reading before you buy the light just to make sure everything lives up to your expectations - I'd hate to make a recommendation you end up not liking. But mine work very well for me, so I think you'll have the same experience.

I just dug up the PAR numbers on both Stingray models. Apparently the newer version has double the PAR of the original (which is barely in the medium-light category). I think I’ll go that route, just to be safe (esp. for the swords).
Thanks again!

 

Beamsworks DA FSPEC
https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-FSPEC-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater/dp/B01LFF0878?th=1

 

Vivagrow 24/7 or the hygger 957.

 

Beamsworks DA FSPEC
https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-FSPEC-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater/dp/B01LFF0878?th=1

Vivagrow 24/7 or the hygger 957.

I’d already been looking into the Vivagrow before, and I know I like the features that and the hygger 957 offer. Does the Beamswork DA make the same weird colored spots on the substrate that my EA does?
I wonder why they’re all less costly than the Stingray 2. Do they have comparable PAR?

 

There are plenty of technical threads on the DA FSPEC on TPT .
Beamswork DA vs DA FSPEC
Beamsworks da fspec vs beamsworks da 6500k
Beamswork DA FSPEC LED

I use a $5 Ebay dimmer on most of mine as it is a pretty bright light .

 

There are plenty of technical threads on the DA FSPEC on TPT .
Beamswork DA vs DA FSPEC
Beamsworks da fspec vs beamsworks da 6500k
Beamswork DA FSPEC LED

I use a $5 Ebay dimmer on most of mine as it is a pretty bright light .

Cool, thanks for the links!