Kessil LED vs Halide T5

[A. grandis]

Would this be a case for painting the bottom of growout tanks white instead of black? I may give this a try on the next pair I put together.

Bare bottom tanks would grow coralline. Sand is better.
Grandis.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

IMO @BoomCorals, this says a lot about you and sets you apart from typical vendors. Looking forward to buying from you in the fixture

I bought from him recently, he's got amazing stuff! Looks so good in my tank

 

[sil40sx]

Nice, this is an awesome thread. Can't wait to see the progress in a couple months.

 

[TonapahNorth]

Excellent thread.

 

[thewasho]

Eagerly waiting for results for this one, at the deciding stage now for lighting whether i go for Radions or a ATI 8 Bulb T5

 

[DSC reef]

Bare bottom tanks would grow coralline. Sand is better.
Grandis.

Go look at bare bottom tank threads, better yet go to world wide corals. Sometimes grandis I think you speak before you think. Starboard is just fine and painting the bottom is just fine. If there's coralline you can remove it. Its about what you like to look at and I don't need you to tell me what's better in my tank. I've got no issues in regards to the underneath of my corals. Thanks

 

[DSC reef]

The starboard would grow coralline and the purpose would fail.
Best is a clean sand bed.
Grandis.

I disagree and honestly didn't ask you. Tell world wide there main display failed with starboard. It's a ridiculous blanket statement.

 

[BoomCorals]

Why kessil? I've read threads that say kessil isn't great with sps. I've never had them to confirm but if thats true maybe radions or hydra would be better since you're doing sps.

Still following

I've used just about every LED there is - SBreef, black box, photon v2, AI, Radion, and kessil. Besides the black box, every one of those grew sps for me no problem. The reason I use kessil at the moment is because they hands down look the best to me. They have a halide like shimmer to them. I have had kessil over my main sps frags for about 6 weeks now and the frags are growing and encrusting just as much as any other LED I've used.

 

[BoomCorals]

Also please don't digress the thread into a bare bottom vs sand debate.

 

[reefwiser]

Always fun. One problem I have with LED manufacturers they keep bringing out new lights every year. How can you know if the changes they have made have done any improvement except to sales.

 

[iemsparticus]

Always fun. One problem I have with LED manufacturers they keep bringing out new lights every year. How can you know if the changes they have made have done any improvement except to sales.

My old, outdated A360s work very well still... and I’m glad they don’t feel the need to update them constantly.

 

[gcrawford]

Following..... currently a kessil user with my halides still in the closet. I can’t seem to let them go along with the chiller needed to use them lol.....

 

[Swans]

Following. I'm currently using the T5 and have been trying to sell my first born to get the new Radions. Hoping it would be a good move. He doesn't always behave well

 

[xAndrewx]

I miss my metal halide with power compact actinic supplement.
Best looking tank I ever had. Could grow anything as long as it was placed in the tank at the right location
Can't seem to replicate the look with leds. Even with kessils. The kessil seem like too much shimmer.

Thank you for sharing your experiment. I am excited to see the results

 

[pdiehm]

Looking forward. I used the photon 48” version 1. Just ordered my first 4 corals from boom. Looking forward to this and my new corals in the tank.

 

[rtparty]

Can't wait to see how everything does under the new Giesemann fixture! It may have taken you two tries to get halide back up and going but know you have one of the best!

Might need to place an order with you in the next little bit. Those corals look wonderful!

 

[A. grandis]

Can't wait to see how everything does under the new Giesemann fixture! It may have taken you two tries to get halide back up and going but know you have one of the best!

Might need to place an order with you in the next little bit. Those corals look wonderful!

Agreed! His corals are beautiful and I'm so sorry I'm not allowed to order them.
Next time I go to the mainland I'll try to see you, Boom!
At least I'll be able to chat and bring some pictures.
That's what life is about!!!
Aloha,
Grandis.

 

[rkpetersen]

They have a halide like shimmer to them.

That was what the owner of my lfs said about Kessils when I bought my dt; that they have the best shimmer. Although I wound up going with AIs, after looking at more tanks, he's right. And the reason is pretty obvious. Their lights are closer to a point source than other LEDs, allowing far more of the incident light to refract similarly off of wave crests, resulting in greater contrast between the shifting curvilinear light and dark areas as they play across the reef. Like metal halides. Or the sun.

I've read that this higher contrast may actually be very beneficial to some corals and maybe even clams. The very high intensity bright areas, although flashing by in milliseconds, may serve to 'punch' light down into the zooxanthallae of deeper coral tissues. I don't know if that's true, but I do know for a fact that I am struggling to keep certain animals (some LPS and clams) today unders LEDs that thrived magnificently when I kept them under metal halides + actinics 30 years ago.

 

[A. grandis]

Boom: could you please take a picture of the connection from the MH fixture's wire that goes to the MH ballast?
How did you wire that?
Grandis.

 

[BoomCorals]

Boom: could you please take a picture of the connection from the MH fixture's wire that goes to the MH ballast?
How did you wire that?
Grandis.

The ballast comes with a bare 3 wire plug that plugs to the ballast (black). The spectra came with a 3 wire plug that you put the 3 bare wires from the ballast to make the connection.(white)

Took 5 minutes and a screw driver.