Ecotech or Kessil for 7' x 3' tank

johnlewis

New member
I have a 7' long by 3' wide and 2' deep tank. I am wondering will this require 2 or 3 of the Ecotech vs. the Kessil 360. Any feed back, experience with larger tanks
 
You need more than 3 of either to keep SPS. Of the 2, I prefer the Kessils. They do make a nice shimmer if the water surface isn't too turbulent. There are much more complete options out there like the Pacific Sun Pandora that could cover the tank with 1 fixture.
 
You are going to need a ton of light for that size tank.

If you are not prepared to drop some cash to light that tank, I would venture down the DIY route. Even then, you are still looking at a nice expense.
 
You need more than 3 of either to keep SPS. Of the 2, I prefer the Kessils. They do make a nice shimmer if the water surface isn't too turbulent. There are much more complete options out there like the Pacific Sun Pandora that could cover the tank with 1 fixture.

That fixture looks pretty sweet. Do you know anyone running one?
 
3 kessils over that tank about 18-24 inches over water WILL cover the tank. The issue is will it have the intensity to support the SPS... Probably not. Soft corals, mostly yes.

You can get 3 kessils and hang them up high, play with them a little, if not satisfied return them.

I have a 600 gallon 8' x 4' FOWLR lit with 2 A360s. So yes, each one can cover a 48" by 48" space if 24" in the air. But I have no corals......
 
The Radion G3 Pro is a considerably more powerful fixture than the Kessil 360W-E (roughly double the wattage). I would think, considering the shallow depth of your tank, that 3 Radion G3 Pros mounted every 1-3/4 feet along the length of the tank would be sufficient for the intensity required for an SPS tank. My guess would be that 5 Kessil 360W-E's would be required to give you the rough equivalent for intensity/coverage.

The Ecotechs are considerably more sophisticated in terms of spectrum tenability, but not everyone wants that complexity.
 
The Radion G3 Pro is a considerably more powerful fixture than the Kessil 360W-E (roughly double the wattage). I would think, considering the shallow depth of your tank, that 3 Radion G3 Pros mounted every 1-3/4 feet along the length of the tank would be sufficient for the intensity required for an SPS tank. My guess would be that 5 Kessil 360W-E's would be required to give you the rough equivalent for intensity/coverage.

The Ecotechs are considerably more sophisticated in terms of spectrum tenability, but not everyone wants that complexity.

3 radions mounted every 1-3/4 feet would cover 5-1/4" feet of a 7 foot tank. Another radion would be required to give full coverage. If high end fixtures like Pacific Sun are too expensive, the Reefbreeders line of lights is a great cheaper alternative that give good results.
 
Imo on a tank that size your going to need at least 6 of either of those lights. Trying to get away with a minimum amount of lights for an sps tank especially when it comes to leds is going to lead to your coral only getting light on the tops and what's directly in the path of the fixtures. If you go that route You will have to add more fixtures down the road for sure. Once the corals grow there will be a lot of shading going on and the corals towards the outside will suffer.

Fwiw I have a friend with a standard 120g sps tank and he's running 3 radions and still has shading issues due to how focused the lights are and is planning on adding another and changing the orientation and possibly adding t5 along with it to help the bases of the corals to get some light.

All just my opinion and what I've seen with the few radion tanks I've in person. At first you may get away with fewer lights but once it starts growing the shading really starts setting in its really obvious the you need more fixtures with overlapping spread to light the tank properly for sps at least.


This dimensions sound awesome =) good luck..
 
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3 kessils over that tank about 18-24 inches over water WILL cover the tank. The issue is will it have the intensity to support the SPS... Probably not. Soft corals, mostly yes.

You can get 3 kessils and hang them up high, play with them a little, if not satisfied return them.

I have a 600 gallon 8' x 4' FOWLR lit with 2 A360s. So yes, each one can cover a 48" by 48" space if 24" in the air. But I have no corals......

Exactly. To get technical, 2 Kessils WOULD cover my tank. Are you asking for light coverage or SPS prosperity? I think I could expand my 4 lights to cover 7ft and feel confident to grow acros. Don't think I'd want to plan a build with that size tank and 3 Kessils, though. I was told years ago to budget your size of the tank with the lighting you can support. If you can't put the correct lights you want over your tank, the tank is too big. You will never be happy with your system if you cheapskate that aspect.
 
You are going to need a ton of light for that size tank.

If you are not prepared to drop some cash to light that tank, I would venture down the DIY route. Even then, you are still looking at a nice expense.

+1 for DIY. I just went through the same dilemma. Buy "name-brand" fixtures and pay 300% markup, or make your own and save money and gain a lot of flexibility. The chinese full spectrum lights are also an option as their quality is steadily increasing, but, to my knowledge, they still all lack PWM control and quality of components is still lacking a bit over building your own.
 
You will need like 6 to 8 as they are good For 24X24X24

If your Tank was not so Deep you could probably get away with 3
 
You are going to need a ton of light for that size tank.

If you are not prepared to drop some cash to light that tank, I would venture down the DIY route. Even then, you are still looking at a nice expense.

+1

Even if you were not Doing SPS you would need a ton of light just to cover everything.

But you want to do SPS so that means even more light.
 
3 kessils over that tank about 18-24 inches over water WILL cover the tank. The issue is will it have the intensity to support the SPS... Probably not. Soft corals, mostly yes.

You can get 3 kessils and hang them up high, play with them a little, if not satisfied return them.

I have a 600 gallon 8' x 4' FOWLR lit with 2 A360s. So yes, each one can cover a 48" by 48" space if 24" in the air. But I have no corals......

Do not listen to this guy.

As he stated he has no Coral.

Also, the manufactures claim that they a single light is only good for 24 X 24 X 24

And we all know that manufacturers are going to lie a bit to sell more product.

Everyone that has SPS dominate tanks use more than that recommendation too.

So 6 to 8 Lights may only be good for Softies and LPS.
 
imo on a tank that size your going to need at least 6 of either of those lights. Trying to get away with a minimum amount of lights for an sps tank especially when it comes to leds is going to lead to your coral only getting light on the tops and what's directly in the path of the fixtures. If you go that route you will have to add more fixtures down the road for sure. Once the corals grow there will be a lot of shading going on and the corals towards the outside will suffer.

Fwiw i have a friend with a standard 120g sps tank and he's running 3 radions and still has shading issues due to how focused the lights are and is planning on adding another and changing the orientation and possibly adding t5 along with it to help the bases of the corals to get some light.

All just my opinion and what i've seen with the few radion tanks i've in person. At first you may get away with fewer lights but once it starts growing the shading really starts setting in its really obvious the you need more fixtures with overlapping spread to light the tank properly for sps at least.


This dimensions sound awesome =) good luck..

+1
 
I don't think he'll need 6 lights over a 7ft tank. my 4 kessils easily cover 6ft. if he's going to shoot for the 360n's, maybe he'd need 6... but only 24" depth he wouldn't need them
 
I don't think he'll need 6 lights over a 7ft tank. my 4 kessils easily cover 6ft. if he's going to shoot for the 360n's, maybe he'd need 6... but only 24" depth he wouldn't need them

Yeah but his tank is 3' front to back and 7' long that's a lot of tank to cover with a 4 kessils. I say no way unless he has a few islands in the middle of the tank and coral placed strategically.
 
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