Kessil vs. Radions

[Chris Van Daele]

id like to get a discussion/debate going on the Radion xr30 vs the new kessil a360x

Thoughts?

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Whats the topic here? How are you wanting to compare the XR-30 to the A360X?

 

[Chris Van Daele]

Pros/cons

Which is better for what applications

General discussion.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The radion has more output and more precise control of spectrum.

 

[Chris Van Daele]

I think that was true with previous models but the 360x gives pretty precise control and equivalent output when compared to the Radion with the light blending lense installed

 

[lbacha]

XR-15 vs 360x would be a better comparison as the xr-30 has 2 pucks.

The new spectral x controller gives a lot of controls over the new light. Out of the box it is pretty basic. The eco tech gives you all the controls out of the box

 

[kkiel02]

Yes the xr-15 with diffuser vs 360x is what I’d compare. When BRS did a comparison on them they were nearly identical. I think the xr-15 had like 5 more par or something like that.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I think that was true with previous models but the 360x gives pretty precise control and equivalent output when compared to the Radion with the light blending lense installed

So it’s the same intensity if you put a diffusion to cut it 30% or more?

So it’s the same intensity if you only run the stock radion at 50%.

 

[RCS82]

My opinion when comparing an Xr15 with the new Kessils without having any experience with the new 360x. Both have great control over color and spectrum, coral pop no problem. Put the diffuser on the Xr15 and both will have great color blending. But I would choose Kessil for the shimmer, you can't beat it. Plus I like the simplicity of the Kessil spectral controller.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

XR-15 vs 360x would be a better comparison as the xr-30 has 2 pucks.

The new spectral x controller gives a lot of controls over the new light. Out of the box it is pretty basic. The eco tech gives you all the controls out of the box

I agree and its why I asked the OP what the topic was. This is comparing 2 totally different style of LED lights. Both are great it all depends on your lighting needs and wants. Both are great lights and will grow colorful coral no doubt.

 

[Jonreefer]

So it’s the same intensity if you put a diffusion to cut it 30% or more?

So it’s the same intensity if you only run the stock radion at 50%.

yea but who wants to run it without a diffuser. My XR30 looks like junk before I got the diffuser looking at how rapid the shimmer was and all those colors bouncing all over the place. If I didnt get the Radion for such a good deal. I woulda never bought one.

 

[jda]

You are getting some pretty good opinions on here. Most of the discussion out there revolves around fanboys and are not as objective as what you are getting here.

Take to heart the comments about a XR15 being more comparable to a 360... not a XR30 which is more like having a pair of 360s. Whether you want to diffuse, not, shimmer, disco ball, etc... is all there for you to do as you please since each person will have different tastes, but you can never replicate the power differences. There are PAR maps on the web where you can see the differences.

I do not use either (and probably would not use either), so take this with a LARGE grain of salt, but I see Kessils as small tank lights that are more like toys compared to other more powerful units. Also keep in mind that I have LARGE tanks that are going to use some power with whatever panels would be chosen. The three examples that I have seen locally of kessils running on 180g or larger tanks are underpowered, have huge shadowing issues and have corals dying from the bottom up since they refuse to run more than 4-5 lights on them. One of them added 6x T5s and everything is markedly better, but this paradigm shifted from being a LED tank to a T5 tank with kessil supplements.

 

[billwill]

I used (2) Kessil 360W on a 48”w 90g for a couple years. Grew sps quite well switched to (2) radion XR30 G4 about a year ago. I ran the kessils at 100%, and the radions at 65%. Both do well, though I have to say I liked the colors with kessil better. I like the mounting arms of my radions better after removing my canopy and having open top. Honestly, the aquatic life T5 fixture that holds kessil would be a sweet setup if I were to do it all again

 

[ca1ore]

Well, I run all of them - XR30 Pro, XR15 Pro, 360WE and 360X. Obviously only the X for a few weeks, so no long term insights yet.

 

[Hemmdog]

I used (2) Kessil 360W on a 48”w 90g for a couple years. Grew sps quite well switched to (2) radion XR30 G4 about a year ago. I ran the kessils at 100%, and the radions at 65%. Both do well, though I have to say I liked the colors with kessil better. I like the mounting arms of my radions better after removing my canopy and having open top. Honestly, the aquatic life T5 fixture that holds kessil would be a sweet setup if I were to do it all again

That’s what I did lol.

 

[w2inc]

I have the Radions, both xr15 and xr30 gen 4 pro. I am not a big fan of shimmer. I do like the diffusers. I run one tank xr15 on a small tank without them. I have not noticed shading issues. The larger tank has a 4x2 footprint. I have 2 xr30's and 2xr15's. I run them at 70% to get 100 par at the bottom of my tank. They are maxed out in the blue channels and at 25% in the white, green, and red. The shaded areas and undersides of my corals grow well.

I am not going to say that Radions look terrible without the diffusers, but you can see color separation and I don't like that. The diffusers knock back the PAR. (I think they are ridiculously expensive as well.) I checked it once but I cant remember how much. I read it was 10%. My power is $.50 per kWh from 4 to 9 pm. Those percentages matter over a months time. Wasted light is wasted wattage and extra heat. In the summers it is a bigger concern trying to keep the house cool.

I like the controllability I get from them with the reef link, especially with multiple tanks. Different colors at different times of day, built in timers and such. I am not sure what Kessil has going on in that area. However, once my color and times were dialed in I haven't done much other that use the acclimation mode. My coral color has improved with the Radions, but the are only one of 3 factors I have changed over the past 9 months.

With the Kessil's my experience is only with the 360we tuna sun. I had 3 on a freshwater tank that had the same 2x4 footprint. (120 gallon) I didn't see terrible shadowing, what I did see looked kind of nice. The lights overlapped pretty well. I was able to space them in a way to get a PAR reading that was consistent enough for me across the tank. Light mixture is pretty much awesome. Shimmer existed, but nothing maddening. Not the strobe light effect I got from hanging just one. Because of the lens angle my fish were lit from behind about half the time. Some of them would hang out up top to avoid the bright light. They didn't look as cool. The wider lens on the 360x probably would fix a lot of that. When I did readings with my Seneye for color temp I was getting about 2k lower than advertised. Not really stoked. I ended up going with another option.

I have bonded with my Radions and I am not sure that I would switch them out, but I am not planning to buy more of them for my new build. 360x may be the most cost efficient in the long run, but I would really want to see on in person. I like the dial. It that lets me easily take the tank to all blue to show it off for guests. I don't like to have to purchase a controller to access its features. If the chip is actually producing more lumens per watt than the Radion, then I would probably go that way.

Both brands are spot light oriented and I prefer an even blanket of light. The strip light options I have tried just seem bulky and in the way when I am messing around in the tank. My work around is just using more spot lights at lower power. It is not really cost effective, but it is the best I have for now. I hope that was some help.

 

[8pixel]

I've had g3 radions over my main tank for years now and never really fell in love with them like others. Some corals I buy lose their brightness after a few days and all acans just turn orange/red. When I set up a second tank I wanted something new and I loved the Kessil form factor so I decided to try them. Just hooked up my 360x on Friday and while the color pop is better (especially with the greens which were nearly non-existent with my older Kessils to the point I thought they were defective) it still doesn't really match the "electric black light poster" look I get from Radions on my other tank. While that has nothing to do with coral growth I'm wondering if I'll be able to live with the visual difference...especially when the Radion tank is only 6' away.

 

[Chris Van Daele]

I've had g3 radions over my main tank for years now and never really fell in love with them like others. Some corals I buy lose their brightness after a few days and all acans just turn orange/red. When I set up a second tank I wanted something new and I loved the Kessil form factor so I decided to try them. Just hooked up my 360x on Friday and while the color pop is better (especially with the greens which were nearly non-existent with my older Kessils to the point I thought they were defective) it still doesn't really match the "electric black light poster" look I get from Radions on my other tank. While that has nothing to do with coral growth I'm wondering if I'll be able to live with the visual difference...especially when the Radion tank is only 6' away.

Did you buy the spectral controller? You can definitely dial up the black light effect with the controller.

 

[8pixel]

Did you buy the spectral controller? You can definitely dial up the black light effect with the controller.

I did. Even with the UV cranked it is no match for the Radion...not even close unfortunately. What's stopping me from returning the 360x is the fact that the red/oranges do look better with the Kessil than the Radions. Here's a not so good video of both tanks (Kessil first). Really doesn't quite capture the difference in green glow.

 

[JBKReef]

I would say it depends on tank implementation, depth, coverage required, and personal preference. A lot of the comments here are right on point. Great discussion so far.