What light for 75 gallon tank?

[dan12boy]

The light I currently have is the one I got from the aquarium set and it’s pretty dum so I don’t think it’s gonna do much of growing my plants and plus it makes my tank look dark which I don’t like. I was thinking of purchasing the nicrew 36-48 inch light since my other two tanks have nicrews and those grow my plants really good since it’s not a high tech setup. Wanted to know others’ experience with their lights for their 75 gallons. 

[Gwallace]

I have never used the Nicrew lights for planted tanks but I have used them extensively for tanks with only floating or no plants.   They last for years with no issues.  For planted tanks I use the Fluval 3.0 even though they are very expensive by comparison.  They do a great job also.

[dan12boy]

On 7/16/2022 at 7:06 PM, Gwallace said:

I have never used the Nicrew lights for planted tanks but I have used them extensively for tanks with only floating or no plants.   They last for years with no issues.  For planted tanks I use the Fluval 3.0 even though they are very expensive by comparison.  They do a great job also.

I’m just concerned on whether the nicrew will reach the full depth of the tank for whatever plants I have. And the fluval is quite expensive and I don’t think I can spend that much on a light.  

[nabokovfan87]

I run the 48" fluval planted light.  Wish I had my 75 and could use it!

[dan12boy]

On 7/16/2022 at 9:03 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I run the 48" fluval planted light.  Wish I had my 75 and could use it!

Dang seems like everyone runs the fluval. If I could afford to Id get it that’s why I’ll probably just stay with the nicrew, maybe get two of them instead of one.

[lefty o]

nicrew is okay, but i personally prefer the hygger. same price ballpark.

[wuht]

I bought the nicrew classicled plus for a 75 last year. First I went with the 36 inch one but it had large shadows on the edges of the tank.

I sold it to a friend and got the 48 inch version, it's much nicer. They also sell a timer that connects onto the power cable it let's you adjust brightness a lot more than the controls on just the light, I would definitely recommend it if you do pick up the nicrew.

[dan12boy]

On 7/16/2022 at 10:28 PM, lefty o said:

nicrew is okay, but i personally prefer the hygger. same price ballpark.

Have you tried it on a 75 before?

 

On 7/16/2022 at 10:39 PM, wuht said:

I bought the nicrew classicled plus for a 75 last year. First I went with the 36 inch one but it had large shadows on the edges of the tank.

I sold it to a friend and got the 48 inch version, it's much nicer. They also sell a timer that connects onto the power cable it let's you adjust brightness a lot more than the controls on just the light, I would definitely recommend it if you do pick up the nicrew.

Does yours grow plants good? Could I get a picture of your tank?

[wuht]

On 7/16/2022 at 10:42 PM, dan12boy said:

Does yours grow plants good? Could I get a picture of your tank?

I mostly had anubias and crypts and only needed the light at about 60%. It will get the job done for a low tech tank with low light plants.

Don't have any recent full tank shots, sorry.

[lefty o]

On 7/16/2022 at 9:42 PM, dan12boy said:

Have you tried it on a 75 before?

 

Does yours grow plants good? Could I get a picture of your tank?

not on a 75, i do have 1 on a 55.

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/16/2022 at 6:32 PM, dan12boy said:

Dang seems like everyone runs the fluval. If I could afford to Id get it that’s why I’ll probably just stay with the nicrew, maybe get two of them instead of one.

It is because of the versatility and ability to customize the actual LED options for the light itself. It's a feature on something like the AI lights and those are extremely pricey by comparison, especially when you need 3-4 per tank of that size.

https://www.amazon.com/AquaIllumination-Prime-Freshwater-Black-Fixture/dp/B084GW16LY/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=aquaillumination+freshwater&qid=1658043988&sprefix=AquaIllumination+fre%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-2

The nice thing about some of the fluval features is that you can get some of the "nice" things that aren't common for freshwater, let alone just the waterproofing.  It's a good deal, but I totally understand the pricing issue.  It's a tough sell, especially once they raised the prices a year or two back.

 

On 7/16/2022 at 7:42 PM, dan12boy said:

Have you tried it on a 75 before? Does yours grow plants good? Could I get a picture of your tank?

I ran mine on a 55 and 75.  Worked fine.  Had issues with some plants, but it definitely wasn't the lights fault.  My own newness into the hobby did that.  If you want to find something equivalent, there's a few places I can point you do, but the main takeaway here is that you'll likely need something like the kasa smart plug or some other way to have the timer and you're not going to be able to dim things.  This means mounting method, the ability to control the height of the light *might* be important.  All of the lights mentioned we've all heard things and not too many have said bad things about.

I'll just mention, the co-op light is due out.  Might be what you're looking for.  You can get an aquasky or the nano light if you're trying to just decide which route to go and have a 10G handy.  Depending what plants are in the tank, that might be enough for you.

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/16/2022 at 5:18 PM, dan12boy said:

I’m just concerned on whether the nicrew will reach the full depth of the tank for whatever plants I have.

75G tank, probably this one?

https://www.amazon.com/NICREW-ClassicLED-Aquarium-Spectrum-Freshwater/dp/B07KK6G8ZL?th=1
 

https://modestfish.com/nicrew-classicled-plus-review/

Here is a review as well to compare to a few other lights that might be helpful.  For whatever reason my browser won't let me download the nicrew manual from their website and they don't list specs for anything on the product page in terms of lumens and stats.  It just says it's 25% brighter than the version 1.

[dan12boy]

On 7/17/2022 at 3:52 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

It is because of the versatility and ability to customize the actual LED options for the light itself. It's a feature on something like the AI lights and those are extremely pricey by comparison, especially when you need 3-4 per tank of that size.
 

I understand it’s high price, it is a very technologically advanced light and I’ll definitely get it in the future. 
 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 3:52 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

This means mounting method, the ability to control the height of the light *might* be important.

I always wondered if that mattered. Both my lights have just been directly on top of my tank but I’ve seen people hang theirs a little above and wasn’t sure of the importance of doing that. 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 3:52 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I'll just mention, the co-op light is due out.  Might be what you're looking for.  You can get an aquasky or the nano light if you're trying to just decide which route to go and have a 10G handy.  Depending what plants are in the tank, that might be enough for you.

Since I’m trying to run low tech with no CO2, just fertz and lights I already steer clear from high tech plants. I do need plant suggestions though since my tank feels so empty with the plants in it so far but I’ll make that another thread. 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 4:10 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

75G tank, probably this one?

https://www.amazon.com/NICREW-ClassicLED-Aquarium-Spectrum-Freshwater/dp/B07KK6G8ZL?th=1
 

https://modestfish.com/nicrew-classicled-plus-review/

Here is a review as well to compare to a few other lights that might be helpful.  For whatever reason my browser won't let me download the nicrew manual from their website and they don't list specs for anything on the product page in terms of lumens and stats.  It just says it's 25% brighter than the version 1.

Thank you so much! The review was enough for me to go towards hygger instead since they’re around the same price range. Now I wonder which one of the hyggers  to go with.