EVO 13.5 in-hood lighting upgrade

[MsBean]

Hi everyone, I know lighting is a much discussed topic but I haven't yet found a satisfying answer so welcome your thoughts.

Looking to upgrade the stock light in my EVO 13.5 while keeping the hood. (I've heard all the arguments for other options but I want to keep the hood for a variety of reasons - keeping things in and out of the tank, minimizing evaporation, maintaining temperature in winter, appearance, and my auto feeder setup. Losing it creates 2 or 3 other issues to solve besides the light.)

I'd like a slightly better light spectrum and - most of all - better controllability (lack of even a timer on the stock light is a bummer), without breaking the bank. Tank is mainly softies with a couple small hammers, cyphaestrea, and a pink pocillopora which did fine for about a year but has been slowly going downhill.

It seems the best options that will fit within the existing light slot are a) the Fluval Marine 3.0 and b) the AI Grow blade. As they are comparable in price where I am (the Fluval seems more available and so slightly cheaper), I'd like to hash out the pros and cons, and particularly welcome the thoughts of anyone who has actually tried either or both of these options on this tank. From what I can tell so far:

Marine 3.0 15":
25 000 K (up from 14 000 for the stock)
22W
fits in the hood with a slight overhang into the feeding hole
app has good reviews
? some reviewers don't feel it's a big enough upgrade from stock to be worth the cost ?
Came out in 2018

AI Blade Coral Grow 12":
? may be lacking in spectrum unless combined with the Glow Blade (which I would not be doing) ?
20W
seems to fit in the hood with clear holder filling the extra 1-2 inches on either side
? some reservations about spread/light distribution in this tank ?
? some critiques re: quality control issues ?
? app/controllability - I'm sure it's good coming from AI but don't really have a sense of how it compares to the Fluval app ?
Came out in 2023

Basically I am leaning toward the Fluval mainly because I have more uncertainty about the AI. Anything to correct, comment, or add to the above would be welcome!

 

[blaxsun]

I know a few people who've upgraded to the Fluval Marine 3.0 and are very happy with it.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I have used the Fluval lights before. The App is great! On paper with the light everything looks great. My big reservation with them is the Bluetooth aspect of it, which is why I will not use them anymore. If there is a power outage, even for a second they will turn off until you reconnect with your Bluetooth device. Which means you have to be physically in range of your lights and connect again through the App. Where I live we have power issues at least once a month. Where the rest of my equipment will reconnect via Apex, Alexa or whatever Fluval will not. Best case scenario is it is off while you were at work. Worst case is you are gone for the week and they turn off and the person taking care of your tank can not turn them on because your phone is in your pocket.
I would go with the Grow just for that reason, plus AI has a proven track record in terms of coral growth.