I currently have a Innovative Marine 30L tank and have the option to get either the Nanobox Quad Pro or the Kessil AP700. This will be a mix reef tank, with SPS and LPS. If price wasn't a factor between the two, which would you all pick, and why?
Nanobox Quad Pro vs Kessil
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mcarroll
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Those are two pretty different fixtures, but assuming each one is a proper fit for the tank it's destined for, I would pick the unit with more "pucks" if you like less shadows.
If you don't care about that, or like shadows because you're coming from a halide tank, then I'd call it a toss up. You have to decide what other features you like/don't like and prioritize them.
If you don't care about that, or like shadows because you're coming from a halide tank, then I'd call it a toss up. You have to decide what other features you like/don't like and prioritize them.
I've used both Kessils and NanoBoxes and I would go with the NanoBox. The quad has better "coverage" with the pucks that eliminates shadowing. Plus, Dave is the only person that utilized "lime" (newer LED arrays, the 3.1 utilize "mint") diodes which no other LED fixture has.
@pokerdobe, were you not a fan of the Kessil AP700, in terms of coverage? The 30L IM tank is, i believe 36" long, but only about 12" wide roughly
In broad terms of the word "coverage," it works on a 36" long tank. However, with the AP700 just having two pucks, it does create some intense shadowing.
The real advantage of NanoBox is that you can straight email Dave and ask him to create something specific to your tank. He has in the past, created 36" long fixtures with 6 pucks, if I recall correctly (with other various configuration, shorter and longer than 36").
For coral growth, probably very little. But Lime does peak at 545nm, which is close to the mercury spike you see in MH. Visually, it blends better with blues compared to your standard green LEDs. It visually brightens the tank with little effect to CCT.
I'm not sure why other mainstream fixtures do not utilize lime as it really does help immensely with color blending and visual brightness. But that is just one person's opinion.
Which light did you end up going with?
I ended up going with the Ap700. At first coral wasnt thriving at much at 20%, but after getting a par meter, at 20%, even at the top of the water line was only recording 200ish par. Mid tank was barley 100. I bumped it up slowly to about 30% and it's doing a lot better.
Over the next couple weeks, my goal is to get it up to about 35% and maybe 40% by next the 6 months. Overall, enjoying the Kessil.
