Need LED suggestions :)

[Iiismet]

I have a $900 max budget for new lights for my 48x24x16" sps tank and looking for suggestions and opinions!

So the ones that I am currently looking at are:
Reefbreeders photon 48 v2
2x kessil a360WE
Kessil ap700

I'm still researching but I'd like to finalize and order something next week so it's here before Christmas.

 

[Scott.h]

After screwing around for a few years I came to this conclusion. If I don't want to spend the money for the best leds available (which in your case would cost at least 1400) I'll spend half that on the best t5s and end up having just as much, if not more success.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

It depends on why you belive about par. A kessil will def give enough par to grow some Acros. We can tag some acro ap700 guys here.
Some blast the acros w really high par. 1000 plus.
IMO IME the kessil won't do that.
You can make a mh do that a mars Aqua sbreeflight Radion I belive etc.
Btw. Lets not call sps high light. A leppto is an sps and is the lowest light coral ever found on the planet. So I assume you mean acros.
And my Xenia and plays are at the same light level as my biggest acro.
So.

The ap700 will not produce as much par intensity as the reefbreeders on your tank.

The kessil is bloody amazing as far as LED spread and optics goes on a tank like that.
The reefbreeders has diodes that cover the entire tank. The a360 I belive is in between as far as par and I don't know much about spread.

The slaughterhouse advantage to the a369 is you can add t5 quite easily.

Dear Kesssil..
Please give Some par data on your lights.
Anything really.
Signed
saltyfilmfolks.

 

[Mrx7899]

Checkout rapid led Corona lights I have 2 of them over my 38 gallon sps tank and getting really nice growth and colors

 

[mcarroll]

Nobody ever votes in the polls.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Mine was such a non answer I don't think I could.

Nobody ever votes in the polls.

 

[bif24701]

It depends on why you belive about par. A kessil will def give enough par to grow some Acros. We can tag some acro ap700 guys here.
Some blast the acros w really high par. 1000 plus.
IMO IME the kessil won't do that.
You can make a mh do that a mars Aqua sbreeflight Radion I belive etc.
Btw. Lets not call sps high light. A leppto is an sps and is the lowest light coral ever found on the planet. So I assume you mean acros.
And my Xenia and plays are at the same light level as my biggest acro.
So.

The ap700 will not produce as much par intensity as the reefbreeders on your tank.

The kessil is bloody amazing as far as LED spread and optics goes on a tank like that.
The reefbreeders has diodes that cover the entire tank. The a360 I belive is in between as far as par and I don't know much about spread.

The slaughterhouse advantage to the a369 is you can add t5 quite easily.

Dear Kesssil..
Please give Some par data on your lights.
Anything really.
Signed
saltyfilmfolks.

PAR meter don't indicate the lower RF range of the light spectrum. PAR readings are not everything and that's been dispelled clearly at this point.

I can tell you as an AP700 owner I can't raise my intensity above 70% with scorching stuff, it's super powerful. Spread is amazing and diffusion of colors is second to no other LEDs. You can add T5s to the AP700s if you wish just as well as 360s.

I think you should go with the AP700s and add a set of T5 retro fits 2x Blue+ someday after, later maybe add another set if your tank grows out really dense and need better spread that T5s can give you.

You won't be disappointed.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Wh

PAR meter don't indicate the lower RF range of the light spectrum.

I can tell you as an AP700 owner I can't raise my intensity above 70% with scorching stuff, it's super powerful. Spread is amazing and diffusion of colors is second to no other LEDs. You can add T5s to the AP700s if you wish just as well as 360s.

I think you should go with the AP700s and add a set of T5 retro fits 2x Blue+, later maybe add another set of your tank grows out really dense and need better spread that T5s can give you.

You won't be disappointed.

What your max par in you tank

 

[bif24701]

After screwing around for a few years I came to this conclusion. If I don't want to spend the money for the best leds available (which in your case would cost at least 1400) I'll spend half that on the best t5s and end up having just as much, if not more success.

T5s certainly are proven, but a tank lite by T5s only looks flat and fake. The shimmer from Kessils and the activity it's literally brings life to your display. I may add a few T5s one day but I'm doing great with only the AP700s.

 

[mcarroll]

Something interesting is that I recently learned is that light loses all directionality by about 50 meters down. The daily change down there is just that light "fades on" and then "fades off" at the end of the day.

It seems like T5 light would be a lot more characteristic of deep light and spot-type lights would be more simiar to surface light.

 

[Scott.h]

T5s certainly are proven, but a tank lite by T5s only looks flat and fake. The shimmer from Kessils and the activity it's literally brings life to your display. I may add a few T5s one day but I'm doing great with only the AP700s.

true to an extent, but with the dimmable fixtures, split ballast options, and the right bulb selection you can always add cheap LED pods later if desired. For way less money. Not saying t5 is the way to go, but after going the sps route with cheap LEDs, adding more LEDs, buying a lux meter, buying a par meter, if I were going to do sps with LEDs I wouldn't play around again. Buy once cry once.

 

[gus6464]

BRS has already done PAR measurements on the AP700. It's 200 PAR @ 18" over a massive area and that was with the old software that limits max power to 70%.

 

[bif24701]

BRS has already done PAR measurements on the AP700. It's 200 PAR @ 18" over a massive area and that was with the old software that limits max power to 70%.

That's right, they also said the spectrum was an almost a perfect match to the most popular ATI Blue+ bulb.

 

[mcarroll]

BRS has already done PAR measurements on the AP700. It's 200 PAR @ 18" over a massive area and that was with the old software that limits max power to 70%.

That's right, they also said the spectrum was an almost a perfect match to the most popular ATI Blue+ bulb.

Sounds great! Links anyone?

 

[bif24701]

Sounds great! Links anyone?

You got it!

 

[gus6464]

Sounds great! Links anyone?

 

[gus6464]

The Gen4 XR30 Pro spread is a lot closer to AP700 than Gen3 but the problem with the Gen4 is that because it doesn't use a reflector shadowing will become an issue once stuff grows in.

The one thing I didn't like about the gen4 at macna was that now light spill outside the tank is craaaaaaaaazy. You are going to be annoyed if the tank is anywhere close to a sitting area with the amount of horizontal light spill.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Something interesting is that I recently learned is that light loses all directionality by about 50 meters down. The daily change down there is just that light "fades on" and then "fades off" at the end of the day.

It seems like T5 light would be a lot more characteristic of deep light and spot-type lights would be more simiar to surface light.

Eh yea probably kinda yea. I think theirs so much stuff floating in the water it bounces stuff around crating less shadows. To replicate this in my biz we use large soft sources. To that in a white room and it's virtually shadowless. Think fog.
So you really would have to be specific on where you are.
We also to increase shadows use thinner and thinner diffusions and harder usually lensed sources except true raw arc light as they have a magic all this own.
I did like the ap700 for the spread AND the visual quality of the light.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

BRS has already done PAR measurements on the AP700. It's 200 PAR @ 18" over a massive area and that was with the old software that limits max power to 70%.

That's right, they also said the spectrum was an almost a perfect match to the most popular ATI Blue+ bulb.

All spectrum talk aside. It goes back to what I maentioned earlier. Some are doing acros at lower par numbers now as science evolves. And beautiful coral are being grown. The iold scoop was and is and some don't even realize it but they're grownig acros at incredibly high pars. And the corals are also amazing Check out russs threads on that. And most concur it's a nutreint balancing act mainly. I've seen with my own eyes 250w mh on an sps tank w acros chalice leathers 12 in from the bulb. And it's incredible.

I guarantee my ai sol an sb reef light a Radion a 150 mh will put out more par than an ap700
No matter how much I love it.
So I think it's more important to be informed on how much light you can get out of a fixture and what you do with it is really your choice.

How much light an animal will actually take I don't know as there's a lot of myth. But I will say. I have Xenia acro plays zoas chalice gorgs under close more than a third as much light as an ap puts out and have been for months because that's the answer I want to find out now.

 

[bif24701]

All spectrum talk aside. It goes back to what I maentioned earlier. Some are doing acros at lower par numbers now as science evolves. And beautiful coral are being grown. The iold scoop was and is and some don't even realize it but they're grownig acros at incredibly high pars. And the corals are also amazing Check out russs threads on that. And most concur it's a nutreint balancing act mainly. I've seen with my own eyes 250w mh on an sps tank w acros chalice leathers 12 in from the bulb. And it's incredible.

I guarantee my ai sol an sb reef light a Radion a 150 mh will put out more par than an ap700
No matter how much I love it.
So I think it's more important to be informed on how much light you can get out of a fixture and what you do with it is really your choice.

How much light an animal will actually take I don't know as there's a lot of myth. But I will say. I have Xenia acro plays zoas chalice gorgs under close more than a third as much light as an ap puts out and have been for months because that's the answer I want to find out now.

I'm not sure that is true, with my measurements and what others post comparing those fixtures are very close to each other. In fact considering PAR only they are nearly in-distinguishable. There are many other much more important factors when researching/purchasing LED fixtures. None of those fixtures are unable to reach the upper limits of PAR levels for coral ideal needs. First GEN LEDs like the AI SOLs are still PAR machines, so why not just stay with those? Because we know there is more to it than that.