Poll The Great Planted Aquarium Light Poll

[Phish Tank]

Chihiros WRGB 2 Slim 45: For my new 50C tank. Just got it, nice, but still trying to find the settings I like. Right now I dislike how red it makes my spiderwood look. So I keep tweaking down the red, and hoping the new spiderwood will darken soon, real soon.

Week Aqua L900D : For my new 90p tank. This tank is right next to the one with the Chihiros, and seems easier to get a color setting I like. Both tanks have the lights at well under 50% since tanks still settling in. Using the back of tank mounting arms for this one.

The Chihiros and Week aqua are my first “real” lights. I also have 2 48 inch nicrew classicLED that I used for years on my 55 gallon. I used them in manual mode (no sunrise/sunset, and a kasa plug controlled the schedule). One thing I really liked with them was using Alexa voice commands to turn tank lights on/off. With my new lights I find using an app a bit clunky for that (especially Chihiros).

 

[techman81]

Chihiros WRGB 2 Slim 45: For my new 50C tank. Just got it, nice, but still trying to find the settings I like. Right now I dislike how red it makes my spiderwood look. So I keep tweaking down the red, and hoping the new spiderwood will darken soon, real soon.

Week Aqua L900D : For my new 90p tank. This tank is right next to the one with the Chihiros, and seems easier to get a color setting I like. Both tanks have the lights at well under 50% since tanks still settling in. Using the back of tank mounting arms for this one.

The Chihiros and Week aqua are my first “real” lights. I also have 2 48 inch nicrew classicLED that I used for years on my 55 gallon. I used them in manual mode (no sunrise/sunset, and a kasa plug controlled the schedule). One thing I really liked with them was using Alexa voice commands to turn tank lights on/off. With my new lights I find using an app a bit clunky for that (especially Chihiros).

Interesting how each person views things through different lenses. My take on the Week Aqua vs Chihiros has been completely opposite. While I like that the Week Aqua has more pre-programmed modes, I find it easier to set the Chihiros to a setting that looks good to my eye, and the Chihiros app is far easier to use than Week Aqua's. I do like the Week Aqua's lower cost though, which is why I have more of them than the Chihiros right now. I don't have much need for Alexa control because I keep the lights on auto schedule. All of my equipment is plugged into smart power strips though which allows for Alexa control.

 

[techman81]

Fzone Solo Nano and Chihiros CII RGB.

OK, I don't know if all the recent updates to this thread jinxed me or what, but my ONF Flat Nano (the regular, not the plus model) just died on me. My only spare lights are 45cm and bigger. I originally was torn between the ONF and Chihiros CII for my UNS 30C tank. Looked at getting the Chihiros today but the fastest one could get here is over a week. Even though I'm rather down on Fzone right now due to their regulators failing on me, I've decided to take a chance on the Fzone Solo since it can be delivered tomorrow. I'll let you know if I agree with your assessment.

 

[VJM]

I am pretty happy with it and the app is very straightforward. I have not had it for long, so I can’t vouch for longevity.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I love the Chihiros CII RGB!

 

[gnatster]

I love the Chihiros CII RGB!
View attachment 11786

Which tank is this?

 

[techman81]

I love the Chihiros CII RGB!

Yeah, I wish Chihiros had more distributers in the U.S. for their entire product line so they were easier and faster to come by.

And like Gnatster said, what tank is that?

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

It's a Fluval spec V! It's a 5-gallon AIO tank. I don't maintain this scape anymore, I now use it as a quarantine and treatment tank. But damn if it wasn't super fun and easy to maintain:



Here are some photos that inspired me to give it a try from Reddit (the previous photo was mine, these are NOT my work):









There's even a website (now abandoned) dedicated to this series of tanks: Spec-Tanks

Can't recommend enough, it's an awesome tank and totally worth the ~$70! Just get a different light lol.

 

[techman81]

I am pretty happy with it and the app is very straightforward. I have not had it for long, so I can’t vouch for longevity.

Just got the new Fzone Solo set up and WOW!. That 4 extra watts over the ONF Flat Nano makes a huge difference. Wish I had plants in this little tank that needed that much light. App is super easy to use. I've got it turned way down, but so far I'm very pleased.

 

[VJM]

Just got the new Fzone Solo set up and WOW!. That 4 extra watts over the ONF Flat Nano makes a huge difference. Wish I had plants in this little tank that needed that much light. App is super easy to use. I've got it turned way down, but so far I'm very pleased.

I’m glad you like it! There isn’t a lot online about it and I just kind of took a flyer on it. It has been a pleasant surprise on my 6 gallon Aquastyle.

If you ever get a PAR reading on it I would be interested in that data. Evidently my printer paper is not right to make a filter for the Photone app, so I just gave up. The plants seem to like it and I’m not getting a ton of algae so it works for me.

The app is really nice. They hit the sweet spot of enough control over each aspect combined with ease of use.

 

[techman81]

I’m glad you like it! There isn’t a lot online about it and I just kind of took a flyer on it. It has been a pleasant surprise on my 6 gallon Aquastyle.

If you ever get a PAR reading on it I would be interested in that data. Evidently my printer paper is not right to make a filter for the Photone app, so I just gave up. The plants seem to like it and I’m not getting a ton of algae so it works for me.

The app is really nice. They hit the sweet spot of enough control over each aspect combined with ease of use.

I haven't had much luck with the Photone app myself. I've tried 3 different phones and each gives me a message that It doesn't need a diffuser but my readings have been questionable and all over the place. Also, I just don't like putting my phone in my aquarium, even in a plastic bag. So, I just purchased a VBR-Aqua PAR Meter . I questioned the accuracy of a par meter that cheap but the reviews are mostly positive, so we'll see. It arrives today so I'll post some results.

 

[HarryL]

I started with Chihiros B45 for a couple months before I got two Netlea AT5s second gen and now I'm Netlea only. I could only compare it with the B series which obviously the AT5s was superior but I'm very curious about how it goes against the other higher end lights that chihiros offers, like the WRGB 2 slim or WRGB 2. Especially when I can import the lights over myself, the cost savings are great vs chihiros(which is also a Chinese brand but doesn't sell in China)

I don't maintain this tank enough for it to run on very high power, so I'm currently running it on 18W, which still gives me a shit ton of hair algae if I don't do weekly water change.

 

[techman81]

I haven't had much luck with the Photone app myself. I've tried 3 different phones and each gives me a message that It doesn't need a diffuser but my readings have been questionable and all over the place. Also, I just don't like putting my phone in my aquarium, even in a plastic bag. So, I just purchased a VBR-Aqua PAR Meter . I questioned the accuracy of a par meter that cheap but the reviews are mostly positive, so we'll see. It arrives today so I'll post some results.

So I've spent a little time playing with the VBR Aqua Par Meter and my initial rating is ...drum role...two thumbs up. $130 might be a lot for people considering it's not something they will use everyday, buuuuut, after struggling to get consistent results and not wanting my phone in the aquarium, this is a far better option. My early test results demonstrated that sensor positioning was not near as sensitive as the phone with the photone app, the par numbers were much more in line with what I was expecting, and it's just generally easier to use. Some of the reviews on Amazon mention the telescoping holder being a bad design, but it's been redesigned and the new rod is a screw together sectional design that works fine. I took the opportunity to tweak the brightness of the Chihiros WRGB II on my main display tank to get a bit higher par on the new dwarf hair grass.

 

[Noahspapa]

I recently purchased this par meter. Any additional tips, tricks, issues before I start using?

 

[techman81]

I recently purchased this par meter. Any additional tips, tricks, issues before I start using?

It's pretty straight forward and easy to use. Since taking initial measurements on my existing tanks and tweaking their light settings, I haven't used it again. Next use will be on my Brazilian tank when I plant it in the next few weeks.

 

[Hopkino]

Currently in use:

68g Dutch tank, and the best light I own:
WEEK AQUA Pandora P Series P900 PRO

125g and 28g BiOrb:
WEEK AQUA T90 PRO APP RGB-UV 90W

19g High tech farm tank and 14g blackwater tank combined:
Current USA Serene Sun LE Pro LED

8g Shrimp Bowl:
Chihiros Magnetic Light 2

7g Middle Energy Shrimp Cube:
Chihiros CII RGB

60g Hillstream tank:
Aqueon LED OptiBright MAX
SANSI 120W LED Grow Light, Full Spectrum 4000K Daylight Plant Light

20g Low-tech farm tank:
Fluval Aquasky
Nicrew SkyLED

10g Moina tank with Anubias:
Aqueon LED Optibright Max

Note: Don’t buy more than 1 Aqueon LED Optibright Max. They interfere with each other, and won’t turn off as programmed. I have to use a Kasa Plug to do that.

Week Aqua lights are great. I’m running 2 x P900’s fir the past year with great results

 

[BigWave]

Can't recommend enough, it's an awesome tank and totally worth the ~$70! Just get a different light lol.

I second and third this...

@Naturescapes_Rocco here is my one of my older setups from 2024 in the Spec V. Sporting a MicMol Aqua Air ver 3.

View attachment VID_20240108_125526-new.mp4

 

[BigWave]

MicMol Aqua Air spectrum.
See par data in @Koan s post here. YOU GET A PAR!! AND YOU GET A PAR!! AND