Yes, but how many of those are actinic?

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

The reef light has 46 white for a total of 46w and the FW light has 162 white for only a total of 9.72w so either way the reef light has more Watts so wouldn't that be better for plant growth? I'm just trying to figure out which one I should get not trying to start an argument.

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my 75g build---->http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/fin...ild-18272.html
75g beasolbob tank peat moss & safe-t-sorb 5congo tetras,2bristle nose plecs, 2 German blue Rams

I hear ya, and I'm not upset in the least. It's not an issue so much of the power the fixture draws, but what type of LEDs it has. If it has, say, 22 actinic LEDs and 22 6700K LEDs, it won't be as effective as, say, a fixture with 52 6700K LEDs and 2 actinic LEDs, because freshwater plants aren't able to utilize actinic light as effectively as they can 6700K light. The Kelvin rating refers to the wavelength of the light emitted, and 6700K is right in the middle, whereas actinic is on the higher end of the wavelength spectrum, up in the blue light category. Actinics are more prevalent in marine tanks because the coral and anemones in reef tanks soak up that blue light like it's candy.

AND the power the fixture draws is not necessarily representative of how intense the LEDs are. That is the Lumen rating of the LEDs, but in general you are right to assume a proportional ratio between the Watts and Lumens of a fixture - 22 1-Watt 6700K LEDs might be just as effective as 52 0.5-Watt 6700K LEDs, but the last and final word in the argument would come from a PAR meter, which measures the light intensity of ONLY in the range freshwater plants can utilize for photosynthesis.

There's also this to consider - if you buy the high-powered LED kit for a marine tank, that's a LOT of moonlight if you're planning on using all those actinics as moonlights. However, if you invest in a dimmer, it would provide more evenly distributed moonlight as opposed to two or three actinic LEDs.

Just my thoughts and observations...

Source:
Aquarium lighting

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

So do you think i'm better of just buying 2 of the fresh water lights? is a standered 75g so its 18" wide and these fixtures are 5" wide so I could put 2 and still have room. Or do you think that would be over kill?

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my 75g build---->http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/fin...ild-18272.html
75g beasolbob tank peat moss & safe-t-sorb 5congo tetras,2bristle nose plecs, 2 German blue Rams

Might be a little overkill. Stay with what you've ordered thus far, and just run the 6700K's during the day and dimmed actinics at night. That would be my suggestion

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Well I haven't ordered anything yet

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my 75g build---->http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/fin...ild-18272.html
75g beasolbob tank peat moss & safe-t-sorb 5congo tetras,2bristle nose plecs, 2 German blue Rams

Ah, well in that case then I would order 1 FW bright, and if you're not satisfied with the light level then order the other.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Hey gizmo just wondering if you got any pics of your light yet? I'm about to order my light this week and I just want to see how the freshwater light actually looks over a tank

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my 75g build---->http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/fin...ild-18272.html
75g beasolbob tank peat moss & safe-t-sorb 5congo tetras,2bristle nose plecs, 2 German blue Rams

I do have pics, but I'm at work so I won't be able to upload them until tonight. In a word, the LED light is excellent. As much light as the 48W T5HO I have over my other 10 gallon, and MUCH more light than the dinky 17W T8 I had over the tank before, at less than 1/3rd of the power consumed (5W).

The last step I will do, probably this weekend, is pull out my light meter and compare intensities. It's a Lux meter, but assuming both lights emit mostly PAR light, it should suffice to give an accurate representation of useable light for plants.

Only drawback with the fixture - you cannot independently control the 3 actinic LED moonlights - you would have to manually throw the switch to turn them on, rather than having the convenience of putting them on a timer. But who really needs moonlight?

Overall, I would give the fixture 9 out of 10 on a scale of 10, it's quite a nice fixture, and cheap too!

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Sweet so one should be good for my 75g tank since now all it has is a single 40 watt T8 bulb and that its growing everything I got in there now. Thanks for the reply I well impatiently be waiting for the pics :-}

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my 75g build---->http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/fin...ild-18272.html
75g beasolbob tank peat moss & safe-t-sorb 5congo tetras,2bristle nose plecs, 2 German blue Rams

If you guys are talking about the Marineland setups, they claim only their reef setup is good for plants. It has 10000k lamps, but they will do just fine.

There the same just knock offs.

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my 75g build---->http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/fin...ild-18272.html
75g beasolbob tank peat moss & safe-t-sorb 5congo tetras,2bristle nose plecs, 2 German blue Rams