What led fixture for a sps dominated 40b in my budget?

Don't get me wrong, I love the Kessil and have just bought a 360w. But I am putting it over an Osaka 41g (24l x 24h x 18w) not a 40b.

Maybe with the new "E" version you may be able to turn up intensity & raise it a little higher to get a slightly bigger footprint, but I have my doubts that one 350w/360w -- "E" ver or not -- is able to light that tank on its own.
 
It will. Seen it on 36" tanks. I might not be able to grow sps on the far edges, but I'm not wanting to grow things on the side glass anyways.
 
I guess I just recommend the kessils because the 360's are the lights I wish I could put over my 55. I'll never be able to afford 2 of those though.
 
i would get an AI fixture if i wanted something fancy. if you want something cheaper, get a reefbreeders fixture. if you get their value fixture though you are going to want two of them to completely cover the 40b
 
jorda9095 said:
i would get an AI fixture if i wanted something fancy. if you want something cheaper, get a reefbreeders fixture. if you get their value fixture though you are going to want two of them to completely cover the 40b
Click to expand...

Already running one. Not happy with it.
 
jorda9095 said:
i would get an AI fixture then, they seem to be relatively inexpensive and are really nice. i would recommend going somewhere to see the light you want before you buy it if you are spending a lot.
Click to expand...

The AI fixtures are not relatively inexpensive. They are, in fact, on par with the Kessil 360s in terms of price and features (Sol and Hydras a little less; Vegas a little more) and AI is in direct competition with Kessil near the top rung in this business, scrapping for market share.

The AI lights offer some more gee whiz effects like thunderstorms and cloudy day effects and the AI director which is cool. However, the Kessils offer a full spectrum UV for coral growth, a shimmer effect in the water that you will only see from a Halide - and a shadow effect on fish in the tank that you only see while snorkeling on a reef. No other light can do those shadows because of the single point of light LED matrix that Kessil's patented tech employs.

I well understand the desire to buy a Kessil. I just bought one. I am not sure whether one of them can light a 36" long 40g breeder though.

Mind you -- I have doubts that there is a single AI LED light fixture that can reliably do that, too.
 
To the OP

I assume you have seen the Kessil 360W on sale on Bulkreefsupply.com for today only (Black Friday sale) at 10% off.

$404 is a pretty sweet price for that lamp. Thought I might mention it to you in case you didn't see it.

.Robert
 
Steel_Wind said:
The AI fixtures are not relatively inexpensive. They are, in fact, on par with the Kessil 360s in terms of price and features (Sol and Hydras a little less; Vegas a little more) and AI is in direct competition with Kessil near the top rung in this business, scrapping for market share.

The AI lights offer some more gee whiz effects like thunderstorms and cloudy day effects and the AI director which is cool. However, the Kessils offer a full spectrum UV for coral growth, a shimmer effect in the water that you will only see from a Halide - and a shadow effect on fish in the tank that you only see while snorkeling on a reef. No other light can do those shadows because of the single point of light LED matrix that Kessil's patented tech employs.

I well understand the desire to buy a Kessil. I just bought one. I am not sure whether one of them can light a 36" long 40g breeder though.

Mind you -- I have doubts that there is a single AI LED light fixture that can reliably do that, too.
Click to expand...
exactly my point. this guys budget is $500. im pretty sure one AI fixture would work for an SPS 40b, but you may end up wanting more light. i dont think you can get two kessil pendants for $500 or less. i never really looked into the lights because i knew i would need to buy two and i really dont like the whole pendant design. not sure about the shadow and shimmer effects because i've never seen them in person and i've never been snorkeling.
 
I have. And yes that's a pretty good deal. I'm in no rush though and banking on the a360we pushing used prices down even further.
 
look at the rapid onyx. i just bought 3 of them Wed (they were on sale for $259). I was on the fence between the onyx and the hydra. after much reading i went onyx. do you run an apex or reef angel controller?
 
Stickboy97 said:
look at the rapid onyx. i just bought 3 of them Wed (they were on sale for $259). I was on the fence between the onyx and the hydra. after much reading i went onyx. do you run an apex or reef angel controller?
Click to expand...

No controller as of yet, and don't think Ill be running one in the near future.
 
Stickboy97 said:
look at the rapid onyx. i just bought 3 of them Wed (they were on sale for $259). I was on the fence between the onyx and the hydra. after much reading i went onyx. do you run an apex or reef angel controller?
Click to expand...

Just seen they are 20% which is still a good deal, and might end up grabbing one. Had I known they were $259 I think I would have went for it, but after buying a controller and such its still a chunk of money.
 
A 16 inch fixture WILL light a 40 breeder at a height of 10+ inches, just not very well. There is NO way i would use a kessil on a tank 36 inches long, especially for the price of the little thing
You would need two which would cost upwards of 900
 
What if you did a reef breeders with a custom configuration of led. That way you can figure what you like about the kessils and try to emulate it with a reef breeders. Its obviously not.gonna be 100% but maybe get iy.close
 
That's where I'm at now. Already swapped a bunch of LEDs in the fixture I have and just ordered some more to see if I can make it any better. Spent a fair amount of time at my lfs that has a onyx over a similar sized tank and I really wasn't happy with it either. I think on the onyx the warm whites ruin it for me. Better than the basic evergrow but I'm happier with how mine looks now than i would be with a onyx, and mine already has a built in controller.
 
I will be selling my kessil 360w and 2 350w in two weeks as I'm going back to halides or doing a t5 led hybrid. Kessils are great lights and think they are perfect for smaller tanks my 5' tank has three and it's not enough to keep sps colored up. Too many shadows I think you will be happy with the kessil. Pm if your interested in buying.
 
Lubeck,
If the OP is not interested in those lights I might be. I'm setting up two smaller tanks that they would be perfect for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

t0mmy108
Kessil light options for a Waterbox Marine X 90.3
Replies
2
Views
768
BuckeyeFish
BuckeyeFish
Anemone
What's A Good LED System?
2 3 4
Replies
62
Views
7K
Anemone
Anemone
BuckeyeFish
Salt mix recommendation for a nano LPS dominant tank and simple dosing
Replies
4
Views
1K
shred5
shred5
djd3mon
Budget Leds
Replies
5
Views
516
mtnbike101
mtnbike101
B
Budget LED options for 72" deep tank (no SPS plans)
2
Replies
31
Views
5K
wildman926
wildman926
Back
Top