# Current USA Satellite Plus Pro opinions, observations.



## CatfishBlues (Dec 3, 2014)

I have a 4 foot low tech 66 gallon tank and want to change from the T5 Hagen Glo dual bulb 2 x 54 watt fixture I have to an LED fixture. I know I said low tech but I am thinking of buying a Current USA Plus Pro LED fixture. I like a lot of features on it. I think it would solve current issues and possible future tank upgrades. The Hagen light is very bright and not presently suitable for me. 

I have zero experience with LED fixtures. Can anyone share their experience with the Current USA brand. The threads I found here mentioning them mostly has been about their previous lines of LEDs but they have been positive. I have been looking around J & L Aquatics website.

Thank you for any contributions.


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## rhennessey (Jul 25, 2014)

I have the sattelite plus 24-36" which has 15watts on a 20g long. Its been great but lacking power and a timer which the Pro version has both. So I would recommend it but watch for green water ....may need to tinker with the hours on per day. coming from T5HO and 108w you should have no problems. And you will get a shimmer from the light which is cool
hope this helps.


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## dwarf_puffer (Apr 25, 2010)

If your tank is 18" or less deep stick with the freshwater plus model. I have had both models of these lights and since switching to LED it is the only ones I recommend ( even over finnex). My biggest set up I ran the plus models on was a heavily planted (medium to high light plants) 6' by 18" deep. I was only using two of the freshwater plus for this set up and had absolutely no issues. Ive since upgrade to the pro models but only because im in the process of upgrading to a 8 foot tank that is 24" deep. The pros are brighter but unless your going super high light or over 18" deep... stick with the plus models 

If you do want to upgrade to the pro they are notibly brighter however excess light can lead to more problems than insufficient light I find so If you did decide to I would not put more than one strip. I also found the spectrum control actually better on the plus models although i havnt spent enough time messing around with my pros yet. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I would DEFINITELY recommend both of these lights.

*** i also have an extra timers specifically for the lights if you do need one let me know I think they are like 100 bucks or something silly in stores otherwise


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Sidius a member on this site has 2 satellite pro's on his 180g. He isn't very happy with the lights. Send him a PM. I'm sure he will tell you his issues with them


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## CatfishBlues (Dec 3, 2014)

Thank you for the replies. I have been really distracted by visiting family and work. 

I will have more time to respond when I get back later today. I want to change the lights this week and am reading and trying to understand what I am getting in to. 
My fish really dislike the instant on and brightness of the Hagen fixture. I am wondering how much I would be able to dim the Satellite Plus Pro LED's. 
As mentioned, I am thinking of the future as much as the present. 
My tank is 48 x 16 x 20 inches high. A possible future tank would be 120 gallons (24 inches high) and I was thinking of only one of the Plus Pro fixtures. 
I have been slowly acquiring more equipment and the light was next.


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## Sidius (Mar 25, 2012)

I have the satellite plus model (not the pro's). The pro's weren't out yet when I bought them.

They can be dimmed down to 7%... any lower than that and they start to flicker on and off. I've personally had a terrible experience. After about 9 months all the red and white and most of the blue LED's stopped working on one of the fixtures (It was basically green lights only). I tried to get in touch with Current USA many times and never got a single response from them (both via email or via submitting a ticket on their website). The warranty is only good for 12 months so I stopped trying after that. Then one day recently out of the blue, some of the LED's started working again. I'm sure they'll stop working at some point but I plan to replace these fixtures soon.

If you're looking for LED's... all the research I did (once I discovered the issues with the Current USA fixtures I did extensive research) says to invest the money in better quality lights or you'll be disappointed. AquaRay are highly regarded and so are BuildMyLED fixtures, both come with either a 3yr or 5yr warranty, I believe. Higher wattage doesn't necessarily equal better/more PAR. Most of the cheaper LED's waste a lot of wattage to heat, which ends up burning out your fixture because there's a lack of cooling in them.

When it comes to cheap LED's, I've had a beamswork fixture that is still going strong after 3 years but it doesn't get used as heavily.

Just my 2 cents of course.


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

I have to agree with everything said by Sidius, as i have both the freshwater and marine versions. The only thing the freshwater grows is christmas tree moss and black beard algae, and some of the diodes losing brightness. As for the marine version well i'm currently looking to replace them real soon as my mushrooms are not really happy. Hope this helps somewhat. ...


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