Need new aquarium light, Finnex HLC, ALC, KLC, CRV what is the difference?

[Utar]

I have checked other threads along this line and there is not much discussion about finnex lights despite what the titles say. One thread never even talked about the light, so I decided to start this one.

I am very interested in possibly getting a finnex light to replace my current light which is not bright enough. On Amazon I found four different versions of the same finnex line of lights. They all have the same remote control units with the ability to customize lighting for on and off.
Does anyone know the difference between the HLC, ALC, KLC, CRV versions, so I can better decide which is right for me.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Razzmatazz]

I have the CRV and it was a great light for my 36 BF. All my plants grew well with it. I got a good deal on a 50G 36×15x22 last black friday and broke down the 36 and transfered eveything to the new 50. The 50 is a couple inches taller and my CRV is only 30" long so my tank is darker on the ends. Finnex PAR chart at 18" rate the CRV at 80 and the ALC at 117. I have the ALC on order but wont be here till Thursday. The CRV is a great light for my 36, but not so much for my new 50. If you want to wait, i can tell you if the ALC is better than the CRV. I know both have custom controls which i liked on my CRV.

 

[Utar]

I have the CRV and it was a great light for my 36 BF. All my plants grew well with it. I got a good deal on a 50G 36×15x22 last black friday and broke down the 36 and transfered eveything to the new 50. The 50 is a couple inches taller and my CRV is only 30" long so my tank is darker on the ends. Finnex PAR chart at 18" rate the CRV at 80 and the ALC at 117. I have the ALC on order but wont be here till Thursday. The CRV is a great light for my 36, but not so much for my new 50. If you want to wait, i can tell you if the ALC is better than the CRV. I know both have custom controls which i liked on my CRV.

Great thanks, I can wait and see how you like the ALC version. I have been using Nicrew lights, which are great lights, but I want to try a finnex for the light on my new 29 gallon setup. So let me know when you setup your new light and tell me what you think.

 

[Utar]

Doing further study on the Finnex lights (all from Amazon) and I am posting a bit of info for anyone who might be interested in a new light.
In the first image I inserted the price of the lights for the 48" version which is the longest and most expensive in each line of Finnexs lights. The second image shows par rating for the lights at different depths in inches.

 

[Razzmatazz]

Well I got my new ALC. Compared to the CRV, the ALC is much brighter. But the CRV has a much better color combination.

 

[Utar]

Makes sense that the ALC is brighter than the CRV. I added a third image in my previous post including the ALC models. Comparison at the bottom of the third image shows par ratings of the 48" length to 14" of water of all the different models, the CRV is 80par and the ALC is 117par so the ALC is much brighter then the CRV.

But the CRV and the ALC models are the only ones with True 660nm Deep Red LEDs.

 

[Razzmatazz]

Played with the settings a bit yesterday. The CRV definitely has better colors. But man, the ALC is bright at max setting. But even so, if I never had the CRV, i would have said the ALC has great color combos. Both lights came with the exact same instructions and the remote works on both fixtures. I guess that would be for all CC (Custom Control) series. IF I ever decide to setup another planted tank, I would get the ALC. You can always dim it if its too bright. Cheaper and about an inch slimmer. Spread covering a 15" wide tank is good even being slimmer. My only gripe about the CC model is the 3 hr increments. Wish they could have made it 1 or even 2 hour increments between settings. Oh, i also wished the ALC came in a black housing instead of a shiny aluminum color.

 

[Utar]

Yes it looks like unless a person gets one of the original Stingray series, and these are not customizable with no remote, then the brightest is the ALC models. The silver body color of the ALC wouldn't bother me, because I have a hood/canopy on my tank, so I can't see the body of the light anyways.