# Chihiros Aquasky / A Series / RGB



## mooncake (16 Jun 2018)

Hello all.

Could anyone who has had experience with two or more of the Chihiros LEDs share their opinion about how different each of the different types actually is, when viewed in person? I have an ADA 45H and I'm struggling to make a decision about which one to go for. I'm debating whether to start off lower/medium tech (I'll dose ferts and liquid carbon, but probably won't use co2 at least to start with... but in future may well switch to this).

I know that obviously the RGB is supposed to bring out the colour of reds better, but then with it not being as powerful as the other two and the tank being 45cm deep, is it going to be too weak to cope if I decide to go high tech in the future? I also don't know if I'm being silly here, but I'm a little concerned too that it might lend an odd sort of 'artificial' and non-natural look to the tank. I think I've read somewhere of somebody having that opinion when using it... could be getting mixed up, though.

I just really want the best quality of light, colour rendition wise. I'm not too concerned about having the highest output of light, so long as it will grow most plants and look the most 'natural'. Unfortunately I've not been able to see any Chihiros in person.

Which one would you go for?


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## alto (16 Jun 2018)

Unless budget rules them out completely, look at the Twinstars 

If you search you'll find posters that have removed their Chihiros LEDs in favour of alternate brands but most find them decent enough 
(lfs brought in the Chihiros Aquasky - too blue for me)

Some considerations 
- what's the waterproof rating on Chihiros
- they run very hot 
- variable construction quality 
- ask for the LED specifications, brand, watt, intensity etc (eg, Samsung manufactures both low & high intensity 0.3 watt LEDs (reflected in cost), the former won't do much in a 45cm deep tank)


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## mooncake (16 Jun 2018)

Thanks for your reply alto. What's happened is I've ended up with both a 60P and a 45H (got a little ahead of myself...), so to stop myself from going completely broke was planning to buy a Twinstar for the 60P (got my eye on the S series, but at £100 more than the E series I haven't been able to bring myself to actually order it yet, ha). Then I was going to lower the budget for the 45H by getting the Chihiros, thinking I can always upgrade if need be in the future as and when I can grab a better deal on some higher end lights.

I guess I was probably leaning towards the Aquasky more than the others, but I have some concerns about colour rendition (as you yourself say, you've found it a little too blue). The 45H they'll be going on is going to home a single betta, who will probably not appreciate crazy bright light so I'm not too concerned about getting something like the A plus series. I suppose I could aim to stretch for the Twinstar E series, though it's still quite costly... if it's going to be noticeably much better, however, then I can see it being worth it. Saves me having to upgrade in the future. 

Should've found myself a less expensive hobby...


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## PARAGUAY (16 Jun 2018)

Try tmiravent sticky thread Product Review, himself and Nuno testing and trying Led lighting


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## Iwagumi_Scaper (16 Jun 2018)

I myself can't afford the twinstars so I've ordered a Chihiros RGB 30. Unfortunately this won't be arriving for a couple of weeks though, so I can't give you any info on them yet.


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## alto (17 Jun 2018)

I think you won't regret the Twinstars - there's a reason why Shops are using them on display tanks rather than Chihiros
(same goes for the pro Aquascapers & client tanks ... you can find quite a few FB photos of E & S lights)

BUT it also makes sense to have fun with the 45H on a budget - just takes more planning
As the 60P is going high light etc, it's a nice contrast to have a slow motion tank 
& this way they will be very different scapes 

I find Bettas are pretty outgoing & adaptable, they love planted tanks but massive flow not so much
- select your Betta carefully ... delta, super delta, half moon are all fine IF no rosetail gene (unfortunately rosetail makes for full fins even in very young fish so it's difficult to find non-rosetail these days)
Fancy Plakats are grand of course (my favorite)
Be carful of dragon/dragon scale Bettas as these scales can extend over the gills (& even eyes) as they mature - don't select a young fish with extended dragon scale (over the head), look for symmetric, uniform, non-over-lapping scales

Sounds as if you've a Betta already, if he's heavily finned or cellophane fins or crown tail, I'd choose a much simpler tank design

For the 60P, I'd do Twinstar S (you're paying for extra watts as well as fancier LEDs)- it will see you through many scapes & plants & livestock
(*except* it was just Interzoo & I've not seen what Twinstar brought to their booth  )

45H - Betta haven - select a budget light or adjustable (just looked at Aquarium Gardens & I'd be tempted to go Kessil A80 ifffff price includes the gooseneck - then its only a tenner more than the Twinstar ... but then I'm fine with manual controls & I love the matrix cluster LEDs)
I have Kessils, being able to move them off to the side/back & view the tank in dim moonlight complete with shadowed areas - without disturbing plants or livestock = my favourite tank viewing

All of your options would work fine - money saved on lighting can go to hardscape & plants 
Or plan a dry start on one or both tanks to reduce initial plant expenditure 

Tropica Inspiration page had some pretty nice "Easy" scapes

PS most Bettas I've kept rather like suitable companions for stimulation/interest


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## Conort2 (17 Jun 2018)

I've got a chihiros rgb and im more than happy with it, grows plants fine is dimmable and the colour rendition is decent. However every time I look at a scape lit with a twinstar S I want to go and buy one! The colour rendition looks great and the plants and fish seem to really pop.

You Can always Stick with the chihiros for now and then at a later date get the twinstar s, which is what I will probably do too when I can justify spending that money on a light lol.

Cheers,

Conor


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## mooncake (17 Jun 2018)

Conort2 said:


> I've got a chihiros rgb and im more than happy with it, grows plants fine is dimmable and the colour rendition is decent. However every time I look at a scape lit with a twinstar S I want to go and buy one! The colour rendition looks great and the plants and fish seem to really pop.
> 
> You Can always Stick with the chihiros for now and then at a later date get the twinstar s, which is what I will probably do too when I can justify spending that money on a light lol.
> 
> ...



I know what you mean! I almost successfully talked myself out of the Twinstar S, because of the price. But I still keep seeing scapes using them and I start lusting over them again  I think if there were a discount on them it could probably just about sway me, but aquarium gardens don't seem to offer discounts from what I can see and I can't find any cheaper anywhere.

My latest issue is having bought a second hand thermo filter, which was over £100 less than its price new... a bargain I thought. But, it is leaking from somewhere. I've checked it's all set up properly and put on some extra vaseline, but to no avail. And even if I try getting a new gasket seal to see whether that fixes the problem I'm not sure whether I'll feel able to trust it enough. Part of me would rather just suck up the cost and buy a brand new one that should hopefully work without any need to replace anything. The seller says they'll pay for the postage to send it back to them, but it's a shame as I'd thought the money I could have saved on the filter could have gone towards the lighting or plants... so I'm debating whether to bother trying to fix it or just sending it back at the moment. In the meantime I've ordered an Eheim 2215 and an external heater, which I can use either for the 60P or 45H.



alto said:


> I think you won't regret the Twinstars - there's a reason why Shops are using them on display tanks rather than Chihiros
> (same goes for the pro Aquascapers & client tanks ... you can find quite a few FB photos of E & S lights)
> 
> BUT it also makes sense to have fun with the 45H on a budget - just takes more planning
> ...



I haven't got a betta yet, but I'm of the same thinking as you in that I'm not going to get one with too much finnage. Whilst I'm not planning to have any type of spider wood or sharp things in the 45H that he could get his fins snagged on (just some driftwood I think, which I will check over if need be to remove any potential hazards, before attaching some moss), I still dislike seeing bettas struggling to move around properly because of having fins that are too heavy.

I'm a little wary of being able to match meeting the plants' need to have as much flow as possible with not disturbing the betta, so I'm probably going to invest in a spin lily pipe if the filter flow is too much, and coupled with potentially having an external heater and later on down the line maybe a co2 kit plugged in to reduce the flow somewhat, hopefully that will be ok. If need be I'm happy to go for less demanding plants that won't mind having less flow than others.

Regarding keeping bettas with companions, can I ask what you've successfully been able to keep with them before? The whole reason for getting this second tank (well, third if you include my old one I've had for ages... heh) was because we originally wanted a betta, but then decided a small peaceful community would be nice. I didn't want to risk having a betta in the same tank in case it ended in carnage. Ideally I'd at least have some shrimp or something in with him, but from what I've read it's very much dependent on their individual personality. I figured that even if I add him to the community tank (was just planning to have something like a small group of ember tetras and some shrimp) and all seemed well, one day down the line he could go on a rampage, or alternatively get stressed out from being with other fish.

I'm now also wondering about the kessil a80. I've seen what I think were some in person at the Aquatic Design Centre in London and they looked lovely. It's probably now between that or the Twinstar 450E, or save some £££ and go for the Chihiros.


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## alto (18 Jun 2018)

mooncake said:


> My latest issue is having bought a second hand thermo filter, which was over £100 less than its price new... a bargain I thought. But, it is leaking from somewhere. I've checked it's all set up properly and put on some extra vaseline, but to no avail. And even if I try getting a new gasket seal to see whether that fixes the problem I'm not sure whether I'll feel able to trust it enough. Part of me would rather just suck up the cost and buy a brand new one that should hopefully work without any need to replace anything. The seller says they'll pay for the postage to send it back to them, but it's a shame as I'd thought the money I could have saved on the filter could have gone towards the lighting or plants... so I'm debating whether to bother trying to fix it or just sending it back at the moment. In the meantime I've ordered an Eheim 2215 and an external heater



I'd return the filter
(maybe pm with the name/model)

Back when I had Fluvals, they used to slow leak for 2-3 days after every maintenance ... I'd always wonder if today was the day I'd come home to disaster 
Damage to home & furnishings, loss of livestock, damage/loss of plants - these will cost you much more than the £100 savings  

Kudos to the seller for offering to cover postage


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## mooncake (18 Jun 2018)

alto said:


> I'd return the filter
> (maybe pm with the name/model)
> 
> Back when I had Fluvals, they used to slow leak for 2-3 days after every maintenance ... I'd always wonder if today was the day I'd come home to disaster
> ...



Yeah, I'm thankful the seller is being reasonable about it. I'm inclined to believe that they didn't knowingly sell the filter with a problem, but it's also not my fault either so at least I hopefully won't be having to fight them for a return. Like I say, I suspect it could very likely be something as minor as a gasket seal in need of replacing or something of that sort. But I've decided it's not worth the stress... I don't think I'd fully trust it even if I did stop the leak. At least with something new I'll have a warranty (not that something going wrong with it wouldn't cause enough major problems anyway!).  It was an Eheim thermo filter, but to be honest I'll just going to go down the Eheim classic + hydor external heater route (and hope the latter doesn't ever fry my tank one day) instead now, all being well, which will be much cheaper than buying another thermo filter brand new anyway.

I have an old tetratec that went through a phase of slowly leaking after maintenance, and worrying about whether it was going to carry on and end up draining the whole tank was a horrible feeling... I'm with you on that one. I'd be waking up at all hours of the night in fear that it would have completely flooded out


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