Light for a 15 gallon?

[stephanie4784674]

Hi everyone!!

 

I am planning to start a 15 gallon nano reef tank. I would like to get some LPS & SPS corals that requires medium flow and light, is KESSIL A150w SKY BLUE LED (10 000k) enough? Would HAMILTON FIJI SUN T5 HO (6x24W) better?

 

Thank you

[DannaM]

If you're after medium light then the kessil would be perfect. I have the A150w ocean blue and it's certainly big enough and bright enough (even for light lovers)

[stephanie4784674]

Great! Ya I saw some vids on youtube of them and they definitely look bright!

[Kailua-Kona]

I'm running a 150W Sky Blue on my 33 gallon tank and everything is happy. Acros, Monti, Platygra, and Zoas. The Platygyra Maze brain is actually growing away from the light which makes me think it's too bright!

[Gilligan]

You can't really compare the two.

 

Better at what? What is your goal?

 

Fluorescence bulbs had their day.

They are OK if you want a cheap light for a utility type tank, but it's hard to fathom paying more then hardware store prices for them.

They can "flood" the tank with light which can be a pro or con, depending what your goals are.

 

Even if they were "equal", the Kessil has a much smaller footprint making tank maintenance a breeze.

 

LEDs have that "shimmer" that most find appealing. The Kessil seems to have the best shimmer due to it's compact design when comparing against other panel type LEDs.

 

Generally speaking, LEDs are maintenance free. Unless a component "fails" the product will work for quite some time.

Also they generate less heat and are cheaper to operate. (More efficient).

 

The only real tough decision for you to make is the colour spectrum.

I have the "ocean blue." I'm sure the "sky blue" is too white for my preferences. I would also like to see the "deep blue" in person some time.

[stephanie4784674]

My goal is simply being able to keep SPS and LPS healthy and colorful.

 

What I would find appealing is when you can change the color spectrum as you wish and be able to change your light's power if needed, something I cannot do with Kessel I think...

 

The fact that LED generate less heat is great for me.

[stephanie4784674]

What about the Maxspect 60W nano R420R Razor LED?

[Gilligan]

Lot's of different lights could/would work in a nano reef.

 

The Maxspects are nice lights. I considered them briefly, the seemed decent enough.

It really came down to the size vs power vs price of it. The A150W is around 30 watts in a 2" diameter circle footprint for ~$250. Not really a mathematical equation, more of a personal evaluation.

 

I really dig how Kessil makes their own LED "clusters", they are really slick units.

 

If you are looking at that kind of price range consider looking at this for control-ability of colour spectrum etc.

It's around 90 watts in something resembling the size of a coffee mug.

http://www.kessil.com/aquarium/A360.php

 

It will be my next light purchase for sure.

 

The A350 is a little less money if you don't need to hook it up to a controller, it just has knobs on the top to change the spectrum and intensity.

[kraig949]

Check out nano box lights. I have a nano box duo over my 30g cube and its just AWESOME.

[Neebles]

+1 on the nano box.

[stephanie4784674]

Hmm...It's soo hard to choose lol! I really love the maxspect razor 16 000K and really think I will get one...

[Gilligan]

Get it, I'm sure you will like it.

 

It has the features you want at your price point, without having to add external control.

 

Put some pictures up after you get it.

[stephanie4784674]

Ya i'm pretty sure that it's the best choice for me.

I will definitely post some pictures after I get it