NICREW and Fluval 3.0 compared

[Frogmouth Catfish]

Thought I'd compare the Fluval 3.0 24 inch with my NICREW Plus LED. First pic is the Fluval on with all settings at 100%; second pic is the NICREW.  Fluval seems brighter up top and with richer colors--however, as it's a 24 inch, it doesn't quite illuminate the 'sides' as well as the NICREW, which runs the full length of the tank. (a 29 gallon), leaving them looking a bit darker in-person. The next size up would obviously be far too wide for the tank. Thoughts?

[Guppysnail]

I have never had a fluval light but the 2 nicrew I had both controllers overheated and fried themselves in about 6 months. 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Guppysnail
Spelling

[Kat_Rigel]

On 7/27/2021 at 8:44 AM, Guppysnail said:

I have never had a fluval light but the 2 nicrew I had both controllers overheated and fried themselves in about 6 months. 

I've heard more than one person report negative reviews of Nicrew lights, but I've had mine for more than a year with no problems. In fact, I bought 3 more a few a months ago, still going strong. Just my experience though.

If you are thinking of which one to buy, I'd have to recommend Fluval as a long term investment. Fluval brand has always done very well for me. Nicrew would be better for someone who really wants to do planted tanks but doesn't have the money at the moment to invest in a higher quality light. (Perhaps planning for an upgrade later.)

If you already have both, I think I'd recommend the Fluval. My understanding is that the Fluval is UL certified, which can be important for insurance related issues; Nicrew is not. (To my understanding.)

[FrozenFins]

I have both lights. I have a nicrew on my community tank (40 breeder) and a fluval 3.0 nano on my guppy breeding setup (10 gallons).

I like the 3.0 over the nicrew for a few reasons...

• The fluval 3.0 is waterproof. The amount of times I have dropped my fluval 3.0 in the water and still no damage is surprising. I drop it in the tank almost every waterchange.
• The nicrew 24/7 Automated Light is simply confusing to program. I find that the light with the default settings was on for way too long. From 5am to midnight. I quickly develped green water. Of course this developing green water varies from tank to tank.
• The fluval 3.0 is easily customizable. It took me 15 minutes to setup the desired settings I wanted. I have since cut back on the amount of light it gets, and amazing plant growth as a result.
• My nicrew costed my $60 CAD. At the time of me buying that product, i was no way dropping a couple hundred dollars on a aquarium light. The price on the nicrew is really affordable.

I simply had to get a wifi timer to setup my own timer for my nicrew. But ever since then no problems. Wish i could use the timer built into the system, but thats really confusing. And the videos on youtube dont help. Its worth $60 though. Would I get the nicrew again? probably not, IMO the 3.0 is way more bank for its buck. And I'm not as strict as a fish keeping budget as I was when I bought the nicrew. I have had the nicrew for about 8-9 months now.

Bottom Tank is the Fluval 3.0 nano. Top tank is the nicrew light

And another picture of the fluval 3.0 nano tank:

[anewbie]

The fluval definitely has a negative with regards to sizing for 30 inch tanks and it would be nice if they added another model to their lineup since that is such a popular tank size (29 gallon and 20 long). Also the fluval really hurts in the price department but it has some advantages including water proof (mentioned by @James Black); 3 year warranty, fuller spectrum which helps a lot both in terms of some plant growth and pleasing visual. I'm not sure how the par compares between the two lights but the fluval while not weak should be a bit stronger for the price point.