Kessil Vs Radion

[reefinginBD]

Setting up a 60 inch mixed reef tank. The two options that I have are either 3 Radion XR15 G6 Pro’s or 3 Kessil Tuna Blue 360X’s.
I love the shimmer of the kessils but I might need to add some supplemental lighting if I use them which I probably will not need with the Radions.
Which one would you choose and why?

 

[blaxsun]

Nothing has really changed from your original post asking the same question...

 

[Reefer Matt]

Setting up a 60 inch mixed reef tank. The two options that I have are either 3 Radion XR15 G6 Pro’s or 3 Kessil Tuna Blue 360X’s.
I love the shimmer of the kessils but I might need to add some supplemental lighting if I use them which I probably will not need with the Radions.
Which one would you choose and why?

I have a perspective, but I have never owned any Ecotech Marine products, so my opinion is biased. They work for my tank. It is a 48" long 75 gallon sps tank. Four Kessil a360x lights.

 

[Seansea]

My preference is the shimmer. I have kessils and love it

 

[ca1ore]

I run a 5’ tank (actually 58’) and am using three 360x and two Gen4 30s …. and I’m doing softies and some LPS. Not sure that the 15 is all that much better at battling shading than the 360x. In either case, you will likely find that four or each are required eventually.

 

[Lavey29]

Agree 4 would be required or get 2 XR30s and call it a day.

 

[reefinginBD]

I have a perspective, but I have never owned any Ecotech Marine products, so my opinion is biased. They work for my tank. It is a 48" long 75 gallon sps tank. Four Kessil a360x lights.

Do you think I will be able to get away with 3 kessils because it will be a mixed reef with mostly lps and some sps like montipora and birds nest.

 

[reefinginBD]

I run a 5’ tank (actually 58’) and am using three 360x and two Gen4 30s …. and I’m doing softies and some LPS. Not sure that the 15 is all that much better at battling shading than the 360x. In either case, you will likely find that four or each are required eventually.

Ah I see thanks!

 

[Reefer Matt]

Do you think I will be able to get away with 3 kessils because it will be a mixed reef with mostly lps and some sps like montipora and birds nest.

It's possible depending on mounting height, imo. I believe for a mixed tank, they are good for a 24" spread each. I would definitely rent a par meter to adjust the heights, positions, and intensities for proper par spread.

 

[Seansea]

Do you think I will be able to get away with 3 kessils because it will be a mixed reef with mostly lps and some sps like montipora and birds nest.

Yes. Put the sps higher and closer to beams and the lps and softies off to side and lower.

 

[gregdepot]

I have an A500X and theres not a bunch of plastic on it so building quality is better on Kessil.

Its $100 for a wifi dongle or control if getting new for Kessil which is insane. You need it to unlock UV etc but light works without it I guess.

The Radion is a but plastic to me so Id get the Kessil but I think Radeon is more popular, you can find sold deals on G5s

 

[Amado]

Two kessill 500x is all you need no supplemental lights grow anything

 

[UtahReefer]

3 XR 15 G6 Blues rover an IM 100EXT SPS tank. There’s light everywhere.

 

[zoomonster]

Ok you poked the bear and just going to say it. IMO Kessil quality and support is abysmal. Thats coming from someone that had 5 A360WE's that all died right after 2 year warranty. Should have bought Radion's in the first place and now that I have never looking back. Running 3.5 years now w/o issue and excellent results.

I always look at it as one XR30 each 24" of tank, so I have 3 on 6ft tank. At 60" two would probably suffice with wide lens or also add in an XR15 in the middle.

 

[X-37B]

For radions I would do 5 xr15's. I run 4 over my 80g 48".
You could start with 3 and add them as needed.

 

[CBonito]

Two kessill 500x is all you need no supplemental lights grow anything

I may get one of those. I have 2 360x going over a 3'x2'x12" tall tank. If it's not enough, I'll add the 500.
I dont care for supplemental flourescents or led strips. I think they detract from the appearance.

 

[trevorhiller]

On my 24" tank I had the Kessil a360x, then the XR15, then the XR15 + ReefBrites, then an XR30 + Reefbrites.

After all that insanity, I've already purchased a 8 Bulb T5 fixture for my next tank (also going to be a 5 foot tank). It just seems silly to me to have to buy so many lights to get full tank coverage. The concept of LEDs advertises nice... a slim, single fixture over the tank that's easy to work around and not obtrusive. Easily tunable. But that kind of goes out the window when the tank starts filling up and you need more coverage. Tunability is pretty useless as everyone recommends don't tweak your lights or you'll tick the corals off. For me I'd rather have one big fixture covering the whole tank than multiple smaller (perhaps less efficient) fixtures covering the tank.

Obviously people do it with one or two fixtures, but when you look at a lot of experienced reefers tanks you notice multiple fixtures for a blanket of light, at least I do. This may not apply to you since you mention just LPS and easy SPS, but just another option to consider. The ATI Sunpower 8 Bulb 60" light was around $700+$200 for for bulbs. A 6 bulb would work fine for LPS from feedback I've gotten. Cons: Not as trendy as a Radion or Kessil, bulkier, no shimmer, Bulb replacement costs (although you save a lot of money upfront compared to buying several fixtures).

If I did buy LEDs again, I would be looking at the Quanta bars ($) or the AI Blades ($$$), I've heard good feedback about both of them but have no experience with either.

I think all the equipment looks equally ugly and detracts from the tank, so I might as well have what's best for the animals inside and save myself some money.

 

[CBonito]

For radions I would do 5 xr15's. I run 4 over my 80g 48".
You could start with 3 and add them as needed.

I spy some nice stags in there man.

 

[Naekuh]

For radions I would do 5 xr15's. I run 4 over my 80g 48".
You could start with 3 and add them as needed.

Holy cow, id call this a sleeper tank...

Meaning your tank looks like a ganky Aqueon tank, but your lights and corals are on a whole different level.

 

[X-37B]

Holy cow, id call this a sleeper tank...

Meaning your tank looks like a ganky Aqueon tank, but your lights and corals are on a whole different level.

Its asleep now I had to take it down, lol.
Its an Aquarium master rimmed tank. It was my acro growout tank. I only had it up for a little over a year.
This was attatched to the sump. 30g.