I’m a old metal halide guy. Kessel 500x ?

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CayeCaulker

CayeCaulker

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A lot of good info here.

The question is, "will a MH user be disappointed by using Kessils in a large new SPS build?" Maybe it's obvious, but I haven't seen it mentioned yet...I would want to see a big tank lit with Kessils in person. Does Kansas City have a good reef store, or are there any reef clubs? Or even if I had to drive to St Louis or Des Moines or Omaha or wherever.
I talked to a local reefer whom I purchased a used RODI from last week. The only club is a facebook club and I have not reached out yet. There are a handful of shops scattered around the city and all the shops I used to visit are now long gone.
 

Biglurr54

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I toyed with this same dilemma when I set my tank up (31" deep). I found that I could be more efficient with a 400w halide than I could with any LED fixtures. I get great growth and am very happy with my halide. Luckily I don't have to worry about chilling the tank but I have a chiller on stand by if needed. The only fixtures I have considered swapping out the halide with is Reefbreeders. But from my 36x36x31 cube I would need at least 2 fixtures and some T5 to fill in. When I ran the math on it, I ordered a few more Radium bulbs!

That said, my frag tank has a Reefbreeders over it is the closest light to my eye as the halide. Frags/colonies can jump in between them with no acclimation and are just as happy!
 

rtparty

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Found a light fixture with two HQI halides, 4 T5's and some moon lights. $389.
complete with ballasts and lamps.

Unit's are new but they had to replace T5's damaged in shipping

Looks like I'm going old school! Good thing I have two breakers on the reef tank outlets.


I don't want to be a Debbie downer, but Odyssea halides are actually known to start on fire and it's more common than it should be.

I would not put that fixture in my house and risk it personally.
 

Water Dog

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Indeed…. Just took a look at the fixture you posted. Aside from being the dreaded Oddysea fixture, those reflectors are quite small for a MH fixture as well. It won’t maximize the benefit of the MH bulb IMO.
 

YOYOYOReefer

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ive never liked a kessil tank till i saw a 6 footer with 6 360s on it, i will give it to kessil if you have enought of them its very nice. nice but takes a lot of kessils to equal what a good 400 watt mh in a good reflector can do.

and to the ramp up argument, nobody just runs halides, we all run vho actinic or some t5 or some other lights with the halides, my vho does 20 minutes before and after the halides. no computer or wifi neede.
 

i_am_mclovin

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Just swapped my LED for MH.
5B00E622-E5F8-4C44-A362-A486E59E0DD1.jpeg
 

djf91

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If I remember correctly the issues with the odyssea fixtures was the old ballasts catching fire. I replaced my ballasts on my 2 odyssea fixtures with icecap 250 watt HQI and never had an issue for years of using them running with Phoenix bulbs. There’s nothing really wrong with the fixtures but I would replace the factory ballast and bulbs otherwise I think they’re great.
 
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CayeCaulker

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I am looking for 250w shoe box reflector / fixtures I am just going to build my own instead of buy a
i use a IceCap switchable ba.last for my 250W Cayman Sun...could you not have done the same?

My understanding is a M80 is preferred, although not a requirement. Am I missing smething?

I am going to go ahead and buy two Cayman Sun reflectors and get ballasts for them.
These look amazing.
 
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CayeCaulker

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Lumitek makes a electronic ballast that's 400w selectable that looks identical to icecap ballasts. They use them in the "pot growing" community and are quite popular.

I picked up a used one for $35 figured I would power it up and see if smoke comes out :) They are all over ebay. I can rebuild one if it's smoked. These all work on the same principles and the switching frequency technology has improved immensely over the years as the performance of FETs has increased.

Has anyone tried these?

I have the two Caymen Sun pendants on the way.
Now for the LED version of T5's Or... I will just buy T5's and be done.
 
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BurgerFish

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5 years (reasonable)
After 3y my LED transform my nano tank into algae factory. Probably due to shift in spectrum. So, I replaced it. It also lost a lot of brightness, maybe 40%.

For me, LED probably is the most expensive option.
 

A. grandis

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Y

yep I wish reflectors weren’t so hard to come by now!
I'm still optimist and prefer to believe that with the number of users growing every day things will change. We have specialized and high end products in this hobby in many different areas, and metal halides should be now included. I would invest in a halide system anytime instead of a high end tank or a controller, for example. Everyone has their own personal preferences and to each it's own. Halides are coming back, so should the be the gear available. If I was younger and didn't have already set in my professional life I would just go for it! ReefBrite is now in the spotlight!
 

MartinM

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Agreed, if I didn’t already own a D2C company I’d be tempted to start making MH lighting for the modern reefer
 

oreo54

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Agreed, if I didn’t already own a D2C company I’d be tempted to start making MH lighting for the modern reefer
Aren't these available in Japan?
At least modern-ish looking..;)

 

Nonya

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I’m setting up a new system. It’s deep. A 150 show.

I have always ran metal halide. Im addicted to the intensity.

looking at Kessel 500x and wanted input from the community. Are they worth the cost? Will they live up to my expectations?

inwill be running a SPS mixed tank.
I hear MH reflectors are getting scarce. An alternative would be to find some reflectors from the MJ grow suppliers. Some may be good enough to provide adequate reflection and distribution. As a DIYer, I'd even consider a plywood shield lined with real mirror stock. It'll probably look better than those bulbous reflectors that've been in use since the old days.
 
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