LED advice - Hydra 52, Radion G3 Pro, Kessils ?

Reefkeeper3

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Hello,

I am new to this board but not to the hobby.
I am strongly considering going with AIs Hydra 52s.
But on my short list are Radion G3 Pro, Kessil, or Hydra 52
I would like some feedback from those of you that are using them or have used them.
Good growth, coloration, good experiences bad experiences ?
Oh I should mention I have primarily zoas, palys and lps but would like to
get back into SPS thus the quest upgrade.

Thanks
 

Jimbo662

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I ran AI Vega Colors on my last tank and couldn't seem to get them dialed in correctly and couldn't get SPS to stay alive. On my current tank I've got two Kessil A360WE's and I'm seeing growth on everything. All the SPS has put on growth. One of the first corals in the tank was an orange monti that was about the size of a quarter is now about 3" across and that's been since end of March. I've got a large single head blasto that now has 4 babies sprouting on it. A superman rhodactis is splitting for a 2nd time in about 2 mths. 3 head candy can, each head has now split since May and I've got an acan that you can see three little heads peaking out from the edge. The lights have great shimmer. I've got them set at 63% intensity and my rbta crawled up to the top of the rock stack (about 15" below the light) directly below one of the lights and is very happy. Using them with the gooseneck bracket they're very clean looking.
 

GHill762

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what size tank is this going over?

If I were buying a new light today it'd probably be a nanoboxreef led light or hybrid led+t5.. nanobox lights are awesome, hand-built in the usa, and have probably about the best led combo on the market right now..

he can make anything from a very small light for a pico all the way up to a 6' led light (maybe 8', I don't remember now), and painted to the exact colors you want.. it's worth checking out..
 
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Mark426

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Yup...Nanoboxes are great...BUT...they need a much better webpage explaining their products. What they have is near useless.
 

GHill762

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Yup...Nanoboxes are great...BUT...they need a much better webpage explaining their products. What they have is near useless.

the website is a bit of a pain, the most useful info is on nano-reef in his subforum.. lots of very happy customers.. don't let a bad website turn you away from a wonderful product.. the whole company is just one guy after all..
 
OP
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R

Reefkeeper3

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I haven't heard many good things about Vegas. I like the look of the Kessils A150s but I havent seen the A360 in person. Thanks for the tip of nanoboxreef, I will definitely check them out. The tank is a 55 gallon currently but i have an empty 120 rimless sitting in the garage and plan to migrate everything over from the 55 to the 120 when we finish our move in September.
 

eferna

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I personally own both a Kessil 150 and a Radion gen3 pro, both are great lights. The kessil 150 cannot be controlled, just on and off. If you go for kessil go for a A360W
 

Reef_a_holiks

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look into orphek! Orphek atlantik is one of the best fixtures out there in my opinion. and one fixture will cover alot.
 

Reefcowboy

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I own the first generation hydras and recently decided to add a third fixture. Got the new Hydra 26(it's half of the hydra52 fixture, two pucks) and I gotta say this thing is way better than the first gen units. The leds are more efficient, blend together much more and I really enjoy them.
If you have a larger tank, the 52's would easily cover a 3x3' area of the tank and not priced so bad.
I recommend
 

Reefcowboy

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I have a 72x18x28 tank. How many radions, hydras, or kessils would I need

My humble opinion, it would depend on what corals you will be keeping. If you want to set up a system that will support sps/lps or sps only you can go with:

2x Hydra52's- they are priced at $600 each;

4x Hydras 26's- At 400 a piece, you would have four units spread out evenly covering the tank in much better fashion IMO.
You will spend $400 more but you will have no dark spots. With two 52's you can have low par on the outside corners of the tank.

Good to mention the Hydra 26's have more watts per led (3.4w)than the hydra 52's(2.6w) so by getting four smaller units you could also end up with a more powerful system...
 

Kworker

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Personally I am kind of shopping for new fixtures as well for my frag tank. I would avoid anything with the colored LED gimmick. A good combo with whites and blues is all that is needed IMO. That is what I have over my display and love the color. There is a study done with Red LED's that attribute it to tissue narcosis in SPS corals. In the ocean red is drained out rapidly as you go below the surface.
 

PapaDragon

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My humble opinion, it would depend on what corals you will be keeping. If you want to set up a system that will support sps/lps or sps only you can go with:

2x Hydra52's- they are priced at $600 each;

4x Hydras 26's- At 400 a piece, you would have four units spread out evenly covering the tank in much better fashion IMO.
You will spend $400 more but you will have no dark spots. With two 52's you can have low par on the outside corners of the tank.

Good to mention the Hydra 26's have more watts per led (3.4w)than the hydra 52's(2.6w) so by getting four smaller units you could also end up with a more powerful system...

Thanks Cowboy. This great advice. I'll look into this. Is Hydra 26 apex controllable?
 

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