Superman_Reefer
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2019
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 18
- Location
- Warwick RI
- What state or country do you live in
- Rhode Island
Background:
Hey all! I am starting this thread (not the first) to discuss different lighting options (mainly LED). I have seen threads like this before but i do feel that it is important to keep it current due to the fast growing technology in this area. Below i listed my own experience with just a few of the LED options out there. There are so many to choose from so please share your own experience with any of the available LED systems on the market. As a beginner my purchase choice was based on a few factors but one really stuck out and that was "ease of use". Seems like there are only a few options out there for new reefers in regards to the initial setup. I will also give a shout out to "Bulk Reef Supply" for being absolutely awesome in helping me set up my new Kessil A360x. They spent significant time with me to educate me on a good starting point to program my light. Being able to ask questions and share is extremely important to new reefers to keep us interested in this amazing hobby, so share away!
Kessil
I recently purchased the Kessil Wifi Dongle. I could not be happier with my purchase. The app is extremely easy to use (especially for a noobie) and it has not failed me yet. I do find it a little weird that the light is $550 and the dongle is $100 but i guess that it what you get into with kessil. There is really only one "complaint" (not really) i have with this light and that is the noise of the fan. The fan is on constantly and you can hear it (if your room is dead silent and your focused on it) from a far. Me personally i am not worried about this due to the fact that it is not actually loud. Having said that i have experience with several different types of lights that we use at our business and i have to say that kessil looks and works the best for setting up and reliability so far.
Aqua Illumination
On my reef tank at work i use 2 AI Hydra 26s that are also amazing lights. The true difference that i can see so far is the color. The AI Hydra seems to show the different LED colors on the sand bed while the kessil is almost a perfect blend. The reliability with these lights (again in my experience) has been perfect. I have not had to restart or reprogram and i have had theme setup for about 3 months now. The growth i have already seen from these lights has been great and the corals seem to be very happy. As far as noise, well there is absolutely zero fan noise from these lights. I do have them set up at 50% intensity so the fans from what i can tell have never actually come on. This is also a rimless setup with no canopy so they get plenty of air to prevent heat build up.
Reef Breeders
We use these for a good portion of our reef tank clients. The look of these lights are stunning and for the price you cant really complain. The growth you get and the color from the corals is beautiful. My personal only complaint is again the setup and programming. These lights also use a controller and it can be slightly confusing and a pain to set up multiple lights. At our showroom we have 7 tanks with 7 reef breeders wV2 48". They are all on one program and to get to that point was not a easy task. But again the final result is great and we love the look and growth from these lights. These lights are the biggest foot print of all three of these options. They would be best used to a setup with a canopy or a in-wall setup. If you use these lights with a rimless open tank (in my opinion) it will become an eye sore. All of our clients that have these lights have a in-wall design or canopy.
*I have attached some photos of my two tanks (work tank and home tank) and also a few of out clients tanks that have the Reef Breeder system.Feel free to post your experience and of your light systems! Happy Reefing everyone!
Hey all! I am starting this thread (not the first) to discuss different lighting options (mainly LED). I have seen threads like this before but i do feel that it is important to keep it current due to the fast growing technology in this area. Below i listed my own experience with just a few of the LED options out there. There are so many to choose from so please share your own experience with any of the available LED systems on the market. As a beginner my purchase choice was based on a few factors but one really stuck out and that was "ease of use". Seems like there are only a few options out there for new reefers in regards to the initial setup. I will also give a shout out to "Bulk Reef Supply" for being absolutely awesome in helping me set up my new Kessil A360x. They spent significant time with me to educate me on a good starting point to program my light. Being able to ask questions and share is extremely important to new reefers to keep us interested in this amazing hobby, so share away!
Kessil
I recently purchased the Kessil Wifi Dongle. I could not be happier with my purchase. The app is extremely easy to use (especially for a noobie) and it has not failed me yet. I do find it a little weird that the light is $550 and the dongle is $100 but i guess that it what you get into with kessil. There is really only one "complaint" (not really) i have with this light and that is the noise of the fan. The fan is on constantly and you can hear it (if your room is dead silent and your focused on it) from a far. Me personally i am not worried about this due to the fact that it is not actually loud. Having said that i have experience with several different types of lights that we use at our business and i have to say that kessil looks and works the best for setting up and reliability so far.
Aqua Illumination
On my reef tank at work i use 2 AI Hydra 26s that are also amazing lights. The true difference that i can see so far is the color. The AI Hydra seems to show the different LED colors on the sand bed while the kessil is almost a perfect blend. The reliability with these lights (again in my experience) has been perfect. I have not had to restart or reprogram and i have had theme setup for about 3 months now. The growth i have already seen from these lights has been great and the corals seem to be very happy. As far as noise, well there is absolutely zero fan noise from these lights. I do have them set up at 50% intensity so the fans from what i can tell have never actually come on. This is also a rimless setup with no canopy so they get plenty of air to prevent heat build up.
Reef Breeders
We use these for a good portion of our reef tank clients. The look of these lights are stunning and for the price you cant really complain. The growth you get and the color from the corals is beautiful. My personal only complaint is again the setup and programming. These lights also use a controller and it can be slightly confusing and a pain to set up multiple lights. At our showroom we have 7 tanks with 7 reef breeders wV2 48". They are all on one program and to get to that point was not a easy task. But again the final result is great and we love the look and growth from these lights. These lights are the biggest foot print of all three of these options. They would be best used to a setup with a canopy or a in-wall setup. If you use these lights with a rimless open tank (in my opinion) it will become an eye sore. All of our clients that have these lights have a in-wall design or canopy.
*I have attached some photos of my two tanks (work tank and home tank) and also a few of out clients tanks that have the Reef Breeder system.Feel free to post your experience and of your light systems! Happy Reefing everyone!
