# Twinstar 450 EA … vs … ???



## CJM70 (12 Jan 2022)

Ok so I have a Twinstar 450 EA light unit.  It’s awesome, but I want more functionality.  Stuff like individual colour channel adjustment, lightning effect, moonphase etc.

I believe Chihiros can offer that but would be grateful for other suggestions of other alternatives? Which brand is considered the better quality? Twinstar or Chihiros? What other decent options do people choose? (ADA is not in my budget, so please no mention of them haha).


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## erwin123 (13 Jan 2022)

according to their FB, Chihiros has already started to ship a limited number of WRGB2 Pro to retailers.  Maybe dealers will clear stocks of the old WRGB2 or you may find some 2nd hand ones for sale as their owners are upgrading to the pro. I confess that I am tempted to upgrade to WRGB2 Pro.... 😅

From his social media posts, Dennis Wong has been testing the Week Aqua LEDs but I haven't seen him formally recommending it in his posts - might well be that he did not find any improvement from the addition of UV bulbs.


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## CJM70 (13 Jan 2022)

Any others I can consider?


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## pat1cp (13 Jan 2022)

I've got a chihiros WRGB II. It's a very good light and fully adjustable.


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## CJM70 (13 Jan 2022)

pat1cp said:


> I've got a chihiros WRGB II. It's a very good light and fully adjustable.


Thanks out of interest why did you go with your heroes instead of twin star? Was it the greater flexibility


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## pat1cp (14 Jan 2022)

CJM70 said:


> Thanks out of interest why did you go with your heroes instead of twin star? Was it the greater flexibility


Not sure what you mean I'm afraid.


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## Konsa (14 Jan 2022)

I think OP meant to write Chihiros instead of "heroes".


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## CJM70 (14 Jan 2022)

pat1cp said:


> Not sure what you mean I'm afraid.


It was a voice to text translation error.  Read "your heroes" as "Chihiros".  Given the topic, it's an understandable mistake. Surprised the penny didn't drop 🤣😂


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## pat1cp (14 Jan 2022)

Konsa said:


> I think OP meant to write Chihiros instead of "heroes".


Thanks @Konsa If that what was meant. Yeah, I did a bit of research, youtube reviews etc and plumped for the Chihirios and thus far am happy.


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## afroturf (14 Jan 2022)

How about Aqua Illumination Prime?, I have them running on a couple of tanks and love them. I also have a redundant Twinstar 450 EA as I prefer the Prime. Also the MyAI app is probably the best app on the market for freshwater lights, they also have a dedicated Moonlight.
The point source lights like AI prime, Kessil etc give a completely different feel to tanks too compared to Twinstar/Chihiros, with any surface agitation they give off a shimmer that you don't get with the Twinstar etc with their rather flat light, you also get more shadowing with the AI prime, you'll probably get better coverage with the Twinstar, but in my opinion I like the natural look you get with the AI Prime, all depends on your personal preference.


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## CJM70 (14 Jan 2022)

afroturf said:


> How about Aqua Illumination Prime?, I have them running on a couple of tanks and love them. I also have a redundant Twinstar 450 EA as I prefer the Prime. Also the MyAI app is probably the best app on the market for freshwater lights, they also have a dedicated Moonlight.
> The point source lights like AI prime, Kessil etc give a completely different feel to tanks too compared to Twinstar/Chihiros, with any surface agitation they give off a shimmer that you don't get with the Twinstar etc with their rather flat light, you also get more shadowing with the AI prime, you'll probably get better coverage with the Twinstar, but in my opinion I like the natural look you get with the AI Prime, all depends on your personal preference.


Can you change the RGB channel levels individually?


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## afroturf (14 Jan 2022)

Yeah, has 6 channels for each colour of led, R,G,B, Warm white, Cool white and the moonlight you can also adjust to suit a preferred colour temp if desired.


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## CJM70 (14 Jan 2022)

afroturf said:


> Yeah, has 6 channels for each colour of led, R,G,B, Warm white, Cool white and the moonlight you can also adjust to suit a preferred colour temp if desired.


Thanks is there any chance you could upload some pictures of it for me. It sounds very interesting I will have to check it out


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## Ian61 (14 Jan 2022)

Fluval plant 3.0?  Works for me at, currently, 60% capacity on low tech tank.


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## plantnoobdude (14 Jan 2022)

wrgb2 is stronger, cheaper and has more adjustability with built in dimmer and rgb adjustability and a variety of presets to choose from. only con is the app i've heard some have issues with the bluetooth, though, it seems quite rare so i wouldn't worry about it. mine works perfectly.

colours.


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## CJM70 (14 Jan 2022)

Ian61 said:


> Fluval plant 3.0?  Works for me at, currently, 60% capacity on low tech tank.View attachment 179964


Thanks, does it have rgb channels too?


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## CJM70 (14 Jan 2022)

plantnoobdude said:


> wrgb2 is stronger, cheaper and has more adjustability with built in dimmer and rgb adjustability and a variety of presets to choose from. only con is the app i've heard some have issues with the bluetooth, though, it seems quite rare so i wouldn't worry about it. mine works perfectly.
> 
> colours.
> View attachment 179965
> ...


What make is it pls? Great pics👍


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## plantnoobdude (14 Jan 2022)

CJM70 said:


> What make is it pls? Great pics👍


sorry, chihiros wrgb2!


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## afroturf (15 Jan 2022)

Heres a few pics of my AI Primes, I've got 3 over my 260L tank, and one over a newly setup shallow tank there a two closer images to show the shadowing effect you get with the AI Prime compared to the twinstar. I've also added two videos one with the Twinstar 450e at full power the other of the AI prime set to comparable 21w power and set to 7000k to mirror the twinstar, the video seems over emphasises the shimmer effect but shows the differences between the two types of light quite well. Like I said it's a preference thing the twinstar type may be better for growing plants with the better coverage but the AI prime does a perfectly good job and I like the natural sunlight feeling you get from the prime.


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## Ian61 (15 Jan 2022)

CJM70 said:


> Thanks, does it have rgb channels too?




Hi. Here’s my set up. 5 channels


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## CJM70 (15 Jan 2022)

afroturf said:


> Heres a few pics of my AI Primes, I've got 3 over my 260L tank, and one over a newly setup shallow tank there a two closer images to show the shadowing effect you get with the AI Prime compared to the twinstar. I've also added two videos one with the Twinstar 450e at full power the other of the AI prime set to comparable 21w power and set to 7000k to mirror the twinstar, the video seems over emphasises the shimmer effect but shows the differences between the two types of light quite well. Like I said it's a preference thing the twinstar type may be better for growing plants with the better coverage but the AI prime does a perfectly good job and I like the natural sunlight feeling you get from the prime.
> 
> View attachment 179994 View attachment 180002View attachment 180003View attachment 180004



Thanks, some lovely tanks there too 👍👍


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## CJM70 (15 Jan 2022)

Ian61 said:


> View attachment 180051Hi. Here’s my set up. 5 channels


I can’t tell from that picture does it have green


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## jamiepearson (15 Jan 2022)

Blue, pink, warm white (orangey-white), cool white, pure white


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## CJM70 (15 Jan 2022)

jamiepearson said:


> Blue, pink, warm white (orangey-white), cool white, pure white


So it’s not a full wrgb light unit then?


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## oreo57 (15 Jan 2022)

CJM70 said:


> So it’s not a full wrgb light unit then?


Right...


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## Ian61 (17 Jan 2022)

oreo57 said:


> Right.
> 
> 
> CJM70 said:
> ...


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## CJM70 (17 Jan 2022)

Yes I'm sure the necessary spectrum is covered. However referring back to the original post, I am looking for a light that will enable me to change all of the kind of channels as I please. 
As far as your second point goes those are definitely issues that need to be addressed by the manufacturer in order to improve the value of such a light. Quite frankly if it doesn't come back on after a power cut, and follow the original programming, I need to put some kind of extra memory in so that this can happen I would have thought.


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