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Small (8" or 11") lighting for high-tech nano

14K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  jeffkrol  
I'm not usually a fan of Fluval, but for the dimensions I gave I'm a little blown away by what a good recommendation that is in terms of power, price, and availability.

You have impressed me.

IF I were to go with the 11" x 11" x 11" would you have a similarly great recommendation? Just for the sake of pricing out the builds... Before reading you advice I was considering the Chihiros WRGB2.

(aquariumpardata.com says the fluval nano light will really struggle at ~12" depth at 9" from center)
For an 8x8 tank you only need the light an inch or 2 off the water line.
Making your effective distance about 8" light face to substrate.

See no reason to believe you won't get greater than 50 par at the substrate level.

Ip67 rating has its advantages.

The seneye is not cosine corrected so it's very directional.
Off axis measurements can have errors compared to other par meters

Second at 8"wide your beam will hit glass before long. Light bounce will come into play
 
For 11x11 Micmole Aqua air 300.
AA-300
$130 from Micmole.

Or fw version of this:

Same as the G2 Aqua CC at Micmole but cheaper, probably. $179.99 with free shipping

Aqua Air 300 has a bluer white full spectrum.
G2 or G3 probably need the optional rimless tank mount.
Not sure the included kegs go down to 11"

Ai prime freshwater would be fine for both tanks. Well overkill but fine. 50- ish watts
and 80 degree lensing.
Cost after light and brackets approached $300.


Found a used one...
 
I think I'm going to go with the Fluval Nano for now. The ONF Flat seems like a great light, but as you said slightly too large, and I can't find it in stock in my country.

I also wanted to commend your relevant signature...


Appreciate everyone else with recommendations and thanks for showing off the tanks! If anyone happens to have pictures of a Fluval Nano light growing demanding plants, I'd appreciate it. All of the tanks I'm seeing with it are more easy/mid demand focused.
Fluval Nano Marine is oddly 5 watts stronger than the fw.
Generally safe to assume fw par will be roughly 3/4 of these measurements.
Sensor placement is about what you have
1" above rim 7" off the bottom w a 14" deep tank.

246 max par or 184 for fw.
Point is can't see any issues.
Besides CO2 can replace photons sometimes.