Poll The Great Planted Aquarium Light Poll

[Koan]

Looks like @Dennis Wong has a cool new lighting review up for 2026

The best LED units for planted tanks in 2026

What are some of the best LED units for planted aquariums? Can they grow red plants well? Here we review Maxlite Life aqua, ADA Solar RGB, Chihiros Vivid and why they work better than many other commercially available units. Other good choices include the LEDs from Twinstar and Chihiros, ONF...

www.2hraquarist.com

 

[Koan]

Also AquaRocks Colorado has the Week Aqua S Nano 400 and 300 series on sale, $85 /$95 for a 12" or 16"

WEEK AQUA S Series - Nano

LED Type : RGB-UV Full Spectrum Easy to use Mobile App (download from Apple IOS and Android)7 LED Color Preset Mode for simple usageBrightness AdjustableLED Color Adjustable Time AdjustableHighly Customizable Mode for Advance PlayerHigh Quality Finishing Modern StylingWarranty: 1 Year...

aquarockscolorado.com

 

[Noahspapa]

I made this graphic to help!

Skylight Hyperspot, blinding or not?​

View attachment 11732​

The answer is, it depens on your tank's thickness (depth from front-to-back) and how you have it mounted!

If your tank is deep enough front-to-back, it won't be an issue as long as it's mounted close enough.
You can see that even when adjusted quite high above the tank, hyperspots are still a massive improvement over other lights.

But if you can mount them close enough to the surface, your son won't be bothered by the light!

So if you have a skinny tank, skinnier in it's depth front-to-back than the hyperspot casts light, you will need to get it very close to the water surface.

The good news is, once you have it mounted, it's VERY easy to adjust the height of the lights via their hanging kit device.

In the radar world we would refer to this as beam width and say the hyper spot has a very narrow beam width which allows it to focus energy. I have 3 twinstar S units which are good lights and two chihiros wrgb2 pro lights which are excellent lights, better and more expensive than twinstar, but I will try the hyper spot next, hopefully by the end of this year when I replace my 20G and 29G tanks with 90Ps. Rocco previously provided the supplier contact.

 

[JayP]

In the radar world we would refer to this as beam width and say the hyper spot has a very narrow beam width which allows it to focus energy. I have 3 twinstar S units which are good lights and two chihiros wrgb2 pro lights which are excellent lights, better and more expensive than twinstar, but I will try the hyper spot next, hopefully by the end of this year when I replace my 20G and 29G tanks with 90Ps. Rocco previously provided the supplier contact.

I've been considering breaking the piggy bank and getting a hyperspot for my Waterbox 4820 when I'm ready to srart it, but the only US seller, Nature Design Studio, has been sold out of all models since the beginning of the year. Hopefully, they'll eventually have them again.

 

[aquagardenlivingart]

I have a chihiros wrgbII pro, and UNF flat one+, and a twinstar SA version 5 on the way now. Ive also had a couple hygers when I first started. So far I like the chihiros the best, but I am excited to try the twinstar s series ver V

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I have a Twinstar II and while it has worked well over the last 5 years, it hasn’t changed much in the newest models. Any light at this point that doesn’t have an app and color rendition adjustability to me is just lacking. I’m heavily leaning towards Week Aqua’s lineup and more specifically, the Z400. My biggest issue with it is lack of info and examples other than from the company itself.

 

[Aquajack]

I know some find the week aqua app a little confusing at first but its actually pretty good once you get used to it. For example, you can go anywhere from the 6 preset modes to the advanced setting where you can basically customize to your hearts content. Not strictly necessary though.

I'm just running the L1200 and use the red preset mode for now as the color rendition is ok and I'm not using full power. All I don't like about the presets is it also increases UV light proportionate to the RGB colors. So to a degree are limited in how much power is used.

But you can of course drop into a custom mode where you can control the RGB and UV lights individually so have better control of the overall power output and spectrum.

Also, for example if I am doing water changes before the lights turn on, I have a custom mode which is like 20%, then when done, switch back to the usual settings.

 

[JacksonL]

I know some find the week aqua app a little confusing at first but its actually pretty good once you get used to it. For example, you can go anywhere from the 6 preset modes to the advanced setting where you can basically customize to your hearts content. Not strictly necessary though.

I'm just running the L1200 and use the red preset mode for now as the color rendition is ok and I'm not using full power. All I don't like about the presets is it also increases UV light proportionate to the RGB colors. So to a degree are limited in how much power is used.

But you can of course drop into a custom mode where you can control the RGB and UV lights individually so have better control of the overall power output and spectrum.

Also, for example if I am doing water changes before the lights turn on, I have a custom mode which is like 20%, then when done, switch back to the usual settings.

Once you work out the quirks of the app it is definitely useable and does the job.
I only wish they would allow fading between steps in the advanced mode, or allow more than 8 set points.
I think “great light, but average app” has become the calling card of most of these new lights. It is definitely where Chihiros has earned the right to charge a premium price.
I am sure the new breed of light suppliers, that have the hardware sorted, eventually get the software side at the same high level.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I only wish they would allow fading between steps in the advanced mode, or allow more than 8 set points.

What do you mean by this? For example, if I want it to go from 80% to 50% in an hours timeframe, it won’t slowly dim down?

 

[JacksonL]

What do you mean by this? For example, if I want it to go from 80% to 50% in an hours timeframe, it won’t slowly dim down?

Nope.
You can do a single setting, ‘basic mode’ and it will fade from 0% up to your setting, then fade out at the end of the lighting period.
But if you use ‘advanced mode’ where you can set up to 8 points, it just jumps between points at the changeover time.

 

[Minninips]

I've been considering breaking the piggy bank and getting a hyperspot for my Waterbox 4820 when I'm ready to srart it, but the only US seller, Nature Design Studio, has been sold out of all models since the beginning of the year. Hopefully, they'll eventually have them again.

They're back in stock now. I bought their last Large in I think early December. Their inventory listed on the site was incorrect, so I had them keep it on backorder. I received it at the end of February. My vauge understanding is they're hand made in I think Poland, so it really is a bespoke product with limited availability. Sadly, you can thank tariffs for the increased price.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Ooof. Well that annoys me, I have a cheap Bluetooth controller with my Twinstar and it fades beautifully.

 

[JayP]

They're back in stock now. I bought their last Large in I think early December. Their inventory listed on the site was incorrect, so I had them keep it on backorder. I received it at the end of February. My vauge understanding is they're hand made in I think Poland, so it really is a bespoke product with limited availability. Sadly, you can thank tariffs for the increased price.

Yeah I saw they were in stock again but that new price is a big no for me. I'd really like to have one on my largest tank but I don't know that they're ever going to come back down from this new pricing.

 

[AquaLady153]

2x Seaoura sr659

 

[Koan]

Seaoura sr659

Can you tell us a bit about the tanks you are using this one on?

Do you know what the PAR is at the substrate?

Here is some info on how to find PAR for your tank using an app on your phone

Thread 'Photone App'

Aug 12, 2024

Interesting new blog post about the Photone app update available for Android with a new method of utilizing the camera sensor (as opposed to the built-in ambient light sensor). They claim far greater accuracy.

https://growlightmeter.com/improved-measurement-accuracy-for-android/
Exciting Update: Improved Measurement Accuracy for All Android Devices

• *Ci*
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Equipment Discussions

 

[TheWetScape]

I've been considering breaking the piggy bank and getting a hyperspot for my Waterbox 4820 when I'm ready to srart it, but the only US seller, Nature Design Studio, has been sold out of all models since the beginning of the year. Hopefully, they'll eventually have them again.

Glad to see I’m not the only one looking for that light here In US. It’s frustrating

How is the waterbox 4820 btw? I’m looking to get a 120p and that one comes across my feed often. I’m between that one, UNS, or Landen

 

[TheWetScape]

I have a chihiros wrgbII pro, and UNF flat one+, and a twinstar SA version 5 on the way now. Ive also had a couple hygers when I first started. So far I like the chihiros the best, but I am excited to try the twinstar s series ver V

Keep us updated on the new twinstar! I’ve been looking at that one too!

 

[JayP]

Glad to see I’m not the only one looking for that light here In US. It’s frustrating

Nature Design Studio has them back in stock, but apparently due to tariffs, the price of each size went up about $200. The large size is now $1165. That's crazy.

How is the waterbox 4820 btw? I’m looking to get a 120p and that one comes across my feed often. I’m between that one, UNS, or Landen

I haven't set up the 4820 yet but I have multiple Waterbox tanks and they're really good, especially when considering they are a bit better priced than the competition. They have 2 big sales each year, Fresh Friday in late July to early August and Blue Friday in November where all their tanks are typically 15% off. They also have a couple other sales during the year, typically around holidays, when many tanks are 10% off. Only drawback is that many of their tanks are shipped from the Chinese factory to the U.S. warehouse as orders come in so shipping times can be 1 to over 2 months. They do keep some of the smaller tanks in regular U.S. warehouse stock and they ship quickly.

 

[Koan]

They also have a couple other sales during the year

If you don't mind a little spam, you get notified for these on their mailing list. I know there was just a 15% off sale for Valentine's day on some tanks

 

[JacksonL]

Nature Design Studio has them back in stock, but apparently due to tariffs, the price of each size went up about $200. The large size is now $1165. That's crazy.


I haven't set up the 4820 yet but I have multiple Waterbox tanks and they're really good, especially when considering they are a bit better priced than the competition. They have 2 big sales each year, Fresh Friday in late July to early August and Blue Friday in November where all their tanks are typically 15% off. They also have a couple other sales during the year, typically around holidays, when many tanks are 10% off. Only drawback is that many of their tanks are shipped from the Chinese factory to the U.S. warehouse as orders come in so shipping times can be 1 to over 2 months. They do keep some of the smaller tanks in regular U.S. warehouse stock and they ship quickly.

This is very handy to know!
Might start planning a November tank upgrade as a summer holiday project