Kessil AP700 vs ReefBreeders Photon v2

Angelo Fatica

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Hello all. I recently bought a used AP700 fixture off of eBay and unfortunately the white LEDs do not work on one of the pucks. After this, I found another AP700 on eBay to try out and I am now questioning if it’s the right choice for my tank.

My tank is 48lx20wx18h and is currently run by two AI Prime 16HDs. It is a mixed reef and isn’t doing so bad. My main concern is that I do not have enough light coverage/spread and am experiencing some shadows on my sps sticks. This has caused the tissue to just lose color or die off in the shaded areas. This is why I was on the search for a new light fixture in the first place. I should note I do not want t5.

I absolutely love the look of the kessil lights and the color is awesome from them and the AP700 has a very impressive spread to me and I think it would work on my tank. My concern before ordering another one is that the shading could very well be even worse under this fixture because of the small point source puck styles. My question is does this light provide an actually nice blanket of light when mounted high enough? It has already surprised me with the ability to cover a 4 ft area with relatively good par.

I also have found a ReefBreeders Photon v2 48 fixture for roughly the same price as the kessil. Now this fixture would more likely fit my needs and concerns, but I have never seen one in person and I am worried about not liking the color and coral pop as much as the kessil. The upside to this light is that it is a very even blanket of light and will provide much better spread and coverage than the kessil.

I guess what am asking is for someone to convince me off of the kessil fixture if it’s needed! Assuming par is not a concern with these lights, which is the better option objectively? Thanks in advance.
 

Ron Reefman

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I have used a lot of different led fixtures over the years. I even worked for a couple of years with Ocean Revive. We always considered Reef Breeders as our biggest competitor (best fixture value in the market). When I left Ocean Revive I started using Reef Breeders fixtures. The colors are so controllable you almost can't go wrong.

I've had almost zero issues with them, and Logan (the owner) did great customer service with the issue I had.
 
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Angelo Fatica

Angelo Fatica

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I have used a lot of different led fixtures over the years. I even worked for a couple of years with Ocean Revive. We always considered Reef Breeders as our biggest competitor (best fixture value in the market). When I left Ocean Revive I started using Reef Breeders fixtures. The colors are so controllable you almost can't go wrong.

I've had almost zero issues with them, and Logan (the owner) did great customer service with the issue I had.
Could I see some photos of it running on your tank? How does the fixture make your corals look? Do you get good coloration and pop with it?
 

Dburr1014

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Could I see some photos of it running on your tank? How does the fixture make your corals look? Do you get good coloration and pop with it?
48"(really 43") photon. Older photos is my 75g and now sits on my 150g with a 60"x24" footprint. I added 4 T5 for better coverage.
20240626_162035.jpg 20240624_045324.jpg 20240608_150919.jpg

Here are some older photos. 20180605_170640.jpg 20180605_170919.jpg 20180523_222457.jpg 20180523_222452.jpg
 
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VintageReefer

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Go to my tank thread and just scroll through pictures. I use photon 48v2 over a standard 48” 75g tank.

Full tank coverage front to back, end to end
968AB8AA-BF07-4D9C-8F78-D55F34DA4C0C.jpeg
D82F706C-B0D9-41D0-AE2F-F52EB5AE95F3.jpeg
 

VintageReefer

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If you ever wanted to supplement…if you had a fully packed sps tank and branches everywhere and started getting shadowing, the photons have built in mount bolts on the front and back to hold led bars. probably never be needed. But nice to know if you ever did need it, you won’t need to buy hanging kits. Or figure out how to incorporate the led bars
 

exnisstech

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I considered the kessil but opted for the photon because I prefer a panel vs Puck. I think maybe better coverage but also less light spill. You can really make the corals pop with most decent lights on the market but I tend to run a bit more white than many.

2 photon 32s here
PXL_20240824_013652293.jpg


And a single 24 here
PXL_20240828_194631235.jpg
 

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