Best lighting for my tank

Noldi76 · May 30, 2020

Hi guys,

First time on the forum and looking forward to meeting everyone.
I’ve got a 20 gallon innovative marine fusion desktop. it’s 23” long by 13” deep. It’s been up since February. I’ve got a few fish, anemones, gsp, hammer coral, mushrooms, hydnophora and zoanthids. I also began keeping a green slimmer frag as I want to begin experimenting with acros. I have several freshwater tanks but I’m new to saltwater.
at the moment I have a kessil A80 with the A series controller for lighting but I know now that it will not be enough to to reallly grow acros (especially with only one light). I’ve been reading up and I really like the kessil line of products but I’m confused and torn on what my next action should be In terms of light upgrade. Eg,should I just get a second a80 which will set me back just 150. Or should I invest in a a360. If I do, should I still have two a360s or is one enough considering that one light source will tend to generate shadowing. Once you invest in 2 of those that will be almost a 1000 bucks. Then why not just get the ap700 for around the same price which should have enough power and I wouldn’t need an additional controller as it will run over WiFi. Of course I’m thinking that an ap700 sounds like overkill but may work when I eventually upgrade to a larger tank. Then again I know that you guys may have some suggestions on other lighting options that is just as good and won’t break the bank like the ap700 and a360s.
mid love to hear what some of you guys think about choice of kessil lighting options and any suggestions on alternative brands. I just need someone to point me in the right direction. I’ve attached a picture of the tank layout.

jda · May 30, 2020

Best is subjective. I am not a Kessil fan (see, subjective

, and I find them too weak. I would look at a nicer black box like a Photon V2 if they have one small enough. I do not like pucks/point-source and would prefer larger panels... again, subjective.

xtian · May 30, 2020

Welcome!

Have you looked into hybrid fixtures? You can stick a kessil in these units.

4" Circular LED Hybrid Mounting Bracket

Add more lights to your Aquatic Life Hybrid Light Fixture! Compatible with Aquatic Life hybrid fixtures that use the 16" or 18" end plates. The circular mounting brackets are a direct fit, and let you customize your Aquatic Life Hybrid T5 Fixture. Each kit comes with a single bracket that can...

www.marinedepot.com

Noldi76 · May 30, 2020

jda said:
Best is subjective. I am not a Kessil fan (see, subjective , and I find them too weak. I would look at a nicer black box like a Photon V2 if they have one small enough. I do not like pucks/point-source and would prefer larger panels... again, subjective.

Thank you. I will look into it

Lizbeli · May 30, 2020

+1 for a hybrid set up. Everyone has different tastes, but it seems like a great all around system if you plan to have sps. That said, people have amazing results with just LEDs.

For what its worth- I had a 24” ATI fixture on this same tank. I liked it a lot but I did miss the depth LEDs gave. Shading was not an issue though!

SteveEreef · May 30, 2020

I was going to suggest the T5 hybrid fixture also but I think it is too wide for your tank. Your innovate marine is 15 inches wide and the hybrid is 18. Not sure but there may be a lot of light spillage. I would second the suggestion of a Reeefbreeders Photon V2+ for the price. Not as much shimmer as the Kessil though. I currently run both the photons and Kessil 360we on a couple of my tanks.

cvrle1 · May 30, 2020

If you dont have to have WiFi, look into Noopsyche K7 Pro II. A lot cheaper than big 3, but just as good.

Auquanut · May 30, 2020

Welcome to R2R!
I gotta go with @jda on this one. Not a big fan of pucks myself. I'm running black boxes over my 125 and love them. Everything from softies to acros are growing like weeds, so I guess I'm a little biased. I have to say that all of your corals look happy though. Adding another A80 would give you more even coverage with higher par where the spread of the two lights meet.

Noldi76 · May 30, 2020

cvrle1 said:
If you dont have to have WiFi, look into Noopsyche K7 Pro II. A lot cheaper than big 3, but just as good.

Thank you. I'm watching the reviews on them now.

Noldi76 · May 30, 2020

Auquanut said:
Welcome to R2R!
I gotta go with @jda on this one. Not a big fan of pucks myself. I'm running black boxes over my 125 and love them. Everything from softies to acros are growing like weeds, so I guess I'm a little biased. I have to say that all of your corals look happy though. Adding another A80 would give you more even coverage with higher par where the spread of the two lights meet.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking about 2 A80s but was still concerned that at 15watt power per lamp it still not be enough when it comes to more light intensive corals and then have to fork out another few hundred to undo that mistake. Did watch a review on the blackbox on bulkreefsupply. Got me a little scared as they mentioned that these have been known to catch on fire...supposedly. The tank is in my kids room and thats something that would concern me.

Glauber · May 31, 2020

I like hybrid led / t5 great color and growth

cvrle1 · May 31, 2020

Noldi76 said:
...Did watch a review on the blackbox on bulkreefsupply. Got me a little scared as they mentioned that these have been known to catch on fire...supposedly. The tank is in my kids room and thats something that would concern me.

I absolutely despise that video. Chance of modern black box catching fire are same as any other light fixture. Think of this, would brs give positive reviews for something they dont sell, and that costs a lot less than lights they carry? If you look around, you will find reports of other equipment failing a lot more and causing major issues than black boxes. I lost count how many times I read about heater failing, leaking current into tanks, killing everything inside it, or electrocuting a person. Yet for some reason this is never brought up as an issue, but someone mention a black box, and this bloody video will pop up and be quoted ad nauseam

Noldi76 · May 31, 2020

cvrle1 said:
I absolutely despise that video. Chance of modern black box catching fire are same as any other light fixture. Think of this, would brs give positive reviews for something they dont sell, and that costs a lot less than lights they carry? If you look around, you will find reports of other equipment failing a lot more and causing major issues than black boxes. I lost count how many times I read about heater failing, leaking current into tanks, killing everything inside it, or electrocuting a person. Yet for some reason this is never brought up as an issue, but someone mention a black box, and this bloody video will pop up and be quoted ad nauseam

Thanks for the feedback. That's why I, the newbie, made the comment, cause I know you guys will have some good points to make against that particular video.

cvrle1 · Jun 1, 2020

Noldi76 said:
Thanks for the feedback. That's why I, the newbie, made the comment, cause I know you guys will have some good points to make against that particular video.

Thing to keep in mind is that story about black box catching fire is at least 5 years old. It is true, long time ago when black box LED fixtures 1st came out they were crap, and could potentially save electrical issues. However BBs of today are nowhere as bad quality. Bottom line is, if you dont maintain your equipment, it can cause issues. There is a thread posted by someone earlier today of their high end LED fixture opened up and full of dust. Thats what causes issues, not manufacturer.