Biocube 32 LED - Stock or Steve's LEDs or Kessil?

[Fishdisease]

I'm at the very beginning of planning my next tank, I want a cube for my office as I'm there more than my basement with my 180 gal tank.

I know the question of lights comes down to what I want to keep, and while I'm leaning toward having a LPS/Softie dominated tank I'd like to understand the available upgrades to the lighting systems. IF I decide to try for an SPS cube what are the pros/cons to the above mentioned upgrades or are there others out there that are better priced or just a better option?

Cheers

 

[cromag27]

same dilemma as you and i went with steve’s. didn’t want to remove the hood for a kessil and the stock lights won’t cut it even for a lot of lps. my new steve’s set up should be shipping this week!! i got the bluefish controller and led booster.

 

[VB313]

A

same dilemma as you and i went with steve’s. didn’t want to remove the hood for a kessil and the stock lights won’t cut it even for a lot of lps. my new steve’s set up should be shipping this week!! i got the bluefish controller and led booster.

adding Steve’s to your skull island build cromag27?

 

[cromag27]

A

adding Steve’s to your skull island build cromag27?

yup. hopefully will be here by the end of the week.

 

[York1]

I have steve's leds on my biocube and love them. The standard controller is easy to program and the leds are bright enough to grow anything

 

[VB313]

I have steve's leds on my biocube and love them. The standard controller is easy to program and the leds are bright enough to grow anything

Been pushing the idea of Steve’s leds for my biocube for a bit now Out of curiosity what’s your light settings/schedule?

 

[York1]

I dont know my exact settings as im at work. The lights are on from 8-8 90minute ramp up and down.I run the white leds very low and i think my blues are at around 60% I have LPS and zoas all growing great

 

[Waynerock]

Ai prime HD works for me

 

[User1]

Two bio cubes both 29 gallon Oceanic. One I went the route of Rapid LED, heat sink, Mean Well, and a mix of royal blue, blue, white, natural and warm white. Combination mix, dim, and it was great. Could keep anything. Second bio cube I went with the pre-packaged from Steve. This one I had a reef angel controller connected for dimming, schedule, etc. This one was a bit too blue for me pushing the 20k range but overall it was fine. Both cubes with new LED lighting could keep anything from softies, mixed, to full SPS provided I managed the water quality properly. Neither system had heat issues. Only thing really required is to keep the protective cover, plastic, clean and I thought the LED's yellowed it out but it could also be due to them being old. Sort of that plastic headlight yellow tint on cars?

Anyway you have a lot of options. I would also look at using nano reefs multi channel. I really like that chip. Also blue acro has a nice setup. I'm using four of his acro star pro's over my 210 gallon tank. In any case you can add a dimmer or controller to dial in intensity and color spectrum.

 

[cromag27]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...ull-island-edition.462332/page-2#post-5232002

 

[Katrina71]

I dont know my exact settings as im at work. The lights are on from 8-8 90minute ramp up and down.I run the white leds very low and i think my blues are at around 60% I have LPS and zoas all growing great

Would you say your whites are at 30%? Maybe lower? My son is tinkering with his.

 

[York1]

Mine are at about 20%

 

[wesman42]

Kessil all the way. Steve's are overpriced for the coverage you get. It's basically a DIY LED board.

However, people have been very successful with them. My personal oreference is the Kessil simply because of coverage and the full support behind it that Kessil offers

 

[cromag27]

Kessil all the way. Steve's are overpriced for the coverage you get. It's basically a DIY LED board.

However, people have been very successful with them. My personal oreference is the Kessil simply because of coverage and the full support behind it that Kessil offers

if you can diy the same boards id buy a few off you.

 

[wesman42]

if you can diy the same boards id buy a few off you.

No but I can program software comparable to the Apex [emoji23]. Not nearly as useful (unless you're ranjib).

I appreciate the sentiment and the point, but I just wanted to emphasize that I REALLY like the full backing of a company. I don't mean for any problems that arise, but more so for advice on settings, placement, mounting etc.

If you can find that information on the forum without talking to Kessil, great! It also means you could be relatively saavy enough to find one of the voluminous DIY LED threads.

Many people have had success with Steve's LEDs, but my main problem is the hood limits oxygen exchange. Halfway through my 32's tenure as a tank, I had issues with oxygen depravation in the tank. It was then that I decided to upgrade to a Radeon without the hood. Never looked back until I broke it down and upgraded.

So it's complex, and it may suit your needs, but mine were a little different and I found the hood had to come off eventually in favor of higher oxygen exchange.

 

[cromag27]

No but I can program software comparable to the Apex [emoji23]. Not nearly as useful (unless you're ranjib).

I appreciate the sentiment and the point, but I just wanted to emphasize that I REALLY like the full backing of a company. I don't mean for any problems that arise, but more so for advice on settings, placement, mounting etc.

If you can find that information on the forum without talking to Kessil, great! It also means you could be relatively saavy enough to find one of the voluminous DIY LED threads.

Many people have had success with Steve's LEDs, but my main problem is the hood limits oxygen exchange. Halfway through my 32's tenure as a tank, I had issues with oxygen depravation in the tank. It was then that I decided to upgrade to a Radeon without the hood. Never looked back until I broke it down and upgraded.

So it's complex, and it may suit your needs, but mine were a little different and I found the hood had to come off eventually in favor of higher oxygen exchange.

that is a big determining factor imo - hood or no hood. that will narrow down your options. all of the biocubes i’ve owned have retained their hoods and never an issue with oxygen exchange. mileage will vary, obviously.

 

[wesman42]

that is a big determining factor imo - hood or no hood. that will narrow down your options. all of the biocubes i’ve owned have retained their hoods and never an issue with oxygen exchange. mileage will vary, obviously.

Absolutely! A large part of this in mine was the really weeeeeeird bacterial blooms I was having. I never really did figure it out, but I'd get one maybe once every 3-4 months. When the lid came off, they stopped altogether so I have no idea, and continue to have no idea what the deal was lol.

 

[Katrina71]

Absolutely! A large part of this in mine was the really weeeeeeird bacterial blooms I was having. I never really did figure it out, but I'd get one maybe once every 3-4 months. When the lid came off, they stopped altogether so I have no idea, and continue to have no idea what the deal was lol.

were you dosing anything?

 

[Colsaquarium]

same dilemma as you and i went with steve’s. didn’t want to remove the hood for a kessil and the stock lights won’t cut it even for a lot of lps. my new steve’s set up should be shipping this week!! i got the bluefish controller and led booster.

I have a bio cube 32 too, and am wondering how long the steves upgrade kit takes to ship, and if the bluefish controller is worth it. Am hoping to get it when I have some money lying around.

 

[cromag27]

I have a bio cube 32 too, and am wondering how long the steves upgrade kit takes to ship, and if the bluefish controller is worth it. Am hoping to get it when I have some money lying around.

took about a week to get mine. i love the bluefish controller. i have my led schedule completely customized. i wouldn’t say it’s absolutely necessary though, for me it’s set it and forget it. contact jeff and tell him matt at octo aquatics referred you. he’ll take care of you.