Can’t choose a light!

Espielozano · May 24, 2020

I’m having trouble deciding what light to put on my 75g tank. Its an aqueon with the brace in the middle 48 inch long about 20 inch deep and im aiming for a mixed reef. Mostly lps but i know im gonna want a couple sps down the road and i wanna make sure im set with lights. I’ve been looking at hydras, kessils, radions and almost everything. My goal was to only put two light on the tank because of my budget but im worried it wont be enough for sps. Please help. I need some sort of direction for lights im so stressed lol

pcon · May 24, 2020

2 kessil 360s is my vote.

acan-man · May 24, 2020

Plus one on duel kessils 360s

Fishingandreefing · May 24, 2020

If you can find 3 used xr15 G4

Chefwheredyougo · May 24, 2020

+2 on the kessil 360. I bought a used one to see how I'd like the look of the kessils. Without actually mounting it, I loved it so much I bought a new one. Waiting for that to come in so I can get rid of the black boxes and mount them.

(BTW, I have the mars aqua lights, and they're cool and absolutely work, but there is no comparison to the colors that the kessils bring out of everything. Not to mention the "SHIMMER", which I could care less about, but it does draw your eye)

Albertan22 · May 24, 2020

I am very happy with an aquatic life fixture and 3 kessil 360x’s on my 6 foot tank. If I had a 4 foot tank I’d do the same fixture with 2 kessils.

ImGoingCoastal · May 24, 2020

Your budget would help.

4 hydra 26s or 2 hydra 52s would be my thoughts.

If not T5.

Espielozano · May 25, 2020

Loving all the feedback and opinions thank you so much. I think for me its gonna come down to the kessil 360s or the radion x15 pro. Im pretty stuck between the two

Fishingandreefing · May 25, 2020

Espielozano said:
Loving all the feedback and opinions thank you so much. I think for me its gonna come down to the kessil 360s or the radion x15 pro. Im pretty stuck between the two

I guess now it depends on the costs and if you like the shimmer, go with the kessil. I personally don’t like the shimmer so I went with the radions.

ImGoingCoastal · May 25, 2020

If you have the budget, 2 xr30s would be great! If cost is a factor, Gen3 or 4s will show significant cost savings

Espielozano · May 25, 2020

ImGoingCoastal said:
If you have the budget, 2 xr30s would be great! If cost is a factor, Gen3 or 4s will show significant cost savings

Two Xr 30s would be a dream but its too much money the xr15s and kessil 360s are within my budget since I’ll be getting two. Im just worried if that’s enough for the sps. I feel confident that it’s enough for lps though!

lpsouth1978 · May 25, 2020

Espielozano said:
Two Xr 30s would be a dream but its too much money the xr15s and kessil 360s are within my budget since I’ll be getting two. Im just worried if that’s enough for the sps. I feel confident that it’s enough for lps though!

You can go with either the Kessil's or the XR15 pro now, and add the Aquatic Life T5 hybrid when you are ready to add SPS. This combo would give you all the light you could need for SPS.

acan-man · May 25, 2020

You can boost either kessil or radion with an aquatic life t5 hybrid setup. You shouldn't have a problem keeping anything with that. BRS also has a par test on it with both the a360we and xr15 so you can see mounting suggestions.

acan-man · May 25, 2020

Haha lpsouth1978 I was literally saying the same thing at the same time

Fishingandreefing · May 25, 2020

ImGoingCoastal said:
If you have the budget, 2 xr30s would be great! If cost is a factor, Gen3 or 4s will show significant cost savings

I personally prefer 3 xr15, better spread and cheaper.

sasa · May 25, 2020

Have you considered the new philips Coralcare?

Philips CoralCare Gen2 2020 Review | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

For many years the even blanket of light coverage produced by a large bank of T5 fluorescent has been the status quo for growing sps corals. While one great led product after another seems to enter…

reefbuilders.com

Fishingandreefing · May 25, 2020

Espielozano said:
Two Xr 30s would be a dream but its too much money the xr15s and kessil 360s are within my budget since I’ll be getting two. Im just worried if that’s enough for the sps. I feel confident that it’s enough for lps though!

I personally think you can get away with two. I have 3 on line cycling now.

lpsouth1978 · May 25, 2020

Fishingandreefing said:
I personally prefer 3 xr15, better spread and cheaper.

Unfortunately, there is a brace down the middle of the tank, so 3 lights is out. I sat it is either 2 or 4. I used 2 x Hydra26HD in an AL hybrid oner my 75g with great results.

Hop2jr · May 25, 2020

Just put 2 reefi duo extremes on our 75 gal reef and love them. All my lips are happy and lfs gave my a sps that was dieting at her store but are coming back now in my tank with new lights.