Kessil to Radeon?

[Tamberav]

I was thinking of adding an LED strip like the ReefBrite, but it's a small tank and I'd prefer to keep the look clean.

Was also thinking of getting the Kessil narrow reflector. That will concentrate the light and up the PAR for the acros, but it might make the shadowing worse.

It won’t look clean if the light you buy has light spill all over. Keep that in mind. First thing I thought of when you said pico and G6.

 

[KK's Reef]

It won’t look clean if the light you buy has light spill all over. Keep that in mind. First thing I thought of when you said pico and G6.

Yes, good point. Thought about that too. But they make 3D printed "shades" for the Radeons to keep the light spill at a minimum.

 

[KK's Reef]

What are the tank dimensions?

Roughly 14 x 8 x 8.

 

[HB AL]

As you saw in my posts above in the pics and vids the only thing I don't worry about is a clean look at anything outside the tank. Inside the tank I try to make things a little cleaner. What I'm getting at is that really the #1 thing for me for everything from outside and inside the tank is " functionality " meaning optimal performance of all the equipment, since that really is the best thing for all the inhabitants from coral to fish to make it as perfect as possible for true success, corals growing, proper colors etc... and the fish are happy and healthy. An all around clean look is a great thing but as you know it takes some time and effort to find what is best to keep it looking clean and what works best for the tank's inhabitants. You've gotten some good advice from other's post's above. Good luck and when you find exactly how you want things to achieve your goals come back and show some pics of what you ended up with and how it's working out.

 

[KK's Reef]

As you saw in my posts above in the pics and vids the only thing I don't worry about is a clean look at anything outside the tank. Inside the tank I try to make things a little cleaner. What I'm getting at is that really the #1 thing for me for everything from outside and inside the tank is " functionality " meaning optimal performance of all the equipment, since that really is the best thing for all the inhabitants from coral to fish to make it as perfect as possible for true success, corals growing, proper colors etc... and the fish are happy and healthy. An all around clean look is a great thing but as you know it takes some time and effort to find what is best to keep it looking clean and what works best for the tank's inhabitants. You've gotten some good advice from other's post's above. Good luck and when you find exactly how you want things to achieve your goals come back and show some pics of what you ended up with and how it's working out.

Thank you, thank you. Thanks to all of you, really. I'll weigh the options and figure it out.

Happy reefing everyone!

 

[Aspect]

Are AP9X affordable? I don't have any shadowing issues with these hanging 8" above my tank.

 

[X-37B]

You should be able to run 1 16hd on that tank with no issues or shadowing, imo.
Xr15 would not be overkill as you can reduce intensity. I dont think you would have shadowing issues either.
I run xr15's and 16hds.
This is my 20g 18" aio nano cube running 2 16hds. Tank is almost 7 months old and almost all acros.
Over 35 at last count.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Get an a500x or amazonas icon 960. That should have more than enough par.

Lol an A500x over a 4 gallon tank would be like a nuclear missile over an outhouse. It isn't going to be pretty.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

You should be able to run 1 16hd on that tank with no issues or shadowing, imo.
Xr15 would not be overkill as you can reduce intensity. I dont think you would have shadowing issues either.
I run xr15's and 16hds.
This is my 20g 18" aio nano cube running 2 16hds. Tank is almost 7 months old and almost all acros.
Over 35 at last count.

Those look fantastic.

You know what's interesting? I've seen many SPS tanks with 4 AI 32hd fixtures and they look great. I see Radions on some and they don't look so great.

I'm wondering if the old puck style with less leds actually is better than the blanket style they are producing now.

 

[HB AL]

So op what ya end up with?

 

[X-37B]

Those look fantastic.

You know what's interesting? I've seen many SPS tanks with 4 AI 32hd fixtures and they look great. I see Radions on some and they don't look so great.

I'm wondering if the old puck style with less leds actually is better than the blanket style they are producing now.

I run xr15's blues and 16hds on my 80. I could not get the right color I was looking for with just the radions.

 

[KK's Reef]

So op what ya end up with?

Ended up getting a G6 Blue from the marketplace here. Just need to make a final payment. Not in a rush to get it/mount it, but excited to see how it turns out.

I know a lot of reefers think that an XR15 is overkill for a pico, and they're not wrong. But most people don't keep SPS/sticks in a pico. I think the G6 will provide the pop and intensity that I'm not getting with the Kessil.

 

[Jubei2006]

Lol an A500x over a 4 gallon tank would be like a nuclear missile over an outhouse. It isn't going to be pretty.

Said he wanted high par in a small footprint..................just a little bump up from the XR15 G6 pro he went with over a 4 gallon tank.

 

[KK's Reef]

So op what ya end up with?

Welp, kept the Kessil even though I had a new G6 in hand, and it finally crapped out on me today. I have had intermittent issues with it shutting off. Was planning to upgrade to a 20 or 25 gallon peninsula at the end of the summer and save the G6 for that build, but I've had to use it sooner rather than later.

Initial thoughts on the G6... I like it, but I don't love it.

CONS:
* The RMS mount is bulky.
* The mount hangs the light at a slight angle. It's not perfectly parallel to the top of the tank.
* The light also has a slight tilt when looking at the front view.
* Noticeable disco balling.
* The moonlight color sucks. It's a weird white/pink hue.

PROS:
* The build quality is legit.
* Spread is good.
* The app is easy to work with... albeit too many levers to play with.
* The blues give the corals a slightly better pop vs. the Kessil.
* Quiet fan, hardly noticeable.

Hopefully the output is enough for a 24" inch long peninsula. Need to buy or rent a PAR meter.