I’ll also add than my tank is 24x24x24. The xr15 works well. If my tank was one inch larger in any direction, I would have gotten the xr30.
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That’s why I prefer modding (lights and cars)That’s a great analogy with cars. Love it but one thing to keep in mind i would Never do a twisty mountain road in a dodge demon, the Ferrari will smoke it in the curves! Demon is built for straight line. Same as lights the Radion is pure power. In a twisty mountain road I had 4 radions on my 250 was not happy with color blending. I sold them and went with 2- AP700 kessils and never looked back. The controls and colors on the 700 are a thing of beauty for me. I know that’s more light than you need but as other have said both Kessil and radion are great lights. Just preference on what you want. Now let me get off this forum and go see if that Ferrari is parked in my garage! Haha dreaming is free
What about demolition derby?!! Every time I read a new response, I think, "Hmm that's a good point, I'll go with that." Then the next post someone else makes another good point. This is very difficult.That’s why I prefer modding (lights and cars)
That is also why There is no best light sure you can’t get the growth and colors of a radion with a kessil. But with radions you can’t get the kessil shimmer and blending. And you can’t control either from your phone (without paying extra) like ai. You have to know what you are going to do. Drag strip? Mountain curves? Sps growout? mixed display? It’s all relative.
The Hydra 26 is an interesting one too. I didn't even know about that one. Is there an on tank mount for that, or is it only a hanger?
So why does everyone say the radion has so much more power than the kessil? And costs so much more (the kessil that is)?
Power - equal (kessil probably has more after the diffuser is added to the mix)
Kessil 360x - 90w peak
Radion xr15 - 95w peak (you have to use a diffuser though to get good blending and I hear they cut 25% or so of the light so it’s actually less)
Hydra26HD - 90w peak
Ai PrimeHD - 55w peak
Base unit Cost - equal for base units
Kessil 360x - $450
Radion xr15 - $400 plus $45 for the diffuser
Hydra26HD - $350
Prime HD - $200
Mounting
Kessil a mount - $65
Radion RMS - $104
Hydra26HD - HMS $75, Flex $65
Prime HD - Flex $30
Extras
Kessil spectral controller - $100
Radion reeflink - $100
Hydra26HD - Free App. Wifi included
Prime HD - Free App. Wifi included
So for the same power, or more considering the loss from the diffuser the kessil will cost you $66 more than the radion for the first light (if you don’t get the reeflink) and it gets less and less as you add more lights.
Since a lot of people are going to multiple xr15’s vs a single xr30 due to shading issues I think this is the comparison you should go with.
To me I feel kessils and radions are pretty much the mustang vs the Camaro ( to stick with the car analogy) they are the same type of light at the same power and price point.
That's a lot of coverage! Nice fuge too!I have the 360x over my 25g lagoon which is just a shorter version of your tank. Here is a pic of how it looks if you are interested in form factor
As for light it has 100+ par at the edges and 300+ in the center at 10”. Thats running at 60% and 6” over the tank so you will be able to grow anything with it. Having said that the radion would perform the same but I liked the look of the kessil (round vs square) over the tank more.
In this pic the light is actually 7.5” off the water
you left out the AI products in this regard. I added them in as they do belong in this conversation as the OP was also considering them.
That's a lot of coverage! Nice fuge too!
Looking at all the pros and cons, and what's right for me right now, I think I'm going to go with the Hydra 26 HD. I like the fact that it has an app, and watching the BRS video on AI's showed me that I could get a similar spectrum to the Radion with some adjustments through the app. It's also a little bit more budget friendly. I appreciate everyone's input!
So why does everyone say the radion has so much more power than the kessil? And costs so much more (the kessil that is)?
To me I feel kessils and radions are pretty much the mustang vs the Camaro ( to stick with the car analogy) they are the same type of light at the same power and price point.
i understand marine/fish world is different than industrial lighting, but there has to have been some advances in leds and lenses in 2 years. that does say something about the radions gen 4 launch.
That is part of my job specifying light fixtures for Industrial and all kinds of buildings like retail, warehouses, factories, cold storage, residential etc.