KESSIL VS CHINESE BLACK BOX

[happyhourhero]

Consider the fine print on the black box warranties. For example, SB Reefs, you have to pay shipping to send it to them for warranty repair, they will not just ship you a replacement fixture. Or they will send you parts, to make the repairs yourself. Shipping that unit to Florida will cost about $15-25 each way depending on where you live, plus all the down time, you will be without a light for a while if something were to happen. Not knocking them at all but it's good to read the warranty info. I sent SB an email three weeks ago inquiring about a product and have yet to hear back from them. Whenever I send an email to Marine Depot or BRS, I always here back within 48 hours. Same goes for Amazon Prime.

Call the shop and you will get help right away. Comparing a family operation to 2 of the largest companies in the reefing world is hardly fair imo.

 

[Reefrookie220]

@DSC reef

If you go back and read my original post, I stated that they are "imo, a vastly superior supplemental light source"

If you read any number of build threads featuring kessils, they also use t5 80% of the time.

They are also pictures of frags, not colonies.

As stated, the evidence is in abundance for the black boxes, even in this one thread.

You use halide and t5, a tried and true method that can't be disputed, yet you argue for the kessils because of your lfs?

I insulted no one, just asked to be proved wrong, and yet again I wasn't. Then the bandwagoneers feelings were hurt and I'm the bad guy.

Your argument has been completely invalid from the get go, since you use neither light source. Thanks for your opinions, but let's stay relevant.

Again, IMO, both lights work to an extent. Kessils have the control, features, and sleek look.

Black boxes have the power to turn sand into glass, but lack the ability to control.

Ultimately we are both right, it's the OPs call fashion or function.

 

[BoomCorals]

Just wanted to throw this out there, grew this colony from about a 2" colony to the size you see pictured here in only 5 months under SBreef LED. It is currently almost as big as a basketball. You can get this growth from almost any LED to be honest. I have not used metal halide or T5 in over 8 years.

This was grown from a 1.5" small colony to this size in the same time frame.

Grew this from a 1.5" small colony to current size as well in the same time frame.

 

[DSC reef]

@DSC reef

If you go back and read my original post, I stated that they are "imo, a vastly superior supplemental light source"

If you read any number of build threads featuring kessils, they also use t5 80% of the time.

They are also pictures of frags, not colonies.

As stated, the evidence is in abundance for the black boxes, even in this one thread.

You use halide and t5, a tried and true method that can't be disputed, yet you argue for the kessils because of your lfs?

I insulted no one, just asked to be proved wrong, and yet again I wasn't. Then the bandwagoneers feelings were hurt and I'm the bad guy.

Your argument has been completely invalid from the get go, since you use neither light source. Thanks for your opinions, but let's stay relevant.

Again, IMO, both lights work to an extent. Kessils have the control, features, and sleek look.

Black boxes have the power to turn sand into glass, but lack the ability to control.

Ultimately we are both right, it's the OPs call fashion or function.

If you insulted no one then why apologize. I'm done with conversation. I've seen many led lights grow amazing colonies including kessils. You just make blanket statements then cover it up with nonsense. Kessils and all the other led lights are proven to grow colonies, end of story. Once again your logic failed you, you don't have to be a user of any light fixture to know there worth at growing colonies. How do people know halides are tried and true? With your logic that means unless they use halides then they cant speak of them growing colonies? Plenty of pics, members tanks and stores to prove that many lights can and will grow corals of all kinds and no one has to be using them to make an opinion.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Can we please just stop the arguing and accept that all lights are good and they're all a matter of personal preference?

 

[DSC reef]

Can we please just stop the arguing and accept that all lights are good and they're all a matter of personal preference?

Agreed, sometimes it's hard to not get carried away. Well said man

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The irony, if that's the correct word, is that in my learning and research on reef lighting is, these are the exact same arguments arguments put forward since the beginning of Reefing. I have a copy of Julian Sprungs book ,Reef News, from the 1980's where he doubts the ability of metal halides to grow corals over the proven industry standard lighting. T12's.


Mankind , for millena , has always put is pants one leg at a time and has also wondered if it makes our butt look big.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Call the shop and you will get help right away. Comparing a family operation to 2 of the largest companies in the reefing world is hardly fair imo.

I disagree it's totally fair. I run a small eBay store and my customers still expect fast service and I try my best to provide Amazon quality service. Big or small, businesses still need to provide good service. SB Reef does not offer a good warranty on their lights and it needs to be said because their 2 year warranty is not a good warranty.

 

[BoomCorals]

I disagree it's totally fair. I run a small eBay store and my customers still expect fast service and I try my best to provide Amazon quality service. Big or small, businesses still need to provide good service. SB Reef does not offer a good warranty on their lights and it needs to be said because their 2 year warranty is not a good warranty.

Maybe I'm missing something, is it different from Radion and others? When I had a radion go bad I had to ship it to them at my expense, they fixed and sent it back. SBReef does the same, except that the SBreef you can repair yourself, which is the option I chose when I had one go bad. Took me 5 minutes to do with a screwdriver after I got the part (in 2 days).

Ecotech warranty is 1 year (2 years on the LED cluster lights), kessil warranty is 1 year. SBReef is actually 2.

From ecotech for example:
http://ecotechmarine.com/request-service
Shipments from Customer to EcoTech: Please note that the customer is responsible for the shipping costs to EcoTech Marine for the return of the defective products(s). For proof of your item being delivered and received by EcoTech, it is suggested that the products(s) be shipped via a carrier. As an example, UPS, FedEx, or any other shipping method which yields a tracking number.

I think the only difference between Kessil and the others is they don't make you pay the $15 it costs to ship the light back to them, they cover that charge.

 

[happyhourhero]

I disagree it's totally fair. I run a small eBay store and my customers still expect fast service and I try my best to provide Amazon quality service. Big or small, businesses still need to provide good service. SB Reef does not offer a good warranty on their lights and it needs to be said because their 2 year warranty is not a good warranty.

I have personally heard a guy call in while I was looking at corals and Mike replaced his light because the guy dropped it in the water. Warranty does not cover that but he still replaced it. There are many accounts of the warranty being just fine and there are accounts of people like yourself who sent an email and never heard back. I wont argue that they are perfect by any means but to say that they are bad because they dont match BRS or Marine Depot as far as you sending your one email goes is silly.

 

[elisa h]

What about instead of the Kessil you go with ai hydra 26hd you get more spread than you would with kessil more control [without having to buy a controler] and still a good looking reliable light

I'll be sure to check those out as well!

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

I have personally heard a guy call in while I was looking at corals and Mike replaced his light because the guy dropped it in the water. Warranty does not cover that but he still replaced it. There are many accounts of the warranty being just fine and there are accounts of people like yourself who sent an email and never heard back. I wont argue that they are perfect by any means but to say that they are bad because they dont match BRS or Marine Depot as far as you sending your one email goes is silly.

From what it sounds like you have some personal relationship with these guys so I understand why you're defending them I guess? I didn't say they were bad. I said their warranty was bad and it is. At least it is on paper anyway. But the paper is what counts. The thing your referring to with him helping out someone who shouldn't have been covered could go either way depending on the customer and the mood of the seller. I'm not fan of leaving things up to people's discretion like that and like to know what will happen if my product fails.
The lack of reply to an email is an indicator of potentially poor service. There are others mentions of their poor customer service here on R2R. Nothing silly about it.

 

[BoomCorals]

From what it sounds like you have some personal relationship with these guys so I understand why you're defending them I guess? I didn't say they were bad. I said their warranty was bad and it is. At least it is on paper anyway. But the paper is what counts. The thing your referring to with him helping out someone who shouldn't have been covered could go either way depending on the customer and the mood of the seller. I'm not fan of leaving things up to people's discretion like that and like to know what will happen if my product fails.
The lack of reply to an email is an indicator of potentially poor service. There are others mentions of their poor customer service here on R2R. Nothing silly about it.

Just wondering what makes the warranty bad? I went and re-read it and didn't see anything different from the other major vendors? But again maybe I missed it? This is a genuine question, not trying to fanboy or stir the pot.

 

[elisa h]

I have personally heard a guy call in while I was looking at corals and Mike replaced his light because the guy dropped it in the water. Warranty does not cover that but he still replaced it. There are many accounts of the warranty being just fine and there are accounts of people like yourself who sent an email and never heard back. I wont argue that they are perfect by any means but to say that they are bad because they dont match BRS or Marine Depot as far as you sending your one email goes is silly.

Does SB reef lights have a physical store? I live in Tampa, florida

 

[happyhourhero]

From what it sounds like you have some personal relationship with these guys so I understand why you're defending them I guess? I didn't say they were bad. I said their warranty was bad and it is. At least it is on paper anyway. But the paper is what counts. The thing your referring to with him helping out someone who shouldn't have been covered could go either way depending on the customer and the mood of the seller. I'm not fan of leaving things up to people's discretion like that and like to know what will happen if my product fails.
The lack of reply to an email is an indicator of potentially poor service. There are others mentions of their poor customer service here on R2R. Nothing silly about it.

Fair enough. Best of luck in your endeavors.

Does SB reef lights have a physical store? I live in Tampa, florida

Pensacola, FL

 

[Vincet81]

I ran marsaqua Chinese black box over my tank for about a year. I had no issues with the lights at all. My sps grew great. I upgraded my lights 3 months ago to the hydrafiftytwo hds. There is no comparison. I got better growth and color from all my coral including the sps with the fiftytwo. The tank looks ten times better. I will never go back to the black box.

 

[reefkeeperCOL]

I am having a great growth on lps and montiporas since 2 years a go with black box. but right now I'm considering to change those MarsAqua with some AI hydra. I'm not really happy with the actual growth and coloration on acroporas.

here is a video of my aquarium with Mars Aqua.

 

[elisa h]

I am having a great growth on lps and montiporas since 2 years a go with black box. but right now I'm considering to change those MarsAqua with some AI hydra. I'm not really happy with the actual growth and coloration on acroporas.

here is a video of my aquarium with Mars Aqua.

Thanks for sharing your tank with us. It's beautiful! May I ask what the blue fish with the yellow head is?

 

[Spideyfish]

So I recently purchased an approximately 30 tall and 30 wide 90 gallon hex tank (my first saltwater tank). I know the dimensions are not ideal but the deal was way too good to pass up. My question is is there really that much of a difference between say the kessil a360w ($400) compared to a cheaper light such as lightimetunnel ($100)? I only want to keep softies, zoas, and some lps. I could afford the kessil but it is hard for me to justify $400 for a light and it's not like I'm trying to keep high demand sps coral. Also, the dimensions of my tank have me wondering if I could get away with one light if I made a deep sand bed and just refrained from putting coral near the edges and bottom of the tank? I would love some advice!! Thank you

Welcome to R2R! Personally I like my Chinese Black Box LEDs but I'm sure that Kessil owners will tell you that the difference is huge. Before I bought the Black Box, I had a cheap LED so it was great in comparison. Honestly, they grow softies, zoas, and lps great in my tank. I'm sure there are benefits in getting more expensive lights but it's up to you to decide what you want for your tank. Look at some videos comparing the Black Boxes to Kessils and that may help.

 

[Jason mack]

I don't know much about kessils , but I have 3 BB over my 90g mixed reef and all my corals are growing beautifully.. can certainly recommend them !