LED lighting my 125 gallon

[Ryan15236]

I am trying to pick out the last part of my tank to get it running, the lighting. I want Kessil lights I believe. I love the shimmer they produce. Here is what I am thinking Maybe grab two kessil a150w lights. Probably the 10k as I have heard they have the highest par value and I need all I can get when running these smaller lights. I am thinking of just adding more over time as my budget allows and coral requirements grow. In the end I am thinking of having some like 2 10k and 2 15k lights or all 4 10k lights with an actinic supplement. Would be awesome if you guys can help me out on this.

 

[BOMPH]

I run 6 A360WE's over my 125. Reduces shadowing, and I have pretty good growth. I wish I had kept a photo journal of growth, but I can say without hesitation that in 6 months, my frags turn into full blown colonies. I have a slow grower here and there for sure tho. Who knows if that's the lights or the species itself. LPS, Clams, Zoas all do well in the lower half of the tank

 

[mcfa2403]

Four a150w's would be underpowered for all but the lowest light needing corals. In my experience A360WE's are most effective when using one fixture every 20-35 gallons (would recommend at least 5 for 125), AI hydra 52's and Radions one fixture every 50-60 gallons (would recommend 3), and ocean revives one fixture every 30-40 gallons (would recommend 4 but 3 would likely work at least short term). If you are looking for the most light on a budget the Ocean Revives are going to cost you roughly $200 a fixture when all is said and done for your tank 3 would cost $600 these are not as nice as kessil's but they will put out considerably more than the 150 (which is now outdated as kessil has long since released the a160)

Anyways just my 2 cents

 

[Ryan15236]

Yeah I definitely agree with you guys. I know this underpowered in my tank but I am hoping it will get me started with some softies and Lps while I'm saving up for an upgrade. I want the 360 but I just need something that will do alright for a few months. I also have to upgrade my flow before I think about anything sps so I have a awhile before anything like that.

I definitely want kessil to be my lights. I just need something to get me started.

 

[Johnseye]

I recently changed from T5 to Radion Pro. I have a 120g 24in deep DT. I can't speak for Kessil, but what I love about the Radion is the ability to adjust to any spectrum I want. I currently have a schedule shifting from moon (deep blue) to 14k to 18k to 20k back to moon spectrum. Those are all predefined canned settings. I haven't begun to create a custom spectrum yet, but that will come. In addition to the spectrum I can adjust the intensity. There is a significant difference between my old ATI T5s and these Radion LEDs, even with the wide angle lenses. I've started out at 35% and will increase slowly over time.

It's only been a few weeks but I've seen no degradation in corals and in fact believe I'm starting to see an improvement in coloration.

 

[Wazzel]

You are going to need to start with 3 units of whatever you choose. Due to the point source nature of LED the tight cluster units do not cover 24" like the manufacturers claim. I run the AI hydra52's and 26's in my system. In my experience you need 1.5 or so units to cover what the manufactures are saying can be done with one. I suspect kessil will be similar. As your tank matures you are probably going to need 5 or 6 total. I was able to go a year on a single unit before the shading and what not got to be a problem.