Lightining options from budget to rich man folk (1 Viewer)

[GWSS]

Hello Community:

So with so many option out thre going from 900 to 30 usd lights out there...I'd like to have the view of people to what I believe is after water quality the second most important thing pertaining Salt water reef (be it hard or leather) system...

So to set the parameters of discussion lets take a not too big tank , say a 250 gallon tank (Think redsea reefer 350 or Penninsula G2 )

Now assume you are doing say leather corals (to keep it in the realm of possible)

So I know we can go for AP9x, Kessels etc....but what is the community's take on the good enough vs go all out mantra.

Regards
Glenn

 

[Team Turtle]

Going to be a personal preference thing but I always plan on long term. Plan for growth and shadowing. Of course you can always add lights as the tank fills out but my preference has been to start with my main lights first. Then add in the fill lights later to reduce shadowing. I'm a AI fan so definitely recommend the blades as fill lights. There are also brackets to attach things like the hydras and wouldn't be that hard to adapt in other brands as well.

 

[Stickboy97]

Are you only looking at LED?

 

[GWSS]

Are you only looking at LED?

Well I mean we can expand to Halides, and heck even good ol' T5 but considering the new advancements on LED...figured i'd box it there
I mean if you ask me nothing beats T5's but they stopped making them and Halides are awesome but the heat !!...and Energy consumption...I believe LED's are giving range, no heat so to speak and bang for buck but I just wanted to jumpstart the conversation as there are so many opinions and comments all over the place with these

 

[Erin]

nothing beats T5's but they stopped making them

No they didn't

 

[air_run]

Well I mean we can expand to Halides, and heck even good ol' T5 but considering the new advancements on LED...figured i'd box it there
I mean if you ask me nothing beats T5's but they stopped making them and Halides are awesome but the heat !!...and Energy consumption...I believe LED's are giving range, no heat so to speak and bang for buck but I just wanted to jumpstart the conversation as there are so many opinions and comments all over the place with these

Just to be clear, T5's are still very widely used and manufactured. ATI, Giesemann, Pacific Sun and Reef Brite all still produce T5 fixtures/retro kits to name a few. Not saying they will be around forever but, for now they are very available. Just not as popular anymore due the advancement and technology of LED's.

If you like T5's though, you could look into the hybrid approach with LED's and supplement with T5's such as the Aquatic Life fixtures. They seem pretty reasonably priced, very modular and easy to install and maintain.

As far as heat. Many look at that as a negative but, can be a positive as well. I can keep 275 gallons (total volume) very temperature stable with only a 300w heater due to T5's providing heat to the system as well. Now for evaporation, don't get me started.

 

[reeftopia]

All leds are hot just hold them in your hands a while you will realixe it.

 

[Tangs]

With rock work you can always put your corals on top
Get them closer to the light for more intensity.

 

[decimal]

So many opinions on light. I think everyone has different constraints. For some it may be budget, performance, preference, bias or whatever. I personally like the light you get from T5 lights but the led’s bring the shimmer.

Cost aside, imo best is halides. They bring a full spectrum and you can’t really screw it up. They penetrate deep, produce a coral loving spectrum and bring an amazing shimmer/look you just can't reproduce. that’s if you can manage the heat in the summer and a chiller.

T5 is cool in comparison (usually no chiller needed for all other light types) and produce a cool, pleasant look that corals respond well to. the light has broad coverage that doesn’t cast hard shadows that you get with led. All that said,

Led’s are pretty awesome that, amongst other things, brings out the fluorescence of corals. they can definitely compete with all other lights in growth and have the specific benefits of shimmer, low level lighting that makes corals fluoresce, gives spectrum flexibility, have low heat, etc.

all good lighting is going to cost though. right now I am running an aquaticlife T5 fixture with reefled 90’s and it works pretty well and is pretty economical. You get the coverage from the t5 and the low heat, shimmer and flexibility of led. Every type has benefits and drawbacks and that brings me back to my starting point. It’s whatever you can afford and what you want everything to look like.

 

[Stickboy97]

Well I mean we can expand to Halides, and heck even good ol' T5 but considering the new advancements on LED...figured i'd box it there
I mean if you ask me nothing beats T5's but they stopped making them and Halides are awesome but the heat !!...and Energy consumption...I believe LED's are giving range, no heat so to speak and bang for buck but I just wanted to jumpstart the conversation as there are so many opinions and comments all over the place with these

I asked because I'm currently running 2 tanks with Radion LEDs only and 1 with an ATI hybrid LED / T5. I have acros in 1 LED tank that grow like weeds, I have nems, shrooms and zoas in 1 LED tank that grow like weeds and I have shrooms & goni in my hybrid tank (its newer - 1 yr old) and so far I'm very happy with the growth in that tank as well.

For me its a matter of look / color spectrum. The LED's provide more pop, which really help with Acros for appearance. The hybrid fixture has some pop, but not as much. But from what I've seen this hybrid fixture may be the best bang for your buck for overall growth (from other tanks I've seen).

However, they are all expensive. LOL

 

[GWSS]

So I found this online they ar ementioning a myrriad of items...what you guys think

 

[air_run]

So I found this online they ar ementioning a myrriad of items...what you guys think

Going back to your original question. Myself, I never advocate for "good enough" when it comes to operating and maintaining a reef tank. So, after re-reading through this thread again, I'd say go with as many Ecotech Radion G6 Pro's your tank can fit (within reason) and don't look back. It will cover all your needs and be there for future endeavors, i.e. SPS for example.

 

[Cody]

I'll stand by my Vipraspectras until a similar option comes along that can ramp. Then again, I have modified my LED configuration to make them bluer and have tried to get the Apex to ramp them, but haven't figured out that last step. Outside that, I'm a big fan of them. As far as what's the "best" looking light, I'd say Kessil has that in the bag. Best shimmer in the game and most similar to halides IMO. Problem is, they just don't have the spread due to their design that gives the best shimmer, and aren't cheap to spam.

 

[Stickboy97]

I've never tried a kessil, due to their limited span. Seems like you'd need a ton of them to get the coverage you need, unless you have a very small tank.

 

[decimal]

There has been an advancement going to new generations of LED‘s though. I never cared for kessil too much since they have a “disco“ effect. The newest generation however are pretty solid. The others also released new versions around the same time that showed significant improvement over previous models.

 

[Cina05]

I mostly grow softies, easy sps and nems (I'm a lazy reefer) so I'm speaking from a visual preference and ease of use perspective. I started with Kessil A160's when I first set up my 90g. I loved the shimmer, but didn't get the blue intensity I was looking for. I upgraded to the radion Gen 5 xr15's when they came out. I loved the color spectrum and customizable options through the mobius app. but I really didn't see any shimmer like the kessils deliver and really missed that in my reef. I upgraded to a 150 last summer and have my xr15's on a track with one kessil in the middle and two xho's someone sold me for cheap. Now I have the visual preference of the kessil shimmer with the radions that have a nice ramp up/down that changes from full color spectrum in the day to deeper blues in the evening and the xho's help with shadowing. Corals and nems seem happy. Overall my lights cost as much as the tank setup, but it was a worthwhile investment to me. Radion also offers upgrade kits to the Gen 6 which saves a bit of money for those who want the latest and greatest, and I like that they made that an option.

 

[Cody]

There has been an advancement going to new generations of LED‘s though. I never cared for kessil too much since they have a “disco“ effect. The newest generation however are pretty solid. The others also released new versions around the same time that showed significant improvement over previous models.

What do you mean the Kessils have a disco effect? I thought the understood meaning of "disco effect" was different color diodes not blending together, hence the multicolored bands of light you see on the sand. The Kessils blend everything perfectly for a nice, natural shimmer.

 

[decimal]

Lol a “nice, natural shimmer” does not make you dizzy as you’re watching it. Since you are able to define it and reference exactly what I’m talking about… it’s obviously not an isolated experience. those things gave me a headache.

 

[Cody]

Lol a “nice, natural shimmer” does not make you dizzy as you’re watching it. Since you are able to define it and reference exactly what I’m talking about… it’s obviously not an isolated experience. those things gave me a headache.

Ah ok. I just understood the disco effect to be color that’s not blended well. Kinda like a disco ball shooting light all over the place instead of a general glow.

 

[decimal]

Ok maybe I’m off in the reference. The wavelengths are so short that it just throws glitter everywhere like sunlight through a crystal (or mirrored disco ball) that is spinning. Regardless, the newer generations have addressed this problem. I have seen Kessel 360’s in action and they look great.