best led's w/ basic controller?

geckoejon · Apr 5, 2017

hello,

may i have some recommendations for the great led's that have a basic controller? mainly looking for just a handheld remote, that will enable me to program a schedule....

i need to light a 220g (6x2x2), a 75g (4x2x2), and a frag tank.

i currently have 3x hydra 52 hd's & 3 hydra 52's that i'm looking to replace... sure there is tech support, but i'm tired of having to contact them :-/

i don't give a rip about controlling it from across country, having a hurricane / typhoon effect, it being able to do algebraic equations, or any other garbage... just want it to work reliably, look good, and grow nice nems / coral...

bif24701 · Apr 5, 2017

geckoejon said:
hello,

may i have some recommendations for the great led's that have a basic controller? mainly looking for just a handheld remote, that will enable me to program a schedule....

i need to light a 220g (6x2x2), a 75g (4x2x2), and a frag tank.

i currently have 3x hydra 52 hd's & 3 hydra 52's that i'm looking to replace... sure there is tech support, but i'm tired of having to contact them :-/

i don't give a rip about controlling it from across country, having a hurricane / typhoon effect, it being able to do algebraic equations, or any other garbage... just want it to work reliably, look good, and grow nice nems / coral...

Lots of Kessil A360W-E. Two knobs, one color and the other intensity. You can also get a simple remote.

bif24701 · Apr 5, 2017

geckoejon said:
hello,

may i have some recommendations for the great led's that have a basic controller? mainly looking for just a handheld remote, that will enable me to program a schedule....

i need to light a 220g (6x2x2), a 75g (4x2x2), and a frag tank.

i currently have 3x hydra 52 hd's & 3 hydra 52's that i'm looking to replace... sure there is tech support, but i'm tired of having to contact them :-/

i don't give a rip about controlling it from across country, having a hurricane / typhoon effect, it being able to do algebraic equations, or any other garbage... just want it to work reliably, look good, and grow nice nems / coral...

At least 4 for the 220, 5 of your doing mostly SPS. 2 for the 75, 3 for SPS.

geckoejon · Apr 5, 2017

I'll pass on Kessil. I just sold a couple... not enough punch...

Pmj · Apr 5, 2017

Did you not have good results with the hydras? They are considered pretty good. From your description, that could be anything from reefbreeders photon v2, sbreef to highest end radion, mitras, etc.

cvportagee · Apr 5, 2017

I would recommend reefbreeders photon v2...Best light I have owned in a long time.

geckoejon · Apr 6, 2017

pmj, i have hydra 52's and 52 hd's. i have had the original 52's for years on several tanks. they rock, and are my favorite light... i bought 3x new 52 hd's, and have multiple issues with the controls. sure, they have good tech support, but i am tired of calling... for things such as time zone / schedule changing on it's own & lights being locked out for some reason when i switched tanks with them... the older ones are great! the newer ones evidently have more issues. i think they over engineer them... if they made a hydra 52 with a simple remote like a rb photon, it would be awesome!

cvportagee, how long have you had the v2? i've heard some good things about the v2 & considering going that route... i had 5 of the original photons running for a couple years. in that time i had 3 of the main boards and a couple remotes go out. they sent new ones right away, but was kind of a bummer. made me wonder how long they would hold up... that was my only complaint with rb's! if start to they hold up, i would go back to them :)

Pmj · Apr 6, 2017

It would be nice, but I don't think any one company is going to have drastically better longevity than another, and most only offer a year or two warranty. The good thing about the older photon, vipar, evergrow, etc. is they are dirt cheap to replace parts and easy to do yourself. I have two evergrow/photons and have replaced a bunch of leds to change the spectrum. I believe you can also fairly easily replace in the photon v2 as well, but you might want to give them a call to ask. I have bought some newer lights (mitras) that haven't come in yet but was worried about that when looking at upgrades. Like you, I don't really care about all the snazzy features as much as spread, spectrum and the companies track record for replacement parts/upgrades. I decided to go high end to see if there is much of a difference between the cheaper stuff.

cvportagee · Apr 6, 2017

I am not able to speak about the longevity as I have only had these running for about a 6 months....all I can say is that growth and color of my coral are great.

hart24601 · Apr 6, 2017

Isn't a 6x2x2 a 180g and a 4x2x2 a 120?

I was going to suggest hydras, haha. what problem have you had? Mine were perfect.

Pmj · Apr 6, 2017

cvportagee said:
I am not able to speak about the longevity as I have only had these running for about a 6 months....all I can say is that growth and color of my coral are great.

Well it sounds the lights are working for you for the most important things. I have heard the wifi is buggy on them, maybe a firmware update now or in the future will iron it out.

don_chuwish · Apr 6, 2017

Doesn't sound like you want 'bleeding edge' tech, but if Philips Coral Care is available any time soon... definitely worth a look.

cvportagee · Apr 6, 2017

Pmj said:
Well it sounds the lights are working for you for the most important things. I have heard the wifi is buggy on them, maybe a firmware update now or in the future will iron it out.

I used the set it and forget it method. Got my settings from a well known vendor on here. Liked them and have not changed them so I have had zero issues with them being buggy. It puts out a ton of PAR, the color is great and my tank loves them. After seeing my results, a few of my friends have switched to these lights as well.

bif24701 · Apr 6, 2017

geckoejon said:
I'll pass on Kessil. I just sold a couple... not enough punch...

You didn't have enough of them, there is also the narrow version that has more punch but has less spread. 4-5 of the narrow version will provide all the light you would need, ~200-300 PAR in the middle of the water column.

GoVols · Apr 7, 2017

bif24701 said:
You didn't have enough of them, there is also the narrow version that has more punch but has less spread. 4-5 of the narrow version will provide all the light you would need, ~200-300 PAR in the middle of the water column.

+1

GoVols · Apr 7, 2017

geckoejon said:
I'll pass on Kessil. I just sold a couple... not enough punch...

lol,
You didn't have enough and to me led spread is more important than mega par.

Go all out and Import yourself some of the Philips "Coral Care" units.