dylan1464 Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 right now i have 3 kessils 360s on my in wall 180 with T5 supplemental and i just found out i can get 3 Hydra 26's for $960 from a buddy who owns a LFS. Im just wondering if the 26's will be worth the upgrade from the kessils? im getting really good growth right now but i would just like to clean up the look of the tank. For $960 i think thats a pretty good deal i just want to get more opinions from you reefers Link to comment
farkwar Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 How would 3 Hydras look cleaner than 3 Kessils? I don't know of a cleaner looking light than the Kessils. Ok, they kinda look like a can, but its a small can. Besides its in wall, who is looking at your lighting but you? Sure its a good price, but if you added $1000 more in hard to find wishlist corals instead wouldn't your tank look REALLY better? Link to comment
VGT Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 How would 3 Hydras look cleaner than 3 Kessils? I don't know of a cleaner looking light than the Kessils. Ok, they kinda look like a can, but its a small can. Besides its in wall, who is looking at your lighting but you? Sure its a good price, but if you added $1000 more in hard to find wishlist corals instead wouldn't your tank look REALLY better? After selling off the 3 Kessils, the change wouldn't really cost very much. But yeah, I think the Kessils don't get much cleaner, especially if its hidden in an in-wall anyway? Link to comment
dylan1464 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 No doubt that the kessils looks clean but I have a 60" 2 bulb t5 unit above the tank also for supplental lighting. So that's kinda an eye sore lol I would love to drop that extra $1k into some corals. I just have doubts in my light set up sometimes that it's not enough light. The plus side about it is my sps is doing fine. Granted the only sps I have right now is an orange cap, green acro stylopora and pink birds nest. Lps and softies are doing great as well. Would my corals benefit from the extra channels of light compared to my kessil which only has white and blue? Talked to my buddy today and he gave me these prices for the hydras 26 x 3 $950 52 x 3 $1450 As for the kessils they're only 3 months old I would sell them for $340 each so that would bring my out of pocket cost down quite a bit Link to comment
Prozac828 Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 If you have the A360 kessil lights then technically you have more than just white and blue in your color spectrum. You have a FULL SPECTRUM tucked into those bad boys including UV. AND depending on your preference it may be unfortunate u can only most see the blue or white in appearance because of the way the light is controlled. The wattage is also very similar with the kessil vs the hydra. The only benefit I would see is the 7 channels of control if you wanted to be more personal with the color/spectrum appearance of your tank. I say if your current corals are getting growth and looking great it's not worth the upgrade unless u were to let say get get the hydra 52 x3! Then your adding more wattage and power and PAR plus the extra channels of control. Link to comment
farkwar Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Ya, I forgot resell as factor, duh. Iirc, without googling, they have more than white and blue leds, theres a bunch if different colored LEDs in the matrix. They only have white and blue channels, correct. Personally, I like the Hydras 52s, without having owned one. The green LEDs are what kept me from buying them. Hes selling those at cost, I would be tempted on the 52s, myself. You could sell the Kessils for about what you say, get the 52s. I have greens over my tanks now, and they are not bad at all. If you mount the 2 2 & 2 instead of in row, youll get more spread, front to back. Even if you dont need more intensity tgan the 360s (you say the grow your few corals well), If you dont like their performance you could easily sell them for what you paid. So even if you dont like them, it would be like renting them for free. Link to comment
farkwar Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Yes, what prozac said. After you mentioned you can get the 52s. I wouldnt get those for making the fixtures look better, but for spread and coverage. And you could lose the T5s if you like, then too. Glennr posted a pic about a year ago with a glass to glass stocked 40B with like 5 or 6 Sols over it. That changed my mind about "too much light". I changed my mind from my first post, I would get the 52s times 3. Then lose the tubes, sell the Kessils. Link to comment
dylan1464 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 The LED cluster on the kessils are so packed together that I forgot about the other spectrums. It's sucks that I'm only able to control the 2 channels with the apex. Plus I would love to ditch the 60" t5 unit and just have 3 fixtures lol. Farkwar - thanks for breaking it down even more I like the way you think. What did you mean by mounting them 2&2? As in mounting 2 units over each opening on the tank? opposing to 1 unit over each of the 3 openings? As for the 26s that seems like it's not even an option anymore lol. Seems like you guys like the 52s more Link to comment
farkwar Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 * * * * * * Not * * * * * * Crap, do you have a cross brace? The board wont let me format those * with spaces. Ill find a pic if that doesnt make sense. Link to comment
dylan1464 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Yes I have 2 cross braces. It's a standard size 180. Wish it was rimless. The 52s have 4 LED pucks on each unit Link to comment
farkwar Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 As for the 26s that seems like it's not even an option anymore lol. Seems like you guys like the 52s more [/Quote] I dont like half the light for 2/3rds the cost mostly. That tank is like 24" wide, the 52s open up much better coverage of front and back areas for your future SPS. Link to comment
farkwar Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Yes I have 2 cross braces. It's a standard size 180. Wish it was rimless. The 52s have 4 LED pucks on each unit Im currently working on my own light with 6 Radion pucks, I was thinking in twos. Obviously, put the 3 lights over the open areas, however they look best to you. Link to comment
dylan1464 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 I've been emailing AI all morning and they recommend the (3) 52s over the 180. They said it would give me a ton of power and spread at 10" above the water line. Hoping to pull my money together in the next week maybe two and ill buy them. Thanks everyone for your help Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 The Kessils may give you better shimmer than the Hydras. Something to keep in mind. Link to comment
dylan1464 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Oh yeah the shimmer from the kessils are amazing! I'm sure ill get some type of disco ball effect with the hydras. Hopefully I can adjust them to the point where it's not noticeable Link to comment
dylan1464 Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Well i started ordering everything i needed AI Director (choose this over the apex route) (2) 18" EXT arms EXT hanging kit Hoping over the weekend i can pull my finances together and order the lights as well Link to comment
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