4 new Radion X15 G5 or 4 Kessil 360X?

[CyberGuy]

I have a 129 gallon sps dominant tank with also LPS and some softies. It is a 4' x 2' x 2' tank.

Currently I am using 4 Kessil 360X with the tank. Should I replace the 4 Kessil with the new X15 G5 Radion blue version?

I have a canopy and my 4 Kessil 360X fit nicely in the canopy and they are very light so they would not put much pressure weight on top of the tank since my canopy already put some weight on the tank. Also, I like the shimmer effects of the 4 Kessils.

The only reason that I am thinking of replacing my Kessils is that the AB+ setting may make my corals grow and look better.

 

[MTBake]

I think you are fine with what you have. Kessil makes quality lights and I like the 2 360we I have. I see no reason to buy all new lighting, imho.

I'm sure you'll have loads of opinions on this shortly

 

[mrpizzaface]

Nah

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

I see no reason to change. I love the kessil shimmer

 

[gotmesalty77]

i am an ecotech fanboy but with that said my next lighting purchase is going to be kessil pendant for a mangrove display. Wait a bit before upgrading there is bound to be some kinks in the beginning.

 

[ca1ore]

Since nobody has actually used the new ETM lights, certainly not over a longer period of time, the question is impossible to answer. Kessils grow corals just fine; I imagine the new radians will too.

 

[Dilan Patel]

if u want to upgarde why don't you buy new g4's buy 4 xr15 and you will have saved a lot only if u want to upgrade. G-4s have been proven and you get all the functionality your want

 

[btmedic04]

alternatively, you could keep your kessils and add a couple of T5 retrofits with blue+ bulbs if you need more par/pop

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

It really comes down to your goals for the tank. I like the kessils on a display tank. But if I were setting up an SPS frag tank, I would go with something with more PAR per dollar. Wouldn't choose the G5 now because it is unproven and very expensive.

 

[User1]

Sort of an interesting question but really only yo can answer that to be honest. You have some good replies here and I really respect what @ca1ore said because he was in a similar position when the new Kessil's came out. I'm not sure if it was a 1 to 1 replacement but the question did cross his mind. His approach was doing some reading of the initial reviews, maybe BRS caught his attention with the PAR difference, or maybe Danna's, and then decided to try one. In the end he kept what he had.

I think that is an awesome approach. Look, at the end of the day it is your choice. You know how your corals are growing now, at what pace, and if the color spectrum meets your eye / satisfaction. Odd I know but has many said the Kessil a360x is an awesome light in a great form factor. The are not cheap nor are the lights you are considering.

Two in college here so I tend to not chase hardware at all. If it is working and you enjoy it don't rush it. Let them come out, get some tanks with time under them, and go from there. Best of luck to whatever you do.

 

[Cory]

Get two kessil and two radions. Could be look pretty cool.

 

[ca1ore]

Robo-replacement of well performing lights because a new model comes out just seems foolish to me. Unless the gen5 lights prove to be much better than gen4, and that will require some time, I have no plans to replace what I have. Back when the Kessil 360x came out I did buy a pair - but that was to replace a pair of 360we that had already failed, so it was buy a pair of X’s or a replacement pair of WEs. A very different calculation. I ultimately concluded that the X’s were an improvement, but not enough to warrant replacement of my still functioning older models. Should any of my radion gen4 lights fail, I’m not entirely sure what I’d do. I don’t particularly relish the idea of controlling some via reeflink and others via mobius. Given the likelihood of good deals on gen4 I may actually buy a couple more.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

I see no reason to change. I love the kessil shimmer

Having a disco party everyday and don’t have to work? Sign me up said any fish

 

[User1]

Robo-replacement of well performing lights because a new model comes out just seems foolish to me. Unless the gen5 lights prove to be much better than gen4, and that will require some time, I have no plans to replace what I have. Back when the Kessil 360x came out I did buy a pair - but that was to replace a pair of 360we that had already failed, so it was buy a pair of X’s or a replacement pair of WEs. A very different calculation. I ultimately concluded that the X’s were an improvement, but not enough to warrant replacement of my still functioning older models. Should any of my radion gen4 lights fail, I’m not entirely sure what I’d do. I don’t particularly relish the idea of controlling some via reeflink and others via mobius. Given the likelihood of good deals on gen4 I may actually buy a couple more.

Thanks for clarifying. I wasn't sure if it was to try and replace. I remember that you ended up keeping everything else in place though

 

[CyberGuy]

I guess I will just keep and use my four Kessil 360X. I really like the shimmer effects from them and the small form factor.

I will wait until Black Friday to see if they will have a sale on the new G5 and decide at that time.

 

[Daniel Waters]

The only reason that I am thinking of replacing my Kessils is that the AB+ setting may make my corals grow and look better.

The AB+ program was created to try and match an existing T5 bulb combination that many T5 users had success with (ATI blue plus and aquablue special bulbs at 80/20 mix). There's nothing unique to the radions that this can't be somewhat closely duplicated by most other leds. The kessil A360x has controllable green and red channels now, so you can tweak those to match the AB+ program (around 25%). Put your violets at 100%, though. Your main color control on the kessil will control your blues and whites, so that's a little trickier. If you understand how the kessil logic works, it pretty much increases the white LEDs as you increase the color channel. At around 60% color, the blues and whites are typically maxed out and then the blue LEDs are decreased as you go up to 100% color. If I were guessing, I'd say run the color setting around 35%, and that should be close to what the AB+ program looks like (and similar spectrum). Of course, you'd need a spectrometer to get the best fit, and there are other ways to better estimate the settings (such as evaluating the ratio of the various leds in the radion and comparing that ratio to the kessil LEDs ratios and adjusting the % as needed to match up). Even if you do all this, it will never be a perfect fit, though, as I'm sure the nm offerings of the radions wouldn't match the nm offerings of the kessil exactly. But, all in all, I think you are talking about small differences in spectrum that shouldn't make that much difference.

 

[Chinastream]

This is really a good post for the guys who already had their 360x.
There was a good saying that Radion fit for SPS and Kessil fit for LPS.
So can they do the work of another? That's a good question.

 

[User1]

This is really a good post for the guys who already had their 360x.
There was a good saying that Radion fit for SPS and Kessil fit for LPS.
So can they do the work of another? That's a good question.

Why would you say or believe Kessils are only for LPS? People are using Kessil's and growing all corals successively. Similar to DIY, T5, Hybrid, MH, etc. Lighting is just one piece of the puzzle.

 

[Chinastream]

In China, most hobbies will use the Radion for SPS due to higher PAR, and Kessil for LPS due to more beautiful spectrum and looking and low PAR.
That's just a "good saying". Also many people used HYBRID with T5/LED to raise the PAR.
Personally, I more like the build quality and ID design of Kessil, but the Radion had more output PAR and easy to tune the spectrum with Reef Link.

 

[User1]

In China, most hobbies will use the Radion for SPS due to higher PAR, and Kessil for LPS due to more beautiful spectrum and looking and low PAR.
That's just a "good saying". Also many people used HYBRID with T5/LED to raise the PAR.
Personally, I more like the build quality and ID design of Kessil, but the Radion had more output PAR and easy to tune the spectrum with Reef Link.

Interesting thought. Also agree on the quality and design of the kessil. Not that it matters PAR isn't the be all end all or at least that is what we are starting to learn.