Help Me Pick Lighting!

[MegabiteOG]

I’m partial to Meridians because I have them and they perform very well for me. I think most of your choices would serve you well.

 

[SFNanoReef]

I’m partial to Meridians because I have them and they perform very well for me. I think most of your choices would serve you well.

Original or Shallow Reef?

 

[MegabiteOG]

Original or Shallow Reef?

I have the original.

 

[Michael71]

I had Kessil before Meridian 45. Kessil color rendition was better for fish (more daylight). But the hard shadows were killing me and the glare off the light is very harsh. Shimmer is nice. Par was good.

so you were running a pair of the AP9x and a pair of the160's? Color looks great on the corals. just looked at the meridian fixture. it looks solid! by chance you have photos of the tank with them on it? as far as the shadows go, that doesnt bother me, i am an old Metal Halide user and ran phoenix 9k 250w bulbs and loved tons of shimmer and used the shadows for my mushrooms and non-photosynthetic corals.

 

[Michael71]

never mind, just saw them in previous post. so

 

[steveschuerger]

I’ve used both ReeFi Uno 2.0 and ReefBreeders Photon 2 . I loved both. Picked the ReeFi in the poll but if I had the extra cash I probably would get the Meridians

 

[Michael71]

You think 2 Kessil’s is enough? I always through single source lights like that caused a lot of shading.

if its a pair of 500's it should be with the optics they have. i have seen 30x30 cubes with 1 that looked great. on the tank i am building each light will only need to cover 24x24 area at 20" depth. i am hoping that the spread overlap will soften the shadows in the tank center and expect them to be heavier on the ends.

 

[skey44]

so you were running a pair of the AP9x and a pair of the160's? Color looks great on the corals. just looked at the meridian fixture. it looks solid! by chance you have photos of the tank with them on it? as far as the shadows go, that doesnt bother me, i am an old Metal Halide user and ran phoenix 9k 250w bulbs and loved tons of shimmer and used the shadows for my mushrooms and non-photosynthetic corals.

Yes 2x AP9x and then I added the 160’s back in for my acro areas. They worked great but instead of adding bars or more Kessils to fill in a few areas I opted to upgrade to the Meridian and I now have one AP9x over my new frag system and plan to sell the other Kessils on marketplace.

 

[VinsFins]

This is two 250 watt MH radium 20k, with 3 kessil a360x. My ballasts are old school hqi close to 30 years old and still going. Only run halides 4 to 5 hrs a day. Buls change once a year, and could go longer. Just bought radium for $140 for 2. For super light demanding sps 400 watt halides would be best. If I switch out halides, I think i would pick either orphek atlantik, meridian, or maybe the new ati straton. I would keep the 3 kessils just for the shimmer and evening viewing. The other lights are for day light growing and sps coloring.

 

[SFNanoReef]

Glad to see you jumped in on this! I went through your tank build thread about 2 weeks ago and saw you upgraded to the Meridian 45 from 4 Kessil lights.

I am sure they are great lights but Meridian just looks way cleaner.

You went with the shallow reef? I need to look at pictures as I do prefers a whiter spectrum for 4 or so hours while I am home from work.

Yes shallow reef has some extra white (4 vs 2 clusters per panel). It also has a significant amount of blue still. Can really pop the coral colors for evening blues, but fish and certain corals look better under more white spectrum. Feel like it’s close to the best of both worlds.

What are your tank dimensions? I just upgraded my order to a 5ft (60”)x 23” tall tank and noticed the Meridian next size up is too big at 63”.

 

[SFNanoReef]

This is two 250 watt MH radium 20k, with 3 kessil a360x. My ballasts are old school hqi close to 30 years old and still going. Only run halides 4 to 5 hrs a day. Buls change once a year, and could go longer. Just bought radium for $140 for 2. For super light demanding sps 400 watt halides would be best. If I switch out halides, I think i would pick either orphek atlantik, meridian, or maybe the new ati straton. I would keep the 3 kessils just for the shimmer and evening viewing. The other lights are for day light growing and sps coloring.

I love halides as that is how I stated this hobby many years ago. However, the heat they generate and the power they draw eliminates them as an option for me. T5’s are still on the table.

 

[skey44]

What are your tank dimensions? I just upgraded my order to a 5ft (60”)x 23” tall tank and noticed the Meridian next size up is too big at 63”.

48x24x16

 

[SFNanoReef]

What are your tank dimensions? I just upgraded my order to a 5ft (60”)x 23” tall tank and noticed the Meridian next size up is too big at 63”.

48x24x16

Debating the 63 or the 45 for a 60” tank.

 

[SFNanoReef]

Nicrew 200 Gen 2 x 2

Or 3 AI Blades (2 Grow and 1 Glow)

Have you used the Nicrew’s?

 

[rtparty]

Have you used the Nicrew’s?

I bought the 150 when it released and ran it through a series of tests. I didn't trust the tank mount on the thin glass of my 25g peninsula long term so I only got to run it over the tank for a short time. But I did a bunch of noise and thermal testing along with some quick PAR readings.

They are being used by a lot of hobbyists with great results. The only 2 knocks I had against them were fan noise and the button lights staying on 24/7

 

[minus9]

Quanta Helix with a couple Kessil's for contrast and shimmer would look awesome. The only light in your poll I would consider is the Reefi. If you're considering Radions, the Reefi is the better option by a mile. If you like a more natural look the Meridians aren't the choice, as they are mainly blue and don't get white at all. Also, if you're patient, Luca (Quanta) is releasing a new panel light in March and I'm sure it will out perform most of the lights in your poll. He's also coming out with an Atlas 2.0, but I'm not sure of the details of that fixture. I have the 1st gen Atlas and meso blue bars and they grow acropora like crazy and the fish (and clams) look awesome! I think the ATI Straton makes sense if you have a very clean looking tank and you want that modern look without the clutter, but it comes at a cost.
For me, spectrum is the 1st priority in lighting, after that is cost and ease of use, which is why I only use Quanta and Kessil. I would pick GHL, but their software is hideous (like most software in this hobby) and I hate PC's.

 

[skey44]

Debating the 63 or the 45 for a 60” tank.

I went 45 for 48” on tank. Glad I have end to end coverage, but this is based on my rock and coral placement.

 

[naldo]

This is two 250 watt MH radium 20k, with 3 kessil a360x. My ballasts are old school hqi close to 30 years old and still going. Only run halides 4 to 5 hrs a day. Buls change once a year, and could go longer. Just bought radium for $140 for 2. For super light demanding sps 400 watt halides would be best. If I switch out halides, I think i would pick either orphek atlantik, meridian, or maybe the new ati straton. I would keep the 3 kessils just for the shimmer and evening viewing. The other lights are for day light growing and sps coloring.

that was my favorite bulb, my reef looked so good on them.