I’m struggling to figure out which of these two lights would be better for growing plants.
it seems aquarium co op is full spectrum with true 660nm red led. Corey measured 90 par at around 21 inches in water. For 140$ (36 inch) this seems to be a powerful light. For the chihiros A series ($150),I have red claims of no red led. Also can only find one par reading. It was around 68 at 20 inch depth. However, this reading was not in water or in a tank. No water to disrupt but also no glass to reflect and compound par. It is seeming to me the aquarium co op light is a better light. Am I crazy? Any additional information or informed opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Not much info here.. Where are you getting your data from?

Aquarium Co-Op Easy Plant LED | Aquarium Lighting for Planted Tanks

The Easy Plant LED offers superior lighting for aquarium plants with IP67 water resistance, daylight & moonlight modes, and dimmable to 6 levels.

www.aquariumcoop.com

Personally, and since they are on sale atm..

Prism II LED Light Fixture - Planted

Thinner. Lighter. Smarter. The new thinner and lighter AquaMaxx Prism II controllable full HD spectrum LED fixture is created from 100% recycled aluminum. Its brushed silver, ultra-slim profile design gives it an aesthetic edge over the competition, and its updated external smart controller...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

RGBW and 90 watts for the 36" plus version.
$175.99 vs $139.99
Nah this doesn't cut it for me.. One of the points of even owning LEDs is the versitility.
Plants will use any photons available really.

Does it have sunrise/sunset mode? Can I change the individual LEDs? These features didn't make the cut. The price increase and loss in efficiency in the LEDs didn't make sense when achieving our goals of the best possible light that lasts a long time while remaining affordable.

If I get some more info may change my opinion but, to be honest, ramp up/down is VERY important to me.. Personal opinion.
I'd take it over a Chihiros more than likely.
and TO BE FAIR, I don't have a lot of info on the AquaMAXX either. Only benefit is I get to buy it from a retailer that should back up the product.
As to par, I'll use my usual guesstimate that it can hit 90 at 18"..

• 84 - White (Channel A)
  [*]42 - Blue (Channel B)
  [*]42 - Green (Channel C)
  [*]48 - Red (Channel D)
  [*]

• Yea would like more data on the diodes.

Chihiros is a bit stronger out of the box but...$449 worth? Don't think so.
110W 9250 lumens.. chihiros.

AquaMaxx Prism II LED Lights Coming in Four Sizes & Silver Finish | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The AquaMaxx Prism II is the third generation of affordable strip lights from Bulk Reef Supply which offer a respectable amount of light and rich colorful spectrum at a price that will leave plenty in…

reefbuilders.com

I "believe" the AquaMAXX is a rebranded model of Micmol. with a different diode layout and a more standard tethered controller.
Micmol has the same controller on some models. Just some more evidence.

LED aquarium light, LED lights, Nano reef aquarium, Reef Builders, Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog, Aqua mini, Aqua Pro, LED nano, micmol

LED aquarium light, LED lights, Nano reef aquarium, Reef Builders, Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog, Aqua mini, Aqua Pro, LED nano, micmol

www.micmol.com

Like the G3 Aqua Air but less and that lower price.
The micmole is $299.99 with deep red, violet leds added.
Channels are a bit funky. The AquaMAXX is standard RGBW
LED aquarium light, LED lights, Nano reef aquarium, Reef Builders, Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog, Aqua mini, Aqua Pro, LED nano, micmol

Oh, you don't want the A series unless all you care about is plants. Color isn't worth it.
85W, one color, $200..Just get a t5 fixture. It will render the tank better.
A-II is 40 watts
Chihiros A .. discontinued I believe. Besides at one point they made it with a green tone.
did not go over well in the West.

Sorry, I know this is a bit all over the board here..but enjoy.

 

but, to be honest, ramp up/down is VERY important to me.. Personal opinion.

And this is why i won't buy the aquarium coop light. No ram up/down in the morning (ramp down isn't as important to myself);

The 30 inch ai freshwater blade is on sale @$225; is a pretty nice light. It lacks ip67 (but so do some of the other models listed); and i've been very happy with them (i have a 66 inch 4 48 inch and a couple of 30 inch models); they are now my go to light unless i need something super strong. Can't promise they won't all fail in 6 months after all they are a new light but so far they have been reliable and have a few more bells and whistle over the fluval plant 3.0 (stronger, more neutral tone to the eye, can turn off the on/off led, remembers settings on power outages, ...); i never liked my cichrios wrgb2 (have a 36 and a 48; too blue or red - the pro has white led but it is godly expensive); anyway the plants i grow do very well with the blade (not saying much - in most of my aquariums plants just grow); and it is a hell of a lot easier to deal with than the ghl with are ungodly expensive and a royal pia to deal with. I'd never recommend the ghl lights to anyone and never buy one again they are so painful to connect to - configure - modify settings - pretty much anything.