FINNEX RAY2 LED fixtures

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Several months have rolled by since I purchased the RAY 1. It has a spectrum equivalent to 7,000K/10,000K duel output & has done very well in a small planted tank. The growth rate did real well & I loved the sleek look of the fixture.
I went on with the RAY2 in a larger tank and seen amazing growth in all sorts of plants, & currently in process of converting a 3rd tank.The RAY2 spectrum output is 7,000K. With research I read these fixtures are the equivalent to 2 T5HO bulbs which I find is a bit inaccurate. With my experience it seems the light intensity is closer to 3 T5HO bulbs. So that being said the little more I am paying for these fixtures is a bit more closer in comparison to purchasing T5HO fixtures, I never have to purchase bulbs, and  the added benefit of reducing power consumption by half is a big deal if one has multiple tanks.

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The other thing I might add to your research is depending on the reflectors you were using,is how you'd compare to T5-HO. For instance I think Ah supply makes the best reflectors and they are really bright, so I just want to point out there is a big different from say a petsmart 2 t5 HO kit and a custom built AH supply kit in terms of PAR being put out.

That said. I LOVE the finnex lights and have almost the whole store retrofitted with them now. 3 more tanks to go

Interesting, I didn't think of that. I am comparing them to CORALIFE T5HO purchased last year. Not sure how far up the food chain of quality these are as reflectors go.

Thanks for the feedback on the Finnex. I have been needing to upgrade lighting for a while but not sure what way to go. I went from a Coralife T5 set up to Beamswork LED's. Granted I have freshwater fish only but the new lights really wash out the fish. Not impressed with the color spectrum at all. I had purchased another tank with an Aqueon LED and tried it out against the Beamswork and it looked a lot better. It had one of the white and one colormax in it. Much improved! I think the Finnex MonsterRay is the way I would go for my set up.

DMD123 wrote:Thanks for the feedback on the Finnex. I have been needing to upgrade lighting for a while but not sure what way to go. I went from a Coralife T5 set up to Beamswork LED's. Granted I have freshwater fish only but the new lights really wash out the fish. Not impressed with the color spectrum at all. I had purchased another tank with an Aqueon LED and tried it out against the Beamswork and it looked a lot better. It had one of the white and one colormax in it. Much improved! I think the Finnex MonsterRay is the way I would go for my set up.

Yes, Cory uses Monster Ray on some of his tanks, lest he did a while ago when I was there. In those tanks the fishes colors just  POPPED!
So DMD123 if yours is a fish only tank I would recommend the Monster Ray for the tank.

I will make it up there one day.... really want to check it out

fishNAbowl wrote:

DMD123 wrote:Thanks for the feedback on the Finnex. I have been needing to upgrade lighting for a while but not sure what way to go. I went from a Coralife T5 set up to Beamswork LED's. Granted I have freshwater fish only but the new lights really wash out the fish. Not impressed with the color spectrum at all. I had purchased another tank with an Aqueon LED and tried it out against the Beamswork and it looked a lot better. It had one of the white and one colormax in it. Much improved! I think the Finnex MonsterRay is the way I would go for my set up.

Yes, Cory uses Monster Ray on some of his tanks, lest he did a while ago when I was there. In those tanks the fishes colors just  POPPED!
So DMD123 if yours is a fish only tank I would recommend the Monster Ray for the tank.

At the moment, we've changed most of the lights at Aquarium Co-Op to Finnex Fuge Rays (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH FINNEX RAY 2's). And they definitely look better than fluorescent lights, that's for sure.

As for the Monster Rays, we took out a couple of them from some of the tanks that had them, and only have one tank that has the Finnex Monster Ray for demonstration purposes. They really do make fish colors pop, especially reds, and blues. My Neon Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Rummynose Tetras, Cherry Barbs, and Cherry Shrimp really pop out with a monster ray, and I love it! Wouldn't recommend using one for plants, like fishNAbox mentioned, but if it's a fish-only tank, then you're good to go.

Here's a video comparison of the tank that has the Monster Ray. The first video is from when I first set it up (fake plants galore) and only had a fluorescent light. The 2nd video has the Monster Ray, you can compare just how vivid the colors of the fish become with the Monster Ray, on a side note, the plants also look pretty cool, the only reason why I'm getting away with having plants in there, is because I have another LED light in there that is suitable for plant growth, so, I use that and the Monster Ray to achieve these results.

Look at these reds and blues glow! Thanks for posting this to the thread Poke, very beneficial.

fishNAbowl: No prob! :DI would, in the future, like to replace my current LED light that's in the 36 gallon bowfront tank, with a Finnex Ray 2, so that the tank lights up more, and the plants benefit from the extra light. that would definitely make the tank look more brighter towards the back, as well.

I shall be saving up for one, perhaps.

I will add, however...the camera used (iPhone4s) does not do the aquarium/lights justice. You definitely have to see the lights up in person! *ahem*DMD123*ahem*  

PokeSephiroth wrote:I will add, however...the camera used (iPhone4s) does not do the aquarium/lights justice. You definitely have to see the lights up in person! *ahem*DMD123*ahem*  

Group trip in the works! Thank you for the video, the lighting just makes the fish pop. That is what Im missing.... My conversion to LED lighting paid for itself in a year of electrical savings but not all LED fixtures are the same.

DMD123 wrote:

PokeSephiroth wrote:I will add, however...the camera used (iPhone4s) does not do the aquarium/lights justice. You definitely have to see the lights up in person! *ahem*DMD123*ahem*  

Group trip in the works! Thank you for the video, the lighting just makes the fish pop. That is what Im missing.... My conversion to LED lighting paid for itself in a year of electrical savings but not all LED fixtures are the same.

Great to help out! And hurray for group trips! That would be awesome if you guys went up to the store while I was working. I would definitely love to meet more fishbox members in person!

We are talking about Saturday, Sept 21st. Likely in the afternoon.

DMD123: Shoot, I will not be there unfortunately. I'm taking that day off because I will be in Ocean Shores for a Washington State Democrats Meeting all weekend.

You will definitely enjoy the Plant Swap if you guys time it correctly, it goes from 7pm, to 8pm, and then more fish talk afterwards, if people wish to continue hanging out! It'll be a wonderful experience for all of you