Having a fish tank is a hobby enjoyed by more and more people. What’s not to love about a fish tank?
It’s all the fun of keeping a pet but with no mess and not much effort. Furthermore, a fish tank makes any room it is in look prettier.
Besides all the decorations, there are two features of a fish tank that are vitally important: water and lighting. Water, especially freshwater, is not difficult to find.
However, lighting needs more attention since the daily life lighting in a normal room is usually not appropriate for growing water plants or for fish to live a long and healthy life under.
The light measures 15.8 inches by 8.4 inches. The fixture is generally wider and shorter than other aquarium lights.
There are no other options for size so if you have an aquarium tank that is bigger than the size of the light then you have to consider using more than one fixture at once to produce enough light for the tank.
LED Light Bulbs and Chips
Unlike other lights, this fixture uses high-quality LED light bulbs and lens. The lenses are made of high-quality acrylic with a PAR value 25% higher than other brands’ lights.
The light bulbs or chips use 45mil Epileds and bridge lux chips as compared to the cheaper 25mil chips found in other brands.
This feature helps the light to burn 30% brighter and have a much longer lifespan and use much less energy.
Full Spectrum Light and Color Channels
Most aquariums are kept indoors where there is not much natural light. The lack of natural light will result in a deficit in fish’s growth and the length of their lives, and also limit water plants’ growth.
Therefore, appropriate full-spectrum lighting needs to be provided that will mimic natural light as much as possible. There are three main LED color waves: red, white, and blue. The Red LEDs promote the healthy growth of fish and also beautify the colors of the fish. The White LEDs sterilize, disinfect, and promote plants’ growth in the aquarium. Lastly, Blue LEDs make aquarium water look more real and also promote coral growth if you decorate your aquarium with corals.
These LED lights are set up in two channels: one with cool white, warm white, red and green lights; and one with blue, purple, and royal blue lights. With the two separate channels, the lights can be controlled and turned on/off separately.
Dimmer Modes
This light does not offer a lot of fancy and dynamic modes. The fixture comes with only two dimmer modes, one for each of the two separate channels of lights.
The fixture comes with two power cords and two on/off switches to control the blue and white channels separately, to fully utilize the brightness and what color the fixture is displaying.
Cooling Fans
Aquarium lights tend to get hot while in use because they need to be running almost 24/7. With many other light fixtures, users need to manually install extra external fans to cool down the lights so they do not affect the temperature of the water, as additional heat can negatively affect the fish’s health.
This fixture is one step ahead and takes the overheating issue into account. This fixture comes with two active cooling fan systems already built-in to provide for heat dissipation.
This feature does not only make sure the light does not heat up and warm up the water but also lowers the chance of the light and adapter suffering or causing damage from overheating.
However, despite the ingenious design, some users report the fans do not work as well as they are supposed to, and the lights still get quite warm.
But despite that, having the fan still helps to minimize the heat, which can be intense due to the quality and intensity of the light bulbs used in this fixture.
Pros
Full-spectrum lighting
Two separate, controllable light channels
Dimmer modes with revolving button
Built-in cooling fans
High-quality light bulbs
Cons
Small in size
Heat up more intensely
Cooling fans do not work as effectively as they should sometimes
Conclusion
Even though there are a few minor problems with this fixture, this light is one of the best aquarium lights available on the market, thanks to its no-nonsense design and high-quality light bulbs.
This fixture successfully cuts down all the fancy, non-essential features that other lights have in order to focus on the quality of life for the living things in the aquarium. If you are not into putting on a show in your tank but all about keeping your fish and plants healthy, this light fixture is for you.
I’ve been running 2 Galaxyhydro 55×3 units on my 125g mixed reef for about 6 months (ordering a 3rd soon since two don’t quite cover it). I’ve been searching high and low for PAR readings on these units but I’ve had no luck.
Have you run, or do you know where to find, PAR test information on these units? I’d prefer to avoid spending the cash on a meter if the info is hidden out there somewhere and I just can’t find it.
dude, get a refractometer…. You need to adjust the par to your tank, so really doesn’t matter the par rating of the light unless the par is not intense enough for the size of your tank. I doubt you will need to worry… just be careful with this light. the par intensity is about 30% brighter than most lights at full intensity. Your corals will bleach! I keep mine around 25%
I’ve been running 2 Galaxyhydro 55×3 units on my 125g mixed reef for about 6 months (ordering a 3rd soon since two don’t quite cover it). I’ve been searching high and low for PAR readings on these units but I’ve had no luck.
Have you run, or do you know where to find, PAR test information on these units? I’d prefer to avoid spending the cash on a meter if the info is hidden out there somewhere and I just can’t find it.
dude, get a refractometer…. You need to adjust the par to your tank, so really doesn’t matter the par rating of the light unless the par is not intense enough for the size of your tank. I doubt you will need to worry… just be careful with this light. the par intensity is about 30% brighter than most lights at full intensity. Your corals will bleach! I keep mine around 25%
I don’t think you know what a refactometer is
lol