In your opinion the best LED Lighting for reef.

[mpierce]

I have 2 kessil a160we over my 40b, so far I am quite pleased. I have had Ocean revive T247 and a DIY setup in the past. So far the kessil is my favorite and I think the coverage is quite good. I would certainly go with 3 units over a 4 foot tank (360s for anything deeper than 18")

[SuperSaltwater]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

I have to say, almost all of the posts above make me laugh. This is the best, no this is the best, oh I think this is the best. Ha!

The truth is that from a MarsAqua at $90 to the top of the price ramp up... maybe a Radion at $750, they all grow coral very well. So in that regard, there is no "best" IMHO.

Now you have to decide about a bunch of different criteria like manual dimmers or digital dimmers or a fully blown sunrise/sunset controller? Is 2 channel control good enough (yes) or do you want full control of every color (I do)? How about other features like extra modes (sunny, cloudy, manual, thunderstorm) and how easy is it to set? Is having the 'shimmer' effect important to you? Is it Apex compatible and do I really care if it is? How about warranty? And of course, how much does it cost?

There is no one 'best' fixture. If you are on a tight budget, you get a Mars Aqua as it's the best for you. If you want the Mercedes of fixtures you get the Radion. Otherwise, it's a matter of what features you really want, which ones you don't care about and how much are you willing to pay for it?

Personally, I think the features and controllers are all about the look you want and have nothing to do with growing coral. I'm home all day (retired) so I happen to like having sunrise/sunset control. I don't like having bright red & green leds over my reef so I like full color control by channels. I don't like spending money I don't need to spend, so I value a good price. I got everything I wanted for a 5' long tank from Reef Breeders Photon V2 50" fixture for just over $600. Is that the 'best' led fixture... I seriously doubt it, but it's the best for my needs!

This...my mars aqua grows coral like crazy. but i wouldn't mind a smarter LED some time in the future. however, it better grow as fast as mars aqua, some people don't like the red green yellow light but that grows coral faster...imo at that price point you cannot go wrong with mars on a budget.

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by SuperSaltwater

This...my mars aqua grows coral like crazy. but i wouldn't mind a smarter LED some time in the future. however, it better grow as fast as mars aqua, some people don't like the red green yellow light but that grows coral faster...imo at that price point you cannot go wrong with mars on a budget.

Red, green and yellow as well as blue is all part of any white led, so having extra red, green and yellow leds really isn't needed IMHO. The zooxanthellae that do photosynthesis for your coral use mostly blue spectrum and they can use some red. But it's not much and it's already in the white light.

The MarsAqua fixtures work perfectly fine for growing coral, as do almost all fixtures as long as they are strong enough. That is to say that fixtures using 0.03 to 0.05 watt leds are only good for shallow tanks. Having more control like sunrise/sunset and multiple channel color control is nice for the user, but really doesn't do much if anything for the coral.

[RedGabino]

Look at this bad babys. 4 channel, wifi control. No noisy fans.

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[jayball]

Originally Posted by RedGabino

Look at this bad babys. 4 channel, wifi control. No noisy fans. (Pics removed)

That does not look like it would provide a proper reef spectrum, what are they?

[RedGabino]

Actually is the new Malibu Z series. The Malibu S series are very awesome

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[vashawn]

4 165 mars with sup T5 on a mixed, lots of sps, 265

[elFloyd]

Originally Posted by RedGabino

Actually is the new Malibu Z series. The Malibu S series are very awesome

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Hope my next LEDs are quiet (no fan). Do you have a link for these? Couldn't fine them in a Google search.

[Radioheadx14]

Kessils have the best aesthetic look that looks almost like MH's crisp-ness. However i believe you need more than recommended for higher light corals. If i went back to LED, it would be kessil.

[RedGabino]

Originally Posted by elFloyd

Hope my next LEDs are quiet (no fan). Do you have a link for these? Couldn't fine them in a Google search.

It is not for sale yet. It is going to be released in the first days of July.

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[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by RedGabino

Actually is the new Malibu Z series. The Malibu S series are very awesome

Just saying it's "awesome" isn't saying much.

Just what makes it so awesome? It's nice looking. But if the colors in the face of the fixture are the colors of the leds...? That doesn't look like an aquarium fixture.

[RegalAngel]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

Just saying it's "awesome" isn't saying much.

Just what makes it so awesome? It's nice looking. But if the colors in the face of the fixture are the colors of the leds...? That doesn't look like an aquarium fixture.

Link to the Zeus series:

http://www.ledzeal.com/p49.html

[RedGabino]

Originally Posted by RegalAngel

Link to the Zeus series:

http://www.ledzeal.com/p49.html

Yeah, that's it

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[rog2961]

if your into DIY, Citizen has COB leds which are 12x12 matrix of leds on a board. They have them now in royal blue. Compliment that with a 6500k white and you can have yourself a setup for around $200 that rivals most.

[LX20000]

I agree most high end lights, with multiple colored LED's, are gonna work. I pick AI Hydra 26 and Prime lights for my three tanks because I like the phone/tablet/Internet access, and full programmability of the lights in terms of setting sunrise, sunset, changing color temp through day, etc.

I like gadgets, and these lights feel like neat gadgets. Oh, and they produce great light.

[Ron Reefman]

Well, they use unknown brands of leds and they are all 3 watts driven at 2.2 watts, just like all the other basic led fixtures. I have to assume bridgelux or some other Chinese leds or they would make a point of saying they use Cree or OSRAM. So it's just more of the exact same kind of light from the same 3 watt leds as most other brands.

So just like everybody else, it's about what human features you want and how much are you going to pay for them. I think they look nice, but beyond that, they really are not very different than some others already on the market. So it will come down to price, customer service and marketing.

[Wazzel]

I run AI hydras. They ticked the box on the features I want. From what I have seen there are cheaper options that would grow corals just as good as these.

Like Ron keeps saying, there is no best single fixture out there. Every single one has pros and cons that has to be evaluated based on an individuals needs.

[Sharpimage]

Originally Posted by RedGabino

Yeah, that's it

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I just bought these. They come in today. Cant wait

[trueperc]

I have run Kessills over my 300, and have a friend with them over his 180. Both of us feel roughly the same. Visually Kessil's make the tank look amazing, shimmer is almost to the point of being to much and it is for some. That being said, you need min 1 A360we per 12-12 area is terms for SPS for LSP you might get away with 18-18 square area and even with those recommendations you will want to add T5s. We both have found that these LEDs are very weak, growth in both of our tanks with Kessils alone was almost stagnate and the colors where okay. They have a blue that is not like seeing a tank with Royal blue. Kessil to me is great secondary light but should not be your main. Also to note the controller sucks and they promised updates to come in the future that never came. I am back to Metal halide but when I do go LED it will be either Radion or AI. I know there was a coral farmer(on RC) that did this great write up between the two and he stated he got better results with the AIs. One thing to think about that most miss, is what are you options when the warranty runs out, as in terms of repair. You will never get parts for a Kessil with the way they are built. With AI, Radion and I believe maxspect (maybe others), you can get new parts for or upgrades instead of buying a new fixture. Just my 2 cents.

[RegalAngel]

Originally Posted by Sharpimage

I just bought these. They come in today. Cant wait

Comments on the Zeus Series?
Price?

[ktownhero]

Originally Posted by HippieSmell

Their color blending is unmatched, but they need to fix the point source issue.

Have you considered that those two items may be directly related to one another?

I love Kessil lights if for no other reason than I never have to think about spectrum outside of my visual taste. All of these lights with fancy controls over every channel are just tedious and annoying to me. I don't consider that a feature, I consider it a shortcoming. Kessils are just set it and forget it.

[gcarroll]

Of all the tanks I have seen in person, Radions produced by and large the best overall (sps, lps, and softies) coloration. This was followed by AI and Maxspect. I still to this day have yet to see a truly bangin sps tank rocking kessils without some other supplementation. Not saying they don't exhist, just saying I have yet to come across one.

[rishma]

Originally Posted by gcarroll

Of all the tanks I have seen in person, Radions produced by and large the best overall (sps, lps, and softies) coloration. This was followed by AI and Maxspect. I still to this day have yet to see a truly bangin sps tank rocking kessils without some other supplementation. Not saying they don't exhist, just saying I have yet to come across one.

Surprised you didn't mention mistras

[gcarroll]

Originally Posted by rishma

Surprised you didn't mention mistras

I have yest to see a mitras in action. It is on my list though for lighting my tank. As far as design goes, I feel it is the best designed LED tablet of all. I just have no idea as to results at this time. I may get one just to see how they perform on a small tank or frag tank.

[rishma]

Originally Posted by gcarroll

I have yest to see a mitras in action. It is on my list though for lighting my tank. As far as design goes, I feel it is the best designed LED tablet of all. I just have no idea as to results at this time. I may get one just to see how they perform on a small tank or frag tank.

Got it. I too am seriously considering one.