LED Lighting upgrade for a biocube32

[thatguy88]

Hi all,

I'm new to the hobby and got a coralife biocube 32 recently for my first saltwater aquarium. I'm just about 2 weeks into my cycle but I'm just trying to think ahead a bit. So with that said I've been looking at upgrading my lighting. I think I have norrowed it down a little bit was hoping for some more feed back from fellow reefers who have used the fallowing lights:

1. Radion xr15w g4 pro
2. Kessil a160we tuna
3. AI prime HD

or should I go a little further with...

1. Kessil a360we tuna
2. AI hydra twentysix

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hi all,

I'm new to the hobby and got a coralife biocube 32 recently for my first saltwater aquarium. I'm just about 2 weeks into my cycle but I'm just trying to think ahead a bit. So with that said I've been looking at upgrading my lighting. I think I have norrowed it down a little bit was hoping for some more feed back from fellow reefers who have used the fallowing lights:

1. Radion xr15w g4 pro
2. Kessil a160we tuna
3. AI prime HD

or should I go a little further with...

1. Kessil a360we tuna
2. AI hydra twentysix

Thanks for the help in advance.

I'm personally a huge fan of kessils. I would highly recommend the A360. It'll grow any coral you put on it. But as to which of the three is best, it's all a matter of personal preference and what features you want. The kessil and the radions have to be controlled either manually or with an external controller. The prime hd is WiFi controllable right out of the box. The prime and the radions give you slider bars for each individual color and you pick and choose what color you like and want whereas the kessil does not. It starts out blue and adds in the whites as you near 100% color. No slider bars and extremely simple to use. The kessils are also known for their amazing color blending, meaning the bottom of the tank and back don't give the disco ball effect or make it look like it's on fire. Also kessil is the leader in shimmer. The radions are power houses though and put out an amazing amount of par. Again it's going to be a matter of personal preference and what features you do and don't want and how much you want to spend. The prime will be the least expensive. Kessil a160 in the middle, and radions and kessil a360 the most. I know this is alot of info, and I hope it helps :) I would take a look at bulk reef supplys YouTube channel and watch their in depth investigation on each of the lights, also read the reviews of users of the other lights as I am a kessil user. Good luck and keep us updated :)

 

[thatguy88]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I have also some extensive YouTube watching of BRS video as well as Marine depot and others of most if not all of the lights. Just seeing if they're is any insights that I've overlooked or not heard yet. Trying to get as much info as possible before dropping the $$

 

[Jeff_Toronto]

Not sure on tech specs and how not relates but I'm in same boat and looking at new light upgrade for biocube 32. Check out steves leds. Google

 

[JoshH]

Steve's LEDs and nanobox are excellent options as Well, paired with a bluefish controller they are great. I do have an AI Prime HD over my QT/frag tanks and love the easiness of the controls right out of the box. I can't speak for the ability of it to grow corals just yet but that will come very soon

 

[Ranjib]

A360. I have pretty similar setup (BC29 G)

 

[Ranjib]

Steve's LEDs and nanobox are excellent options as Well, paired with a bluefish controller they are great. I do have an AI Prime HD over my QT/frag tanks and love the easiness of the controls right out of the box. I can't speak for the ability of it to grow corals just yet but that will come very soon

Nano box are good actually. Being a single pendant style Kessil causes some shadow, which you'll see very visible in all the a80, 360, 160 lit tanks. A clear pyramid shaped well lit area. With lots of shadow directly under anything that obstruct the light source. Nano box, even the sbreef lights wont have that issue. But then you wont get the shimmer. Also, with nano box in particular you have to be bit careful with the settings, otherwise you can burn corals pretty easily