Advice on which LED

[88mph]

Hi there guys,

 

I currently have a 60cm/24" long, 30cm/12" wide and 36cm/14.5" tall nano tank with LPSs and soft coral.

 

I would like an LED system that is easy, clean looking and ideally one that is dimmable on and off.

 

I like the Kessil A150 because it leaves a lot of room at the top of the tank to work (cleaning, coral placement etc) and it is around £250/US$390 here in England.

 

But you can't set it to come on by itself AFAIK. But then there is the A350W which I hear is dimmable. But will that be too powerful for my tank?

 

All the other decent LEDs I have seen cost a fair bit more than the Kessils.

Maxspect Mazarro is $$$$$$$$$$!!! Although I assume that I would only need one module for my tank?

Then there are the Ecotech Radion and AI Sol systems as well.

 

 

 

1. So what would you recommend given the size of my tank and that I would like a light that comes on gradually so as not to startle fish?

 

2. Are Kessil units modular/repairable?

 

3. Is the A350W a viable option for me given the depth of my tank and that in the future I will probably get shallow tanks as well?

 

Thanks.

[tomgndallas]

Hi there guys,

 

I currently have a 60cm/24" long, 30cm/12" wide and 36cm/14.5" tall nano tank with LPSs and soft coral.

 

I would like an LED system that is easy, clean looking and ideally one that is dimmable on and off.

 

I like the Kessil A150 because it leaves a lot of room at the top of the tank to work (cleaning, coral placement etc) and it is around £250/US$390 here in England.

 

But you can't set it to come on by itself AFAIK. But then there is the A350W which I hear is dimmable. But will that be too powerful for my tank?

 

All the other decent LEDs I have seen cost a fair bit more than the Kessils.

Maxspect Mazarro is $$$$$$$$$$!!! Although I assume that I would only need one module for my tank?

Then there are the Ecotech Radion and AI Sol systems as well.

 

 

 

1. So what would you recommend given the size of my tank and that I would like a light that comes on gradually so as not to startle fish?

 

2. Are Kessil units modular/repairable?

 

3. Is the A350W a viable option for me given the depth of my tank and that in the future I will probably get shallow tanks as well?

 

 

i run these lights, my tank is about the same size. economical andvsimple, check out my post on TRT.

 

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f20/wts-...tio-188874.html

 

i also have dimmable fixtures, please PM me for more details.

 

if you are looking for dawn, dusk, cannot really help you there, but i run mine off timers a,d my photoperiod is 12 to 9 pm. the natural light in the room prevents startling.

 

good luck, setting up a new tank is always a blast.

 

Thanks.

[allegori]

Hi there guys,

 

I currently have a 60cm/24" long, 30cm/12" wide and 36cm/14.5" tall nano tank with LPSs and soft coral.

 

I would like an LED system that is easy, clean looking and ideally one that is dimmable on and off.

 

I like the Kessil A150 because it leaves a lot of room at the top of the tank to work (cleaning, coral placement etc) and it is around £250/US$390 here in England.

 

But you can't set it to come on by itself AFAIK. But then there is the A350W which I hear is dimmable. But will that be too powerful for my tank?

 

All the other decent LEDs I have seen cost a fair bit more than the Kessils.

Maxspect Mazarro is $$$$$$$$$$!!! Although I assume that I would only need one module for my tank?

Then there are the Ecotech Radion and AI Sol systems as well.

 

 

 

1. So what would you recommend given the size of my tank and that I would like a light that comes on gradually so as not to startle fish?

 

2. Are Kessil units modular/repairable?

 

3. Is the A350W a viable option for me given the depth of my tank and that in the future I will probably get shallow tanks as well?

 

Thanks.

 

1. If you want to gradually increase your light automatically, the Maxspect Razor (20.5 inch version) would be better than the A350 since you can set the intensity and up to six time points if I remember correctly.

 

2. I don't believe Kessils are modular in that you can replace the leds if it burns out. You can't change out leds in the Razor either.

 

3. Yes.

[88mph]

1. If you want to gradually increase your light automatically, the Maxspect Razor (20.5 inch version) would be better than the A350 since you can set the intensity and up to six time points if I remember correctly.

 

2. I don't believe Kessils are modular in that you can replace the leds if it burns out. You can't change out leds in the Razor either.

 

3. Yes.

 

Hi and thank you for replying allegori.

 

Point 1 for me is something that I feel is quite important. I would like whichever light system I go for to gradually come on with an automatic increasing intensity. So you are saying that the A350 does come on automatically but at full intensity, i.e. there is no gradual build up of light? The same obviously goes for powering down the lights, they should gradually fade out.

 

Ok so the Razor can do this you say, what about the Ecotech Radion and AI Sol? Do you know if they can do this as well?

[88mph]

I should have been clearer in my first post; what I want is for the lights to be automatically dimmable. So they should gradually come on and gradually turn off by themselves without me having to manually do this.

[Jneighbors]

I have the kessil a350 over my 34g solana and I love it. You can run it from 5% to 100% and basically any color spectrum you want. You can barely hear it running and produces no heat at all. The shimmer affect is like no other. If you want the kessil a150 you will be stuck with only one color but just like I mentioned with the a350 you can choose any color you want. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[eddiecorrea]

I have a kessil and LOVE it. Ramping up and down of your lights is dumb IMO. I see no benefit to it other then visual stimulation. My corals growth is exploding under the kessil and a 10 hour photo period.

 

If you want control on a decent price look into an AI Sol.

[88mph]

I have the kessil a350 over my 34g solana and I love it. You can run it from 5% to 100% and basically any color spectrum you want. You can barely hear it running and produces no heat at all. The shimmer affect is like no other. If you want the kessil a150 you will be stuck with only one color but just like I mentioned with the a350 you can choose any color you want. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

Hi Jneighbors,

 

I do have some questions if you don't mind. Are you saying then that it can automatically increase the amount of light when it comes on from 5% up to 100% and therefore mimic a 'night-time to dawn' effect?

 

If so, then I am sold I think! Because then if I decide to upgrade my tank I can easily take the light to the next tank. And it looks really nice as well IMO.

 

Also, what is the point of being able to change the colour spectrum? From what I have read, photosynthetic coral use light from a whiter/yellower colour spectrum (around 4500-6500K I think) and the blue lights on tanks are simply added for aesthetic purposes (I may be wrong on this so please don't shoot me down for it guys). So, if that is the case, then won't increasing the blue lights and decreasing the white/yellow lights simply hinder coral growth?

 

 

I have a kessil and LOVE it. Ramping up and down of your lights is dumb IMO. I see no benefit to it other then visual stimulation. My corals growth is exploding under the kessil and a 10 hour photo period.

 

If you want control on a decent price look into an AI Sol.

 

 

Do you have the A350 as well eddiecorrea?

[allegori]

The Radion and the AI Sol can also automatically dim/increase their brightness when you program them to do so; you need a controller to control the Sol to dim/increase the light. The A350 does not automatically dim/increase its brightness; it uses a potentiometer so after you set the two color channels to what you like, whenever it comes on it will be that color combo you dialed in.

[Mojorizn]

Not a DIY'r huh? That's the route I'd take.

Blend your own colors, have complete control and it'll last longer than most commercial fixtures if you build it correctly.

 

Just sayin

[88mph]

Not a DIY'r huh? That's the route I'd take.

Blend your own colors, have complete control and it'll last longer than most commercial fixtures if you build it correctly.

 

Just sayin

 

I am a bit worried about DIY but also I am not sure if I have as many options/resources to buy parts from as you guys do in the States.

 

Also, what about the casing/covering, can you get nice ones or will a DIY LED build always look like one of those projects that doesn't look as if it's quite finished? I want it to look professional, neat and well constructed as well as functioning well.

 

Maybe its time to look at the DIY build thread.

[Mojorizn]

I've seen both. DIY's that look pro and not so pro. Just depends on your ability, tools and resources.

You may not save any $ going DIY, but you'll have the satisfaction ....lol.

 

In my case, it'll be DIY all the way. I have yet to find a commercial fixture that has the power, colors and features I would expect. There are many nice ones out there, just not exactly what I'm looking for...so for me it's an easy DIY call.

 

In the lighting forum, there are 3 main threads that cover LED's several years back to current with build ideas, LED options, enclosures.....took me round a month to take it all in.

 

 

best-o-luck

[88mph]

I've seen both. DIY's that look pro and not so pro. Just depends on your ability, tools and resources.

You may not save any $ going DIY, but you'll have the satisfaction ....lol.

 

In my case, it'll be DIY all the way. I have yet to find a commercial fixture that has the power, colors and features I would expect. There are many nice ones out there, just not exactly what I'm looking for...so for me it's an easy DIY call.

 

In the lighting forum, there are 3 main threads that cover LED's several years back to current with build ideas, LED options, enclosures.....took me round a month to take it all in.

 

 

best-o-luck

 

Thanks for the reply and the advice man. Appreciated.