KESSIL VS CHINESE BLACK BOX

[elisa h]

I've been looking a the ap700's too. My plan right now is to stick with my halides for a couple months and see how much extra light I'm going to need. All the features on the ap700 look so cool though! But almost a grand on just a light!! Anybody know if brs has Black Friday/cyber monday sales?? [emoji24]

 

[bif24701]

I've been looking a the ap700's too. My plan right now is to stick with my halides for a couple months and see how much extra light I'm going to need. All the features on the ap700 look so cool though! But almost a grand on just a light!! Anybody know if brs has Black Friday/cyber monday sales?? [emoji24]

They do, hard to know if the light will be on sale or not. A good deal is to get the double reward points in a group buy at the very least.

 

[elisa h]

They do, hard to know if the light will be on sale or not. A good deal is to get the double reward points in a group buy at the very least.

I'm thinking maybe as an early Christmas present to myself. I keep going up lol. First I was thinking of going with a black box, then an a360, now a 700. I can't go with bb now that I've watched the brs video and I'm not sure if the spread on an a360 will be enough for my tank and two of those plus the controller will be more than the a700 but without all the cool features and wifi. I honestly need to suck it up and just buy a nice light!!! It will be worth it in the long run and I will have room for an upgrade in the future. I have the money so I may as well provide the best care possible for my future corals. My gut is telling me to go with kessil over radions or the ai hydras.

Update on my halide: I foolishly left the fixture on the floor next to my tank and just came home to find my dog chewed up all the wires. Not sure if they are fixable [emoji30]

 

[Donovan Joannes]

For LPS, zoas and softies, black box with at least 60% blue spectrum LEDs should work perfectly fine. At 30" deep, 90 degree lens should be able to penetrate all the way to the sand bed with a good PAR. Just be careful with 60 degree lenses, at full intensity you coral will vaporised while you are doing your "saturday night fever" dance move due to disco effect. If budget permits, get a kessil so that you won't see a "I told you not to skimp with lighting" reply later on.

I'm a poor man reefer, I built my own LED light in my barn and I can proudly say "I do have a good working light that can grow wild acropora". Factory built light should be better than my barn lighting system. Those light from China surely works, they just being hated due to being cheap. Maybe some do have a bad reputation (being new in reefing arena) but several names has been around for quite sometime with a very good reviews. I owned SuporHydro 165W black box before and the next thing I know my kenya tree has grown 18 inches high in 8 months time.

 

[elisa h]

For LPS, zoas and softies, black box with at least 60% blue spectrum LEDs should work perfectly fine. At 30" deep, 90 degree lens should be able to penetrate all the way to the sand bed with a good PAR. Just be careful with 60 degree lenses, at full intensity you coral will vaporised while you are doing your "saturday night fever" dance move due to disco effect. If budget permits, get a kessil so that you won't see a "I told you not to skimp with lighting" reply later on.

I'm a poor man reefer, I built my own LED light in my barn and I can proudly say "I do have a good working light that can grow wild acropora". Factory built light should be better than my barn lighting system. Those light from China surely works, they just being hated due to being cheap. Maybe some do have a bad reputation (being new in reefing arena) but several names has been around for quite sometime with a very good reviews. I owned SuporHydro 165W black box before and the next thing I know my kenya tree has grown 18 inches high in 8 months time.

I have no doubt black boxes can grow corals very well. My reason for deciding against them is they aren't UL certified and could possibly start a fire in your home!! For me, I'd rather spend a couple extra hundred dollars for the peace of mind that my house won't burn down while I'm gone. I know it is a small chance, I just wouldn't want to risk it.

 

[Donovan Joannes]

I have no doubt black boxes can grow corals very well. My reason for deciding against them is they aren't UL certified and could possibly start a fire in your home!! For me, I'd rather spend a couple extra hundred dollars for the peace of mind that my house won't burn down while I'm gone. I know it is a small chance, I just wouldn't want to risk it.

I took my BB apart before as I wanted sunrise/sunset control via an arduino conroller. The led driver do have several safety measures built by default. Thermo fused resistor, rated fuse and current load limiter are standard nowadays. It is grounded as well so it shouldn't catch fire that easily. Most chinese driver do have CE or ROHS certification. I wouldn't worry much about UL approval.

 

[bif24701]

I'm thinking maybe as an early Christmas present to myself. I keep going up lol. First I was thinking of going with a black box, then an a360, now a 700. I can't go with bb now that I've watched the brs video and I'm not sure if the spread on an a360 will be enough for my tank and two of those plus the controller will be more than the a700 but without all the cool features and wifi. I honestly need to suck it up and just buy a nice light!!! It will be worth it in the long run and I will have room for an upgrade in the future. I have the money so I may as well provide the best care possible for my future corals. My gut is telling me to go with kessil over radions or the ai hydras.

Update on my halide: I foolishly left the fixture on the floor next to my tank and just came home to find my dog chewed up all the wires. Not sure if they are fixable [emoji30]

I find that it's better to just save up and buy the equipment you really want because of you buy the lesser option you either buy the better one later or thinking I wish I bought the better one all the time.

 

[bif24701]

I have no doubt black boxes can grow corals very well. My reason for deciding against them is they aren't UL certified and could possibly start a fire in your home!! For me, I'd rather spend a couple extra hundred dollars for the peace of mind that my house won't burn down while I'm gone. I know it is a small chance, I just wouldn't want to risk it.

I have a family and I can't risk them or my hobby when I am aware of the risks. Especially that I have to leave the tank and home unattended for lengths of time. I do believe you get what you pay for and it is just a personnel choice.

It's completely useless to evaluate any of these lights, LED, MH, T5, manufactures, bulbs, etc.....

Buy the light you want period. Every light is apparently capable of doing the job it's just a matter of personnel choice.

 

[Bluewater4life]

So, I read through this whole thread and I will give you my honest input. I’ve owned a Mars BB for 5 yrs on my 30g Bowfront mixed reef and grew everything. Color and shimmer is OK.....
6 months ago I decided to try the WE160 to see how it would compare on the same 30g Bowfront. Well, let’s say it’s night and day difference in the appearance of the Natural look it gives. The Color spectrum is just absolutely stunning! All the corals are very happy and the polyp extension is superb. Oh did I say the shimmer is unmatched to any LED’s on the market incl the Ecotech Radion G4 pro even. But....I will be honest and say the growth on my Acros (SPS) is not as good compared to my cheap BB lol...the color is better yes but growth not so much. Growth rate is down by at least 25%. Which one did I choose to keep on my tank...the Kessil’s! My fish and all my Corals just seems happier if that makes sense.
If you’re looking for Growth Go with your average BB. I tested both.

 

[Ranjib]

So, I read through this whole thread and I will give you my honest input. I’ve owned a Mars BB for 5 yrs on my 30g Bowfront mixed reef and grew everything. Color and shimmer is OK.....
6 months ago I decided to try the WE160 to see how it would compare on the same 30g Bowfront. Well, let’s say it’s night and day difference in the appearance of the Natural look it gives. The Color spectrum is just absolutely stunning! All the corals are very happy and the polyp extension is superb. Oh did I say the shimmer is unmatched to any LED’s on the market incl the Ecotech Radion G4 pro even. But....I will be honest and say the growth on my Acros (SPS) is not as good compared to my cheap BB lol...the color is better yes but growth not so much. Growth rate is down by at least 25%. Which one did I choose to keep on my tank...the Kessil’s! My fish and all my Corals just seems happier if that makes sense.
If you’re looking for Growth Go with your average BB. I tested both.

I can see that. Those BB's have much higher PARs, and can give some really blue heavy spectrum, both other these are known growth booster. Kessil on the other hand even at AP700, is only 180Watt :-/

 

[TheNano]

Blackbox is what I would suggest over kessil.

 

[Reefrookie220]

After the debate I had with @crabs_mcjones i decided to start a new tank using kessil lights.

I’m in the hardware gathering phase currently. But will post a link here when it’s time. Looking foreword to it.

 

[elisa h]

I guess I should update the thread with what I ended up choosing. I did end up getting a black box although one of the ‘higher end’ ones - reefbreeders photon v2. I was pretty certain I was getting kessils but changed my mind last minute after talking with my lfs owner. I feel like before I set my tank up and was just researching and reading on this forum I was really over thinking things when it came to equipment. I thought reefing was gonna be crazy hard compared to my freshwater back ground. But now that I’ve had my tank running for a bit I’ve realized a light isn’t gonna make or break your tank. Neither will any other piece of equipment for that matter. I’m happy with the reefbreeders but who knows maybe I will go high end next build.

 

[Crabs McJones]

After the debate I had with @crabs_mcjones i decided to start a new tank using kessil lights.

I’m in the hardware gathering phase currently. But will post a link here when it’s time. Looking foreword to it.

I have some new sticks that I'm excited to see grow into colonies my tri color and joe the coral acropora are still doing great and getting bigger, but now I have some rose garden millepora, booms blueberry stag from @BoomCorals that is already starting to take off, and a sunset millepora

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I guess I should update the thread with what I ended up choosing. I did end up getting a black box although one of the ‘higher end’ ones - reefbreeders photon v2. I was pretty certain I was getting kessils but changed my mind last minute after talking with my lfs owner. I feel like before I set my tank up and was just researching and reading on this forum I was really over thinking things when it came to equipment. I thought reefing was gonna be crazy hard compared to my freshwater back ground. But now that I’ve had my tank running for a bit I’ve realized a light isn’t gonna make or break your tank. Neither will any other piece of equipment for that matter. I’m happy with the reefbreeders but who knows maybe I will go high end next build.

Very wise observation. It’s really not that hard relatively.

Congrats on the new Light. Those are quite good!

 

[Crabs McJones]

I guess I should update the thread with what I ended up choosing. I did end up getting a black box although one of the ‘higher end’ ones - reefbreeders photon v2. I was pretty certain I was getting kessils but changed my mind last minute after talking with my lfs owner. I feel like before I set my tank up and was just researching and reading on this forum I was really over thinking things when it came to equipment. I thought reefing was gonna be crazy hard compared to my freshwater back ground. But now that I’ve had my tank running for a bit I’ve realized a light isn’t gonna make or break your tank. Neither will any other piece of equipment for that matter. I’m happy with the reefbreeders but who knows maybe I will go high end next build.

Let's see some pictures congrats on your choice

 

[OceanL0ver]

GalaxyHydros

 

[elisa h]

Let's see some pictures congrats on your choice

Here are some pics of the tank and the light taken with my iPhone(sorry they’re so blue!!) [emoji4]

 

[Reefrookie220]

I have some new sticks that I'm excited to see grow into colonies my tri color and joe the coral acropora are still doing great and getting bigger, but now I have some rose garden millepora, booms blueberry stag from @BoomCorals that is already starting to take off, and a sunset millepora

Excited to see your progress, do you have a thread with pics?

I’d like to follow along!

 

[Crabs McJones]

After the debate I had with @crabs_mcjones i decided to start a new tank using kessil lights.

I’m in the hardware gathering phase currently. But will post a link here when it’s time. Looking foreword to it.

I believe that this is the acro I shared earlier in this post

Here's what it looks like today
I had to move him so there's no encrusting at the base