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| Size | Wattage | LEDs |
| 12″ | 8.9 Watts | (44) 7000k + (24) 660nm RED + (4) Blue Moonlights 72 LEDs Total |
| 16″ | 11.9 Watts | (60) 7000k + (32) 660nm RED + (4) Blue Moonlights 96 LEDs Total |
| 20″ | 14.7 Watts | (72) 7000k + (40) 660nm RED + (8) Blue Moonlights 120 LEDs Total |
| 24″ | 17.8 Watts | (88) 7000k + (48) 660nm RED + (8) Blue Moonlights 144 LEDs Total |
| 30″ | 20.8 Watts | (104) 7000k + (56) 660nm RED + (8) Blue Moonlights 168 LEDs Total |
| 36″ | 26.7 Watts | (132) 7000k + (72) 660nm RED + (12) Blue Moonlights 216 LEDs Total |
| 48″ | 35.6 Watts | (180) 7000k + (96) 660nm RED + (12) Blue Moonlights 288 LEDs Total |
The Finnex FugeRay Planted+ is one of the best lighting fixtures to get aquarists started in the hobby. It features:
- A staggering amount of LEDs
- Powerful 7,000k lighting
- Seven sizes
- A low price
- Splash guard
- Aluminum circuit board
- built in heat sink
- Adjustable legs
What Makes The Finnex FugeRay Planted+ A Great Starting Light?
There are a few major things affecting new and experience aquarists at all times.
a.) Desire for new additions to the tank
b.) Worry about quality, cost and longevity of equipment
We have enough costs to worry about already. Adding high cost fluorescent light bulbs and short lifespan lights would only add to the problem. This costs us extra money and prevents the addition of new equipment and fish. In some cases it can even chase people away from the hobby all together. Thankfully with smart selections we can minimize our costs without sacrificing quality. That’s where the Finnex FugeRay Planted+ comes in.
Warranty
Ever ordered something, only to find it broken the next month? amazon sure does offer quick and easy returns but that 30 day return policy can really sting. Thankfully the Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights features a 6 month warranty to ensure you fall in love with your light. Should you have any problems the customer service is quick to respond, often helping those who have even fallen out of warranty. They are one of my favorite customer services to deal with.
Lifetime
First off let’s decide how long we want our light on? Once you break into stronger lights, above ten hours nets you a whole bunch of algae. Unless you have an algae scrubber or a lot of free time I recommend you cap light time at 10 hours a day.
Now how long does the Finnex FugeRay Planted+ last? After plenty of testing and experimenting Finnex has been ale to announce that their lights last over 40,000 hours on average. Let’s do some quick math on the bare minimum 40,000.
40,000 hours/ 10 hour days/ 365 days a year = 10.95 years
Frankly the light will often outlive the aquarium and every single piece of equipment. Over the years this light lives there is almost nothing you will spend less money on, even the most expensive model barely cracks the double digits in pricing per year. If you think that’s the end of the savings you need to hear this next part.
Efficient LEDs
If you got into the aquarium hobby on your own, no gifts or hand me down equipment, you’re like me. I got a deluxe hood from my LFS and was set with a fluorescent light fixture. Over the years I bought 4 bulbs before the light itself broke down. All in all about $80 for my ten gallon hood. Additionally I noticed an increase in my electric bill from having that light on 12 hours a day. Because it was so weak almost no algae grew, but similarly my live plants barely grew at all. With the light dead I was actually excited. Many other aquarists had discussed other lighting options with me. The metal halides scared me as I have other pets who could touch the super hot fixture. This left me to try out LEDs.
So where is this going? Right here. With my new Finnex in place I turned on the light and was blown away by the brightness. In retrospect I should have had a bit more ambient light so my fish wouldn’t be so startled. Fast forward one month and I notice my electric bill has dropped about $5. Nothing huge but $60 extra a year really adds up. Notice something there? That’s right within one year this light fixture had already saved me more money than I had spent on it. Fast forward to the present and we now have the Finnex FugeRay Planted+ which has even longer lasting bulbs that draw even less power and provide better lighting. Oh how far aquariums have come.
The short version is this light will pay for itself in 1-2 years from electricity and no bulb replacement. After that all that saved money is pure bonus for you to enjoy. What’s 8 years of saving buy? Your bigger tank and its equipment of course!
Light Strength
Ok some of us just need the specs, and most of those are in the table. If you need some more details I’m happy to discuss what the Finnex FugeRay Planted+ can and cannot do.
The light features some great strength but it does not match the sun. The being said there are several plants that the light cannot accommodate. If you are looking to keep high light demanding plants or even corals you may need to look for other forms of aquarium lighting. If you have the more typical plants, say java fern or my new favorite scarlet temple, The FugeRay will have these plants growing almost like weeds. Don’t worry though! When live plants grow they actually eat toxins in the water as substance, cleaning our water. If the plants get too big just snap some of it off and remove it from the tank. Better yet you can plant the removed plant and it will grow a second set of roots. My first plant started out as a small 2″ x 1″ bush. After 2 months in the Finnex I had created a beautiful background across my 10 gallon aquarium.
Setting Up The Finnex FugeRay Planted+
Unlike hoods, touch screen lights and spotlights, the FugeRay is simple to attach and run. The legs slide along the entire length of the light, making it easy to fit the light to your tank. This means you Must get a light as big or bigger than your tank. Once in place use the switches on the back to switch between on, off for both the normal light and moonlight. Not much to complicate things here.
Overall
The Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlight set up is one of my favorite fixtures to recommend. It has low start up costs, even lower maintenance costs and some of the best lighting you can find at this price point. If you are growing high light demanding plants or corals you will need to look elsewhere, but for the majority of aquarists the Finnex FugeRay planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlight combo is an absolute dream.
