@Wookii Really? At 100% the light seems so bright! I'm quite worried now as I've just rescaped the tank and its looking great, and yesterday i bought a co2 kit from co2art so if the lighting isn't good enough this could all go horribly wrong! I've just had a brief search and it looks like i could be looking at about £500 for one that you've mentioned, i can't justify that right now.
All the plants near the bottom are low light plants and i haven't got anything too demanding as i planned on it being a low tech initially
My plants did struggle before but i just thought that was down to my lack of research and understanding (I'm still new and learning!) I've done a lot of reading and think I've got a better understanding now, or at least i thought i did!!!
As we don’t have PAR data for all lights, you can just look at the specific light ratings we have available to get a very loose and general idea of light output
Fluval Aquasky (14534): 35W/2400 lumen
Fluval Plant 2.0 (14523): 59W/4250 lumen
Twinstar 1200SA: 108W/6400 lumen
Chihiros WRGB II1200: 130W/7700 lumen
2 x ADA Solar RGB: 260W/7000 lumen
2 x Chihiros Vivid II: 260W/11,000 lumen
As I say, this only gives a very loose idea, and should not be taken as gospel - PAR matters more, though PAR measurements are also not created equal as I’ve discovered.
The overriding point though is just to demonstrate the output of the Aquasky versus other lights that might more commonly be used on an EA1200 planted tanks.
As for cost, yep, they can be pricey, particularly the ADA variants. Chihiros offers the biggest ‘bang-for-buck’, but often has more questionable quality, and no local support (as I’ve personally discovered only recently). That list is also by no means exhaustive.
Outside of that, there are various DIY options to save cost, though of course what you save in cash, you pay in time and hassle.