# ADA Solar alternatives?



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

you wired for 220????
All mh's are wired 220 only:
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://www.yidingaqua.com/&prev=search
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://www.yidingaqua.com/&prev=search
No US dist:
???????? Aquarium manufacture YiDing ?? ????

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://www.yidingaqua.com/&prev=search


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## Kyl3 (Mar 13, 2019)

jeffkrol said:


> you wired for 220????
> All mh's are wired 220 only:
> https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://www.yidingaqua.com/&prev=search
> https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://www.yidingaqua.com/&prev=search
> ...


Sorry, are you asking if my house has any outlets that are 220V?


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## EdWiser (Jul 14, 2015)

http://ultumnaturesystems.com/titan-1/

Many say the Titan 1 is the same as the ADA RGB. 
Would not waste money on a fixture that does have a USA distribution.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Kyl3 said:


> Sorry, are you asking if my house has any outlets that are 220V?


Only see the ballast rated for 220 50Hz..
So unless you plan on replacing the ballasts or have 220 at your tank...don't see why anything about them really matters here .. 

At first I was worried about the frequency difference but may not be an issue..


> *Transformers* rated at *60Hz* should not be used on a *50Hz* supply due to higher losses and core saturation, and the resultant higher temperature rise. *Transformers* rated for *50Hz*, however, *can* be *operated* on a *60Hz* supply.


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## Kyl3 (Mar 13, 2019)

jeffkrol said:


> Only see the ballast rated for 220 50Hz..
> So unless you plan on replacing the ballasts or have 220 at your tank...don't see why anything about them really matters here ..
> 
> At first I was worried about the frequency difference but may not be an issue..


I see what you mean, I actually do not have a 220v outlet at my tank. Thank you for pointing that out, I'm not sure how I missed it. Still interested in other lighting pendant alternatives anyone might suggest


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## cl3537 (Jan 28, 2019)

Kyl3 said:


> I see what you mean, I actually do not have a 220v outlet at my tank. Thank you for pointing that out, I'm not sure how I missed it. Still interested in other lighting pendant alternatives anyone might suggest


IMO ADA RGB Solar on a 2X1 foot tank is overkill. Its a great light for larger tank, you can hang it higher and it has good coverage of the whole tank.

I have a 60p clone I am considering upgrading my light (Chihiros A601) to either a Twinstar 600SS or a Radion XR Pro G4. One is twice the price of the other but is more configurable and powerful.

Depends on what you want to spend and what you are trying to grow. Even my light $40 can get 110 par at the substrate but it washes out the colors a little and has only 60% PUR. Not sure I want to spend $230 USD for a Twinstar or $450 for a Radion. Both can be mounted on top of the rim and don't need a hanging kit.

If you were considering the RGB Solar I would look into the Titan-1 but not sure the specs are the same they may be close but not identical.


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## Kyl3 (Mar 13, 2019)

cl3537 said:


> IMO ADA RGB Solar on a 2X1 foot tank is overkill. Its a great light for larger tank, you can hang it higher and it has good coverage of the whole tank.
> 
> I have a 60p clone I am considering upgrading my light (Chihiros A601) to either a Twinstar 600SS or a Radion XR Pro G4. One is twice the price of the other but is more configurable and powerful.
> 
> ...


It definitely could be overkill, I'm not really sure about that yet. A side note about Twinstars, I recently got a 360e for my Mini-M after having a Chihiros A-series. Man, what a difference it made. The reds in the tank are unbelievably beautiful. I would highly recommend switching if you have any red plants. IMO, this is the best reason to choose a Twinstar over other RGB lights based on my experience with them and seeing them in stores


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-freshwater-plant-lights/71-new-18-basic-fresh-water-plant.html
https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-freshwater-plant-lights/55-sbox-sprite-fresh-water-plant.html


There... Hang it.. or not..


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## Wobblebonk (Feb 13, 2018)

There's actually a chiros knockoff solar RGB called "RGB VIVID" that has a phone app for scheduling / dimming of the 3 channels... the heatsink isn't as pretty and it uses fans but like 250 with an app seems way better than 450/850 to me...


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## cl3537 (Jan 28, 2019)

Kyl3 said:


> It definitely could be overkill, I'm not really sure about that yet. A side note about Twinstars, I recently got a 360e for my Mini-M after having a Chihiros A-series. Man, what a difference it made. The reds in the tank are unbelievably beautiful. I would highly recommend switching if you have any red plants. IMO, this is the best reason to choose a Twinstar over other RGB lights based on my experience with them and seeing them in stores


From what I have read, it isn't so much that it helps the plants grow better, its just a better color rendering so they look better to us (more red). I know the Twinstar S is known to make the reds pop even more than the ADA RGB.

Its still not clear to me if I should adjust PAR my multiplying it by PUR% for how effective the light is. My A601 has a PUR of 60% (pretty lousy).

The A601(my own measurement with Seneye Reef) has more par than the reported Twinstar E series ones. At 100% I get 110par at 35cm.

Right now I have to dim my A601 (36W) to 60% and only 6 hours or I get too much algae. 
Getting the 45W Twinstar 600SS while it will certainly make the colors pop more, I am not sure I can increase my PAR without getting algae so I don't know if it will help much until I am able to get algae under control. Better PUR for sure so that might help but its not clear.

You can hang an ADA RGB Solar and get PAR values of 300+ if you hang it really low! But noone needs that much of course but you have the power for sure.

If I were you I would research the Titan 1 if you can verify it is really a clone of the RGB Solar that would be a great value and a light you could use for much bigger tanks in the future but it doesn't look dimmable so you would have to adjust the height which will be a PITA.


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## Kyl3 (Mar 13, 2019)

Wobblebonk said:


> There's actually a chiros knockoff solar RGB called "RGB VIVID" that has a phone app for scheduling / dimming of the 3 channels... the heatsink isn't as pretty and it uses fans but like 250 with an app seems way better than 450/850 to me...


I actually just found this yesterday, it looks like a great light for the capabilities it has. The customization with the app seems like this might be an obvious choice for the price! I saw a video from Chihiros on facebook in which they had an ADA RGB and a Vivid over the same tank on the left and right sides. Assuming it was honest, the lighting effects of both looked incredibly similar



cl3537 said:


> If I were you I would research the Titan 1 if you can verify it is really a clone of the RGB Solar that would be a great value and a light you could use for much bigger tanks in the future but it doesn't look dimmable so you would have to adjust the height which will be a PITA.


Yeah the lack of a dimming capability is a bummer. I'm currently checking out the Chihiros Vivid, WRGB, and X400


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## cl3537 (Jan 28, 2019)

Kyl3 said:


> I actually just found this yesterday, it looks like a great light for the capabilities it has. The customization with the app seems like this might be an obvious choice for the price! I saw a video from Chihiros on facebook in which they had an ADA RGB and a Vivid over the same tank on the left and right sides. Assuming it was honest, the lighting effects of both looked incredibly similar
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah the lack of a dimming capability is a bummer. I'm currently checking out the Chihiros Vivid, WRGB, and X400


The LFS I use all the time mostly sells Chinese Products. He sells the Chihiros A series LEDs still.
I talked to him about those 3 lights and he told me they aren't great value as they are in the same price range as the american brands.
I suspect but can't prove as just about noone has reviewed those lights that they don't have great PUR values. Unfortunately without someone showing me the PAR/PUR values I just wouldn't take the chance.

If you don't want to spend the $$$ on the Titan 1, than I think the Fluval Plant 3.0 or Twinstar 600s would be the next best alternatives.
You get more PAR and red pop out of the Twinstar, but you can program the Plant 3.0 with your phone and adjust channels, and for small tanks it should be more than enough PAR but it doesn't look as minimalist as the Twinstar.

Maybe @jeffkrol can suggest something ugly, cheap, powerful, with good spectrum.


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## Kyl3 (Mar 13, 2019)

cl3537 said:


> The LFS I use all the time mostly sells Chinese Products. He sells the Chihiros A series LEDs still.
> I talked to him about those 3 lights and he told me they aren't great value as they are in the same price range as the american brands.
> I suspect but can't prove as just about noone has reviewed those lights that they don't have great PUR values. Unfortunately without someone showing me the PAR/PUR values I just wouldn't take the chance.
> 
> ...


Interesting, thank you for the suggestions. The next tank I plan on doing will be a 60-P with no co2 so it is possible that the Chihiros would still get the job done, given that I am not intending on having fast growing plants. I am also not intending to add any red plants to this tank, so I believe this rules out any Twinstar lights. I feel they cater to red plants at the expense of green plants and, without customization, this wouldn't be a fixable issue. I'll take a look at the Fluval 3.0!


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## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

I would recommend against the fluval 3.0 for both spread, color rendition, and par. all quite bad on the fluval 3.0. The Twinstar is just the best light for your buck imo. Yeah it doesnt have customization, dimming via 3rd-party tech, but it's just a great light out of the box. I have used all of those lights, fluval 3.0, twinstar S, chihiros RGB (not vivid), Titan1, a finnex 24/7 (original model), and T5HO. My recommendation is that T5HO is amazing especially at tanks from 4ft(120cm) and longer, because of Par, Color Rendition, and Spread at such a cheap price (my Agrobrite 48" was 60$ during blackfriday sales and 120-140 at Full price, haven't swapped bulbs out yet bc it looks quite nice without nicer bulbs like giesmann bulbs which I will swap to eventually). Twinstar is great for 3 feet(90cm) and shorter. The Twinstar I've heard struggle a bit with super wide tanks that tend to come with the longer tanks so thats why I don't usually recommend it for the larger tanks, and they can get pricey at that point too. And Titan1 is great if you want a Solar RGB for half the price of the ADA Solor RGB.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/light-buying.html

Nice synopses...


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## cl3537 (Jan 28, 2019)

swarley said:


> I would recommend against the fluval 3.0 for both spread, color rendition, and par. all quite bad on the fluval 3.0. The Twinstar is just the best light for your buck imo. Yeah it doesnt have customization, dimming via 3rd-party tech, but it's just a great light out of the box. I have used all of those lights, fluval 3.0, twinstar S, chihiros RGB (not vivid), Titan1, a finnex 24/7 (original model), and T5HO. My recommendation is that T5HO is amazing especially at tanks from 4ft(120cm) and longer, because of Par, Color Rendition, and Spread at such a cheap price (my Agrobrite 48" was 60$ during blackfriday sales and 120-140 at Full price, haven't swapped bulbs out yet bc it looks quite nice without nicer bulbs like giesmann bulbs which I will swap to eventually). Twinstar is great for 3 feet(90cm) and shorter. The Twinstar I've heard struggle a bit with super wide tanks that tend to come with the longer tanks so thats why I don't usually recommend it for the larger tanks, and they can get pricey at that point too. And Titan1 is great if you want a Solar RGB for half the price of the ADA Solor RGB.


Where did you find proof the Titan was a clone of the ADA Solar RGB? I have heard that mentioned but the specs look totally different.

90W versus 130W
160LEDs versus 200 LEDs


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

The Titan 1 sucks. It's a red pigment destroyer. The spectrum chart UNS published is an absolute lie to the real product. My LFS has a setup with 2x UNS 90P's side by side with an squascape that flows between the two tanks. The tanks were setup with Twinstar 900SP's initially. Exact same plants on both tanks. The second they put in the Titan 1 all the reds started to lose color and now there is ZERO red in the tank vs the one next to it with the Twinstar still on it. The visual color is insanely blue on the Titan 1.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Not sure the spectrum chart is a "lie"...SPECTRA (your fav.. ) estimate shows 10200K w/ a predominant "aqua" tone.
88CRI w/ a R9 (saturated red) score of 42 (out of 100)


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffkrol said:


> Not sure the spectrum chart is a "lie"...SPECTRA (your fav.. ) estimate shows 10200K w/ a predominant "aqua" tone.
> 88CRI w/ a R9 (saturated red) score of 42 (out of 100)


The spectrum chart is a carbon copy of the ADA Solar RGB. I know what a solar RGB can do and the UNS is not even close.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...re-systems-titan-1-vs-chihiros-vivid-rgb.html



> Titan 1 = ADA Solar RGB with a UNS sticker on it. Not really a replica. They went to the factory that produces the Solar RGB for ADA and bought the units with a UNS sticker.


wondering why you changed your mind??
Both are simple RGB arrays. Except for some minor nm shifts and possibly drive current adjustments. and watt efficiency not much to change..
There s some hearsay pointing to one being "Stronger" than the other overall.


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## cl3537 (Jan 28, 2019)

jeffkrol said:


> https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...re-systems-titan-1-vs-chihiros-vivid-rgb.html
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am scratching my head on this as well.

Comparing Twinstar S versus ADA Solar RGB the Twinstar definitely has punchier reds I can see that from the internet photos. But the ADA RGB solar looks more natural to me. If thats what he doesn't like than that is a seperate issue.

However my bigger concern is the PAR values of the Titan 1 and RGB Solar. The Titan is supposedly 90w and that is a hell of a lot less than the ADA light (130W) if the specs are published correctly.

I can't find anyone who has tested the PAR on the X400, RGB Vivid or any of the chinese clones of the RGB Solar so it makes it difficult for me to want to be the guinea pig on those lights.


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## realdonaldtrump (Apr 24, 2019)

jeffkrol said:


> https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...re-systems-titan-1-vs-chihiros-vivid-rgb.html
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This guy is clueless. Sorry. I have multiple Titan 1s and a Solar RGB. It’s definitely not a clone, and I can confirm they aren’t built in the same factory. Color spectrum is nearly identical. The chassis may appear similar, but they are different. Titan is lighter and smaller in size and mass. Basically you can get two titans for the price of one Solar. I’ve had no issues with my titans, however my solar rgb failed leaving my color to be a bright yellow until the new ballast came in. Fortunately I leave my tanks in the window so the plants didn’t suffer.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

I find that Solar RGB has higher red saturation compared to the Twinstar S, which is offset by the green spikes in the Solar RGB. Whereas Twinstar S has more reddish glow as a whole. However, Solar RGB has a narrow range of rendering - oranges and purples look much more reddish than under other fixtures. The Twinstar S doesn't have such an extreme effect despite the redder background glow.

Hows the build quality on the Titan 1 ?

The other Solar RGB copy on the market is Maxlite (from Hongkong). PAR seems similar to solar RGB... Not sure of the pricing overseas though.
(Maxlite pics below)


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## SpringHalo (Oct 13, 2017)

Xiaozhuang said:


> I find that Solar RGB has higher red saturation compared to the Twinstar S, which is offset by the green spikes in the Solar RGB. Whereas Twinstar S has more reddish glow as a whole. However, Solar RGB has a narrow range of rendering - oranges and purples look much more reddish than under other fixtures. The Twinstar S doesn't have such an extreme effect despite the redder background glow.



This is likely due to the solar RGB only using RGB leds and no white, whereas the Twinstar also includes white LEDs in the mix, relying less on pure-green LEDs for lighting up near-green plants, and moving to a pinkish tint which seems to be popular for your LED fixtures and T5HO setups.



Plugging the solar RGB into the TM-30-15 (color rendition) spreadsheet shows that the colors are more vibrant, much less accurate than sunlight, and most orange/red-tinted tones are hue-shifted red, just as you observed.


For reference, this spreadsheet shows graphs of the spectral output, the Rf-Rg plot which is a newer interpretation of CRI that scores both fidelity (accuracy) and gamut (saturation). The third plot compares measured hue and saturation (red ring) to the reference (gray dashed ring). The last shows the overall tint of the light compared to an "ideal blackbody" or "pure white" curve.














There are no published measurements for the Twinstar S, but going from the 6500k specification and pictures of the individual LEDs, plus your pink-hue comment, I'm guessing it's a more red/pink focused light using RGB+W leds. Looking at the Rf-Rg plot, we see that it scores much higher on the fidelity (accuracy) axis, while still having the same gamut (saturation) as the ADA. This might help explain why the Twinstars are more versatile and popular for a variety of aquascapes.












Cheers,
Spring


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## Wobblebonk (Feb 13, 2018)

I don't actually see the maxlite life aqua master pro rgb for sale anywhere on the internet or I don't know how to search for it. Just see some results on social media at this point and their own website.

http://maxlite.hk/intro/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Life-Aqua-Master-Pro-Leaflet-ver2018nov.pdf technical specs...


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

UNS Titan is a better "ADA "clone"...








Like I've said before, and my personal opinion.. RGB lights can look "punchy" but you don't know what you are missing.. 

If they used phosphor converted reds .(i.e like the "full spectrum" LED's) then maybe.


lights everywhere.. 
https://www.banggood.com/UP-PRO-LED...ic-Plants-60CM-p-933904.html?cur_warehouse=CN


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## Erirku (May 9, 2007)

jeffkrol said:


> https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...re-systems-titan-1-vs-chihiros-vivid-rgb.html
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I like how you think ADA solar RGB equals the same to UNS! Both are two different companies. Yes, you get what you pay for. While UNS is cheaper than the ADA RGB, there are huge differences when compared side by side, which I was able to see at a local aquascape store. Hands down I have to say the ADA RGB is much better quality than UNS! Although I am not techy on the light spectrum, ADA RGB gives off a nice light distribution and pleasant to my eyes, compared to the UNS. The ballast is another story: ADA is made of metal, while the UNS is plastic, which the ballast heats up to extreme heat! Price wise, UNS will be good for anyone’s budget!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Erirku said:


> I like how you think ADA solar RGB equals the same to UNS! Both are two different companies. Yes, you get what you pay for. While UNS is cheaper than the ADA RGB, there are huge differences when compared side by side, which I was able to see at a local aquascape store. Hands down I have to say the ADA RGB is much better quality than UNS! Although I am not techy on the light spectrum, ADA RGB gives off a nice light distribution and pleasant to my eyes, compared to the UNS. The ballast is another story: ADA is made of metal, while the UNS is plastic, which the ballast heats up to extreme heat! Price wise, UNS will be good for anyone’s budget!



Well I was referring more to spectrum than build quality.


both are gappy no matter how "pleasent" they look. That's just physics..
Neither is my cup of tea...
https://aquaforestaquarium.com/products/solar-rgb-led-lighting-system


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## EdWiser (Jul 14, 2015)

Its great that you where able to see the difference in person. Most LFS do not stock either light. I also keep reef tanks so even 800 dollars for a ADA RGB is not unheard off in the saltwater world.


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## Wobblebonk (Feb 13, 2018)

Actually I have the impression they aren't really getting well binned diodes and even 2 rgbs or 2 titan 1s next to each other don't necessarily have the same color temp even... otherwise why do both list color temp as 9k-12k?


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## realdonaldtrump (Apr 24, 2019)

Erirku said:


> jeffkrol said:
> 
> 
> > https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...re-systems-titan-1-vs-chihiros-vivid-rgb.html
> ...


The ADA ballast cooks just like the titan, but the aluminum chassis does dissipate heat more efficiently. However, my ADA Solar RGB ballast died. Also, it has that wonky green Japanese ground wire which isn’t very US friendly. Color temp, to the visible eye, is nearly identical.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

realdonaldtrump said:


> The ADA ballast cooks just like the titan, but the aluminum chassis does dissipate heat more efficiently. However, my ADA Solar RGB ballast died. Also, it has that wonky green Japanese ground wire which isn’t very US friendly. Color temp, to the visible eye, is nearly identical.



What are the electrical specs on the power supplies?


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## Erirku (May 9, 2007)

EdWiser said:


> Its great that you where able to see the difference in person. Most LFS do not stock either light. I also keep reef tanks so even 800 dollars for a ADA RGB is not unheard off in the saltwater world.<a href="http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/images/smilie/icon_smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" ></a>


Yes, both are nice to my eyes, but I see a more crisp light on the ADA unit which I prefer.


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## Erirku (May 9, 2007)

realdonaldtrump said:


> The ADA ballast cooks just like the titan, but the aluminum chassis does dissipate heat more efficiently. However, my ADA Solar RGB ballast died. Also, it has that wonky green Japanese ground wire which isn’t very US friendly. Color temp, to the visible eye, is nearly identical.


Wow, that’s sad to hear! Where was the placement of the ballast? Is there adequate ventilation? Did you get a refund? ADA corporate office is pretty good to contact via email. Any issues and they take care of their customers right away. They want their customers satisfied.


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## realdonaldtrump (Apr 24, 2019)

Wow, that’s sad to hear! Where was the placement of the ballast? Is there adequate ventilation? Did you get a refund? ADA corporate office is pretty good to contact via email. Any issues and they take care of their customers right away. They want their customers satisfied.[/QUOTE]

They replaced it within a week of notification. Initially, I didn’t replace as quickly due to being busy. I had to unplug the light from the ballast and the power strip to get the color back. After about 3 weeks of doing this, I contacted and the replacement came quickly. Great service, yet a bummer that, at the time, the best freshwater led on the market failed.


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## Quint (Mar 24, 2019)

Well this conversation has the spread of lights $150 to $900+. Would think the best thing to do is find out a price range then discuss the best option for said price range. May narrow the decision down a bit lol.


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## cl3537 (Jan 28, 2019)

I initially discounted this light due to local price and worry about fan noise. 
Fan isn't so bad for most.

I'd give it a second look a 130w light with tuneable spectrum for $250 USD is great value.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Chi...7d-4cdf-967e-1d7011a0c807&transAbTest=ae803_4

I bet the spectrum isn't much different from the RGB solar based on Chihiros marketing but who knows till you test it.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Are we considering aesthetics of the light itself? Because if not, the Facebook high tech planted tank crowd is real big on the sbreeflights that @jeffkrol posted a few posts back in post #9. No one commented but since I was wondering how this group feels about it, I'm bringing it up again. I like it. Its powerful and programmable if you get the right one and its seemingly built like a tank. but not sure if I can deal with the odd look. Or is it too small a unit and the spread isn't good enough?


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## EdWiser (Jul 14, 2015)

Man the SBreeflights are just china led boxes. If you don't care what the light looks like the are just OK. Even in reef tanks they are the bottom rung of lighting good for people that just don't care about the wife yelling at them about how nasty they look.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

EdWiser said:


> Man the SBreeflights are just china led boxes. If you don't care what the light looks like the are just OK. Even in reef tanks they are the bottom rung of lighting good for people that just don't care about the wife yelling at them about how nasty they look.


That is true, but then, as far as "china led boxes", so are chihiros units being bought off aliexpress and by extension, even twinstar. I suppose I should've stated my intent to compare them to those units instead. Like @Quint said, I guess the spread of lights in this conversation is too great. At least the sbreef guys had the sense to put in bigger heatsinks, and some better components.

The deeper question is .. aside from aesthetics, from a performance and parts standpoint, I'm finding hard to justify even a twinstar over an sbreeflight right now. Or is there something I'm missing? 

I was bothered about the looks of the sbreeflight, but then again, I'm usually just showing off whats *in* the tank. how often does someone post a full rig setup including lights?


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## EdWiser (Jul 14, 2015)

Having had tons of discussion in Reef tank threads over lighting Planted tanks don't have much as people will put any type of light over planted tanks.
I don't light SBlights and their like in reef tanks due the lazer nature of the led's to corals. I have found better success with MH and t5's We are seeing LED manufacturers start to put diffusers on their LED's to counter act the issues of the spread of the led light. I have used a PAR meter to set up tank lighting for 30 years now got mine way back when and do light set ups for aquarium club members all the time. Its always surprising to be how little LED light output to the human does correlate to what a PAR reading is at a depth of water. Human eyes are a bad judge of lighting as our eyes see differently than corals or plants. As far as showing lighting rig's go on a saltwater forum.https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ I am a reef squad member there( I answer peoples questions.) An you will see a lot of pictures of lighting rigs. 
Having had SB type lights in the past I can tell my wife does not allow them every more in the house. I didn't find the build quality to be that great either.
As some one who has kept fish tanks for 55 years now I just by nice stuff anymore don't want to waste money on stuff like I did in the past. Did it ended up not worth it kind of thing for me. As with any hobby you will find a wide range of pricing on items. Not everyone is going to want to spend money on well built and well supported equipment. So think it is silly but I have seen the cheap companies come and go thru the years and the Will supported and design companies still in business. Planted tanks have always been the poor step child as equipment goes. Heck there are few freshwater lights that even have timers built into them. Which would not even be a thought in saltwater. Or at least a way from them to interface with an Apex or GHL aquarium controller.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

EdWiser said:


> Having had tons of discussion in Reef tank threads over lighting Planted tanks don't have much as people will put any type of light over planted tanks.
> I don't light SBlights and their like in reef tanks due the lazer nature of the led's to corals. I have found better success with MH and t5's We are seeing LED manufacturers start to put diffusers on their LED's to counter act the issues of the spread of the led light. I have used a PAR meter to set up tank lighting for 30 years now got mine way back when and do light set ups for aquarium club members all the time. Its always surprising to be how little LED light output to the human does correlate to what a PAR reading is at a depth of water. Human eyes are a bad judge of lighting as our eyes see differently than corals or plants. As far as showing lighting rig's go on a saltwater forum.https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ I am a reef squad member there( I answer peoples questions.) An you will see a lot of pictures of lighting rigs.
> Having had SB type lights in the past I can tell my wife does not allow them every more in the house. I didn't find the build quality to be that great either.
> As some one who has kept fish tanks for 55 years now I just by nice stuff anymore don't want to waste money on stuff like I did in the past. Did it ended up not worth it kind of thing for me. As with any hobby you will find a wide range of pricing on items. Not everyone is going to want to spend money on well built and well supported equipment. So think it is silly but I have seen the cheap companies come and go thru the years and the Will supported and design companies still in business. Planted tanks have always been the poor step child as equipment goes. Heck there are few freshwater lights that even have timers built into them. Which would not even be a thought in saltwater. Or at least a way from them to interface with an Apex or GHL aquarium controller.



Thanks, @EdWiser for giving me valuble insight in your thought process! I can definitely appreciate having nicely designed stuff over purely utilitarian stuff. The UNS that you've shown in your earlier post is definitely a beautiful example of this. I just find not having the ability to program it being a bit of a cramp on my needs. And as you said, with the poor step child mentality of planted tanks, I'm not ready to cough up 400+ on a light that doesn't address everything I need it to. 

You also gave a very good analysis of the shortcomings of LED over T5HO when it comes to corals and if I ever dabble into the world of corals, I'll try to remember that valuable input. Also, if I ever end up buying a seneye on the reef2reef forums and someone needs to vouch for my authenticity as a real person, I might hit you up too! 

Instead of sidetracking this thread, perhaps I'll start my own. Sorry, OP.


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## EdWiser (Jul 14, 2015)

I don't think I mentioned the UN light perhaps others did. I use a straight up PAR meter as I have club members that use my services to adjust their tanks lighting. The seneye is way to limiting for the way I use a PAR meter. I check every inch of a tanks light coverage with an make a map for the person of how their tanks light is in each area so they can best place light loving animals in the proper position.
Coughing up money is not how I look at things as I look at it as an investment. I have bought or worked with every light on the market. So times I have to shake my head at the claims some light manufacturers claim and what is really happening when the light is placed on hobbyist tank. I think lights are the something that hobbyist are never satisfied with. An is probably the one item that is easiest to find used.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

EdWiser said:


> I don't think I mentioned the UN light perhaps others did. I use a straight up PAR meter as I have club members that use my services to adjust their tanks lighting. The seneye is way to limiting for the way I use a PAR meter. I check every inch of a tanks light coverage with an make a map for the person of how their tanks light is in each area so they can best place light loving animals in the proper position.
> Coughing up money is not how I look at things as I look at it as an investment. I have bought or worked with every light on the market. So times I have to shake my head at the claims some light manufacturers claim and what is really happening when the light is placed on hobbyist tank. I think lights are the something that hobbyist are never satisfied with. An is probably the one item that is easiest to find used.


post #4? https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/1289253-ada-solar-alternatives.html#post11184989 
I suppose I should have been clearer, the Ultum Nature Systems Titan 1


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## Wobblebonk (Feb 13, 2018)

Of the expensive leds I would most like to try an orphek atlantik v4 but it's still a little too steep for me... and I'm not too keen on a separate wifi control box for that price. Lupyled looks kinda neat but it's just way too expensive.

I actually kind of like my sbreeflight but it is fugly :/ and they want way too much for ramping. I've got uhh lots of dumb looking lights so I don't care so much about that, it would just cost too much for all my tanks to be beautiful in that way.


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## EdWiser (Jul 14, 2015)

ipkiss said:


> post #4? https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/1289253-ada-solar-alternatives.html#post11184989
> I suppose I should have been clearer, the Ultum Nature Systems Titan 1




Ah I did post about that one. There are two threads on lighting in planted forums I have posted on it get confusing. [emoji1787]
I have been on aquarium forums since 1984. [emoji3]


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## ZeusAlmightyShortLegs (Aug 2, 2017)

erik have you owned both cuz i have and almost same and plastic ballist on the uns titan actually doesnt get hot.....


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## Erirku (May 9, 2007)

ZeusAlmightyShortLegs said:


> erik have you owned both cuz i have and almost same and plastic ballist on the uns titan actually doesnt get hot.....


I am assuming you are asking me?

No, I don’t own any but the aquascape shop I visited, the owner confirmed from his own experience. 

I would assume that over the day the ballast would get hot touch.


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

people in here could save so much money in the long term by just investing in a Solar RGB... smh...


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

> In this video I will compare the Ada RGB Solar vs the Chihiros RGB. Note that this is the older model of chihiros not the new wrgb version. They are both nice lights but with a whole different price tag. Choose the one that suits your needs. I hope you can make a better choice of aquascape lighting with this video.
> 
> If you have more budget than chihiros but less than ada rgb solar I highly recommend the twinstar e or s series. Enjoy your aquascape led lights!


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