Replacing my MH/T5 Lights (Radions or Kessils?)

[Wally.B]

I'll be replacing the following lights on my 90 Gal Soft/LPS coral tank (NO SPS ever): (( All bulbs will need replacement in May, so hoping to avoid that purchase and put toward LED ))

CURRENT SETUP
- 90 Gal 4ft (Soft and LPS corals only). No SPS every (have separate SPS tank, on 250W 14k bulbs, with VHO and cheap LED strip)
- 2 x 150W MH (Giesemann MEGACHOME 14500K),
- T5 (39 W Korallen Zucht Fiji Purple)
- T5 (39 W Korallen Zucht Super Blue)


TOP two choice for me for LED
- A couple of new Radion XR30 G3's
- A couple of new Kessil 360W's
------ (Have considered the MaxSpect Razor R420 41,5", but not TOP 2)

I don't want to spend serous money, for something less compared to current MH/T5 setup. That would me drive nuts with regret for years.

I hear nothing but good for both however these are factors I'm considering, and still can't make a decision.

1) Radion:
- Sound like I can't go wrong with this choice.
- (more expensive). Is it worth the price difference compared to Kessils.
- Better light control. (not sure if I need that. I'd pick my favourite, and stick with it. Only want gradual sunrise up to full spectrum, and end the day with actinic and fade out. (Kessils should be able to do that for me)
- Stronger PAR than Kessils.
- Better Coverage than Kessils.
- AGAIN more expensive. Not just a few dollars.


2) Kessils:
- Hear that Kessils have a wicked shimmer.
-However I not fan for shimmer. I want to run new tank with some surface agitation. Too much shimmer may bother me.
..... I like the soft and gentle look for most of the day. Love blue look with coral reds, greens poping out.
- For a 4 foot tank, Kessil should cover most of it. However hear that I may want to keep my T5's for filler lighting. (Want to end buying T5's)
- Nice thing for kessils is they are small. If I don't like them over time, they will be great for a frag tank.

Those are my main pick points for the decision, which I haven't been able to make.

(If I can get away with going for Kessils and save money that would be ideal)

(However buying Kessils and regretting I spent to get the Radions, is what is stalling my decision)

Thanks for any feedback if you own/owned any of these. Or have seen both side by side. (I have seen none running. Just pics & reviews on the Net)

Wally

 

[DDon]

Both are great lights and believe you can't go wrong with either choice.
I have no personal experience with the Radions but have seen them on a few tanks and they look very nice. My choice when I purchased lights was the Kessils. A number of LFSs in my area run them and I was impressed with how they looked. One thing that I hate to see is "disco effect". The individual light colors dancing on the sand bed and rocks just drives me nuts. With the kessils I saw none of that due to dense matrix array they use. That helped push me over the edge to buy the kessils, besides the fact they were cheaper than some of the other choices. Now you can get alot of shimmer with them but that is all dependent on how much surface agitation you have.
I do supplement the kessils with T5, but only because of shadowing of SPS and not wanting to shell out the money to buy enough kessils to minimize it. For a softy/LPS only tank I don't really see a need for it and 2 units should give you good coverage.
if at all possible, it would be best to view both fixtures in person and decide what you like best.

 

[Bpb]

I haven't owned either of these lights, but have seen both on a handful of occasions. I like the look of the kessils a lot more. There is just a certain spark about their color combo on the multi chip that is so lovely. Problem is physics. The point source nature, even with that great lens they use, has tremendous spread, but horrible shadowing. The whole tank will be visually lit, but the line of sight principle is a big factor in true coverage. It's VERY evident on sps corals. If you have a lot of softies or Lps corals that move and hug the rocks they're fantastic. If you keep branching sps corals, it's almost imperative you get twice the recommended amount just to avoid tissue necrosis on the sides and bases of sps corals. If you can handle that cost, they're the best in my opinion.

The radions are great. Looks pretty, and probably have the best track record of prefab LEDs. I just hate how overly adjustable they are. They're nice but i like the kessil look more and don't want to have to rely on software to change the intensity of each freaking diode. Dont need that

 

[Wally.B]

Thanks for the feedback.

So I just was talking to my supplier, and he did bring up a point. He said if I go with Kessils, they have strong shimmer. He said "wicked shimmer".

Maybe I'm different. I don't really like shimmer. I don't mind the shimmer when MH lights are on. However, I really like looking at my tank when T5 Actnics are on, and hardly any shimmer. The no shimmer look is more calming.

This tank is between kitchen and family room. Whole family enjoys it. But a flickering shimmer at dark TV time could be annoying.

Sale rep told me Kessils will shimmer all the time. Full spectrum and also Antic. Something I have to see before I could ever consider and light with strong shimmer at Atnic time.

Solution whould be to remove my MH, and keep the T5's. However going with LED was to remove MH and T5's. Just one light.

 

[DDon]

Due to the kessils being a strong point source light they do have strong shimmer but the amount is proportional to how much surface agitation you have. I could shoot a few short vids of my tank with different amounts of surace agitation to give you an idea of what it is like if that would be helpful.

 

[Bpb]

Kessils have the strongest shimmer of any light. Waaaaay more than mh even. If you don't like shimmer you will hate kessils. Spectrum or color don't cause shimmer. Point source + surface agitation = shimmer

 

[d2mini]

Plan on 3 radions with WA lenses.
If you are going from MH/T5 to Radions, two will be much too little light spread in comparison, even if it visually looks evenly lit to your eyes.

 

[cody6766]

I have 2 a350s on my 120g they work, but three look MUCH better. I like my Kessils more than Radions, but both are great lights. If you're up for some diy work, look up Dreamchips. I saw a 150g with 4 picks and it was amazing. The color was perfect and he had great pe and growth on all types of coal