KJoFan's SCA 150g Build (1 Viewer)

[KJoFan]

That's why I went with one. I wanted shimmer/pop of the LEDs, but I don't like the disco effect/spread that they can sometimes give. T5s give such a nice even blanket of coverage, so it makes sense to use both!

... and I didn't want a sauna in the basement so unfortunately MH was out of the question.

That is the downside to MH. At least my tank is lower level so heat isn't too much of an issue. Saves on heat in the winter for the house?

What did the R2R member have to say? Not enough par?

He didn't have anything bad to say per se, he just said the Kessil's color things up good, but don't necessarily give fastest growth. So, not a deal breaker and honestly...can we really judge actual growth that much? As in, is there really enough different to note?

I agree with @DarkSky
I'd go with LED/T5 hybrid
Not sure what you were told on R2R but there's so many people and opinions on there it's easy to be given less than useful info or especially biased info.
My consensus is that the LED fixtures can replicate any spectrum that MH fixture can but it's also adjustable so you can run more than just that one spectrum throughout the day.
LED are also nice for ramping, timing and moonlight at night as well.
I'm going LED/T5 hybrid myself.

I will keep the hybrid option on the table. Probably will be waiting for Black Friday deals and see where I go from there. The idea of changing out 8 bulbs every year isn't that appealing. Hybrid will be more up front but less long term in maintenance with half as many bulbs.

Keep in mind all my sps are at 150-250 par.

I wouldn't think par would actually be that much of an issue with the hybrid unless the Kessil's were way low on par which I don't believe they are.

 

[HouseofStark]

Keep in mind all my sps are at 150-250 par.

The ONLY thing I have read or heard is, lower par compared to xr30 which is to be expected. Brs said compared to xr15 with diffuser, 360x is 5 part less. To be in the sps par you need boost of t5s. Unless they don’t like shimmer all has been positive. Another positive perk, brs said if you need more par or multiples you can move them to exact location to optimize, unlike a fixed 2 puck fixture.

 

[KJoFan]

Oh, plus when I said i'm running MH w/ Reefbrites currently,

The ONLY thing I have read or heard is, lower par compared to xr30 which is to be expected. Brs said compared to xr15 with diffuser, 360x is 5 part less. To be in the sps par you need boost of t5s. Unless they don’t like shimmer all has been positive. Another positive perk, brs said if you need more par or multiples you can move them to exact location to optimize, unlike a fixed 2 puck fixture.

So, my concern a little was would the 4 T5's bring enough par to give me success with a mature sps reef? (If I ever get there.).

But, if I had 4x 360X's over the tank along with the 4x T5 I'd think it'd have to do something good?

I'd start with 3 Kessils probably until I needed that 4th one.

My other concern was depth of tank at 24", would it overall have enough oomph?

 

[HouseofStark]

I’m on a 24” cube. So I’ll let ya know how the 360x goes... brs tested I believe in a 36” tank, by I could be wrong. I have it mounted waiting for WiFi controller release so haven’t switch out light yet. Slow and steady wins the race. I have mostly lps, with a few sps near top. So by no means a sps only tank. I went with Kessil because of proven growth spectrum. If your looking for par power, Ecotech is the way to go.

 

[Justin715]

I agree here with @HouseofStark The kessils have a set it and forget it spectrum yet can still control color temp with the dial.
The ecotech radions are par monsters that push high intensity light at any spectrum right where you need it. BUT you pay for it though since the radions aren't cheap.
I love my XR15 so far. I would love another but cost is keeping me from buying another, so much so that I'll get the T5 hybrid unit and use it with 1 radion before buying another radion and running just the two LED fixtures...I want that blanket coverage of T5 that LED just doesn't provide yet.

 

[KJoFan]

I’m pretty set on the Kessil for my LED option. I’ve had the A360we in the past and really enjoyed the color rendering as well as the ease of setting it. The WiFi option they’ve got coming isn’t actually that important to me. I’d probably stick to the original controller.

More options and set points is not necessarily better in my opinion.

Only real question would be if 4 T5’s would pick up enough of the lost par in the end. But, I think it would actually.


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[Justin715]

I agree, I believe 4x T5s would make the difference you're asking about.

 

[KJoFan]

I agree, I believe 4x T5s would make the difference you're asking about.

Is it Black Friday yet? Ha!


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[Adam G]

I think that would work for you. I have 6 radion xr15’s and 4 t-5 bulbs on my 8ft tank and I get 350 par at the top of the rock and 220 on the sand, xr15s are only at 60%. Kessil,should be similar and you can always crank them up.

 

[KJoFan]

I think that would work for you. I have 6 radion xr15’s and 4 t-5 bulbs on my 8ft tank and I get 350 par at the top of the rock and 220 on the sand, xr15s are only at 60%. Kessil,should be similar and you can always crank them up.

The more I think about it, I think it's a solid choice all in all. Of course I think I could only fit 4 Kessils in the Aquatic Life vs your 6 Radions. But, maybe that's enough.

Of course, Kessil did nothing for Black Friday last year.

 

[HouseofStark]

A few kessils and t5s, user from brs group, he says 15 months old. Not totally sold

 

[KJoFan]

View attachment 42139 A few kessils and t5s, user from brs group, he says 15 months old. Not totally sold

He's not sold on the combo? Any explanation why?

 

[HouseofStark]

No.......I’m not sold it’s only 15 months old .

 

[KJoFan]

No.......I’m not sold it’s only 15 months old .

Oh, gotcha. Haha. Yeah, something doesn't add up.

 

[Davy Jones]

After having used just LED, and LED Hybrid T5 in a couple of lighting solutions... I would go straight T5, with an LED bar for pop/shimmer at this point. 8 Bulb Sunpower, add a reefbrite bar, sbreef bar or Orphek or150 super actinic probably. Infact, after I upgrade tanks, Ill be doing an 8 bulb t5 with 2 orphek bars for color.

 

[whotzler]

I kind of was leaning toward an Aquatic Life hybrid fixture with Kessil A360X's but...I'm not sure. Seems like for best sps growth and color T5 or MH is still the preference. So, I might just stick with the MH/Reefbrites for now.

I really thought the T5/Kessil combo was a good choice, but someone on R2R took the wind out of my sails as far as best for sps. Sigh.

I love the Kessils for shimmer, coral pop and overall look. I was not getting the growth I wanted out of them and struggled with shadowing. I ended up adding just 2 T5s and growth was notably better. I only run them 6 hrs a day or so for this reason only. Love the look of the Kessils alone way better. Notice below the PH changes when the T5's turn on and off vs the Kessils.

 

[KJoFan]

I love the Kessils for shimmer, coral pop and overall look. I was not getting the growth I wanted out of them and struggled with shadowing. I ended up adding just 2 T5s and growth was notably better. I only run them 6 hrs a day or so for this reason only. Love the look of the Kessils alone way better. Notice below the PH changes when the T5's turn on and off vs the Kessils.

View attachment 42141

Another convincing vote for the Kessil/T5 combo!

 

[whotzler]

Here are my par readings I graphed out after changing my bulbs. It is very specific to my tank but may help paint a generic picture for this type of lighting setup. 2x2x4 foot tank. The 2 kessil 360s center left and center right and a 180 center center, and both t5 bulbs run across the back side over the highest rock work. Blue Plus and Purple Plus T5 bulbs. If you wanted more par, change out the purple plus, but I have no problems growing Acro's anywhere on my rockwork. All points of measurement are based off my corals that are located about 8" below water level to the sand bed. The color setting for the kessils play very little role in par changes.

 

[RSnodgrass]

Great information, how old were the replaced bulbs?

 

[KJoFan]

Here are my par readings I graphed out after changing my bulbs. It is very specific to my tank but may help paint a generic picture for this type of lighting setup. 2x2x4 foot tank. The 2 kessil 360s center left and center right and a 180 center center, and both t5 bulbs run across the back side over the highest rock work. Blue Plus and Purple Plus T5 bulbs. If you wanted more par, change out the purple plus, but I have no problems growing Acro's anywhere on my rockwork. All points of measurement are based off my corals that are located about 8" below water level to the sand bed. The color setting for the kessils play very little role in par changes.

View attachment 42146

Are these the A360we's? I'd probably go with the A360X's, which I think have maybe a little boost in par, but I'm not 100% sure as I haven't read extensively yet. I had a 360we in the past, no T5 supplement and I always preferred the spectrum and color rendering I could get with it. I think everything points to the fact that those paired with 4x T5's would be a very solid choice and no problems lighting the tank for anything I want.