Best Leds for Chaeto?

[Reefer Reboot]

I have been using a Zetlight E200 Macroalgae Cultivation Light on my refugium with good results. One plus of this light is that it is sealed and will not rust. I have splashed it many times while it is running with no problems.
The following is a question that I asked of BRS and their answer, just FYI.
Your Question: I currently have an E200 over my refugium with a chaeto growing area of 22" wide x 15" long x 20" deep. Would a Kessil H380 be much of an improvement for my chaeto growing needs?
Answer: Hey there,
I personally use this light E200 on my refugium and like it over the 380 due to having better even spread that does not burn my alga. I personally would stick with what you have if it were myself, as the 380 would most likely have nearly the same results (little better or a little worse) and cost a lot to get going(400 for light and 100 for the controller if you want that).

 

[BigJohnny]

I have been using a Zetlight E200 Macroalgae Cultivation Light on my refugium with good results. One plus of this light is that it is sealed and will not rust. I have splashed it many times while it is running with no problems.
The following is a question that I asked of BRS and their answer, just FYI.
Your Question: I currently have an E200 over my refugium with a chaeto growing area of 22" wide x 15" long x 20" deep. Would a Kessil H380 be much of an improvement for my chaeto growing needs?
Answer: Hey there,
I personally use this light E200 on my refugium and like it over the 380 due to having better even spread that does not burn my alga. I personally would stick with what you have if it were myself, as the 380 would most likely have nearly the same results (little better or a little worse) and cost a lot to get going(400 for light and 100 for the controller if you want that).

Hate to break it to you but whoever responded to that has no idea what they are talking about. First of all the h380 is $299 not $400. 2nd you can't use it with the kessil spectral controller.

Not saying your lights not good, looks like a great option and definitely cheaper, although the Kessil is almost 2x powerful and focused, which can be a benefit in certain applications. No one size fits all here.

Would love to see pics of your set up!

 

[Pete1968]

Saw your pics on amazon, the light was basically covered in rust and should not have been used in that state, imo. You said after it started smelling like smoke you opened it up and it had been covered in rust on the inside as well. This was your issue. If not careful you will run into it again. I've had mine for longer with zero rust or moisture on the fixture. I suggest mounting any light higher, reducing salt spray and humidity in the stand, and ventilating the stand better.

The Kessil h380 is not made for salt or excessive moisture environments either. They are both horticulture grow lights.

I mounted it as high as possible and i spoke to kessil last year and they told me there’s is designed for sumps and wet environment, plus they are made with solid aluminum so no rust, i had a kessil h380 on my 200 reef tank and had no issues, I definitely could of put a small fan to help ventilate it better but, couldn’t of mounted it any higher, i guess time will tell with my new kessil, also the ufo isn’t UL listed or certified!

 

[Pete1968]

Hey Pete btw, just curious do you have a afci breaker for that room? What about a gfci breaker and or plug in gfci? Just curious. Not sure it would have made a difference.

@Brew12

Thoughts?

I had it plugged into my apex eb8 , i guess it would of shut off with a gfci, i tried to plug it in my kitchen gfci it trips the breaker right away, i loved the way it grew cheato but after this almost disaster and watching the brs video on fuge lights its time to stop being cheap and buy my kessil h380 which i did

 

[Pete1968]

You will like the H380 yeah I hate thwe price but they grow the heck out of Cheato

We all hate the idea of spending that much on a fuge light but, we all know you get what u pay for!

 

[Brew12]

Hey Pete btw, just curious do you have a afci breaker for that room? What about a gfci breaker and or plug in gfci? Just curious. Not sure it would have made a difference.

@Brew12

Thoughts?

If it uses a 3 prong plug, a GFCI and/or AFCI would both probably help protect against a fault. If it uses a 2 prong plug, it likely would not help. The challenge is the power supply converting it from AC to DC. GFCI will not read a fault on the DC side unless a ground is pulled through the system.

 

[Dj City]

If you are going that route, check out the kessil H160 tuna flora led grow light.
Less expensive and made for the job.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/h160-tuna-flora-led-algae-grow-light-kessil.html

 

[BigJohnny]

I mounted it as high as possible and i spoke to kessil last year and they told me there’s is designed for sumps and wet environment, plus they are made with solid aluminum so no rust, i had a kessil h380 on my 200 reef tank and had no issues, I definitely could of put a small fan to help ventilate it better but, couldn’t of mounted it any higher, i guess time will tell with my new kessil, also the ufo isn’t UL listed or certified!

They lied, not only is the Kessil h380 not designed for sumps and a wet environment, it explicitly states do not operate in an excessively humid environment or it mail fail. It is first and foremost, and always has been, a horticulture light. The kessils are not solid aluminum there is plenty of other materials inside including the electronic components which are the issue. Your external rust was nothing more than an indicator that there may be more inside which there was.

You said you had a Kessil h380 on a different tank but that was a different set up, just like how my growstar has no rust but yours did, that doesn't mean it won't in this set up. I just think you should add some ventilation to be safe. There is no doubt the kessil is nicer but that doesn't mean it can't fail in a very humid environment.

My point in all of this is that the lights are not being used for their intended purpose so we have to be careful regardless. That's all. I just don't want you or anyone else to run into that problem or worse again.

 

[BigJohnny]

If it uses a 3 prong plug, a GFCI and/or AFCI would both probably help protect against a fault. If it uses a 2 prong plug, it likely would not help. The challenge is the power supply converting it from AC to DC. GFCI will not read a fault on the DC side unless a ground is pulled through the system.

It's a 3 I think

 

[Pete1968]

They lied, not only is the Kessil h380 not designed for sumps and a wet environment, it explicitly states do not operate in an excessively humid environment or it mail fail. It is first and foremost, and always has been, a horticulture light. The kessils are not solid aluminum there is plenty of other materials inside including the electronic components which are the issue. Your external rust was nothing more than an indicator that there may be more inside which there was.

You said you had a Kessil h380 on a different tank but that was a different set up, just like how my growstar has no rust but yours did, that doesn't mean it won't in this set up. I just think you should add some ventilation to be safe. There is no doubt the kessil is nicer but that doesn't mean it can't fail in a very humid environment.

My point in all of this is that the lights are not being used for their intended purpose so we have to be careful regardless. That's all. I just don't want you or anyone else to run into that problem or worse again.

I agree 100 percent, i loved the light until this happened, hopefully I won’t have the same problem with a kessil, i will most likely add some kind of small fan

 

[BigJohnny]

I had it plugged into my apex eb8 , i guess it would of shut off with a gfci, i tried to plug it in my kitchen gfci it trips the breaker right away, i loved the way it grew cheato but after this almost disaster and watching the brs video on fuge lights its time to stop being cheap and buy my kessil h380 which i did

Yeah so then a gfci could have saved you big time there, do you not run gfci on your tank equipment? What about a ground probe?

@Brew12

Enlighten this man

 

[BigJohnny]

I agree 100 percent, i loved the light until this happened, hopefully I won’t have the same problem with a kessil, i will most likely add some kind of small fan

Good, that's all I was trying to do was convince you to do that. You must have serious humidity in there to have em rust that quickly. I would add 2 fans one on each side blowing in and then a big vent hole high on the back.

 

[Pete1968]

Yeah so then a gfci could have saved you big time there, do you not run gfci on your tank equipment? What about a ground probe?

@Brew12

Enlighten this man

Of course light has 3 prong plug, it was a combo of not enough ventilation which i will add a small fan for new kessil, and to much salt creep, honestly i just dont trust the light even if i bought a new one, if you go on brs videos and watch there fuge lighr expo , youll see the difference between this light and a kessil h380 is night and day and it should be at 42 compared to 270, not knocking the ufo just scared of it! If you see this post other reefers had same problem! Most likely because of same conditions!

 

[BigJohnny]

Of course light has 3 prong plug, it was a combo of not enough ventilation which i will add a small fan for new kessil, and to much salt creep, honestly i just dont trust the light even if i bought a new one, if you go on brs videos and watch there fuge lighr expo , youll see the difference between this light and a kessil h380 is night and day and it should be at 42 compared to 270, not knocking the ufo just scared of it! If you see this post other reefers had same problem! Most likely because of same conditions!

I'm not talking about the light bro, I'm talking about you not having a gfci/ground probe on your tank equipment.

Having said that, brs never reviewed this light so not sure what you are talking about. You are the first I've heard with the issue with the growstar, which again was due to excessive humidity/salt creep/rust, not the light. The other guy said he had rust and switched because of that.

I will be comparing the performance of the growstar to the kessil h380 though. So look out for that.

 

[Pete1968]

Good, that's all I was trying to do was convince you to do that. You must have serious humidity in there to have em rust that quickly. I would add 2 fans one on each side blowing in and then a big vent hole high on the back.

Definitely humidity problem, i just replaced all the hinges and they are already rusting, I would of replaced the ufo anyway eventually, like brs said you can’t spend thousands of tank lights and expect a cheap fuge light to complete with them! Common sense really! If your not having any rust issues and have great ventilation i guess the ufo is a no brainer!

 

[BigJohnny]

Definitely humidity problem, i just replaced all the hinges and they are already rusting, I would of replaced the ufo anyway eventually, like brs said you can’t spend thousands of tank lights and expect a cheap fuge light to complete with them! Common sense really! If your not having any rust issues and have great ventilation i guess the ufo is a no brainer!

Haha your killing me man, you keep admitting that the environment the light was operating in was the problem than say you can't expect the growstar to perform well. You also said you loved how it performed. Brs was talking about performance and growth rate of chaeto, not rusting, and again, did not review growstar 150w ufo.

 

[Pete1968]

I'm not talking about the light bro, I'm talking about you not having a gfci/ground probe on your tank equipment.

Having said that, brs never reviewed this light so not sure what you are talking about. You are the first I've heard with the issue with the growstar, which again was due to excessive humidity/salt creep/rust, not the light. The other guy said he had rust and switched because of that.

I will be comparing the performance of the growstar to the kessil h380 though. So look out for that.

Like i said i loved the light it grew cheato like a beast, brs didn’t run this exact light, they compared all sorts of lights to kessils and of course when you have a par of 1400 to 1600 on a kessil and 400 max from the ufo thes results will speak for themselves! Check out youtube! Guy did do a par and comparison on the it was crazy how much the kessil put out compared to the ufo, but i will be looking forward to your tests!

 

[BigJohnny]

Like i said i loved the light it grew cheato like a beast, brs didn’t run this exact light, they compared all sorts of lights to kessils and of course when you have a par of 1400 to 1600 on a kessil and 400 max from the ufo thes results will speak for themselves! Check out youtube! Guy did do a par and comparison on the it was crazy how much the kessil put out compared to the ufo, but i will be looking forward to your tests!

Brs did a cfl, a rapid led par38, Kessil h80, and a Kessil h380. None of the other 3 even come close to the performance of the growstar 150w ufo, so no its not even applicable.

 

[Pete1968]

Brs did a cfl, a rapid led par38, Kessil h80, and a Kessil h380. None of the other 3 even come close to the performance of the growstar 150w ufo, so no its not even applicable.

Agreed! I will keep you updated! Looking forward to your test, please checkout youtube when u get time ! Tc

 

[BigJohnny]

Based on this kessil h380 par chart, unless you want an insane hot spot and significant drop off within a foot of the light, the 24" mounting height is ideal for even spread within a 12x12 area, and closely matches my testing for the growstar 150w ufo at 6". Less light spill as well at 6" then the kessil at 24". I don't know about you but I don't want 1600 par and brs doesn't recommend that. That would absolutely obliterate my chaeto. At 24x24 area is where the kessil shines imo, so if you have a bigger fuge than that's where you'll see a bigger boost.

The spectrums are supposedly very similar but the kessil definitely has better spectrum based on who makes the leds and higher quality components in general, obviously. I am sure you will be very pleased, but to say the growstar 150w can't cut it or is priced accurately based on its performance vs the kessil is far from the truth. The extra price for the kessil is for component and build quality, reliability, extra year of warranty, customer service, form factor, noise level, etc.