I know this is an old video, but I just wanted to thanks. I found my daughter's 20 year old 10 gallon tank while cleaning out the garage a couple weeks ago and thought it'd be a fun to put to use. Because I've never done anything in my life without overcomplicating it, since then I've been falling down the rabbit hole researching and watching and reading all about balanced low-tech planted nature tanks. I've been making my way through your content and lighting was on my list of 'oh look, something else to learn about!' - you answered it perfectly with this video. By the way, two years later and the discount code still works! Thanks so much for all the great content.
im using the hygger on a 10 gallon as well, i think its frying my duckweed 😂 but i turned it down its a great light so far! i dont have any fish yet just plants
Nice review! 25 of my 34 tanks are lit with the Hygger 957. They've been reliable and trouble free for over a year. Most of my tanks are low tech planted. Did take me a while to figure out how to program, then override to temporarily increase the light, then return it to the program, but I'm a slow learner. I have frequent power outages, but the lights come back on by themselves which I appreciate, especially when I'm out of town and the pet sitter would have to deal with it. With my Fluvals, I need to leave an old, decommissioned cell phone with the Fluval app in the fishroom! There is just enough programmability for my needs, I like a slow ramp up and ramp down, duration and intensity control, but don't need to tweak the color. Water resistance is good, have dropped a couple in the tank briefly, and others get a constant spray of bubbles on the underside from my sponge filters. Easy to wipe off. I don't need to run any of my 957's at the highest light output. My low light requirement plants are thriving. Top of the light does get hot when cranked up to 100%. I also have some of the older model Hygger lights, some Fluval 3.0 and Fluval Sky, some Finnex Stingrays, and a JC&P. I've shifted the older model Hyggers over to my succulent garden because I like the 957's so much better! I really love the flexibility of the built-in timer. I'm glad I don't have to use a cell phone app, which my old eyes and clumsy fingers have trouble with.
Thanks for your input! That is super useful info. I agree with you about it having, just enough tech to do what I want it too...but not so much that I need a phone or computer hahaha
I am setting up a 29g plantedand was wondering if the 24-30 inch would be enough or if I should go with the 30-36 inch. Plants will be low-med level plants like Hygrophilia, Dwarf Sag, Ludwigia Repens, annubias, red lotus, and Amazon Sword.
@@ollielloydjones5774 If it's me you were asking, I wasn't too impressed with it. I didn't like having to use a remote, and I prefer a light I can completely program instead of using the 24/7 type programs. If I recall, it kept a blue light on all night. Might have just been the program I chose. Nowadays it's in my house plant room.
@@madturtle8826 If you are asking me, I have a 957 on my 29 gallon where the main body of the light is 30". I don't program it for maximum light level more than about 60% and my similar plants do fine. My Amazon Swords were happier with the Fluval Sky, they faded away slowly when I switched out the light.
Have a Hygger 24/7 (older model,but does have all the colors) on two of my tanks. On the 20 long I’ve been able to start a carpet of dwarf hair grass in sand (with fluval stratum in media bags underneath in the back and root tabs) with no co2. Love these lights. In my experience I highly recommend.
To add insult in injury. The fluval 3.0 48-60" for a 55-90 gallon aquarium is 245 dollars 😭. But to get the latest version as of this comment for hygger for the same size is 75 dollars. That's 3x the money for like 5-10% difference is insane. It's companies like hygger that makes it possible for my small pocket to be able to afford this hobbie 😁😁
I have the fluval 3.0 for my planted low tech 29 gallon and do love it for all the obvious reasons. I wouldn’t spend that much money on any other tank though, so I thank you for this very thorough review! You always have such interesting very thorough content. Love what you do!
I don’t like the Fluvals. I have a 3.0 and 2 x 3.0 nanos. I just do not like the color rendition at all. I much prefer twin star E and S series, ONF nano + and Chihiros wrgb 2. That’s all I’ve been running on my aquascapes the last few years. My fluvals are now used in my emersed plant setup
I previously had a Fluval Planted light on my 40 gallon planted breeder tank...and I switched to Hygger 957...and it was much brighter. I have started a planted 120 g tank up in the entryway of my home that I changed from African Cichlids to a planted community tank with less blood thirsty inhabitants. I bought (2) of the 48" Hygger 957's for it due to the depth and the height..and so far..everything is started to take well. The programming on the lights is a bit daunting....but I need to take the time to study them. The additional colors that you can change with a touch of the sensor to green,,,blue...magenta is kind of gimmicky,,but I DO really enjoy the amber color which makes the tank look like a black backwaters tank. GREAT for get togethers at the home..and the tank looks super colorful and rich with those running. Thank you for your review. Very informative!
I use a MAXISUN MF2000 on my tank. Got for a bit over $100 Is made for plants, not aquariums, but dimmed down seem to be working well. At 70% I did turn my water green though 😂
Yeah flood lights from home depot will do that too haha. I did a video on the CREE LED diodes that are in all the high end lights made in China, and for a long time it was 2 lights for 29.99 and 3,000 lumens each, 6500k and par of 220 at 12 inches/foot deep lol...but it had no settings and definitely can end up making green water
I'm sold! Because I trust your judgement. I've been using the light that came with the tank and it's not a led light, so I hope this light will let me grow a carpet plant I've been waiting on.
How deep is your tank? Because without co2 carpeting plants generally need a bit more light. A fluval 3.0 in a tank less than 16 inches deep...a twinstar 450- 1200 cm EA iii series will also do a great job for 145- 250 depending on length. Then also you can always add a 6500kelvin LED flood light at the hardware store... to shine at the carpet. I prefer CREE LED brand diodes.... lots of cheap and expensive brands alike, use them... fluval is said also use CREE in fact. And an outdoor LED floodlight is 10 to 35$ so the cheapest way to go...if you can mount it aimed at the carpet or set it on a glass lid facedown
@@Fishtory from the top of the substrate to the top of the tank is 12 inches. I planted 4 bunches of dwarf hair grass today and I used your link to buy the hygger 957 last night. I already have some flood lights and I have string led I used to use for growing mushrooms. So thanks for the extra tips. I finally received my micro worm culture in the mail today and started it. Think I will try raising some scuds too. I'm sure the fish will like some different food for a change. But back to using a flood light, won't that crank up the algae growth?
Very detailed, appreciated the info and review. Wish the red were at least 630nm or more. But for a budget light it's not bad. I run Fluval 2.0 and Nicrews and the ClassicLED does well at growing a variety of plants and fish pop. But this light it's something worth giving a look at for a tank or as a second light to help with the spread of my 2.0 on my 55. Thanks for the in depth review.
@The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium I had another version of a Hygger in my cart from a few weeks ago, forgot it was in there. This one actually looks like it will outperform that one. Like you, I love my Fluval but sometimes you need to save a few bucks if you have a lot of tanks. I think for low lights plants and slightly above like you said, would excel like ferns, anubias and would keep algae a bit at bay. Thanks again
Yeah mine got hot but not over 140 farenheit and 160 to 180 seems to be the danger point from most things I've read...the fluval 3.0 on max also gets that warm too
Thank you for this. I was literally probably minutes away from ordering the Fluval 3.0 and yes it does look like a fantastic light but I am more in that category of set it and forget it so to find the Hygger at 1/3 the price in Canada was awesome.
Thanks. Also, I'm a fluval guy since the 2.0 came out, as well. But viewers wanted a budget option, especially for cichlid tanks and low plant load type situations (almost all of my tanks are loaded full with plants though). But I can definitely see the attraction if I kept fish a bit differently
I own a couple of Fluval 3.0 plant lights. In pro mode you can select 12 time settings and for each of those time points you can select a light intensity of each of five different colours between 0% and 100%. The possibilities are virtually endless - question is do we actually need that amount of choice? Would it really make any difference at all if I set my blue lights at 65% rather than 62%? Do I need to be able to set each time point within 5 minutes? Don't misunderstand me, I like the lights, but in reality once I programmed them to give me the photoperiod I wanted and the settings that worked I have not touched them for 18 months.
That was my exact point in this video as well! I mean it's fun and if you want to flower a plant, it's useful or even required some times...but other than that...it is not used by most people
Wow i did not pay attention to the massive difference in the wattage between the hygger lights! I will have to go with the 978 from now on! Thanks Alex your personality is electric!
This was super helpful. Am in the research mode for the 1st time in years. Planning on a 50G planted tank. Not happy with my old Aqueon lights on my 29g. they still work after about 8 years fish look great, but not the best for plants. Really hoping to get an upgrade to those. Am torn between this one and the Fluval 3.0.
I have a micro tank (Fluval Flex 15) that I removed the hood added 2 Hyggar lights since I have a heavily planted tank and the lights made a huge difference. I do have a question...is it beneficial to wipe the light lenses? It seems like they produce more light but maybe I'm too picky lol. Your channel is awesome! You have helped me so much and I appreciate you. Keep up the good work sir!
Well you got me to pull the trigger on two of the 30 inch for my 125 low light planted tank. I have some 978 hygger on the but they are only 26 watt the 30 inch version of these will be 48 watt. Hope to get a little more penitration. Thanks for the info
@@Fishtory i used the link to the hygger store and used your coupon code. hope it helps you out and thanks again for a budget light for my 125 gallon tank. will keep the wife semi happy lol
Thanks for this video. Really wanted a light somewhere between the performance of the 3.0 and the price of the all pond solutions (sun sun in the states). In my opinion, if you're doing a father fish, walstad or el natural tank. This may be the light.
Great video, I have the 36in 957 on a 40 breeder, great light would need another for full tank coverage, but i grow plants well with just 1. Video 2 "How to set timer' 😂 after everyone orders them
Great video! Coupon code is still valid, got the 48" long for $60! On a 75 gallon, do you see any issues with the center brace blocking the light? I plan to have glass lids and lay yhe light directly on them. I assume it doesnt get hot enough to melt the brace
Not at all. It's not strong enough of a light to get to those temps. It's a decent medium powered light, but nothing like saltwater or grow lights. It may cast a little shadow over the brace, but it should work fine
Do you have a long term review on this Hygger light? Have you ever tried or heard feedback on the Nicrew Skyled Plus? Just wondering how they compare since they are in a similar price range.
That's a very impressive light! You did a great job covering all the details, pros and cons comparisons. Never going to waste my money on a Fluval. It's really nice to see this on a tank with water, fish and plants. Pretty amazing light for the price. About time Fluval had some serious competition and such a great price compared to what they charge. 👍❤👍
Chihiros has had customizable controls for just as long. And the wrgb and wrgb 2 blow the fluval out of the water. I run all 3 lights. And it’s not really a big deal as for $20 you can add a Chihiros commander 1 to twinstar lights and have all the customization and app control. I’ve run my e and s series with commander 1 for years. Yes it’s not ideal to have to spend another $20, but you’re already paying through the nose for twinstar and so the little extra $20 is worth the added functionality imo. Plus the twinstars make plants and fish look so much better than fluval. My fluvals have been repurposed to my emersed setup. Yes they can grow plants well, but I’ve always hated the color rendition no matter how much I played with the color channels. Now I use a combo of ONF, twinstar, and Chihiros. This hyger definitely seems competitive and definitely has a clear place in the market. I know a lot of people aren’t as serious as I am to want to spend the amount of money I do.
Wow! Great review. I’d been looking for another light for my 35 gal. I have a Current Pro at the moment which I bought about 6 yrs ago. It has been great for my low tech set up but now I’ve changed my tank to high tech planted and wanted more Par at depth (tank dimensions 36”w x 12”d x 18”h). I will be buying a Hygger to supplement the Current USA one on my tank. Love your stuff. 👍
Right on! Glad to hear that this review was of use to you! Please let me know how you like it once you get it all set up.oh and also... Have a great weekend too!
@@Fishtory Hey! Same to you. BTW, would like to JOIN but can’t see a way to. When I click the link, it just takes me to your home page. I ordered the Hygger from Amazon (I’m in Canada so it cost more, of course) and should get it at the end of this month. Also, bummer about your hospital bill 💸. In Canada we take our health system for granted and gripe about it a lot sometimes but when I hear stories like yours, it makes me less cranky about the taxes I pay that go towards it. 😳. Hope it works out for you.
Great detailed review @Alex. I've a 55gallon moderately planted but it's 2 foot deep,I don't do carpet plants mainly low to moderate light plants,but I inherited fluval aquasky.I love the individual setting on it,I use on a pro setting but I do think it falls short especially with my aquarium depth.That hygger looks a better light on stats compared to the aquasky, just the setting side of it,is making wonder if this would be better investment.But great review mate.🇬🇧🇬🇧👍👍👍👍
Thanks... I had the aquasky and I like this one more so far...but I keep pretty densely Planted tanks. If I was doing a grow out or cichlid spawn tank, I probably wouldn't need most the settings honestly. Glad it was a useful review for you, mate! Cheers
It's annoying to program but a good light for a planted community tank if you don't want spend the money on a 3.0 or some very pricy light. Definitely my new "budget pick"
@@Fishtory I have all my lights on a wifi timer anyway so the programming isn't a problem. That graph about how much kight makes it through the water was very telling!
Hey Folks, Sorry to bug everyone, but I figured someone here might know something. I bought a bunch of the Hygger 957s. I am happy with the light produced. My problem right now is that I run all of my aquarium lights off of plug into the wall light timers, with a power bar plugged into them. I like this because I know that the lights will eventually kick back on to their cycle, even if there is a power outage (albeit staggered by the duration of the power outage), rather potentially having no light and having to reset it after a power outage. (Power outages can be unusually frequent and long where I live). I sometimes leave my home for long periods of time, and it would be scary to return to find nothing running after 2 weeks. I also have other lights and devices running on the light timer through a power bar, so it is way easier to just change the on/off times on the light timer if I want to adjust them. I have my Hygger lights set to "manual mode", and have turned the lights on, according to instructions. Unfortunately, it seems like every time the light timer turns the lights off and attempts to turn them back on again, the time is flashing, as if it has been reset, with the light turned off. So, I am getting home every day to find the lights off. Am I missing something here? Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Do I maybe just need to return these and go back to lower lumen Hyggers? I have never had a problem with the lower lumen Hyggers turning back on automatically, using a plug in light timer. Someone might suggest that I switch over to using the internal timer, but it seems to me that if there were an extended power outage for long enough, the same "reset" behavior would repeat itself. Seems pretty unreliable. If anyone who is using a plug in light timer has any tricks, please let me know. I would prefer to not have to return all of these. As stated, I do not have the same problem with my other Hygger lights that aren't the 957 model. Very strange. I also plan to reach out to Hygger themselves. Thanks! Seth
I found this info on the Planted Tank forum: "But first, the summary: This light will always be fully off when first plugged in or power is restored. After power on, you must set the time before doing anything useful, but program settings are retained. So you can't use this on an external timer." It looks like I will have to return these. Any light that doesn't turn back on after a power outage is a recipe for disaster for me and my needs. That said, I will see what Hygger says, and if anyone here has a hack, please let me know. Otherwise, buyer beware! If you go on vacation/work trips and ever have power outages, this could not be the right light for you.
No worries Alex. It is really tough because I fell in love with the lumens/par of this light. I think that I will have to return them and use multiples of the other Hygger models to acheive the same effect.
I'm so glad I watched this video. I already had a Hygger 957 for my 10 gallon. And I often thought it looked just as good as my 24 inch Fluval. I did order the 48 to 72 with your coupon. It was 59.99 with free shipping!!! I couldn't turn that deal down! I'm thinking when I aquascape my 55 gal. of using this with my 24 inch Fluval in the front of this one for carpet plants. Any thoughts on this idea?
you know I bought this light when it 1st came out for my 10 gallon planted light....all i can say is WOW!!! My plants grew like crazy and the lighting is so crisp and clean bright. And it has a built in timer. Im now going to be upgrading a few of my tanks. I have 10 gallon all the way to 300 gallons. Im a loooong time hobbiest. Blessing my friend!
So glad to hear your input. Thank I for sharing with us. It's always good to hear a number of opinions and not just the same one over and over. Have a great weekend. Cheers! 🙏
I just bought two 36” Hygger lights for my 125. Iv been using fennex on my 40 shrimp and 55 community. Omg is the hygger bright and it has more colors. I like the features better and I like that there water proof. Only one thing I can think of to improve is a remote for my lazy but. My new favorite- Hygger
I bought a set of two to place in the rear of my tank. One detail I have to say that give this light a big 0 is the fact that the cable connector is only 12" from the fixture. Since my tank is 24" deep and I need 2 in the front and 2 in the back, that mean I could not have that light properly placed for the front without having the connector inthe water. Good thing I have my Fluval in the front. Its the difference between a cheap light and a good one, the quality of the design.
Oh interesting. Yeah I could see that being an issue. I leave mine dangling out if the tank, so it's always right near the light and not several feet down the cord, like some brands. But thanks for pointing this out for the folks who it may matter to!
@@Fishtory Yes, exactly, depending on your setup in probably 95% of the case its not a problem, its just my tank with that close canopy that make it an issue. Other then that small detail, I have to say, their is not much of a big difference in the colour the plants look like so for 95% of the people or even for me at the back of my tank, its a better investment. Where I live, I must either import the Fluval from Europe or Amazon, from Europe its about 5 time the price of the Hygger, for Amazon, its 7 time the price so definetly hard to justify just to get the colour a little bit more crisp. Fluval app is cool, but it's not like I play with it everyday so even if the hygger programming is not that easy, reprogramming once every blue moon won't kill me. 😉
Got 2 of them love them how ever the power cord went out in less then a year got replacement one and now light acts up during light change scheduled times and won't properly change. 😑 I now manually do it and works fine thar way
Thanks for another great video! Wish you'd do more product reviews because you are very honest with the pro'sand con's!! I see someone asked about using with a wifi timer. Firstly, what is that and what would it control? ( not too savy here) and secondly, this light can be programmed to turn on and off? Correct? Thanks so much!!
Yes it can be programmed by the hour basically ...but it takes a while and is annoying lol. Even with instructions it isn't the best. But the mode where it's on for 6, 8 or 12 hours and then ramps up and down , and turns off at night- it's the settings i would usually recommend anyhow. And a wifi timer Is just a relay timer, so it's like old timers but it connects to an app on a smartphone or computer or remote, then controls the power to be off and or, on on each plug by whatever time settings you want (no drift occurs like with cheap dial timers do). Hope that helps, my friend! Cheers
I almost bought this but they have a new model out for the same price! The hg-999. Looks like the programming is a little more in-depth. I just bout yesterday it and don't get to play with it til Thursday. If you happen to do an updated review, I might be in the market for 2 or 3 more at a discount ;}
Just checked that out, here's some basic comparison for 30-36inch Power: 999(26w) 957(48w) Lumens: 999(1720) 957(2365) Price:999($57.99) 957($61.99) In the end I would say that the 999 is a Hygger full spectrum with a timer while 957 is still the best hygger light for pushing for a high light.
Don't have time to watch the whole video, but this is a good light. I have a few of them. There is a DIY mode that allows you to set your own light cycle. I'm not sure if you covered this or not but a lot of people don't know this for some reason lol
Yeah I covered it, but it doesn't let you pick which diodes at what % ...(not that nearly anyone needs that function) but Fluval's newest app and light do allow for that level of customization
@@Fishtory wow, that's some serious customization! That way you can grow different sized plants or different varieties with varrying light requirements on each side if the tank?
@@Fishtory Or is it that you can customize each color wavelength that you would like to increase or decrease? The Hygger model one step down from this one, the one with a controller/screen on the cord, has the ability to change light intensity for the r/b/g/ or white light and its it's cheaper. Also has DIY mode. I actually like it better than this model covered here. Can't get my amazon app to pull up or I would tell you the exact model #
Awesome review Alex. I’m looking at lights at the moment for a new display tank, but on a budget. This could be great. I’d like a siesta during the day tho, will the timer work for that? I have rest of mine on smart plugs so I can add that. Also, Would the controls work with that kind of plug? 🇦🇺❤️
Here’s a tip I do with my twinstars. I have both e and s series. I buy Chihiros commander 1 for about $20 and boom now you can control your twinstars with the Chihiros app. So all my twinstars and Chihiros are controlled on the same app! And it’s so simple to use. Also the nicrew timers work well and they are only about $10. No app, but you can do multiple light points. Enough to have 2 sunrises and sunsets a day. Only problem with the nicrew is no app; you need to set it up via the inline controller. Chihiros commander 1 for the win!!!!
@@Fishtory no problem. Thank you for the great in depth video. I appreciate it. Even though I’m not in the market for this light it’s exiting to see cheaper competition putting out more viable stuff for planted tank folks like us!!!
Hi Love the way you bring your products to the platform, I have a product for fish tank lights and would like to talk to you about a partnership, how do I get in touch with you?
Alexanderjwilliamson@gmail.com if it works with my content and I can give my honest opinion and take some time to try out products, I'm all for sharing my experiences. :)
Sort of. You can click one of 5 brightness levels and assign them at each hour interval. The programing unit is pretty annoying though haha fluval has them beat on that for sure
Good video quick question will having an acrylic plastic cover top in between the light and the water of the tank reduce it's effectiveness? I don't want to remove the top because I have snails that might get out lol
Thank you!! I have been waiting for this review since this light came out. I loved the price and features, but wasn’t sure if it was a good light for growing plants… I couldn’t find the PAR ratings on this light anywhere on the internet. I am setting up a 29gallon planted tank with low to medium level plants(Hygro,Ludwigia Repens, Dwarf sag, and some annubias to name a few) and was wondering- Is this light too much for those? Do I need the light to cover the whole length or would the 24 inch light be sufficient? I really love your videos man. I appreciate all of your knowledge 🤟🏻
I think 24 would work for your tank and as a tank gets deeper, light intensity gets halved every 5 or 6 inches in clear waters...so you'll be good to go!
I'm going to order one. It has more LEDs than the ones I have currently. In the past I didn't do much research on lighting and purchased just the cheapest I could find. Actually the white/blue only light I have casts a more pleasing light than the RGB but I read that the white leds only have 40 per cent effect on plant growth..blue light helps a little with bushiness of the plant growth..I think. Since this Hygger has more LEDS of every color than my current light of same size/wattage hopefully I'll have a good balance of all. What the heck...the discount does chip off a bit so worth the try. I can dim the brightness also if it brings on algae so happy about that.
Yes that's understandable. You know what you're doing. I've been plodding along trying to get successful plant growth in the simplest of plants.."easy to grow". I think perhaps I also have some issues with nutrients as well as I did have even cheaper lights than the Hygger. I did a lot of research at first and used pretty good substrate but my tanks now are getting on to 2/3 years so think I need to add some new substrate. I recently found your video about adding substrate to an already set up tank. So I have also watched your video on this subject too. Right now I'm in burn out stage as I've discovered blue/green algae in 3 tanks which is killing my plants besides being a sludgy mess. I guess that's what can happen and I feel I need the patience of a saint right now. YUK YUK! Oh, I watched your video on getting rid of this algae as well. So thanks a lot. I'm hoping I can become a member soon as your videos have helped me a lot as you cover a lot of bases on subjects instead of just a cursory explanation which happens a lot on youtube. @@Fishtory
It's in the description, called Petnannystore (their us wholesaler I guess?) And the code is HistorySecret or there's a link to Amazon if you want free shipping thru Amazon prime and that ends up being cheaper (depends for where people live)
I just bought the 957 and just have to cut the glass of my new canopy. Why doesn't topfin make a glass canopy that fits their standard 55g tank? It's ridiculous
They will work shinning through a glass lid, you probably lose 10% of light and nearly all the heat radiation ( which most people dont care or think about) but i heat some low temp tanks using just lowset lights , so i figured id mention that lol
@@Fishtory Yeah it looks pretty good. I’m surprised no one is really talking about it considering how popular their other and previous models are. Maybe you could do something in the future
The entire PCB is conformal coated (dipped in epoxy kinda) This means that it's waterproof from the inside out, and the plastic and clear plastic case around it does not need to be waterproof.
Alex Hi. I have a question. So in my 20-gallon tank, the following magical processes are taking place, about a month ago I upgraded my light from hygger 26w 1350lm to hygger 957 36w 1960lm, I keep my light on from 12:30 pm to 10:30 pm, so 10 hours, but I have it on a schedule to emulate the day cycle, so it takes 45 hours to reach 100% light output at the start of the day and light starts to go wrap up 45 minutes before it turns off, so, in reality, the light is on full blast only for 8.5 hours a day. My plants began to purl a lot, lots of oxygen coming off all of the plants which is cool. However, the backwall of the tank I never cleaned in the past and had a nice coating of algae on it, now its all but disappeared, and yes I do have snails in tank but I never have seen basic green algae go away like that. Is it normal? Another question was about my jungle val, as the light increased, I started dosing aqueon plant food, at the half rate of what is suggested, instead of 20ml only 10ml a week and jungle val turned brown, other vals like Americana for example, are green and no issues at all, should I be worried about something? Can you give me some tips?
Hi! First of all, congratulations for your video! Excelent and compreensive approach, as usual. I´d like to ask your help for the following situation. I have a 17,7 inches aquarium and plan to buy one of these lights (previous version, without the LCD screen). However, my tank´s lenght is in the threshold between 14"-20" Model -14W (10" Fixture) and 18"-24" Model 18W (16" Fixture)... Based in your pratical experience with these lights, do you think that the 18"-24" Model 18W (16" Fixture) would be viable in my 17,7 inches aquarium? Thank you in advance! Best regards.
I have the same light , the worst thing about it is if you plug off the outlet or if there is an power outage at night and you don't check it in the morning the time resets. So you have to set the time, set the daylight etc. maybe There is another way just to connect it to the mechanical timer? Please let me know. And thanks for the videos you create!
Yeah that was another downside that folks mentioned after I made the video... apparently the settings should stay programmed but the local time will screwed up by any power disruption
That is so weird! I get frequent power outages and it didn't seem to mess with my time. Maybe because most of my outages are brief and I didn't notice the difference, because the lights came back on.
Alexander the timing of this video was perfect as I am looking to upgrade my light on the 20 long. Should I get the 30-36" or the 24-30" version? in regards to the discount code where can it be used in Canada? Thanks again for sharing you knowledge!
I think the discount code works at the petnannystore link...but you could always email them as well. I would suggest getting the 24 - 36inch if you don't mind 3 inches on each end slightly dimmer...but if you really cram a ton of plants in there, then I'd go one size larger. (The lowe number is the actual LED strip length and the big number is the full leg extension
It appears the 957's RGB lights cannot be combined with its LED, e.g. incapable of running green simultaneously with the LED spectrum, correct? Thank you for the thorough review, especially comparing the Hygger to my Beamswork.
Having a 125 gallon, I was considering 2 fluval 3.0 at 3’ each… would be around $500… this would save me about $370 if I get 2 Hygger instead. Thanks for the heads up
It would work if you are doing crypts, anubias, buce, val, cabomba, ludwigia and penny wort/money wort etc. But to grow bright color plants, or carpeting plants...or to really go bold while using co2 the fluval 3.0 is worth it. But for fish and some low to medium light plants, im pretty satisfied
What do you suggest I set my fluval 3.0 at? I have a 135g 24 deep..all low tech plants..Anubias,Java fern,Val,swords And how long photo period?….please help
Do you still like this light. In the market for a another light, but am debating between another Fluval 3.0, the Aquarium Co-op light, or this higher spec light compared to my other Hygger lights. The Fluval and Co-op are virtually the same price, here in Canada, and as you said, this Hygger is 1/2 the price. I'm not into co2 and high tech plants.
I know this is an old video, but I just wanted to thanks. I found my daughter's 20 year old 10 gallon tank while cleaning out the garage a couple weeks ago and thought it'd be a fun to put to use. Because I've never done anything in my life without overcomplicating it, since then I've been falling down the rabbit hole researching and watching and reading all about balanced low-tech planted nature tanks. I've been making my way through your content and lighting was on my list of 'oh look, something else to learn about!' - you answered it perfectly with this video. By the way, two years later and the discount code still works! Thanks so much for all the great content.
im using the hygger on a 10 gallon as well, i think its frying my duckweed 😂 but i turned it down its a great light so far! i dont have any fish yet just plants
This review was so excellent and I love your explanations, you go through everything! Appreciate it!
Glad it was helpful! Im reviewing 3 new lights in early September too
Nice review! 25 of my 34 tanks are lit with the Hygger 957. They've been reliable and trouble free for over a year. Most of my tanks are low tech planted. Did take me a while to figure out how to program, then override to temporarily increase the light, then return it to the program, but I'm a slow learner. I have frequent power outages, but the lights come back on by themselves which I appreciate, especially when I'm out of town and the pet sitter would have to deal with it. With my Fluvals, I need to leave an old, decommissioned cell phone with the Fluval app in the fishroom! There is just enough programmability for my needs, I like a slow ramp up and ramp down, duration and intensity control, but don't need to tweak the color. Water resistance is good, have dropped a couple in the tank briefly, and others get a constant spray of bubbles on the underside from my sponge filters. Easy to wipe off. I don't need to run any of my 957's at the highest light output. My low light requirement plants are thriving. Top of the light does get hot when cranked up to 100%. I also have some of the older model Hygger lights, some Fluval 3.0 and Fluval Sky, some Finnex Stingrays, and a JC&P. I've shifted the older model Hyggers over to my succulent garden because I like the 957's so much better! I really love the flexibility of the built-in timer. I'm glad I don't have to use a cell phone app, which my old eyes and clumsy fingers have trouble with.
Thanks for your input! That is super useful info. I agree with you about it having, just enough tech to do what I want it too...but not so much that I need a phone or computer hahaha
I am setting up a 29g plantedand was wondering if the 24-30 inch would be enough or if I should go with the 30-36 inch. Plants will be low-med level plants like Hygrophilia, Dwarf Sag, Ludwigia Repens, annubias, red lotus, and Amazon Sword.
did you like your JC&P?
@@ollielloydjones5774 If it's me you were asking, I wasn't too impressed with it. I didn't like having to use a remote, and I prefer a light I can completely program instead of using the 24/7 type programs. If I recall, it kept a blue light on all night. Might have just been the program I chose. Nowadays it's in my house plant room.
@@madturtle8826 If you are asking me, I have a 957 on my 29 gallon where the main body of the light is 30". I don't program it for maximum light level more than about 60% and my similar plants do fine. My Amazon Swords were happier with the Fluval Sky, they faded away slowly when I switched out the light.
Great review! Definitely the most comprehensive I’ve found on this model. Very appreciated! 👍
Glad it was helpful!
Have a Hygger 24/7 (older model,but does have all the colors) on two of my tanks. On the 20 long I’ve been able to start a carpet of dwarf hair grass in sand (with fluval stratum in media bags underneath in the back and root tabs) with no co2. Love these lights. In my experience I highly recommend.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience and the carpeting ability with some attention to the details hehe. Have a great day
Whats size length fits a 20 long
To add insult in injury. The fluval 3.0 48-60" for a 55-90 gallon aquarium is 245 dollars 😭.
But to get the latest version as of this comment for hygger for the same size is 75 dollars. That's 3x the money for like 5-10% difference is insane. It's companies like hygger that makes it possible for my small pocket to be able to afford this hobbie 😁😁
I have the fluval 3.0 for my planted low tech 29 gallon and do love it for all the obvious reasons. I wouldn’t spend that much money on any other tank though, so I thank you for this very thorough review! You always have such interesting very thorough content. Love what you do!
Why certainly! I'm of the same opinion basically...only certain show tanks get the fancy lights hehe
I don’t like the Fluvals. I have a 3.0 and 2 x 3.0 nanos. I just do not like the color rendition at all. I much prefer twin star E and S series, ONF nano + and Chihiros wrgb 2. That’s all I’ve been running on my aquascapes the last few years. My fluvals are now used in my emersed plant setup
I previously had a Fluval Planted light on my 40 gallon planted breeder tank...and I switched to Hygger 957...and it was much brighter. I have started a planted 120 g tank up in the entryway of my home that I changed from African Cichlids to a planted community tank with less blood thirsty inhabitants. I bought (2) of the 48" Hygger 957's for it due to the depth and the height..and so far..everything is started to take well. The programming on the lights is a bit daunting....but I need to take the time to study them. The additional colors that you can change with a touch of the sensor to green,,,blue...magenta is kind of gimmicky,,but I DO really enjoy the amber color which makes the tank look like a black backwaters tank. GREAT for get togethers at the home..and the tank looks super colorful and rich with those running. Thank you for your review. Very informative!
I just ordered the light from Amazon and we shall see! I will comment after having it on my UNS AIO 16 gallon planted tank. Thanks for the video!
It's about time people started to notice this!!! I have been calling this out for a while now in my Aquatic Discord!
Right on
This. Was awesome. Most comprehensive review n lighting details I’ve seen yet. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
I got my hygger 978 a few weeks ago, and it is killer! The 24 hour light cycling is so awesome
There's a DIY mode that lets you change multiple setting
I use a MAXISUN MF2000 on my tank.
Got for a bit over $100
Is made for plants, not aquariums, but dimmed down seem to be working well. At 70% I did turn my water green though 😂
Yeah flood lights from home depot will do that too haha. I did a video on the CREE LED diodes that are in all the high end lights made in China, and for a long time it was 2 lights for 29.99 and 3,000 lumens each, 6500k and par of 220 at 12 inches/foot deep lol...but it had no settings and definitely can end up making green water
@@Fishtory 0l1
Been doing some searching. That Hygger light caught my eye on Amazon. I realy enjoyed your detailed review on this light I'm going to try it.
Sound is ok here. Thanks.
I'm sold! Because I trust your judgement. I've been using the light that came with the tank and it's not a led light, so I hope this light will let me grow a carpet plant I've been waiting on.
How deep is your tank? Because without co2 carpeting plants generally need a bit more light. A fluval 3.0 in a tank less than 16 inches deep...a twinstar 450- 1200 cm EA iii series will also do a great job for 145- 250 depending on length. Then also you can always add a 6500kelvin LED flood light at the hardware store... to shine at the carpet. I prefer CREE LED brand diodes.... lots of cheap and expensive brands alike, use them... fluval is said also use CREE in fact. And an outdoor LED floodlight is 10 to 35$ so the cheapest way to go...if you can mount it aimed at the carpet or set it on a glass lid facedown
@@Fishtory from the top of the substrate to the top of the tank is 12 inches. I planted 4 bunches of dwarf hair grass today and I used your link to buy the hygger 957 last night. I already have some flood lights and I have string led I used to use for growing mushrooms.
So thanks for the extra tips.
I finally received my micro worm culture in the mail today and started it. Think I will try raising some scuds too. I'm sure the fish will like some different food for a change.
But back to using a flood light, won't that crank up the algae growth?
Very detailed, appreciated the info and review. Wish the red were at least 630nm or more. But for a budget light it's not bad. I run Fluval 2.0 and Nicrews and the ClassicLED does well at growing a variety of plants and fish pop. But this light it's something worth giving a look at for a tank or as a second light to help with the spread of my 2.0 on my 55. Thanks for the in depth review.
For sure! Glad it was of some use to you haha
@The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium I had another version of a Hygger in my cart from a few weeks ago, forgot it was in there. This one actually looks like it will outperform that one. Like you, I love my Fluval but sometimes you need to save a few bucks if you have a lot of tanks. I think for low lights plants and slightly above like you said, would excel like ferns, anubias and would keep algae a bit at bay. Thanks again
Too detailed for me.44 min for a light review is ridiculous
Hi, can you perform RGB mixing or is it only the preset colors that are available?
@Phillip Charles Ashwood You can go into diy mode. There, you can adjust each color and intensity, but it can be a pain to program.
Great job explaining the difference in the lights and what light to choose depending on what you want to accomplish.
Thank you. Glad it did the trick haha
Thank you! One of the concerns on Amazon reviews is that it gets really hot. That would be a concern during summer heat waves.
Yeah mine got hot but not over 140 farenheit and 160 to 180 seems to be the danger point from most things I've read...the fluval 3.0 on max also gets that warm too
I have the Fluval and I can comfortably rest my open palm on the top of it so I think the reports about it getting super hot are exaggerated.
I’ll definitely keep this one on my list for when I’m ready to upgrade. Right now I have an Ottlight desk lamp set up above my tank hahaha
Thank you for this. I was literally probably minutes away from ordering the Fluval 3.0 and yes it does look like a fantastic light but I am more in that category of set it and forget it so to find the Hygger at 1/3 the price in Canada was awesome.
Hope you enjoy it!
Wow! Super, in-depth review. You have helped me so much on my choices. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! Have a wonderful week!
Thanks for your time. Always have great information.
Sure thing. Thanks for stopping by
Thanks man- just got it!!
No problem 👍
Great vid Alex, wow that hygger is pretty impressive. I'm a Fluval guy myself but I'm impressed.
Thanks. Also, I'm a fluval guy since the 2.0 came out, as well. But viewers wanted a budget option, especially for cichlid tanks and low plant load type situations (almost all of my tanks are loaded full with plants though). But I can definitely see the attraction if I kept fish a bit differently
Your hair looks great in a ponytail 👍 thanks for this review!!
Hehe thanks...only took 2 years 😅
Thank you so much for this review. Very informative and very happy that I got this light.
Right on, glad to hear it !
I own a couple of Fluval 3.0 plant lights. In pro mode you can select 12 time settings and for each of those time points you can select a light intensity of each of five different colours between 0% and 100%. The possibilities are virtually endless - question is do we actually need that amount of choice? Would it really make any difference at all if I set my blue lights at 65% rather than 62%? Do I need to be able to set each time point within 5 minutes? Don't misunderstand me, I like the lights, but in reality once I programmed them to give me the photoperiod I wanted and the settings that worked I have not touched them for 18 months.
That was my exact point in this video as well! I mean it's fun and if you want to flower a plant, it's useful or even required some times...but other than that...it is not used by most people
It confused me with my Fluval.
Just ordered the hygger thx for this review 😊
Best video I’ve seen on this light!
Hey man this information means to me alot I Share this Inf in some of our aquarium group s hear I India thank you!
No problem! Glad you enjoyed it, my friend
Wow i did not pay attention to the massive difference in the wattage between the hygger lights! I will have to go with the 978 from now on! Thanks Alex your personality is electric!
Glad to help. Cheers
This was super helpful. Am in the research mode for the 1st time in years. Planning on a 50G planted tank. Not happy with my old Aqueon lights on my 29g. they still work after about 8 years fish look great, but not the best for plants. Really hoping to get an upgrade to those. Am torn between this one and the Fluval 3.0.
I have a hygger light and my children like to pick the colors we put it on before we turn them off. It grows my plants very well.
Oh that's a good point for kids tanks. Thank you
@@Fishtory no problem 😊
I have a micro tank (Fluval Flex 15) that I removed the hood added 2 Hyggar lights since I have a heavily planted tank and the lights made a huge difference. I do have a question...is it beneficial to wipe the light lenses? It seems like they produce more light but maybe I'm too picky lol. Your channel is awesome! You have helped me so much and I appreciate you. Keep up the good work sir!
Thanks man. Yeah i wipe mine if i want high or medium light. 🤪 but maybe I'm crazy too
Well you got me to pull the trigger on two of the 30 inch for my 125 low light planted tank. I have some 978 hygger on the but they are only 26 watt the 30 inch version of these will be 48 watt. Hope to get a little more penitration. Thanks for the info
Right on! Let me know how it goes my friend! There's links in the description also.
@@Fishtory i used the link to the hygger store and used your coupon code. hope it helps you out and thanks again for a budget light for my 125 gallon tank. will keep the wife semi happy lol
This was very helpful for me. Thank you. Love your videos
I'm happy to help!
You are a great help in my quest to find the best light and best price. Thank you for this video!
Thank for that. I will try one because of your review.
Right on! Let me know what your thoughts are
best channel out there thank you 🤝🏻
Thank you so very much for the kind words
Hello. Hope all is well. Thanks
Thanks for this video. Really wanted a light somewhere between the performance of the 3.0 and the price of the all pond solutions (sun sun in the states). In my opinion, if you're doing a father fish, walstad or el natural tank. This may be the light.
Great video, I have the 36in 957 on a 40 breeder, great light would need another for full tank coverage, but i grow plants well with just 1. Video 2 "How to set timer' 😂 after everyone orders them
Hahaha 100% thanks for the comment and info on the 40 breeder, I was wondering that very same thing
Great video! Coupon code is still valid, got the 48" long for $60!
On a 75 gallon, do you see any issues with the center brace blocking the light? I plan to have glass lids and lay yhe light directly on them. I assume it doesnt get hot enough to melt the brace
Not at all. It's not strong enough of a light to get to those temps. It's a decent medium powered light, but nothing like saltwater or grow lights. It may cast a little shadow over the brace, but it should work fine
Do you have a long term review on this Hygger light? Have you ever tried or heard feedback on the Nicrew Skyled Plus? Just wondering how they compare since they are in a similar price range.
That's a very impressive light! You did a great job covering all the details, pros and cons comparisons. Never going to waste my money on a Fluval. It's really nice to see this on a tank with water, fish and plants. Pretty amazing light for the price. About time Fluval had some serious competition and such a great price compared to what they charge.
👍❤👍
Agreed about the competition. It's ridiculous they were the only ones with customize controls for 4 years
Chihiros has had customizable controls for just as long. And the wrgb and wrgb 2 blow the fluval out of the water. I run all 3 lights. And it’s not really a big deal as for $20 you can add a Chihiros commander 1 to twinstar lights and have all the customization and app control. I’ve run my e and s series with commander 1 for years. Yes it’s not ideal to have to spend another $20, but you’re already paying through the nose for twinstar and so the little extra $20 is worth the added functionality imo. Plus the twinstars make plants and fish look so much better than fluval. My fluvals have been repurposed to my emersed setup. Yes they can grow plants well, but I’ve always hated the color rendition no matter how much I played with the color channels. Now I use a combo of ONF, twinstar, and Chihiros. This hyger definitely seems competitive and definitely has a clear place in the market. I know a lot of people aren’t as serious as I am to want to spend the amount of money I do.
Wow! Great review. I’d been looking for another light for my 35 gal. I have a Current Pro at the moment which I bought about 6 yrs ago. It has been great for my low tech set up but now I’ve changed my tank to high tech planted and wanted more Par at depth (tank dimensions 36”w x 12”d x 18”h). I will be buying a Hygger to supplement the Current USA one on my tank.
Love your stuff. 👍
Right on! Glad to hear that this review was of use to you! Please let me know how you like it once you get it all set up.oh and also... Have a great weekend too!
@@Fishtory Hey! Same to you. BTW, would like to JOIN but can’t see a way to. When I click the link, it just takes me to your home page. I ordered the Hygger from Amazon (I’m in Canada so it cost more, of course) and should get it at the end of this month. Also, bummer about your hospital bill 💸. In Canada we take our health system for granted and gripe about it a lot sometimes but when I hear stories like yours, it makes me less cranky about the taxes I pay that go towards it. 😳. Hope it works out for you.
thanks for all the info alex
Sure thing
Thanks for the information 👍
Thanks for tuning in
@@Fishtory you're very welcome
Great detailed review @Alex. I've a 55gallon moderately planted but it's 2 foot deep,I don't do carpet plants mainly low to moderate light plants,but I inherited fluval aquasky.I love the individual setting on it,I use on a pro setting but I do think it falls short especially with my aquarium depth.That hygger looks a better light on stats compared to the aquasky, just the setting side of it,is making wonder if this would be better investment.But great review mate.🇬🇧🇬🇧👍👍👍👍
Thanks... I had the aquasky and I like this one more so far...but I keep pretty densely Planted tanks. If I was doing a grow out or cichlid spawn tank, I probably wouldn't need most the settings honestly. Glad it was a useful review for you, mate! Cheers
Thanks for this! I may have come around to this light. 😁
It's annoying to program but a good light for a planted community tank if you don't want spend the money on a 3.0 or some very pricy light. Definitely my new "budget pick"
@@Fishtory I have all my lights on a wifi timer anyway so the programming isn't a problem.
That graph about how much kight makes it through the water was very telling!
Hey Folks,
Sorry to bug everyone, but I figured someone here might know something. I bought a bunch of the Hygger 957s. I am happy with the light produced. My problem right now is that I run all of my aquarium lights off of plug into the wall light timers, with a power bar plugged into them. I like this because I know that the lights will eventually kick back on to their cycle, even if there is a power outage (albeit staggered by the duration of the power outage), rather potentially having no light and having to reset it after a power outage. (Power outages can be unusually frequent and long where I live). I sometimes leave my home for long periods of time, and it would be scary to return to find nothing running after 2 weeks. I also have other lights and devices running on the light timer through a power bar, so it is way easier to just change the on/off times on the light timer if I want to adjust them.
I have my Hygger lights set to "manual mode", and have turned the lights on, according to instructions. Unfortunately, it seems like every time the light timer turns the lights off and attempts to turn them back on again, the time is flashing, as if it has been reset, with the light turned off. So, I am getting home every day to find the lights off. Am I missing something here? Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Do I maybe just need to return these and go back to lower lumen Hyggers? I have never had a problem with the lower lumen Hyggers turning back on automatically, using a plug in light timer.
Someone might suggest that I switch over to using the internal timer, but it seems to me that if there were an extended power outage for long enough, the same "reset" behavior would repeat itself. Seems pretty unreliable.
If anyone who is using a plug in light timer has any tricks, please let me know. I would prefer to not have to return all of these. As stated, I do not have the same problem with my other Hygger lights that aren't the 957 model. Very strange. I also plan to reach out to Hygger themselves.
Thanks!
Seth
I found this info on the Planted Tank forum:
"But first, the summary: This light will always be fully off when first plugged in or power is restored. After power on, you must set the time before doing anything useful, but program settings are retained. So you can't use this on an external timer."
It looks like I will have to return these. Any light that doesn't turn back on after a power outage is a recipe for disaster for me and my needs. That said, I will see what Hygger says, and if anyone here has a hack, please let me know.
Otherwise, buyer beware! If you go on vacation/work trips and ever have power outages, this could not be the right light for you.
Sorry i dont know more about this...i manually do it all when im home in the morning then in the afternoon. But im crazy
No worries Alex. It is really tough because I fell in love with the lumens/par of this light. I think that I will have to return them and use multiples of the other Hygger models to acheive the same effect.
I'm so glad I watched this video. I already had a Hygger 957 for my 10 gallon. And I often thought it looked just as good as my 24 inch Fluval.
I did order the 48 to 72 with your coupon. It was 59.99 with free shipping!!! I couldn't turn that deal down!
I'm thinking when I aquascape my 55 gal. of using this with my 24 inch Fluval in the front of this one for carpet plants.
Any thoughts on this idea?
Id do the Fluval for the sake of the flexibility and also for the brighter white and blue tones.
you know I bought this light when it 1st came out for my 10 gallon planted light....all i can say is WOW!!! My plants grew like crazy and the lighting is so crisp and clean bright. And it has a built in timer. Im now going to be upgrading a few of my tanks. I have 10 gallon all the way to 300 gallons. Im a loooong time hobbiest. Blessing my friend!
So glad to hear your input. Thank I for sharing with us. It's always good to hear a number of opinions and not just the same one over and over. Have a great weekend.
Cheers! 🙏
Get a short 6-8" extension cord and it solves the power block problem on a power strip. I do that with almost every block plug.
Ahh nice technique and idea! Thanks
is the 957 good for carpeting/red plants/ high lighting plants?
I just bought two 36” Hygger lights for my 125. Iv been using fennex on my 40 shrimp and 55 community. Omg is the hygger bright and it has more colors. I like the features better and I like that there water proof. Only one thing I can think of to improve is a remote for my lazy but. My new favorite- Hygger
Yeah the remote software needs some work lol. Thanks for sharing your experience with us
I bought a set of two to place in the rear of my tank. One detail I have to say that give this light a big 0 is the fact that the cable connector is only 12" from the fixture. Since my tank is 24" deep and I need 2 in the front and 2 in the back, that mean I could not have that light properly placed for the front without having the connector inthe water. Good thing I have my Fluval in the front. Its the difference between a cheap light and a good one, the quality of the design.
Oh interesting. Yeah I could see that being an issue. I leave mine dangling out if the tank, so it's always right near the light and not several feet down the cord, like some brands. But thanks for pointing this out for the folks who it may matter to!
@@Fishtory Yes, exactly, depending on your setup in probably 95% of the case its not a problem, its just my tank with that close canopy that make it an issue. Other then that small detail, I have to say, their is not much of a big difference in the colour the plants look like so for 95% of the people or even for me at the back of my tank, its a better investment.
Where I live, I must either import the Fluval from Europe or Amazon, from Europe its about 5 time the price of the Hygger, for Amazon, its 7 time the price so definetly hard to justify just to get the colour a little bit more crisp.
Fluval app is cool, but it's not like I play with it everyday so even if the hygger programming is not that easy, reprogramming once every blue moon won't kill me. 😉
Got 2 of them love them how ever the power cord went out in less then a year got replacement one and now light acts up during light change scheduled times and won't properly change. 😑 I now manually do it and works fine thar way
Thanks alex
Yes I’d love the Hygger light control be on my phone
Great review nice light for the price.
Awesome video. So much info.
Could you use this light with co2? Would it be strong enough to grow most plants??
Yeah co2 is definitely worth while!
@@Fishtory ok cool I may give it a go
Thanks for another great video! Wish you'd do more product reviews because you are very honest with the pro'sand con's!! I see someone asked about using with a wifi timer. Firstly, what is that and what would it control? ( not too savy here) and secondly, this light can be programmed to turn on and off? Correct? Thanks so much!!
Yes it can be programmed by the hour basically ...but it takes a while and is annoying lol. Even with instructions it isn't the best. But the mode where it's on for 6, 8 or 12 hours and then ramps up and down , and turns off at night- it's the settings i would usually recommend anyhow.
And a wifi timer Is just a relay timer, so it's like old timers but it connects to an app on a smartphone or computer or remote, then controls the power to be off and or, on on each plug by whatever time settings you want (no drift occurs like with cheap dial timers do). Hope that helps, my friend! Cheers
@@Fishtory Thank you so very much for answering my question with such detail and making it very clear for me to understand!! Sooo appreciated!!!
I almost bought this but they have a new model out for the same price! The hg-999. Looks like the programming is a little more in-depth. I just bout yesterday it and don't get to play with it til Thursday. If you happen to do an updated review, I might be in the market for 2 or 3 more at a discount ;}
Right on! I'll definitely check that one out. Thanks
Just checked that out, here's some basic comparison for 30-36inch
Power: 999(26w) 957(48w)
Lumens: 999(1720) 957(2365)
Price:999($57.99) 957($61.99)
In the end I would say that the 999 is a Hygger full spectrum with a timer while 957 is still the best hygger light for pushing for a high light.
Nice detailed review with stats
I think that is a GREAT light!!! If you DID want to go hi tech you could just use 2 of them on your tank and it would STILL beat the price!
True that would allow you to do basically anything you wanted to minus the hour by hour controls that fluval has (but I never really use that )
Don't have time to watch the whole video, but this is a good light. I have a few of them. There is a DIY mode that allows you to set your own light cycle. I'm not sure if you covered this or not but a lot of people don't know this for some reason lol
Yeah I covered it, but it doesn't let you pick which diodes at what % ...(not that nearly anyone needs that function) but Fluval's newest app and light do allow for that level of customization
@@Fishtory wow, that's some serious customization! That way you can grow different sized plants or different varieties with varrying light requirements on each side if the tank?
@@Fishtory Or is it that you can customize each color wavelength that you would like to increase or decrease? The Hygger model one step down from this one, the one with a controller/screen on the cord, has the ability to change light intensity for the r/b/g/ or white light and its it's cheaper. Also has DIY mode. I actually like it better than this model covered here. Can't get my amazon app to pull up or I would tell you the exact model #
Awesome review Alex. I’m looking at lights at the moment for a new display tank, but on a budget. This could be great. I’d like a siesta during the day tho, will the timer work for that? I have rest of mine on smart plugs so I can add that. Also, Would the controls work with that kind of plug? 🇦🇺❤️
Yes the USA version does (sometimes versions differ over seas though). But it does for me :)
Cool, thanks 😊
Here’s a tip I do with my twinstars. I have both e and s series. I buy Chihiros commander 1 for about $20 and boom now you can control your twinstars with the Chihiros app. So all my twinstars and Chihiros are controlled on the same app! And it’s so simple to use. Also the nicrew timers work well and they are only about $10. No app, but you can do multiple light points. Enough to have 2 sunrises and sunsets a day. Only problem with the nicrew is no app; you need to set it up via the inline controller. Chihiros commander 1 for the win!!!!
Oh thats a great hack! Thank you!
@@Fishtory no problem. Thank you for the great in depth video. I appreciate it. Even though I’m not in the market for this light it’s exiting to see cheaper competition putting out more viable stuff for planted tank folks like us!!!
Could you tell me your settings? Sometimes, I'm not sure if im doing too much light or not enough or just right. Would be nice to hear what you do
I crank it full 9 hours, have some floating plants...and then have it off most the night usually
love the channel, liked your review and i bought 1!!!
Haha right on man! Please let me know what you thought after you Olay with it (after the annoying programming lol)
Hi Love the way you bring your products to the platform, I have a product for fish tank lights and would like to talk to you about a partnership, how do I get in touch with you?
Alexanderjwilliamson@gmail.com if it works with my content and I can give my honest opinion and take some time to try out products, I'm all for sharing my experiences. :)
@@Fishtory Ok dear, I will contact you further in the mailbox.
@@Fishtory How should I get your address?
Can I wait for a reply to your email?
So can you say….. set it to be full ramped up during day, then in eve go to another setting??
Sort of. You can click one of 5 brightness levels and assign them at each hour interval. The programing unit is pretty annoying though haha fluval has them beat on that for sure
Good video quick question will having an acrylic plastic cover top in between the light and the water of the tank reduce it's effectiveness? I don't want to remove the top because I have snails that might get out lol
No that should be fine
Thank you!! I have been waiting for this review since this light came out. I loved the price and features, but wasn’t sure if it was a good light for growing plants… I couldn’t find the PAR ratings on this light anywhere on the internet. I am setting up a 29gallon planted tank with low to medium level plants(Hygro,Ludwigia Repens, Dwarf sag, and some annubias to name a few) and was wondering-
Is this light too much for those?
Do I need the light to cover the whole length or would the 24 inch light be sufficient?
I really love your videos man. I appreciate all of your knowledge 🤟🏻
I think 24 would work for your tank and as a tank gets deeper, light intensity gets halved every 5 or 6 inches in clear waters...so you'll be good to go!
I'm going to order one. It has more LEDs than the ones I have currently. In the past I didn't do much research on lighting and purchased just the cheapest I could find. Actually the white/blue only light I have casts a more pleasing light than the RGB but I read that the white leds only have 40 per cent effect on plant growth..blue light helps a little with bushiness of the plant growth..I think.
Since this Hygger has more LEDS of every color than my current light of same size/wattage hopefully I'll have a good balance of all. What the heck...the discount does chip off a bit so worth the try. I can dim the brightness also if it brings on algae so happy about that.
Right on! I think for under 100 it's the best light I've seen in a long time. I still like the fluval more...but it's 3x more lol
Yes that's understandable. You know what you're doing. I've been plodding along trying to get successful plant growth in the simplest of plants.."easy to grow". I think perhaps I also have some issues with nutrients as well as I did have even cheaper lights than the Hygger.
I did a lot of research at first and used pretty good substrate but my tanks now are getting on to 2/3 years so think I need to add some new substrate. I recently found your video about adding substrate to an already set up tank. So I have also watched your video on this subject too.
Right now I'm in burn out stage as I've discovered blue/green algae in 3 tanks which is killing my plants besides being a sludgy mess. I guess that's what can happen and I feel I need the patience of a saint right now. YUK YUK! Oh, I watched your video on getting rid of this algae as well. So thanks a lot.
I'm hoping I can become a member soon as your videos have helped me a lot as you cover a lot of bases on subjects instead of just a cursory explanation which happens a lot on youtube.
@@Fishtory
What model is that I need a new light gor a planted 30 would that model your showing fit 🤔 thanks how wide is that one thanks again
957 hygger 24 to 36 inch light
Were do i get your discount? Seattle lighting dosent list it
It's in the description, called Petnannystore (their us wholesaler I guess?) And the code is HistorySecret or there's a link to Amazon if you want free shipping thru Amazon prime and that ends up being cheaper (depends for where people live)
I am a grower. So i had lots of lights. But you need one for the.plants
Great video, thank you
Sure thing! Glad you found it of use 😀
I just bought the 957 and just have to cut the glass of my new canopy. Why doesn't topfin make a glass canopy that fits their standard 55g tank? It's ridiculous
Because of dumb middle frame strut. But some people use 2 lids from 2, 15 gallons or custom cut lids are always possible.
Got the 75w on the way! :)
Niiice
Just ordered 43 plus change,great price
Score!
Will these lights work on top of a glass top 29 gallon? How much will it impact the light penetration?
They will work shinning through a glass lid, you probably lose 10% of light and nearly all the heat radiation ( which most people dont care or think about) but i heat some low temp tanks using just lowset lights , so i figured id mention that lol
Hey, what do you think of finnex’s new planted + 3.0?
Love it for the price category.
@@Fishtory Yeah it looks pretty good. I’m surprised no one is really talking about it considering how popular their other and previous models are. Maybe you could do something in the future
The entire PCB is conformal coated (dipped in epoxy kinda)
This means that it's waterproof from the inside out, and the plastic and clear plastic case around it does not need to be waterproof.
Thanks for the info!
Hi Alex! Would that light work with a wifi timer?
Can use wifi timer
Yes you would just have to set the light to "on" 24/7 and the timer would handle the rest
Alex Hi. I have a question. So in my 20-gallon tank, the following magical processes are taking place, about a month ago I upgraded my light from hygger 26w 1350lm to hygger 957 36w 1960lm, I keep my light on from 12:30 pm to 10:30 pm, so 10 hours, but I have it on a schedule to emulate the day cycle, so it takes 45 hours to reach 100% light output at the start of the day and light starts to go wrap up 45 minutes before it turns off, so, in reality, the light is on full blast only for 8.5 hours a day. My plants began to purl a lot, lots of oxygen coming off all of the plants which is cool. However, the backwall of the tank I never cleaned in the past and had a nice coating of algae on it, now its all but disappeared, and yes I do have snails in tank but I never have seen basic green algae go away like that. Is it normal? Another question was about my jungle val, as the light increased, I started dosing aqueon plant food, at the half rate of what is suggested, instead of 20ml only 10ml a week and jungle val turned brown, other vals like Americana for example, are green and no issues at all, should I be worried about something? Can you give me some tips?
Hi! First of all, congratulations for your video! Excelent and compreensive approach, as usual.
I´d like to ask your help for the following situation.
I have a 17,7 inches aquarium and plan to buy one of these lights (previous version, without the LCD screen).
However, my tank´s lenght is in the threshold between 14"-20" Model -14W (10" Fixture) and 18"-24" Model 18W (16" Fixture)...
Based in your pratical experience with these lights, do you think that the 18"-24" Model 18W (16" Fixture) would be viable in my 17,7 inches aquarium?
Thank you in advance!
Best regards.
Yeah I think it would be the way to go!
Just bought the hygger, I’m excited!
Do you know how the finnex alc and fugeray stack up?
I dont off hand, but if you google "lumens" or "par" and then each light, i bet someone did a work up.
GREAT REVIEW
I'M SOLD
Where can I find the pendant hanging accessories?
Peace ✌️
I'm not sure of that honestly... Amazon picture and basket hanging fixtures?
I have the same light , the worst thing about it is if you plug off the outlet or if there is an power outage at night and you don't check it in the morning the time resets. So you have to set the time, set the daylight etc. maybe There is another way just to connect it to the mechanical timer? Please let me know. And thanks for the videos you create!
Yeah that was another downside that folks mentioned after I made the video... apparently the settings should stay programmed but the local time will screwed up by any power disruption
That is so weird! I get frequent power outages and it didn't seem to mess with my time. Maybe because most of my outages are brief and I didn't notice the difference, because the lights came back on.
Alexander the timing of this video was perfect as I am looking to upgrade my light on the 20 long. Should I get the 30-36" or the 24-30" version? in regards to the discount code where can it be used in Canada? Thanks again for sharing you knowledge!
I think the discount code works at the petnannystore link...but you could always email them as well. I would suggest getting the 24 - 36inch if you don't mind 3 inches on each end slightly dimmer...but if you really cram a ton of plants in there, then I'd go one size larger. (The lowe number is the actual LED strip length and the big number is the full leg extension
@@Fishtory thank you!
Pennynanny does not ship to Canada, so disappointed. Amazon Canada is sold out so am out of luck.
It appears the 957's RGB lights cannot be combined with its LED, e.g. incapable of running green simultaneously with the LED spectrum, correct? Thank you for the thorough review, especially comparing the Hygger to my Beamswork.
It's supposedly built into the white diodes....but you are correct in saying that the independent green diode is white in the RBW mode
@@Fishtory, thank you for taking the time to reply.
The Hygger 957 puts my Beamswork to shame. Better spread, impressive brightness.
Having a 125 gallon, I was considering 2 fluval 3.0 at 3’ each… would be around $500… this would save me about $370 if I get 2 Hygger instead. Thanks for the heads up
It would work if you are doing crypts, anubias, buce, val, cabomba, ludwigia and penny wort/money wort etc. But to grow bright color plants, or carpeting plants...or to really go bold while using co2 the fluval 3.0 is worth it. But for fish and some low to medium light plants, im pretty satisfied
What do you suggest I set my fluval 3.0 at?
I have a 135g 24 deep..all low tech plants..Anubias,Java fern,Val,swords
And how long photo period?….please help
The 🕢 screen is cool
What’s your favorite light for say a 2.5 gallon? Interested in something cheap
I like the fluval nano pendant planted . It's great as is...but no timer or settings other than blue or white
Do you still like this light. In the market for a another light, but am debating between another Fluval 3.0, the Aquarium Co-op light, or this higher spec light compared to my other Hygger lights. The Fluval and Co-op are virtually the same price, here in Canada, and as you said, this Hygger is 1/2 the price. I'm not into co2 and high tech plants.
That's for all the info
What do you guys think for a 150gallon high aquarium?? Planted of course yay or no
Low to medium light plants should do fine up to about 2.5 or 3 feet deep from the looks of it! (Data on par /depth)
I am a little confused as to why nobody is talking about the negative things about the plant 3.0?