Finnex Planted+ 24/7 CC Review
A full-spectrum planted fixture with a genuinely set-and-forget 24/7 mode: dawn, daylight, dusk and moonlight ramp automatically, with a remote to customise every colour and intensity.
🌍 You'll be sent to Amazon in your country. Indicative price — live, localised pricing coming soon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
👍 Pros
- The 24/7 CC mode ramps dawn to dusk to moonlight automatically — no separate timer or plug needed
- Customisable: the remote lets you set your own colour mix and intensity across the day
- Strong red and blue output grows a wide range of easy-to-mid plants
- Weather effects (clouds, storm, sunset) are a fun, genuinely gentle touch
👎 Cons
- Remote-and-button control is less slick than a modern Bluetooth app
- Peak PAR trails the top RGB fixtures — a demanding high-light carpet is a stretch
- Colour rendition is good but not as punchy as a true individually-addressable RGB bar
Set the clock, then forget it
The Finnex Planted+ 24/7 CC is built around one idea done well: a fully automatic day. Its 24/7 mode ramps from a soft dawn through bright midday to dusk and a dim blue moonlight, all on its own, so you never plug it into a separate timer. The CC (“custom colour”) version adds a remote that lets you set your own colour mix and intensity at each stage, plus playful weather effects. For anyone who wants a natural-feeling cycle without fiddling, it is the easiest light here to live with.
Balanced output, forgiving results
Peak PAR is moderate rather than extreme, and on a planted tank that is a feature, not a flaw. Because it does not blast the tank, it is more forgiving than the highest-output RGB bars — the classic trap of more light without CO2 and ferts is more algae is easier to avoid. Keep a bright window of 6–8 hours inside the daily cycle, and only reach for pressurised CO2 (see our CO2 systems hub) and an all-in-one from the plant fertilizers guide if you want to drive faster, denser growth.
How it fits our other picks
If you want punchier colour and higher PAR from a phone app, the Chihiros WRGB II 45 is the aquascaper’s pick, and the Fluval Plant 3.0 is another strong app-controlled option. On a budget, the NICREW SkyLED Plus covers the basics. For the full line-up, see our aquarium lighting hub, and match the light to your tank on the aquariums page.
The most genuinely hands-off planted light here: set the clock once and its 24/7 cycle handles dawn to moonlight for you. Not the highest PAR, but forgiving, well-balanced and ideal for a low-to-mid-tech tank.
Finnex Planted+ 24/7 CC — frequently asked questions
What does the 24/7 mode actually do?
It runs a full simulated day automatically: a slow dawn ramp, bright midday, a dusk fade and a dim blue moonlight period overnight. You set the tank's clock once and the fixture handles the whole cycle without a separate plug-in timer. On the CC version you can also customise the colour and intensity at each point in the day with the remote.
Is it enough light for a planted tank without CO2?
Yes — it is well suited to low-and-mid-tech tanks. That is actually a strength here: because peak output is moderate, it is more forgiving of algae than the highest-PAR RGB bars. Keep a 6–8 hour bright period even inside the 24/7 cycle, and add CO2 and ferts only if you want to push faster growth.
How does it compare to app-controlled lights like Chihiros or Fluval?
The Finnex leans on a physical remote and a clever built-in cycle rather than a phone app. If you want the simplest hands-off day/night ramp, it is excellent. If you want to tweak the spectrum constantly from your phone or chase maximum PAR, an app-controlled RGB fixture gives you more control.
Found your model? Buy it at the right price.
UniverTrack tracks the real price of your aquarium gear across several retailers, spots fake discounts and warns you when it's genuinely the right moment to buy — with an AI assistant to guide you.
More lighting we recommend
