Coming from halides, can't decide between Kessil a360x and Radion XR15 G5
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Superlightman
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That is not true ,I saved near nothing I had to run the heater now and heat more the room and to get good coverage,ni shadowing and good results I have to add twice of the recommended amount and add t5 ,because without It worked but far not same than hqi or t5.And the led will probably not hold so long as expected,most have issue after a few years . With the money I have spent in led you can buy many years hqi or t5Once you replace your metal halide tank with leds you not only will not have to worry about finding halide bulbs but with the money you’ll save by going to leds you’ll be able pay for the hobby five times over plus your ac won’t have to run as much
Superlightman
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No you will get good results but not so good as with t5 or halides.I tested over one year the radion g5 + 4 orphek led bar,the results was ok but really less good than with my t5. So I added t5 again to all this and the old results came back.A t5 is an infinite point source that emits the same spectrum in all directions from infinite points,no led bar can come close to this.
Yea thats nice. I still wont use them.
And yes I ran halides for 30+ years and they are awesome. Same with t5's.
With what I have seen from my tanks that I replaced halides with, leds I wont be going back anytime soon.
I run and have seen to many led lit tanks to know they grow coral as good as halides but probably not as fast so?
Superlightman
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Yes all led growth corals but less fast(but it depends,some fast grower don't bother,but some growth very slow or near nothing under led alone),the color and fluorescence is also much better when add t5 and so is the health of sensitive corals that have no stn under t5 but have under led after sometimes.Why I don't know. Better spread,better spectrum..?
CoralB
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Yah ! I guess if you live in cold country you probably do have to run the heaters more and or heat the room which would be dependent on insulation and how low you keep your house . I didn’t take that into consideration as in Florida I keep my house set at 76 year round for comfort and if I still had the halides from back in the day my ac would kick in more costing more in energy . I personally would not consider going back to halides . I get plenty of growth for my needs . I like my radions and I’m not opposed to running t5 with . Be a good combination , but I’ve heard that the industry is doing away with making t5 bulbs ( don’t know if it’s temporary or perminant ) . I do disagree with your statement of how long led last as I have gen 5s but I still have gen 4 running since they first came out with no issues . I never run at full capacity so I’d imagine if I lost any par from them I could in theory just turn them up . T5 bulbs do require replacement from time to time . AS far as dead spots I can’t complain as I spread out my lights to reduce this , instead of running two xr 30s I run 3 xr 15s just for that reason . Listen this thread is about someone who can’t find replacement bulbs for his halides and asking us / the group how we like leds with kessil over radions and that’s what we’re giving him . There will always be people that swear by what they use or used in the past and in your case you’ve made that clear .maui reefer is probably on the same line of thinking as you but because he is having a hard time finding replacement bulbs he’s asking about the alternatives we use in the hobby . If you have a stockpile or a source for him to get these bulbs I’m sure he would appreciate a text from you .WWC, Top Shelf Aquatics, and many many more growers use leds in their grow out farms and I’d find t hard to believe that they would use something that isn’t optimal for their bread and butter . If he was asking for our opinion as to which is better halides or leds then that’s a different story . We’re all here to help fellow hobbyists .
But hey that’s my opinion!,
Superlightman
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Here in Europe you can still find halides bulbs, giesseman and other still sell, for t5 I spoke with someone from ati a few weeks ago, they will still be available for the aquarium hobby the new legislation not concern the hobby
Bpb
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LED has absolutely caught up to T5 in the spectrum world. T5 still has not been quite matched in mechanism of delivery though. It is the way a quality t5 luminaire performs over water that makes it so effective. Not the spectrum.
ReefinIt
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I actually decided to upgrade to a 120 gallon. Now I'm thinking I want a kessil in the middle to add shimmer, but not sure if the light spectrum or shimmer will look uneven.
On my old 120 with halides I would go 2 xr30's and your kessils.
Here is my 80g on the old 120's stand.
I run 1 xr15 and 1 16hd on each opening. I am setting up the other side same.
With just the 15 the look is very flat to me. No shimmer, but I run the diffuser. With out theis is still not much shimmer.
With the 16 the shimmer is nice but not over powering.
It also give a brighter look with the 16's white at 30%.
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ReefinIt
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I was thinking the XR15 would cover a 24" space, but based on your pic, I have my doubts now. I think I will keep it at the T5s and two Xr15s, then maybe add a kessil later.On my old 120 with halides I would go 2 xr30's and your kessils.
Here is my 80g on the old 120's stand.
I run 1 xr15 and 1 16hd on each opening. I am setting up the other side same.
With just the 15 the look is very flat to me. No shimmer, but I run the diffuser. With out theis is still not much shimmer.
With the 16 the shimmer is nice but not over powering.
It also give a brighter look with the 16's white at 30%.
That sounds like a good plan.
jaymondjedrie
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Radion will not shimmer like Kessil. Kessil shimmered too much for me to the point I had to stop surface agitation best I could on that side.
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Superlightman
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The red sea give shimmer also but not give head each like the kessil and they not reflect the light in your eyes when you close to the tank
PeterErc
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I vote for or halides, everything in this hobby is stupid expensive now. What’s a little more electricity, and how long is it gonna take for energy savings to offset the price of fancy new lights. There’s a previous post on the thread where someone has 4 pendants they don’t know what to do with. I found a pendant and ballasts in the WTB section is a day. Dug the old pendants out of the attic, and took down the T5 and kept diy led. Sure you can tell who the winner is.
here’s the frag tank, 250w pheonix, don’t mind the ghetto rig was from the old pendant they got switched
Bpb
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I like the second photo better as well. But you do realize you don’t have to run leds as blue as the top picture. People do that because they like it. Not because it is necessary.
araziza
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I’ve been using Kessil for the past 1.5 to 2 years. Love the look, way nicer than the Radion. However the first A360x broke in just under a year, the second broke 6 months later, they wouldn’t replace it because more than a year passed since the original purchase. So now I have a Radion. Don’t like the look nearly as much, but hopefully it will last. I do suggest that if you do decide on the Radion, you get the pro instead of the blue. If you want a blue spectrum, the pro should be able to do it pretty well, but the blue doesn’t really go white so easily.
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