So I had a tank leak on Tuesday, and unfortunately the water got all over the power supply and controller for my DIY light... so I'm in the market for a new light for the left half of my 55g tank. It's a standard 48" x 13" 55g, 21" deep, so the space I need to light is 24" x 13"With what I'm comfortable spending ($450-$550), there are a handful of options that look attractive to me.
I've basically narrowed it down to two options (though I'm open to other suggestions as well), which you can probably guess by the thread title: The Maxspect Ethereal and the Kessil A360X.
My primary concern is the overall ability of these lights to equal or exceed the performance of the old light. I was getting approximately 400 PAR about 6" below the water level, about 150 down in the sand in the corners of the tank. After that, broad spectrum, controllability, and overall aesthetics are important to me.
The right side of the tank has a pair of Kessil A160WE pendants over it, so I have a slight bias towards the Kessil... but not enough to outright decide in its favor. If I could spend less (factoring in the cost of the external controller for the Kessil) and get the same performance off of the Ethereal, I'd be happy to go that way.
So, users of these lights - how has your long-term experience been with them? Anything you regret, anything you don't like about them? Or if there's another light that's done well for you in that budget, what light am I overlooking?
I've basically narrowed it down to two options (though I'm open to other suggestions as well), which you can probably guess by the thread title: The Maxspect Ethereal and the Kessil A360X.
My primary concern is the overall ability of these lights to equal or exceed the performance of the old light. I was getting approximately 400 PAR about 6" below the water level, about 150 down in the sand in the corners of the tank. After that, broad spectrum, controllability, and overall aesthetics are important to me.
The right side of the tank has a pair of Kessil A160WE pendants over it, so I have a slight bias towards the Kessil... but not enough to outright decide in its favor. If I could spend less (factoring in the cost of the external controller for the Kessil) and get the same performance off of the Ethereal, I'd be happy to go that way.
So, users of these lights - how has your long-term experience been with them? Anything you regret, anything you don't like about them? Or if there's another light that's done well for you in that budget, what light am I overlooking?
