T5 vs LED kessil supplement

[Staghorn]

So I’m debating weather to supplement my kessil 360x’s with t5’s or go with reef bright strips. 120gallon that will be sps dominant.

 

[Staghorn]

Thread '120 gallon Revival'
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/120-gallon-revival.819880/
Here’s the build so far

 

[RuuToo]

I have 4 kessils (a360s) and a pair of reef brite six foot strips on a 125 and a par meter. Anything specific you want to know?

 

[RuuToo]

I have the xho reef brites and the dual controller hooked into my apex. Probably should have clarified that too.

 

[Staghorn]

I have the xho reef brites and the dual controller hooked into my apex. Probably should have clarified that too.

Do you have pictures of the tank. I’m just trying to figure out if I should go with the proven t5’s that require bulb changes or just go for the leds even though they will cost more initially, I’m planning on doing wall to wall sps.

 

[Lokipsl]

Do you have pictures of the tank. I’m just trying to figure out if I should go with the proven t5’s that require bulb changes or just go for the leds even though they will cost more initially, I’m planning on doing wall to wall sps.

The T5s could alleviate some shadowing issues as your sticks grow out

 

[Staghorn]

I agree the T5’s do eliminate shadows and they have proven time and time again to grow SPS. But I also saw on one of those BRS investigates videos where they said the reef bright XHO strips actually produce more coverage than t5. I just want to know if anyone is implementing this and getting good results. In the last tank I had metal halide, T5 and 2 diy Led spots I made. It worked great but i’m kind of wanting to do all LED this time if it’s possible and only if someone else is pulling it off

 

[Staghorn]

Anyone else have any advice or experience with this?

 

[Suohhen]

I haven't done it, I currently have kessil + t5 but am definitely considering changing over to reef brite since they will fit better and be able to be placed nearer to the edges of the tank. BRS investigates definitely establishes the reef brite as solid competition to t5s but t5s have a proven history so it really depends on how well you think you can meet par numbers with each setup and whether your comfortable going with something that has less proven history. Achieving proper par in shadows is hard to achieve though so the Reef Brites are compelling.

 

[Staghorn]

I agree, it would be nice to know if anybody here is implementing the kessil/reefbright combo successfully.

 

[RuuToo]

I guess I really should check my feed more often.

So, I’ve been running my system for a long time with Kessil, but a short time with the ReefBrite strips. I’ve also just recently torn down some of my huge monti caps to make room for a more sps focused central area in the mixed reef, so I cannot give you a long term picture yet. About all I can say is “doesn’t hurt” - I get a blanket of a couple of hundred PAR under a single strip, which helps me fill out the lighting without going crazy. If I was SPS dominant then I would probably add two more strips (which would be 4 XHO strips and 4 kessil 360w over a 125), but in my mixed reef environment I’m hitting over 400 PAR where I need it, and a couple of hundred in a lot of the tank.

 

[RuuToo]

I’ll take some pictures of the central frags later

 

[RuuToo]

 

[Staghorn]

Good to know. I really think the RB xho light looks so much better than the t5. More crisp t5 is kind of dull. I’m going to do a little more research but more than likely will end up with 4 kessil and 4 xho over the tank

 

[RuuToo]

My personal preference would be just a shade more on the violet side, but if you are using the newer 360x’s you should get some more spectral control if you want it. Some of my 360s are from the original batch and are still going strong.

 

[Staghorn]

Good! I do have 360x and am very pleased with them so far

 

[Jon's Reef]

I’m a big fan of the a360x plus reef brite solution. I noticed a big difference when I added the RB. In particular it seems like my sticks started encrusting at a much faster rate. I went with 2 blues and 2 50/50.

 

[Staghorn]

That’s good news. I was actually debating on whether to use the same combination you’re using 50/50 and blue or use only the blues and use the kessils on a more white setting. Would you set it up the same way again if you had to do it over?

 

[Staghorn]

Does anyone know if BRS has done an update as to how it’s going with the tank they set up with the kessil xho combo?