pow400 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I have been reading and trying to find a light for this tank that will not kill my bank account. Everyone seems to use a Radion gen 3 on them and wowza I am not sure about the price tag on those things. I have instead turned towards Kessil and either their 160 or 360. I am slightly confused about which I should pick though. The 160 says it covers a surface diameter of 24'' and the fusion 40s measurements are 24” x 20” x 19”. Would the 160 be enough for my tank? Would I need 2 160s? Would it be easier to get one 360? I have leaned more towards the 160 over the 150 because of the controller. I mainly do LPS and softies because I have not found an SPS that is astonishing so bare that in mind concerning PAR. Link to comment
Jay Wee Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 U wanna go with 360. My tank is almost the same dimension as yours just slightly smaller. Check out my build thread and you'll have a better idea of the converge. And getting the 360 is also future proof. Who knows u might upgrade to a bigger tank down the road and you don't have to go through the hassle of selling the 160 to get the 360. Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Some T5's would be killer !! CoralVue has retro fixtures (kinda like the Hamilton Aruba Sun's) for $40,of course you'd 2. Or the retro kit for $20 just reflectoes,ballast and endcaps and no hanging kit. Plus bulbs,which ever you'd decide to use. Link to comment
pow400 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I love the way your tank looks! I have a few questions for you though. With the Kessil is there a reason you went with the Bluefish controller over something like the Kessil brand controller? I see that the Bluefish is controllable through wifi but is there any other reason? I have read about the goosenecks being a pain to deal with so should I get a goose neck or use conduit and pipe like alot of the DIY ( and you) people do. EDIT: I noticed you went with the wide angle lens Kessil, Should I do the same? Also your controller is an apex I see from your build. Do you reccomend saving up the extra money for the nice apex or getting the reefkeeper lite etc. I will be following your build thread very closely when I go to build my tank if you have any advice for me. I have a pico tank but I don't use a skimmer, sump, refugium and barely mechanical filtration since I can just do water changes to balance it. So a lot of what your using is a wee bit over my head but I know a lot of the AIO tanks charm, for me anyways, is the sweet back compartment where I can hide things versus them being in my display. I have seen a few fusion 40 build threads but not as many as I would like. I have read that T5s can promote growth and color versus LEDs but do you have to change the bulbs every six months and also how many would I need? I have done a bit of research into the subject but I can't tell if its the LEDs still being fairly new to the market or the T5s actually being better than the LEDs. Seems like a fairly controversial topic. If anyone has any insight I would love some help on that conundrum. Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Personally,I would choose t5's over leds. I've been there and did the whole ked thing for awhile,and personally didn't like them. I truly believe they can provide growth,and healthy corals. But t5's as halides are the proven staple for being able to grow anything. I would put a 150w metal halide and t5 supplements over my 7 gallon,if I could. Yes,every 6-8 months you'd need to change bulbs. Costly yes,but color wise,they're amazing. Yes leds have 8-10 year life span,run cool ect ect,but if you really do your research on what you wanna run,I think you'll make the right decision. Link to comment
Jay Wee Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I love the way your tank looks! I have a few questions for you though. With the Kessil is there a reason you went with the Bluefish controller over something like the Kessil brand controller? I see that the Bluefish is controllable through wifi but is there any other reason? I have read about the goosenecks being a pain to deal with so should I get a goose neck or use conduit and pipe like alot of the DIY ( and you) people do. EDIT: I noticed you went with the wide angle lens Kessil, Should I do the same? Also your controller is an apex I see from your build. Do you reccomend saving up the extra money for the nice apex or getting the reefkeeper lite etc. I will be following your build thread very closely when I go to build my tank if you have any advice for me. I have a pico tank but I don't use a skimmer, sump, refugium and barely mechanical filtration since I can just do water changes to balance it. So a lot of what your using is a wee bit over my head but I know a lot of the AIO tanks charm, for me anyways, is the sweet back compartment where I can hide things versus them being in my display. I have seen a few fusion 40 build threads but not as many as I would like. I have read that T5s can promote growth and color versus LEDs but do you have to change the bulbs every six months and also how many would I need? I have done a bit of research into the subject but I can't tell if its the LEDs still being fairly new to the market or the T5s actually being better than the LEDs. Seems like a fairly controversial topic. If anyone has any insight I would love some help on that conundrum. I do agree with reefkid88 on the power of T5 and MH. It's been proven in the history of reef-keeping for substantial growth and color. Nothing can deny that. I have friends that solely grow corals in frag tanks who swear by it. But It honestly boils down to what you want to achieve with your tank. I for one am all about aesthetics. Clean lines, simple stand, wire hiding, small pendant led, etc. And more importantly low maintenance. Set something up and leave it be kinda guy. That's why all the gadgets. Below are answers to all your questions. Definitely go with the 360w. The fusion is pretty wide and you'll want a wide coverage. I can't justify spending $100 on the Kessil spectral controller. All it does is control the kessil via that iPod nano kinda thing. If that's all u want then go for that. The bluefish does so much more. The simplicity of control through an app is just so convenient. Just go on YouTube and search bluefish controller and look at the demo. The gooseneck is ok. It's sturdy and very well built but I'm just iffy with those clamps and the glass. I never know how much to tighten and worry about stressing the glass. But more importantly I don't even want to see the kessil wires wraped around the goosneck and down the back of my tank since I don've have a backing to my tank. It's all exposed and clear. It's really up to you. Another option is to just hang your kessil but I can't drill my ceiling so that was out of the question for me. I do enjoy simple DiY projects to solve problems. I personally think the apex is a God sent to this hobby. I can't tell you how many disasters I've avoided thanks to the apex. I've had the apex text msg me because the leak detector was triggered when my tank flooded thanks to my stupid ATO over filling. Apex shut everything off and I rush back in time to clean up the mess so my hard wood floor don't pop. I've also gone on weeks to a month's vacation overseas and not have to worry because I can feed, monitor PH, salinity, temp, get notification if something is wrong and also shut down any equipment through a simple tap of a button through apex fusion. Feel free to follow my thread. I'll help whenever I can. I'm a noob and still learning from the reef veterans in this forum. Everyone here is great and willing to help. Also go slow. Can't rush it. Don't overwhelm yourself with all these equiptment. Get it slowly and do your research. Fusion 40 seems like a good AIO. I know there are many mods out there people do. Definitely look at Stevie-T in tank media baskets for the fusion. Go with the essential filter floss, purigen and chemi pure for mech filtration. Steve also makes nice fuge to fit in those chambers. He also sells some nice Tunze skimmers with his special upgraded collection cups. Link to comment
pow400 Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks for the detailed post it answered a lot of questions!! Link to comment
DaveFason Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I have been reading and trying to find a light for this tank that will not kill my bank account. Everyone seems to use a Radion gen 3 on them and wowza I am not sure about the price tag on those things. I have instead turned towards Kessil and either their 160 or 360. I am slightly confused about which I should pick though. The 160 says it covers a surface diameter of 24'' and the fusion 40s measurements are 24” x 20” x 19”. Would the 160 be enough for my tank? Would I need 2 160s? Would it be easier to get one 360? I have leaned more towards the 160 over the 150 because of the controller. I mainly do LPS and softies because I have not found an SPS that is astonishing so bare that in mind concerning PAR. Check my Duo out as well. You can mount with a gooseneck or hanging kit ( no charge ) and includes a controller. I can also do a ton of colors. https://flic.kr/p/qAsA2j'>https://flic.kr/p/qAsA2j'>whiteredduogoose by https://www.flickr.com/people/63309413@N05/'>NanoBoxReef, on Flickr -Dave Link to comment
drice6900 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 If you are considering a Kessil but are concerned about the gooseneck/wires (like I was), I highly recommend you check out LeRussoDesigns.com. I picked up their glass mount tube bracket and slim line mount for the 360W and could not be happier. Beautiful and strong aluminum parts with hidden light and controller wiring (within the tube). You pay a bit more (mine was around $90), but well worth it, in my opinion. Link to comment
pow400 Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks for the advice on the mounting and I am definitely intrigued by your Nanobox Dave. I am still a ways off from the tank since I have a pico atm and my dorm wont allow any bigger. ( I graduate in may though whoop.) Your light is now an option I need to weigh against the Kessil and its gonna be a tough one. Link to comment
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