First Tank...Radion? Kessil? Hydra?

[GoPitt88]

So when I look up at the sky, what do I see? A single point of light called the sun! What was God thinking?!?! I mean, I look down and see my shadow. When I'm in the ocean, the light shimmers under water and the fish have their own shadows! Ugh! How unnatural! [emoji12] But seriously, I have a 55 gallon mixed reef tank and using 2 Kessil 360 A360WE Tuna Blues, and LOVE Them!

 

[WesleyC]

I thought about that, but Sun moves, our lights do not. That's why having Sun is perfectly fine. The coral will get Sun shined on all around eventually from the entire day. Our coral will have a Sun that doesn't move. The spot that have shadow will never get sun.

 

[GoPitt88]

I thought about that, but Sun moves, our lights do not. That's why having Sun is perfectly fine. The coral will get Sun shined on all around eventually from the entire day. Our coral will have a Sun that doesn't move. The spot that have shadow will never get sun.

Good point! [emoji18]

 

[Cali9dub]

I've had aqua illumination, ecotech radions and kessils. I settled on the kessils. Why? Too much temptation to mess with red/green/blue/deep blue/warm white/cool white/UV and violet on radions (can't remember what the AI had, they were the first I tried). You start constantly adjusting all the different channels that you will drive yourself crazy chasing your perfect setting based on what you read, what you see with your own eyes, what others programs are and most importantly how your tank responds to all the variations in spectrum. I really enjoy just using the 2 adjustments the kessil offers. You have color and intensity. Color is basically from blue to white even though it is a full spectrum LED. The shimmer is fantastic, the color is awesome and the ease of adjustment is just what I wanted after constantly fiddling with 6-8 channels...

 

[Daniel Waters]

I have multiple Kessils and have seen plenty of tanks with radions. I can't comment on other brands. For me, the shimmer of the Kessils was great. I personally liked the ease of running the Kessil lights...set one knob to the color you like and another to the intensity and done. Now that I am more fluent in lightging technology, this second reason would be a non-factor for me in any decision making. Personally, I like my Kessils but i have always been more impressed by tanks with radions. It may be one of those "grass is greener on the other side" type things. I'm not sure why, but the radions seem to put out a color I find more appealing...it may be the presence of green and red LEDs in the radions that can be tuned- green and red are more "viewable" by human eyes. I'm sure some radion users can chime in and share their thoughts better than me.

If you are going to have a canopy, I'd highly recommend you consider adding some retro fit T5 bulbs with whatever option you choose. For me, just even running 2 T5 bulbs helps tremendously with reducing shadowing in the tank. While I like having shimmer, I find it to be a bit much sometimes, and the t5 supplement reduces the shimmer to a more acceptable level. I put my t5s on a timer, so I still get a great dusk / dawn effect from my LEDs in the morning and night when the t5s are off.

A red sea reefer 250 is 36" long. You would want 2 Kessil 360's and will get shadowing. Some people like shadowing, some people don't. If you went with radions, you could do two xr15s versus one xr30. I think the spread from two of those might be slightly better than one xr30, but that would be a question for someone who has more experience with radions than myself.

My last bit of advice would be to go look at tanks with each light setup. Nothing is going to truly tell you what you want to know better than looking at them yourself. Trust me, don't buy a light till you do this. Both the Kessils and radions can grow coral. You might find you prefer T5s versus LEDs even after viewing everything...some people don't like the led shadowing issues that come from single point sources. Two fixtures will help but won't eliminate it. Hope this helps.

 

[Slayvoff]

well I pulled the trigger on a Radion xr30w pro because it was brand new in box for 725. Figured it was a solid deal and, as long as I leave unopened, I can probably resell for same amount if not a bit more should I decide to go another route.

 

[Slayvoff]

I have multiple Kessils and have seen plenty of tanks with radions. I can't comment on other brands. For me, the shimmer of the Kessils was great. I personally liked the ease of running the Kessil lights...set one knob to the color you like and another to the intensity and done. Now that I am more fluent in lightging technology, this second reason would be a non-factor for me in any decision making. Personally, I like my Kessils but i have always been more impressed by tanks with radions. It may be one of those "grass is greener on the other side" type things. I'm not sure why, but the radions seem to put out a color I find more appealing...it may be the presence of green and red LEDs in the radions that can be tuned- green and red are more "viewable" by human eyes. I'm sure some radion users can chime in and share their thoughts better than me.

If you are going to have a canopy, I'd highly recommend you consider adding some retro fit T5 bulbs with whatever option you choose. For me, just even running 2 T5 bulbs helps tremendously with reducing shadowing in the tank. While I like having shimmer, I find it to be a bit much sometimes, and the t5 supplement reduces the shimmer to a more acceptable level. I put my t5s on a timer, so I still get a great dusk / dawn effect from my LEDs in the morning and night when the t5s are off.

A red sea reefer 250 is 36" long. You would want 2 Kessil 360's and will get shadowing. Some people like shadowing, some people don't. If you went with radions, you could do two xr15s versus one xr30. I think the spread from two of those might be slightly better than one xr30, but that would be a question for someone who has more experience with radions than myself.

My last bit of advice would be to go look at tanks with each light setup. Nothing is going to truly tell you what you want to know better than looking at them yourself. Trust me, don't buy a light till you do this. Both the Kessils and radions can grow coral. You might find you prefer T5s versus LEDs even after viewing everything...some people don't like the led shadowing issues that come from single point sources. Two fixtures will help but won't eliminate it. Hope this helps.

This is incredibly useful information, thanks for taking the time to write all of this out. Only reason I did buy the Radion just now is b/c it was a good deal, sealed in box and I will leave sealed in box until I see in person how they look and decide if I keep or resell.

 

[Daniel Waters]

This is incredibly useful information, thanks for taking the time to write all of this out. Only reason I did buy the Radion just now is b/c it was a good deal, sealed in box and I will leave sealed in box until I see in person how they look and decide if I keep or resell.

That's a great light at a great price. I'm just not sure what the spread will be like on a 36" inch long tank. Depending on your mounting height, it should put out plenty of par to allow you to keep any coral you want. Most people run their radions well below 100% intensity. If you decide you like the light, which I think you will, you may want to check out some discussions on here on programming for the radions. Some people like to tinker and fine tune each color channel. That temptation would drive me crazy but some people love the controllability. There's some preset options on the unit which might be an easy way to start if you are unsure of how to program the light.

I think you'll be happy. Let me know how it turns out!

 

[mcarroll]

well I pulled the trigger on a Radion xr30w pro because it was brand new in box for 725. Figured it was a solid deal and, as long as I leave unopened, I can probably resell for same amount if not a bit more should I decide to go another route.

I'm just not sure what the spread will be like on a 36" inch long tank.

It's certainly workable, but far from ideal. Selling would be my call, personally...even if only to switch to XR15's.

Here's some diagrams I made that illustrate what the coverage would look like from the top. Mostly there's either terrible coverage with unlit corners or tons of light being spilled into the room...neither the end of the world, but not great. And for the price I'd want GREAT in all-caps, font size 18. Also shown are some alternate lighting configs that would be "better" including one strip LED system. (These aren't scaled for a 36" tank, but the proportions are very similar so you can get a good idea.)

 

[madweazl]

If you want to stay around/under $800, I'd also recommend dumping the XR30 in favor of two XR15s to allow for a bit more flexibility of placement. If Kessil, a pair of A360WEs to accomplish the same thing or if you could toss another $100 at the problem, the AP700 would likely be the best option for a 36" tank.

 

[ebeez]

I just added 2 X Radion XR30 Pro G4's to my 120 and love them.. Zoa's and Finger Leather are very happy!

 

[pjr]

I'm not sure any of those options you named qualify on this basis, but all are fine lights in their own right.

They are also all spotlights.

While I would not put T5's (or halides) on a new reef these days, the idea that you should consider whether you want spotlights or not is legitimate. Some folks like one look over the other.

Most of the issues of one vs the other are overblown IMO....it's aesthetics when you get down to it. Corals are going to be equally happy and healthy either way.

If shadows are a concern, consider LED strips instead of spotlights. Current USA, Hamilton Technology, GHL Lighting, etc all make nice LED strips. Current and GHL probably make systems that are the most comparable with the ones you named.

Hey M Carroll:

Interesting that you mention the use of LED strips. I've used them extensively -- several versions over my 6 foot 72" wide SPS tank --Since June 2009. I haven't had to deal with the disco ball effect.

I started with the 1st generation of Sunbrite LEDs. They packed 90 low-wattage LEDs in every foot of their "tubes" -- a casing made to look like a T10 bulb. Each bulb had a specific color LED, so a temp not unlike buying a florescent bulb. I had 8 of these 6 foot tubes over my tank, and the blend was very good.

When the Gen 2 Bulb came out a year later, the design changed, and they went to an LED every 2 inches.... and they were combos of white, blue, and royal blue, pending on the desired bulb. I was able to reduce from 8 tubes to 5 with the increased PAR.

A few years later, the tubes changed again, the only difference was that the LEDs were upgraded to 3 watt CREE LEDs. I dropped from 5 tubes to just 3.

About 3 years ago, one of the tubes failed, and unfortunately, Sunbrite went out of business, primarily due to a failed shift to LED fixtures. Needing a strip light I purchased a Build My LED strip. Better build quality, 1-10v support, and a combo of 1w,3w, and 5w LEDs in many colors. Again, in combo with the 2 remaining Sunbrite tubes, no disco effect.... and even better SPS growth. With the higher wattage models, it is essential to angle the bulbs perfectly to ensure good coverage and blend.

Alas, BML is now out of reef lighting, as they have focused on horticulture market. I've looked at strip LEDs that I may be able to try, and only the ReefBrite XHO seems to be a reality. Hamilton references 3w strips on their site, but I have been unable to find any real info on them, just the 1w model. Current strips are low wattage, and GHL markets fixtures from what I can see, no strips. Geiseman had a model out there but I could not find any valid evidence of significant PAR from them when I searched extensively about a year ago.

In summary, I have been using 6 foot long strips for over 7 years over SPS with great success. I've been able to avoid any Village People sightings near my tank, as well as any Donna Summer tributes. They work great for blend, and great to conceal in a canopy.

I'd love to hear from anyone using any newer strip lights... XHO or others!