10 gallon LPS tank Lighting

[Baseball#27]

Whats up guys, i'm looking to upgrade my stock LED's to something better. I have a couple of torch corals, and a hammer and i'll be sticking with lps in the long run. Any suggestions?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Kessil a80 or AI Prime HD.

 

[CjnBrn2]

If you’re only planning to run LPS, I’ve heard great things about the Nemo light but the A80 would work perfect. If only spend the money on the prime if you think down the road you will go with SPS at some point.

 

[tdileo]

My personal choice would be a pair of A80s.

 

[PDR]

Whats up guys, i'm looking to upgrade my stock LED's to something better. I have a couple of torch corals, and a hammer and i'll be sticking with lps in the long run. Any suggestions?

Any budget in mind?

 

[Baseball#27]

I would like to spend $200 or less

 

[PDR]

While I like my Kessils, I'm becoming less of a fan of puck style lighting. If you don't mind the aesthetics, I would look into a higher end black box like SB reef lights and reefbreeders.

 

[Baseball#27]

While I like my Kessils, I'm becoming less of a fan of puck style lighting. If you don't mind the aesthetics, I would look into a higher end black box like SB reef lights.

Is there a big difference between the puck style and the non puck style?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Is there a big difference between the puck style and the non puck style?

I think it's mostly about coverage. i.e. a Kessil a80 is a tiny cluster that'll spread out to cover your tank. This could lead to shaded areas. The SB Reef Lighting is an upgraded black box that'll basically be the same size as your tank.

I can tell you from personal experience that the Kessil a80 is perfect for your tank. I had one over an Innovative Marine 10 gallon for almost a year and had great growth. Having had a black box, T5 fixtures, AI Prime HDs and Kessils, I can say that the lighting Kessil provides, without question, is my personal favorite. The only thing AI Prime has over Kessil, to me, is that the Prime comes ready to program out of the gate. With Kessil you're not getting any ramp-time unless you also purchase their controller (or have an APEX). I'd recommend watching the videos below. The Black Box & Kessil vids aren't exact matches like the AI Prime HD ones, but they should still give you enough information for you to make your decision.

 

[Chef Tommy]

I’ll vote for Prime. Great versatile light and awesome price for what you get. I currently have one over a display fuge, 24 inches above base because of the mangroves. It’s growing soft coral at that height and even some sps frags.

 

[DancingShark]

Look into the HIPARGERO LED from amazon. I have one and it's been very good. It's around 60 bucks.

 

[Chef Tommy]

I just saw a YouTube build for budget tanks & he used that light. Think it was Inappropriate Reefer. Looked good and uses quality bulbs. Good idea Dancing Shark!

 

[PDR]

Is there a big difference between the puck style and the non puck style?

Yes and no, it really depends on how many you have. I assume you have a standard 10 gallon tank? If so, I personally would not have fewer than 2 kessil a80's (or better yet, A160's) on a standard 10 gallon, which is over your budget. While it is an issue, shading is not the only issue with single points of light. I had issues with hot spots and severe par drop off when I ran 1 A160 over a 10 gallon coverage area.

I now run T5's over my prop system and am very happy with them. I run 3 A160's over my Reefer 350, if I could do it over (and went with LED's) I would go with a strip or box style fixture.

Now that I think of it, I ran an Orbit Marine over my 10 gallon and while it wasn't perfect, it had great coverage and grew softies, lps and sps just fine.

I think it's mostly about coverage. i.e. a Kessil a80 is a tiny cluster that'll spread out to cover your tank. This could lead to shaded areas. The SB Reef Lighting is an upgraded black box that'll basically be the same size as your tank.

I can tell you from personal experience that the Kessil a80 is perfect for your tank. I had one over an Innovative Marine 10 gallon for almost a year and had great growth. Having had a black box, T5 fixtures, AI Prime HDs and Kessils, I can say that the lighting Kessil provides, without question, is my personal favorite. The only thing AI Prime has over Kessil, to me, is that the Prime comes ready to program out of the gate. With Kessil you're not getting any ramp-time unless you also purchase their controller (or have an APEX). I'd recommend watching the videos below. The Black Box & Kessil vids aren't exact matches like the AI Prime HD ones, but they should still give you enough information for you to make your decision.

While those are great videos, the black box video really only applies to the cheap Chinese boxes and not "premium" fixtures like SB reef lights and Reef Breeders.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Yes and no, it really depends on how many you have. I assume you have a standard 10 gallon tank? If so, I personally would not have fewer than 2 kessil a80's (or better yet, A160's) on a standard 10 gallon, which is over your budget. While it is an issue, shading is not the only issue with single points of light. I had issues with hot spots and severe par drop off when I ran 1 A160 over a 10 gallon coverage area.

I now run T5's over my prop system and am very happy with them. I run 3 A160's over my Reefer 350, if I could do it over (and went with LED's) I would go with a strip or box style fixture.

Now that I think of it, I ran an Orbit Marine over my 10 gallon and while it wasn't perfect, it had great coverage and grew softies, lps and sps just fine.



While those are great videos, the black box video really only applies to the cheap Chinese boxes and not "premium" fixtures like SB reef lights and Reef Breeders.

"The Black Box & Kessil vids aren't exact matches like the AI Prime HD ones, but they should still give you enough information for you to make your decision." The primary difference is that SB has a better spectrum.

 

[Baseball#27]

What SB reef light do you think would go well with my tank? I also think that more of a bar type light would go better because it would cover the tank more than if it was just one circle light in one area. Also, Which of these lights come with controls that are easy to use to adjust the different colors of lights and time. Like I.E. an app that comes with the light

 

[BestMomEver]

I think it's mostly about coverage. i.e. a Kessil a80 is a tiny cluster that'll spread out to cover your tank. This could lead to shaded areas. The SB Reef Lighting is an upgraded black box that'll basically be the same size as your tank.

I can tell you from personal experience that the Kessil a80 is perfect for your tank. I had one over an Innovative Marine 10 gallon for almost a year and had great growth. Having had a black box, T5 fixtures, AI Prime HDs and Kessils, I can say that the lighting Kessil provides, without question, is my personal favorite. The only thing AI Prime has over Kessil, to me, is that the Prime comes ready to program out of the gate. With Kessil you're not getting any ramp-time unless you also purchase their controller (or have an APEX). I'd recommend watching the videos below. The Black Box & Kessil vids aren't exact matches like the AI Prime HD ones, but they should still give you enough information for you to make your decision.

I agree. The prettiest 10 gallon softy nano I’ve ever seen had a kessil over it. Highly recommend!

 

[Baseball#27]

"The Black Box & Kessil vids aren't exact matches like the AI Prime HD ones, but they should still give you enough information for you to make your decision." The primary difference is that SB has a better spectrum.

I did really like the videos, What do you think is better AI Prime, Kessil, or SB

 

[jason aung]

You should go with prime hd .

 

[PDR]

"The Black Box & Kessil vids aren't exact matches like the AI Prime HD ones, but they should still give you enough information for you to make your decision." The primary difference is that SB has a better spectrum.

I disagree, the build quality, heatsink, power supply, etc, puts SB and Reefbreeders on a totally different level than the cheap Chinese boxes. The similarity ends at the style of fixture imho.

 

[infinite0180]

Just go with a prime, leaves room for more demanding corals down the road if you so choose!