Fluval 3.0 Or Twinstar 600ea For My 60uns

Debating now if I should get the Fluval 3.0 for $127 or the Twinstar 600ea with dimmer for $179. As mentioned before I could put the fluval on the acrylic risers I made in the pic below but I think the twin star wins the beauty contest. Is there a significant difference in the way the plants are viewed with the color spectrum of the twin star. Is the twinstar really worth $50 more without an app and control that the Fluval has?

I really appreciate all the advice here. Thanks in advance.

 

Finally made a decision and upgraded from my current beamworks 6500k light. That light has done a nice job helping me get back into the hobby. However I really wanted to find a light with a nice color spectrum that was programmable as well. I have been debating between the twinstar e vs the chihiros RGB vs the Fluval 3.0.

My main concern with the fluval was that it did not have any risers and was supposed to only sit on top of the tank. I am not a huge fan of this setup also and would expect to get a lot of water splashes from the carbon dioxide and oxygen bubbles degassing from the surface onto the light casing. But I bit the bullet and went for a DIY upgrade and built my ow acrylic risers. I also got a good price on the light from Ken’s fish online and bought the light for $127.



I received the light today and boy oh boy is it really awesome. And it looks amazing in my opinion on top of the acrylic risers that I built. The controllable color spectrum and intensity for the LEDs on this with the app is really special. You kind of expect the rest of the LED market to go in this direction. The light is super responsive with the app. I only had one issue with it and that was when I tried to update the app and I lost Internet My connection and the light turned off and I couldn’t get it to turn back on. However after a couple Google searches did I realize that you can upgrade the firmware on the light by erasing it and reinstalling it by swiping left on the light icon in the app without waiting for the light to respond. And it worked immediately.



To be honest I really can’t get over the difference that’s this light makes on my 60 uns. It puts a big smile on my face and I don’t feel like I broke the bank at all. Maybe Fluval will take a note and farther down the line will offer acrylic risers for their lights instead of only offering a hanging mount system. But raising this light above the water line has made all the difference and I have zero dark spots on my tank and an even distribution of light. Anybody on the fence I say go for it. The three-year warranty makes me smile. I’m also finally seeing my fish and plants in a whole new light (pun intended).

-Fat Guy

Loving the ramp up and ramp down feature.

 

Hey thanks for reaching out. I wish I had more acrylic laying around to help you out. This light is awesome but it’s even better when it’s not smack up against the water level. I wonder why Fluval didn’t make them an option for their setup?

How much are you willing to spend? You know you could always try making these yourself and if you don’t have a plastic store near you you can maybe order some online as well as the glue you need. Measure the pieces to the height you want and glue them together. Just be patient and precise if you do. Acrylic glues not be like the glue you are probably used to. It’s a usually a solvent based glue as I am to believe and creates a special bond. Weld on 4 would be a good brand to use. Let me know. Hope that helps! It’s definitely worth it IMHO.

best

fat guy