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Product Review ADA | WASMAS | ZETLIGHT | TWINSTAR | CHIHIROS | LED PAR DATA [The power of light]

tmiravent said:
This is my older son tank with Chihiros on top:

33428362205_62d7531bb7_b.jpg

For reference, i took this image side by side with my big tank (7 x 6000ºK + 3 x 4000ºK LED)
As you can easely see it's much more cold!
33300023311_20876ca918_b.jpg
(Sorry about phone pictures),
Cheers
Click to expand...

Really like your son's tank, does he have a journal for the scape?
 
tmiravent said:
Hi,
this time is Chihiros RGB

33387675136_88065a472a_z.jpg

Watts were measured with a power meter, as you can see is not very accurate...
I would say the light is about 40W (not 50W as claimed).

The color is very nice, well balanced, but slightly more power to the blues.
Diffuser is not well fitted and deforms to wave form. Doesn't affect light diffusion, but... (could be better).
Heats much more than other Chihiros (Serie A), at max power (40W in 57cm).
Manual dimmer works perfectly and is calibrated!
Cheers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info :thumbup:
So, If I take this readings from this 60cm and I divide it by half
do I have the readings of a 30cm?
 
doylecolmdoyle said:
Cheers for the info, I was looking at the Chihiros RGB but was not convinced it was high light, I am new to PAR readings, how does this compare to the A-series or A-series Plus? I can only see 120cm A-Series figures in one of your earlier posts.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Chihiros Serie A is more powerfull than RGB version.
A-plus series didn't tested yet, more led's and upgraded model of led's. Maybe less consumption maybe more power (maybe both), i expect at least better distribution with just one fixture.

You should expect around the same PAR level for different size fixtures (they use the same led's and design).
With longer fixtures, long distances tend to have little bit more PAR (due to more LED's influence reading, see Twinstar and Zethlight).
Cheers
 
doylecolmdoyle said:
Really like your son's tank, does he have a journal for the scape?
Click to expand...
Not yet, i'm trying to convincing him...

Cor said:
Thanks for the info :thumbup:
So, If I take this readings from this 60cm and I divide it by half
do I have the readings of a 30cm?
Click to expand...

Nice question! the answer is no!
The led's and design should be the same, so expect similar PAR values.
As you can see from Twinstar and Zethlight length variations, the PAR is very similar. Longer fixtures tend to gain little more PAR with distance, due to more Led's influence readings.

Also remember,
the readings (Chihiros RGB) were made outside water in open space, the worst scenario.
With the glass and water reflections PAR readings will increase, see other cases (Twinstar and Chihiros).
Hope it help's,
cheers
 
Good thread. I was pretty keen on the 4' Chihiros A series. Looks like it's going to be a whole lot brighter than the cheapo USD20 lights I got which only measured a bit past 1000 lux at 2 feet in air.
 
Question for the Chihiros...

Can we assume that the PAR readings for the A1201 is comparable to the A451?

I just received the A451 Plus and trying to gauge the PAR levels with the dimmer settings since I don't have a PAR meter. I'm guessing the below at 30cm from the surface of the water, are these reasonable:

Setting #4 = 70
Setting #5 = 90
Setting # 6 = 103
Setting # 7 = 130
 
Lonew0lf said:
Question for the Chihiros...

Can we assume that the PAR readings for the A1201 is comparable to the A451?

I just received the A451 Plus and trying to gauge the PAR levels with the dimmer settings since I don't have a PAR meter. I'm guessing the below at 30cm from the surface of the water, are these reasonable:

Setting #4 = 70
Setting #5 = 90
Setting # 6 = 103
Setting # 7 = 130
Click to expand...

Don't know for sure but i presume that is very similar.
Using the same LED's and density of led's in the fixture values will be around that (theoretically)

The manual dimmer has 7 positions, in the middle (position 4) you'll have half o f the PAR.
The test's that we made with Chihiros (A model and RGB) showed consistent step up and down power:
- with RGB around 30 PAR each step
- with A120 around 20 PAR each step (have to confirm this one, it's from memory...) but was very consistent.
cheers
 
An approximation was all I was looking for, much appreciated.

Can you clarify a few additional items for me:

1. Are the readings from the surface of the water; that is, 10cm from water surface or bottom of tank where you slowly increase the height?

2. For the single Chihiros at 10cm you show Par 286 - the reading says default = 80%. Does that mean with the dimmer set to 7 is the real Par Value 357.5?

3. Also there's ** indicating w/ controller 100%. I don't see figures for this so is it safe to ignore?

Apologies for all the questions, I'm working on approximation of approximations so want to nail down these down as I build out my aquarium.
 
Lonew0lf said:
An approximation was all I was looking for, much appreciated.
Can you clarify a few additional items for me:
1. Are the readings from the surface of the water; that is, 10cm from water surface or bottom of tank where you slowly increase the height?
2. For the single Chihiros at 10cm you show Par 286 - the reading says default = 80%. Does that mean with the dimmer set to 7 is the real Par Value 357.5?
3. Also there's ** indicating w/ controller 100%. I don't see figures for this so is it safe to ignore?
Apologies for all the questions, I'm working on approximation of approximations so want to nail down these down as I build out my aquarium.
Click to expand...

No problem:
1. There are two readings with Chihiros, the first was made outside in open space, no reflections. (the worst scenario) 100% full power
2. Thanks for pointing this typing error (copy paste...), already corrected. Both were tested at 100% power. Sorry for the confusing legend. :facepalm:
3. Already deleted it. Ignore that info. 😳

Remember, that's a lot of light that comes out from that fixtures!
Here is the aquarium were we measured 2 Chihiros, not bad! (look at Cuba at bottom)
cheers
:thumbup:
 
Thanks for the response, that’s just what I needed. I agree, these Chihiros lights are quite bright! I have the 45cm Series A Plus; I’m currently using the level 4 setting given the close proximity to the water surface and trying to manage the Par settings, on full algae would be rampant.

Looking at your readings, it’s surprising how quickly the Par reading drop with air only measurements (i.e. worst conditions of 50% with a move from 10cm to 20cm).

One final question:

The Par reading at 10cm for air is 286
The Par reading for water at 10cm is 265

The footnotes state that the fixture height is 6.5cm, 2cm of water and 8.5cm LED to water.

Could the difference above be attributable to testing air at 10cm and water at 10.5cm?
 
Lonew0lf said:
Thanks for the response, that’s just what I needed. I agree, these Chihiros lights are quite bright! I have the 45cm Series A Plus; I’m currently using the level 4 setting given the close proximity to the water surface and trying to manage the Par settings, on full algae would be rampant.
Looking at your readings, it’s surprising how quickly the Par reading drop with air only measurements (i.e. worst conditions of 50% with a move from 10cm to 20cm).
One final question:
The Par reading at 10cm for air is 286
The Par reading for water at 10cm is 265
The footnotes state that the fixture height is 6.5cm, 2cm of water and 8.5cm LED to water.
Could the difference above be attributable to testing air at 10cm and water at 10.5cm?
Click to expand...

No, the difference is the water and glass effect in light behavior.
The standard acrylic support of chihiros measures 6,5 cm, the water level was 2 cm below the top of the tank.
The sensor was placed at 10 cm to led (like all measures) 1,5 cm below the water line.

Remember that light power equation ' Inverse-square law'.
That means that each time you double distance you have 4 times less power.
The reason why light behaves differently in aquarium is because we are using several led's along the fixture. When we increase distance more led's are took for photon count.
Water and the glass tank increase light distribution, hardscape and plants can reduce light by shading...
cheers
 
Thanks for the patience in answering my questions. Ahh, the inverse-square law... :bookworm:

Cheers
 
Dear @tmiravent ,

Thank you for providing such useful information. Can you specify the conditions in which you took measures from the ADA RGB please? How many centimetres from the water was it hanging?

Happy Fish Keeping
 
KeeperOfASilentWorld said:
Dear @tmiravent ,
Thank you for providing such useful information. Can you specify the conditions in which you took measures from the ADA RGB please? How many centimetres from the water was it hanging?
Happy Fish Keeping
Click to expand...

Hello,
no problem, i had a great time with Nuno Matos doing this to share with everybody!
If i remember correctly this light unit was hang at 30 cm (according to ADA specifications for a 60p tank). That's why 40 and 50 cm where took inside water, out of the axis of light.
The test in this light fixture was not made in ideal conditions (as quoted in the test), a real tank full of water. Reflections can float the values a bit...
This happened in some test's that we made, when was not possible to test the light in a dark/controlled room.
As wrote in the beginning: this test is not 100% scientific! But can give a side by side comparison of some fixtures available.
I believe that real values will not differ much from the ones that we reached.

The light was tested in a Portuguese shop, Aqueden, you can check facebook or webpage store to see the specific layout!
cheers,
Tiago
 
Great thread guys!
Are you going to test the upcoming "S" series of lights from Twinstar? 🙂
 
This is an informative thread, making it a sticky, nice work guys 🙂
 
tmiravent said:
Hello,
no problem, i had a great time with Nuno Matos doing this to share with everybody!
If i remember correctly this light unit was hang at 30 cm (according to ADA specifications for a 60p tank). That's why 40 and 50 cm where took inside water, out of the axis of light.
The test in this light fixture was not made in ideal conditions (as quoted in the test), a real tank full of water. Reflections can float the values a bit...
This happened in some test's that we made, when was not possible to test the light in a dark/controlled room.
As wrote in the beginning: this test is not 100% scientific! But can give a side by side comparison of some fixtures available.
I believe that real values will not differ much from the ones that we reached.

The light was tested in a Portuguese shop, Aqueden, you can check facebook or webpage store to see the specific layout!
cheers,
Tiago
Click to expand...

Thank you for your detailed explanation. Your shop could not be any more beautiful. I would love to visit someday.

Thanks to your thread, I have purchased two Chihiros A601's and am very happy with them. Still playing with ADA Branchwood to finalize my layout.

I see that you also use them in your shop. Have you tested the Chihiros units on the 90P and the 60P? I am especially curious about the 60P.
 
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