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Lighting an Aquascaper 600

Joined
29 Jul 2017
Messages
94
Location
South West London
Feel free to not read this paragraph. I just love the hobby, so writing about it makes me excited:

Some of you will have seen my ‘Stone Age’ aquascape: simply put, it’s failed. It was a no CO2, B-tech 60P disaster; sort of. At some points it went well, but I couldn’t keep Hairgrass or Helianthum Tennelum or Trident Fern and algae prevailed, so I gave up on it. I decided that I couldn’t give up on the aquascape itself though, as I plan on looking back fondly at a perfect final shot of my first aquascape of many. Egotistical, yes, but it’ll make me smile. As such, I’ve decided that I will get an Aquascaper 600 for the extra space and I wanted a clear, rimless aquarium. Problem is that I don’t know what light I should get.

What I want is:

Nice colour rendition
Strong enough light for red H’ra
Doesn’t cost more than maybe £150 (I’ll guess we’ll see how much I want to hold on to)

I like the colour rendition of Solar RGB, but last time I checked, they don’t go around for £150
and if I win the lottery, I won’t be scaping a 600.
ONF are too expensive.
Twinstars don’t give the colour rendition I like.

Chihiros give the right colour, but I don’t know if their build quality is going make it brake in a couple of years and if I need not fear, then which one.

I’ve read that the RGB are weaker than the A series, thanks for the sticky.
If I were to get the RGB, would I need to get the RGB+ model? Or even the A+ model if I wanted the red H’ra?
Finally, does anyone have a comparison for the colour of A vs RGB models over the same tank?
 
Twinstar E will come in on budget.

Personally if you want the reds I’d go for the Twinstar S £250ish plus controller.

A lot of light for the money and no need to upgrade in a couple of years.

Edit. Just seen you donot want a Twinstar? Have you seen the S in person? Only ask as you cannot trust photos.
 
I’ve seen the colours of Twinstars before, though not bad I prefer the deep bluish green that Chihiros give, which is based of what I’ve seen on the internet. I’ll check at Aquadepot next week to see if the colours not as I like. Maybe a more refined question would be what PAR do I need for red H’ra?
 
Have you looked in the Swap Forum?

Note the Aquascaper tanks are 50-60cm wide, so look for a light unit that supports that footprint (Chihiros LEDs are quite narrow, Twinstar is much wider)
 
What I’ve seen of Chihiros is the A series from Iain Sutherland’s Low Tech ‘Taiwan Bee Not So Nano’ and the RGB series from Julia’saquascape IG. I love the greens.
 
Iain’s is 45cm wide and although a low tech it ran at 30% if I’m not mistaken. Maybe I should just get a Chihiros and accept not doing red stems in the next few years. Anyway, I’ll be off at uni in a few years so I can just stick with green. The question of PAR for H’ra still stands.
 
I’ve just looked on aquasabi and the SA45-60 would be around budget. Would this be inadequate though in comparison to the S60? Just seen Nigel’s video on the RGB and having 2nd thoughts. Yet looking at the Green Aqua comparisons makes me question the green colour. Mon dieu. Anyway thanks for quick responses.
 
Iain’s is 45cm wide and although a low tech it ran at 30% if I’m not mistaken.
I don’t know if he’s still running light at 30%
But
1) likely significant ambient lighting re kitchen location
2) note the light vs plant locations, also plant species, also light/CO2 etc balance of the system
3) Iain is a fine aquatic plant gardener :cool:
 
I really wouldn't recommend the Chihros A601 Plus. I just hate its cold colour, and its skinny little legs that look like they will slip off the light each time the light is moved. You can see a picture of a tank lit by it on my latest thread.
 
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