Looking for Lighting Advice

hlaalu · 07/05/2021, 10:13 PM

Hey everyone, my reef tank is 48"x24"x24" and currently has 3 Kessil A360we lights, on goosenecks. One of them just crapped out on me, can't get it to work. Over the years, I've replaced one of them, replaced a few power supplies, and I think I'm at the point where I'm over spending another $350 to "maintain" this kessil setup.

I'm looking for other options- connection with Apex would be a plus- I'm still using an Apex Lite and had purchased the VDM module to connect to the kessils. (I swear, all the $$$ I've shelled into this lighting setup, goose necks, ac adapters, etc is just stupid at this point.)

My ceilings are extremely high, so would not be able to hang anything from them.

And my tank is Euro braced so anything that goes on the tank would have to work with that.

I've been searching for half a day at different lights now, and can't really find anything that fits my preferences. I guess I could compromise with some large L brackets on the wall behind the tank to accommodate hanging lights.

I have mostly SPS and zoas. And sorry, this is probably a bit lengthy for a "recommend me some lights" post but as you can tell I've had the kessil setup for a while and I'm just out of the game when it comes to the latest LEDs. So thank you in advance for any advice

billdogg · 07/06/2021, 07:31 AM

Lets start with the most important aspect of shopping for lights - budget.

Do you want to stick with LED? I, for one, have made the switch from other options and couldn't be happier. I currently have 2 A360w's on my QT, a pair of AI Sol Blues on my frag tank, and a pair of Radion XR 30 G4 pros on my 120. I love them all.

hlaalu · 07/06/2021, 12:03 PM

I do want to stick with LED as I've had great results with them over the years, and they look great. I don't really have a budget so anything is on the table. I did just start reading about reefbreeder photon v2+ and that seems to be a top contender for me and can be controlled through apex, as well as comes with different mounting options.

I've also looked in the lights you have, but like kessil, would need to buy multiple units, mounts and all that stuff separately.

billdogg · 07/11/2021, 12:11 PM

FWIW - I had the pair of AI Sol's on the 120 for a few years and they were more than enough to grow even the most light demanding SPS with ease. I switched to the pair of radions on it because I set up a frag tank and needed something for it. At least that's what I told my wife.......:-)

07/05/2021, 10:13 PM	#1
hlaalu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 122	Looking for Lighting Advice Hey everyone, my reef tank is 48"x24"x24" and currently has 3 Kessil A360we lights, on goosenecks. One of them just crapped out on me, can't get it to work. Over the years, I've replaced one of them, replaced a few power supplies, and I think I'm at the point where I'm over spending another $350 to "maintain" this kessil setup. I'm looking for other options- connection with Apex would be a plus- I'm still using an Apex Lite and had purchased the VDM module to connect to the kessils. (I swear, all the $$$ I've shelled into this lighting setup, goose necks, ac adapters, etc is just stupid at this point.) My ceilings are extremely high, so would not be able to hang anything from them. And my tank is Euro braced so anything that goes on the tank would have to work with that. I've been searching for half a day at different lights now, and can't really find anything that fits my preferences. I guess I could compromise with some large L brackets on the wall behind the tank to accommodate hanging lights. I have mostly SPS and zoas. And sorry, this is probably a bit lengthy for a "recommend me some lights" post but as you can tell I've had the kessil setup for a while and I'm just out of the game when it comes to the latest LEDs. So thank you in advance for any advice

07/06/2021, 07:31 AM	#2
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	Lets start with the most important aspect of shopping for lights - budget. Do you want to stick with LED? I, for one, have made the switch from other options and couldn't be happier. I currently have 2 A360w's on my QT, a pair of AI Sol Blues on my frag tank, and a pair of Radion XR 30 G4 pros on my 120. I love them all. __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

07/06/2021, 12:03 PM	#3
hlaalu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 122	I do want to stick with LED as I've had great results with them over the years, and they look great. I don't really have a budget so anything is on the table. I did just start reading about reefbreeder photon v2+ and that seems to be a top contender for me and can be controlled through apex, as well as comes with different mounting options. I've also looked in the lights you have, but like kessil, would need to buy multiple units, mounts and all that stuff separately. Last edited by hlaalu; 07/06/2021 at 12:13 PM.

07/11/2021, 12:11 PM	#4
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	FWIW - I had the pair of AI Sol's on the 120 for a few years and they were more than enough to grow even the most light demanding SPS with ease. I switched to the pair of radions on it because I set up a frag tank and needed something for it. At least that's what I told my wife.......:-) __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer