LED options for a 2ft cube

stevedola said:
@VICK
have you seen the AI leds? how do these compare?

Im very interested in the K3. Im planning on ordering soon. I think Ive read their website like 10times in the last couple days.
How does the power bar make the corals look?
Does it give the corals funny colors?
Do you keep SPS and clams?
DO you think I should be fine with the 24" version on my tank?
Do you have any pics you could share?

any info would be greatly appreciated since youre the first Ive come across to have this unit in the States.
Click to expand...

Power bar doesn't make coral look funny with other lights on...if you want, you can run them at any color you want as well...they suggest running a "flash mode" which cycles throught the different colors...this should benefit the coral and you only see a slight difference in the tanks color because the regular lights are so powerful.
I don't keep sps and clams but the lights should be more than enough to keep them...I had to dim them slightly for my lps and I had metal halide lighting before these.
How long is your tank? I have the 32 inch on a 48 inch tank and only have slight shading in the corners. It has better spread than the AI units because there aren't any optics. Personally, I don't believe optics are needed for 3 watt leds unless you have a very deep tank. I've never seen AIs in person though so I really can't compare them to the Key K3.
 
Im very close to pulling the trigger on the K3--I like that they use Cree leds and have the dimming.

The Uk guys were saying that it was well a built alluminum housing. Did you find the build quality acceptable>? How is the controller to use? Any drawbacks at all?
 
stevedola said:
Im very close to pulling the trigger on the K3--I like that they use Cree leds and have the dimming.

The Uk guys were saying that it was well a built alluminum housing. Did you find the build quality acceptable>? How is the controller to use? Any drawbacks at all?
Click to expand...

I would definately get the blue model...it's not too "blue" at all. Build quality is good. Controller was very confusing at first but now that I'm used to it, it's very easy to use. One of the things I don't like about it is both groups of lights have white and blue on them. If you want the actinic look, you can run the power bar on blue and shut the rest of the lights off. If you want one of the groups all blue, let them know and they could probably get it made that way for you...wish I did that. You can set the timer to control both groups seperately. All in all, I would recommend this light. If I was starting another tank I would buy another one of these. Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
stevedola said:
Im very close to pulling the trigger on the K3--I like that they use Cree leds and have the dimming.

The Uk guys were saying that it was well a built alluminum housing. Did you find the build quality acceptable>? How is the controller to use? Any drawbacks at all?
Click to expand...

Where are you thinking of ordering it from? I got mine from fish-street.com and their service was pretty good. The other downfall was having to order this from Hong Kong. The language barrier was evident when emailing them but they were really nice.
 
I was going to purchase from Fishstreet...I emailed Eric at fish-street about this light and the language barrier was difficult.

Im going to have eric price me out the 23" blue model with the mods you suggested. I definitely like the idea of being able to control the blues independent from the whites. I was going to hang it but I also was going to purchase all the different mounts...just in case. Thanks for the help btw, its difficult to buy something that youve never seen in person.
 
stevedola said:
I was going to purchase from Fishstreet...I emailed Eric at fish-street about this light and the language barrier was difficult.

Im going to have eric price me out the 23" blue model with the mods you suggested. I definitely like the idea of being able to control the blues independent from the whites. I was going to hang it but I also was going to purchase all the different mounts...just in case. Thanks for the help btw, its difficult to buy something that youve never seen in person.
Click to expand...

There are few people get the K3 including myself. I posted some review at Ultimate UK site. This unit is not the most fancy one you get but consider the money you pay, it certainly not a bad deal. Some people try to compare that with the AI or Maxspect. This is still a cheaper alternative. I think it is a solidly built with enough features for me. LED will eventually like the PC/Notebook market. The price will go down dramaticly in the next couple years because newier product will come out more rapidly compare to the MH market we used to see. In the Asia market, there are tens of maker because this product require relatively little resource to make. If you do a search in www.alibaba.com for Aquarium LED, you will know what I mean. My point is get the unit that you can afford and fit your need, don't try to go for the state of the art (unless you have lots of money to burn) there is always something better in the next 3 months.
 
so you dont think that the Key K3 is as good as the Maxspect G2 160?

btw-hows the noise on these? are the fans loud?
 
stevedola said:
so you dont think that the Key K3 is as good as the Maxspect G2 160?

btw-hows the noise on these? are the fans loud?
Click to expand...

I don't know how good G2 160 is. I just said K3 still cheaper than G2 with similar output. Althought the G2 has a few 30 (15 W) don't remember how many. You also need to deal with the heat issue which can significantly shorten the LED life.

The noise level of the K3 is next to nothing. The 4 fans in the unit are small (reason being they are all 3W LED). The whole aluminum housing is a big heat sink of its own. I have not run it long enough because my tank is still rebuilding. But with some testing for a few hours, I don't feel any heat at all on the unit. The LED chips are also replacble if anything happen. They are 8.5 USD per chip (2 LEDs).
 
Oh ok, I read the other post and must have misunderstood. I did see you on the UK board and asked you a few questions. Ive put a request in to Eric at FS and I think IM going to purchase this fixture. I do love the AI sol blue but for less money I wont have to worry whether or not 1 brick will light my reef.
 
One thing I forgot to mention tho. The K3 for 24" has 115W compare to 160W for the G2. So that you might want to put into consideration.
 
dude i didn't wanna chime in until i read the whole tread...and after reading i would still recommend my 1st impulse. I remeber hearing from a wise reefer once that when you buy cheap you buy twice...Go with the tried and true AI SOl blues. I have 2 over a 90 gal and im getting great growth from my SPS. 1 will be more than enough for a 60. I have mine at 12" from the tank, 13 from the water and they are never ever on full power. I have clams on the substrate growing. I would recommend AI hands down. pay for the quality and piece of mind. ALL LEDS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.
 
I also in the delimma between the Maxspect and K3. I need 2 for my 6 ' which the K3 can cover lot more than the Maxspect. The price different for me is $2K vs 1.3K. Don't forget to ask for the 5% discount when order from FS. I think those are given. I also like the dimmerable driver which is great.
 
reefjunkie42 said:
dude i didn't wanna chime in until i read the whole tread...and after reading i would still recommend my 1st impulse. I remeber hearing from a wise reefer once that when you buy cheap you buy twice...Go with the tried and true AI SOl blues. I have 2 over a 90 gal and im getting great growth from my SPS. 1 will be more than enough for a 60. I have mine at 12" from the tank, 13 from the water and they are never ever on full power. I have clams on the substrate growing. I would recommend AI hands down. pay for the quality and piece of mind. ALL LEDS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.
Click to expand...

Both the AI and the Key K3 use Cree leds. Only difference is the AI has optics on the leds...thats probably why you have to hang them so high off the water to get enough spread and why you don't run them at full power.
 
The 115watts doesnt seem like a big deal to me. 1 AI sol has 75w of cree and they seem to do find *albeit with optics however the key fixture will be much closer to the water. The maxspect 160 is with semi leds which I was told dont last as long and arent as powerful(hence the additional bulbs).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Fluval Reef 4.0 LED Nano Power Level for 15G?
Replies
3
Views
263
kingyking888
K
t0mmy108
Kessil light options for a Waterbox Marine X 90.3
Replies
2
Views
766
BuckeyeFish
BuckeyeFish
A
Choosing a Canister Filter for 55-gal Saltwater — OASE Biomaster Thermo 600 vs EHEIM Classic
Replies
2
Views
2K
griss
griss
A
Choosing a Canister Filter for 55-gal Saltwater — OASE Biomaster Thermo 600 vs EHEIM Classic
Replies
4
Views
1K
vlangel
vlangel
M
Choosing Between Innovative Marine and Waterbox for a 200-Gallon Mixed Reef – Your Input Wanted!
Replies
6
Views
4K
griss
griss
Back
Top