Simple low tech light

[JuJuFish 8]

I have a friend who is setting up a low tech 20 long with mostly Anubias, Java fern, crypts, etc. He needs a simple light, on/off with a smart plug or timer, probably dimming capabilities, with nice color. Oh, and inexpensive. Does this light exist?

 

[ElleDee 3]

How inexpensive are we talking about here?

I've always had a soft spot for Finnex. They are a little more expensive than other "Amazon tier" lights (nicrew, etc.), but I find their color tone to be much more pleasing than the other options. It looks like their newer lights have built in controllers and I have no idea how those work. I would hope they are an improvement over the old remote system at least!

The WeekAqua M series is the cheapest of the narrow band RGB lights I know of. That's more expensive than any Finnex, but it looks a lot nicer.

 

[Phish Tank]

I've used nicrew for a cheap light. The one I have is mostly white LEDs with a few red and blue. Dimmer is built into the cord, and it works great with my kasa plug.
Some of the cheap lights (some hygger ones?) don't work with a timer/plug, so watch for that.

 

[JuJuFish 8]

How inexpensive are we talking about here?

I've always had a soft spot for Finnex. They are a little more expensive than other "Amazon tier" lights (nicrew, etc.), but I find their color tone to be much more pleasing than the other options. It looks like their newer lights have built in controllers and I have no idea how those work. I would hope they are an improvement over the old remote system at least!

The WeekAqua M series is the cheapest of the narrow band RGB lights I know of. That's more expensive than any Finnex, but it looks a lot nicer.

I have several Finnex HLC lights and I like them a lot. But I hate the remote! I didn’t know there are newer models with controllers. I will go look them up. Thanks!

I've used nicrew for a cheap light. The one I have is mostly white LEDs with a few red and blue. Dimmer is built into the cord, and it works great with my kasa plug.
Some of the cheap lights (some hygger ones?) don't work with a timer/plug, so watch for that.

Which Nicrew? Thanks for the tip about the Hyggers.

 

[JayP 436]

I was going to mention Hygger as a really cheap option, but yeah, may not play well with a smart plug. I used a cheap older model with the inline remote and it did a good job on my short term 20g farm tank that I didn't care about color spectrums and such. If it lost power though, the remote programming would reset. The newer models have the remote built onto the light itself and may not have that issue.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins 455]

You could go the simple route with these bulbs: https://a.co/d/gdZg3S9

They have nice color rendition and you could use a simple desk lamp.

 

[Phish Tank]

Which Nicrew?

Nicrew I got , but it shows as no longer available

 

[JuJuFish 8]

This from @Art excellent lighting article. Anyone using the Nicrew SkyLed?

Sample Lighting Setups by Tank Type​

• Light: NICREW SkyLED Plus
• Photoperiod: 8 hours/day
• PAR: ~30–50 µmol/m²/s
• Plants: Java Fern, Cryptocoryne, Anubias

 

[Kwyet 455]

I have. It worked fine for Anubias, Buce, Crypts and that’s either Val or Dwarf Sag in the background. I don’t know if it’s still available in this size. This was a 20 Long.

 

[JuJuFish 8]

I have. It worked fine for Anubias, Buce, Crypts and that’s either Val or Dwarf Sag in the background. I don’t know if it’s still available in this size. This was a 20 Long.

Looks great! I think this will be fine for his tank. Thanks @Kwyet

 

[hamfist]

I love the Hygger series for good budget lights. They seem reasonably well built too. I run several and have not had a failure yet. I prefer the controller on this model .....

hygger Auto On Off LED Aquarium Light - hygger

Aquarium fish tank light designed with LCD monitor and adjustable timer, it is an auto on off aquarium light with 3 modes for 12"-54" freshwater tank.

www.hygger-online.com

 

[JuJuFish 8]

Thanks to your great suggestions I have had a Nicrew, Hygger, and Week Aqua in my carts. I just ordered a Seaouro (which I had never even heard of) just because it has a battery to resume the schedule after a power outage. I want to be able to set this up for my friend and make it as easy as possible as he learns. I’ll see what it looks like and send it back if necessary. The Hygger from @hamfist is my next choice.

But all this talk of lighting forced me to order a Week Aqua for myself.

As always, thanks everyone.