Comparing Slimlight 14,4W with Chichiros AII 21Watt
Well, I got two Chihiros AII series 451 (21 Watts each) because I found an offer and they had Bluetooth app and you can ramp on and off (no need to buy extra accessories to dim it, like on Slimline).
I place each one on my two Blau Aquarium Cubic aquariums (45x24x16 cm, note: only 16cm high). On my Dennerle 35lt I am running 2x Slimline 40 cm 14.4W.
Slimline, was the first led I used on an Aquarium, so I had nothing to compare it with. Well, now I have. And let me tell you, if I knew what I am getting, I wouldn’t buy A II Series from Chihiros.
Even taking under consideration that the offer was 35% off (almost same price with Slimline but Chihiro’s includes the power brick and the Bluetooth), it is not worth the money. And here is why.
1. On my Slimline, I dim from 0% to 80% in 30 minutes as I do on my A II. Slimline dims so smoothly that you cannot see it. A II dims in a way that you can count the steps until it reaches the max delivery power.
It’s like adjusting it by hand, you can see the clicks.
2. Slimline dims from 0%, A II claims it dims from 0% but when in turns ON it’s like going to 10% at once. And when dimming OFF, it’s like going from 10% to 0% at once.
3. Slimline % seems accurate, A II is just to give you a clue. You can hardly see the difference in the intense of the light when dimming from 80% to 100%, which is not the case on Slimline.
3. Slimline has 2 color channels, A II has only intensity.
4. Slimline never failed (I am using it for 10 months now). A II was set to dim up to 80% but after 15 days of use, it was getting up to 40%. I had to reset it from the app to make it dim again up to 80%.
Now, imagine you are on vacation and the light goes up to 40%. You are going to lose all your plants, and if plants melt you may also lose your fish.
5. Slimline app is good. The only thing I would like to see is a manual override (like on “switch channel and outlets”) so I can turn them On instantly (when doing water change for instance).
Missing this function, which really frustrates me, I thought that Chihiro’s app would be ok. But let me tell you, it sucks. It’s really a very bad designed app, really stupid.
I do not know what they were thinking in Chihiro’s when they design the app, hope they will upgrade it sometime soon.
6. My 14.4W Slimline Watt is like 50% stronger than the A II which is 21W. I am running them both Slimlines at 80% on the Dennerle because they are strong enough. I am also running at 80% the A II but on
an aquarium of 16 cm high. And let me tell you: I am getting more light on the gravel with my Slimline on the Dennerle 35 lt which has 28 cm height than with the A II on a 16 cm height.
It is like Germans meters the Wattage on the output and Chinese on the input.
7. Slimline has adjustable legs, A II has not.
So GHL, please do something with the shipment cost. Other shops ships for free to many countries with orders more than 150€. When ordering from you, I need to pay 56,91€ for up to 4Kg.
So, if I make an order of 300€, shipping cost will add 56.91€ more, that is 18.97% on my order for shipping cost. This also makes impossible to place small orders.
If I need 2 more Slimline 14.4W, the shipping cost will add 34% of the value of the product (I will pay 2x 54.90€ for the lights and 56.91€ for shipping).
