[Clintaceous]

Hey everyone, I just want to keep this question simple: If you had to pick between the 2 lights in the title to light a 30"x12"x22" aquarium with 2" of substrate, which one would you pick? Would you even pick one of these lights?

I currently have a Fluval 3.0 and the plants grow great actually! The most difficult plant I have is either Pogostemon helferi or Alternanthera reineckii and both are doing fantastic! So why would I want to change my light? Colour. The reds of the AR and my Ludwigia 'Super Red' are washed out. The ludwigia is more like a wine red, and the AR is more red-brown. The greens could be a bit more green, but otherwise I can live with it. If neither of these lights can reach the PAR required for a high light aquarium, I would love to hear suggestions for lights that work AND offer more rich colours for plants.

 

[minorhero]

Hey everyone, I just want to keep this question simple: If you had to pick between the 2 lights in the title to light a 30"x12"x22" aquarium with 2" of substrate, which one would you pick? Would you even pick one of these lights?

I currently have a Fluval 3.0 and the plants grow great actually! The most difficult plant I have is either Pogostemon helferi or Alternanthera reineckii and both are doing fantastic! So why would I want to change my light? Colour. The reds of the AR and my Ludwigia 'Super Red' are washed out. The ludwigia is more like a wine red, and the AR is more red-brown. The greens could be a bit more green, but otherwise I can live with it. If neither of these lights can reach the PAR required for a high light aquarium, I would love to hear suggestions for lights that work AND offer more rich colours for plants.

Keep in mind that many really red plants you see in pictures online are either nitrogen starved intentionally to bring out their reds, or you might be seeing color corrected images. The light you have allows for adjustable spectrum already. HOWEVER, if you want a new light, I would go for the twinstar every time. It is just a light, it turns on, and off, and that's it. But it's a nice light and the spectrum it provides is really nice. It also is very red heavy, so even if your plants won't actually be growing differently, it will reflect more red light and make it look like they are growing differently

I personally don't recommend the chihiros light anymore because mine had the bluetooth module burn out in less then a year, others on this site have had similar problems. But if you like app control, it has that (if a bit wonky).

 

[Clintaceous]

Keep in mind that many really red plants you see in pictures online are either nitrogen starved intentionally to bring out their reds, or you might be seeing color corrected images. The light you have allows for adjustable spectrum already.

That's a good point! Never thought of that. Currently I am rescaping the tank, it was overgrown with moss and hottonia. I uprooted everything, and currently am figuring out my hardscape before replanting. Some plants aren't going back either. I think I'll post old photos as well as new ones of my new scape so that people can tell me if the red plants are 'happy' red (not nitrogen starved) or if they could use a different light. Really wish Fluval uses true red diodes, not pink. Or do they?

 

[jeffkrol]

That's a good point! Never thought of that. Currently I am rescaping the tank, it was overgrown with moss and hottonia. I uprooted everything, and currently am figuring out my hardscape before replanting. Some plants aren't going back either. I think I'll post old photos as well as new ones of my new scape so that people can tell me if the red plants are 'happy' red (not nitrogen starved) or if they could use a different light. Really wish Fluval uses true red diodes, not pink. Or do they?

Pink may actually be better depending on how they make "pink".
One way is to take royal blue LEDs and add a broad red phosphor.
This is the " full spectrum led" method.
More magenta then pink though.
Suppose one could do yellow and red phosphors in a blue led.
Other way is RGB with very little green or white and red ( wavelength?) diodes.

Purple vs. Pink vs. White LED Fixtures - Greenhouse Product News

There are two primary types of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) used in horticultural applications. The first type is an LED that emits a specific color of light, such as blue light or red light (Figure 1). These are referred to as “narrow band” LEDs because their emission spectrum is within a...

gpnmag.com

 

[jake21]

My blue-tooth module have not burn out on the wrgb-2 but it is flaky; having said that if you were to get the wrgb-2 get the pro with white led; the twinstar is respected light but the high end models didn't have the programability of other lights (on/off/ramp up/down) and required you to spend $$$ to add such; not sure if the sa is the new model that now has that feature. To be honest i think my plants grow better with the fluval at least the low tech tanks; the high tech tank not sure - but not sure the wrgb-2 really added much. I mean i don't run them at 100%....

 

[Fat Guy]

I really like my wrgb2. Zero issues and the app is fine.