Regarding the plants, I've not yet chosen the exact list of species yet... My inspiration for the build will be Josh Sim's "Congo" 2017 IAPLC winning aquascape.
Hey
@aeneas
Sticking with the lighting aspect of this scape... there’s a ton of obstruction if you choose to do something similar. This is really important, your scape ain’t moving. Point source lighting will undoubtedly leave you with difficult to grow spots. It’s only a limitation if you choose to inappropriately plant in those areas. From your shortlist this would only really apply to the Kessils, but if you like shimmer in a scape like this, then point source can make your scape. If you find it distracting then diffused light units are your friend.
Colour rendition: The ADA Solar RGB’s give excellent colour rendition across reds and greens. The ONF Flat One wins on oranges though and gives a warmer feel. The Kessils are great with the greens but majorly lacking compared to the ADA and ONF on reds. You’ll mainly be thinking about how well these lights present the colour of your plants but don’t forget your fish!
Heat, noise and aesthetics: The ADA and ONF are passively cooled and obviously silent. Kessil’s being fan cooled will make noise (note on this and your other thread you said you were looking for silent).
(Note: A160’s not A360X’s although have borrowed the latter to try it out)
ADA Solar RGB’s run cool. The ONF does get warm if using 50% intensity upwards. Kessils also get warm. This will matter in regards to longevity but it’s not the only factor.
Aesthetics wise on how these units can be suspended, this is entirely subjective and down to what you like the look of.
Growth, glare and intensity control: All three lights can do the job - as they should at these price points. The ADA has no intensity control though, both ONF and Kessil give you this very important feature. The ADA has shades for what it’s worth (they are very bright), the ONF doesn’t but running at lower intensities it isn’t as much of an issue, the Kessils can light up your ceiling with a swimming pool ripple effect if you like feeling that you’re on holiday.
The Chihiros unit I cannot comment on as have no experience of it.
I am currently building a new 1100L (240cm L x 65cm W x 70cm H) planted "nature aquarium" style discus tank.
Appreciate you are putting considerable thought into this. It’s a big project that has to account for temperature, appropriate flow for discus, distribution and good lighting to depth to grow plants.
If push came to shove, would be going with two 120cm ONF Flat One units suspended. Brilliant colour rendition, punch PAR to depth, adjustable to find the sweet spot with the warmer running temps, aesthetically minimalist in design, out the way for maintenance, intensity and timer adjustable using the app. Most importantly future proof if you ever change things up, they are potentially powerful enough to grow anything and can be turned down to be suitable to any plant species as well.
Hope this helps
@aeneas
www.ledaquaristik.de
www.aquariumcomputer.com
