Too many choices...

Richmond

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I'm building out a Red Sea 3XL 900. Trying to decide on light. My original plan was 3x Red Sea ReefLED 160s. I like the features, and the appearance. But while researching, I cant find enough data to commit!

I'm torn between XR30 G5 Blues, the ReefLED160s, or other... Why are there 900 lighting options?!

Please, give your opinion! Budget isn't an issue. I just prefer not to buy multiple sets of lights. One and done preferred.
 

WIReefer

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There’s so many options lol if it were me I would go t5 I love my sunpower.
 
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Richmond

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There’s so many options lol if it were me I would go t5 I love my sunpower.
Wife won't let me hang anything, and I can't find valid mounting options. Not trying to have to have custom mounts built. Was originally looking at the ATI powermodule hybrid.
 

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Wife won't let me hang anything, and I can't find valid mounting options. Not trying to have to have custom mounts built. Was originally looking at the ATI powermodule hybrid.
I was in the same boat as you and then I went with an easy 10 min diy job and looks nice
 

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A. grandis

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I'm building out a Red Sea 3XL 900. Trying to decide on light. My original plan was 3x Red Sea ReefLED 160s. I like the features, and the appearance. But while researching, I cant find enough data to commit!

I'm torn between XR30 G5 Blues, the ReefLED160s, or other... Why are there 900 lighting options?!

Please, give your opinion! Budget isn't an issue. I just prefer not to buy multiple sets of lights. One and done preferred.
Your new tank needs some metal halide system going there!! You will have the very best performance to experience and see your corals thriving without any trouble at all!!
One of the best options would be the Hamilton Cebu 6 feet system. It is bulky , but is the match for your system. You could hang it from the ceiling or place some hangers from the wall behind the aquarium, masking it with wood around.

The efficiency with this system is amazing. Corals will display the best they can with a natural approach using the best we have available in the market today.


"DESCRIPTION:

Cebu Sun™ System Metal Halide & 4 x T5 High Output (HO) Fluorescent System
The Best Lighting for Your Aquarium. Metal Halide full spectrum lights are recommended by experts as ideal for proper growth and development of coral, anemones and invertebrates. BEST Performance • BEST Spectrum • BEST Results
  • Supplies the most concentrated light intensity, color spectrum and wavelength essential for photosynthesis and coral health
  • Vivid, sparkling and natural looking light enhances the look of your tank inhabitants
  • Powerful enough to reach the lower depths of your aquarium with the same intensity and spectrum as natural sunlight
  • Proper spectrum, color stability and light output essential for the health of your aquarium
  • Superior craftsmanship, durable black powder coated aluminum system
  • German mirror finish reflector: intensifies Metal Halide light output
  • Combining Metal Halide power with T5 Fluorescent lighting for maximum impact
  • Low profile, ventilated aluminum fixture can be placed directly on top of aquarium or hung above aquarium
  • Remote, high performance Metal Halide ballast with quality quick disconnects.
  • Protective, tempered 'splash guard safety shield' UV lens
  • Fully assembled
Includes:
  • Ballast: 3-400w Magnetic M59 (Electronic available for an upgrade cost)
  • T5 HO Bulbs: 2 x 80 watt T5 HO 460nm royal blue & HO 2 x 80 watt T5 HO 420nm actinic bulbs
  • Separate cords for all MH & T5 bulbs: 6 cords total"
FROM:

If budget isn't an issue and you can make it work it will give you the best results for the health of your corals.
Best.
 

A. grandis

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Wife won't let me hang anything, and I can't find valid mounting options. Not trying to have to have custom mounts built. Was originally looking at the ATI powermodule hybrid.
You need to have it above the tank hanging from the ceiling somehow. That is the main point of having a rimless tank.
 

X-37B

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If money is not an issue then go custom mount.
Metal Halides would be my choice.
250 watt de 14k phoenix in lumen bright fixtures on m80 ballasts.
Growth has been off the chart since swapping out my 8T5's
If I was to go led it would be Orphek hands down.
Just purchased a blue plus to supplement my Halides.
Will see what it does for morning and night pop.
I love my colors with the Halides.
For $150 on sale I could not pass it up.
 

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If budget were no issue I’d get 4 ati straton. If you MUST pick something that comes with a proprietary mounting arm just get 4 radions then. 3 of anything won’t be enough for even coverage on that tank. The ati straton gets my vote. If
 
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Richmond

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If budget were no issue I’d get 4 ati straton. If you MUST pick something that comes with a proprietary mounting arm just get 4 radions then. 3 of anything won’t be enough for even coverage on that tank. The ati straton gets my vote. If
They're sold out everywhere. I'm going to get them plus the hanging mounts. I'm 99.99% sure.

Appreciate all the input. I despise changing bulbs. I ran halides when I first started in the hobby, and prefer any fixture that's easier to change. I'm automating EVERYTHING. If I have to change out bulbs, I won't.
 
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Richmond

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Still thinking Straton's, but the T5 LED hybrids are kinda calling to me. This light won't work with them, if I decide to add them later in the life of the tank.
 

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I'm building out a Red Sea 3XL 900. Trying to decide on light. My original plan was 3x Red Sea ReefLED 160s. I like the features, and the appearance. But while researching, I cant find enough data to commit!

I'm torn between XR30 G5 Blues, the ReefLED160s, or other... Why are there 900 lighting options?!

Please, give your opinion! Budget isn't an issue. I just prefer not to buy multiple sets of lights. One and done preferred.
I'm going to recommend strongly against the Red Sea lights (at least see them in person before committing to them). Don't know about the newest, but I had the 50s on my nano. They are incredibly blue, basically just pegging the 450nm and some UV. Anything that fluoresces looks great, and anything that doesn't (eg fish, many corals) is some combination of blue, black, and murky brown.

Sounds like you decided on the Radions anyways. But if those end up seeming too expensive, there's definitely other options in the price range of Red Sea that hit a wider spectrum (I've seen good things about ViperSpectra)
 

Kodski

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Have you taken a look at the Reefi lights? I just preordered 3 of the Unos. 90w, 9 channel control, built in contoller through your computer, and he makes and sells mounts that work with the ecotech mounting options. Best part, is each light is only $280. You could also consider the Reefi Duo's or Duo Extremes.
 
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There are metal halides and they are attractive. I used to run a pair back in early 2000 with a pair of svho actinic. High noon look on a warm tropic afternoon right after first morning dive. Have to say love the look, feel, and overall vibe. Only two options, maybe three, if that is the look you are after:

1. MH bulb
2. Philips Coral Care Gen 2 LED
3. Kessil a360x using default Kessil Logic

Most all other form of lighting is going to be heavy on the blue spectrum especially if you are buying in the US market. For whatever reason we seem to lean blue. As you said there are a lot of choices here and you probably won't go wrong with any of them. I think it is going to come down to your requirements and then work from there. Me personally I'm biased because of the look I like which is high noon sun. I am not a fan of heavy blues. Having said that:

1. Kessil a360x. I'm biased and run 4 of these. This is probably the only light on the market today that has a multi role design. It can be mounted close to the surface for less light spill. It can me mounted higher for spread. It can be mounted high and a lens added (90 degree) to punch down through tall tanks or focus on a specific coral. Add their controller and now you unlock extra color spectrum and adjust as you see fit or leave it with Kessil's built in logic which will grow corals.

2. ATI Straton. ATI knows T5. They also went with a different approach in the panel design by adding more LED's but run them at lower power. Why? Better thermal control and extended life cycle. These two alone probably mean if taken care of will last probably the longest out of any on the market today with the exception of maybe Philips. More on that in a minute. Anyway these lights will be the benchmark moving forward as it relates to panels. Just my opinion. If I wasn't so early into my kessil's this would be one of the replacements I'd consider. They are just too good to ignore.

3. Philips coral care gen 2. Similar to ATI above they went with a flat panel design and no fans. No fan means less noise and point of failure. Passive cooling again similar to ATI but instead of a external power source they included it with the light unit. So bigger light, heavier light, but with ATI better thermal management. In the case of philips they are probably the cleanest solution with the best cable management due to no extra bricks. And we all know as hobbyist the number of power supply bricks we have is getting out of control. This here is huge. The main difference with Philips gen 2's is that they go for that more natural day look which is huge in EMEA but not so much here in the US. If you look at the BRS review while a great light and coverage they didn't like that they had to turn off more whites to get their favorite blue look. Again, this is a hobbyist choice and if you like blue look then no, this light isn't for you. Reference youtube and you will see Gen 1's mostly in EMEA. Terence over at neptune runs the Gen 1's and his tank is amazing. If you want to see the natural look of the lights that would be a good reference.

These three are all great performers and what I would consider looking at first. You may be asking why not the G5's? Well, I'd look at the G4's first because of the issues the newer units have had. Corrected I am sure but I still catch a thread here or there about the same issues. Probably worth checking them out since they are known and popular.

Anyway not sure what your option will end up being but these are my three suggestions to look at :) A lot to look at and who knows what you may end up with. Remember money or cost doesn't mean success or quality.
 

A. grandis

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I was trying to be a nice boy, but now...
Disrespecting the polite aesthetics and going full halide power without T5s...
The other recommendation...

Wait for them to get back in stock and pull the trigger:
 
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Richmond

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There are metal halides and they are attractive. I used to run a pair back in early 2000 with a pair of svho actinic. High noon look on a warm tropic afternoon right after first morning dive. Have to say love the look, feel, and overall vibe. Only two options, maybe three, if that is the look you are after:

1. MH bulb
2. Philips Coral Care Gen 2 LED
3. Kessil a360x using default Kessil Logic

Most all other form of lighting is going to be heavy on the blue spectrum especially if you are buying in the US market. For whatever reason we seem to lean blue. As you said there are a lot of choices here and you probably won't go wrong with any of them. I think it is going to come down to your requirements and then work from there. Me personally I'm biased because of the look I like which is high noon sun. I am not a fan of heavy blues. Having said that:

1. Kessil a360x. I'm biased and run 4 of these. This is probably the only light on the market today that has a multi role design. It can be mounted close to the surface for less light spill. It can me mounted higher for spread. It can be mounted high and a lens added (90 degree) to punch down through tall tanks or focus on a specific coral. Add their controller and now you unlock extra color spectrum and adjust as you see fit or leave it with Kessil's built in logic which will grow corals.

2. ATI Straton. ATI knows T5. They also went with a different approach in the panel design by adding more LED's but run them at lower power. Why? Better thermal control and extended life cycle. These two alone probably mean if taken care of will last probably the longest out of any on the market today with the exception of maybe Philips. More on that in a minute. Anyway these lights will be the benchmark moving forward as it relates to panels. Just my opinion. If I wasn't so early into my kessil's this would be one of the replacements I'd consider. They are just too good to ignore.

3. Philips coral care gen 2. Similar to ATI above they went with a flat panel design and no fans. No fan means less noise and point of failure. Passive cooling again similar to ATI but instead of a external power source they included it with the light unit. So bigger light, heavier light, but with ATI better thermal management. In the case of philips they are probably the cleanest solution with the best cable management due to no extra bricks. And we all know as hobbyist the number of power supply bricks we have is getting out of control. This here is huge. The main difference with Philips gen 2's is that they go for that more natural day look which is huge in EMEA but not so much here in the US. If you look at the BRS review while a great light and coverage they didn't like that they had to turn off more whites to get their favorite blue look. Again, this is a hobbyist choice and if you like blue look then no, this light isn't for you. Reference youtube and you will see Gen 1's mostly in EMEA. Terence over at neptune runs the Gen 1's and his tank is amazing. If you want to see the natural look of the lights that would be a good reference.

These three are all great performers and what I would consider looking at first. You may be asking why not the G5's? Well, I'd look at the G4's first because of the issues the newer units have had. Corrected I am sure but I still catch a thread here or there about the same issues. Probably worth checking them out since they are known and popular.

Anyway not sure what your option will end up being but these are my three suggestions to look at :) A lot to look at and who knows what you may end up with. Remember money or cost doesn't mean success or quality.
Appreciate the response! I finally decided, after way too much deliberation. I was 99.999% sure I was going for the ATI Straton. They're attracive, and seem to have great color spread. I will definitely put them over a tank at some point, but the wifi wasn't for them. White lights over the black tank, yada yada.

My decision:

2x 36" dimmable Aquatic Life Hybrid
4x Kessil A360x

They're ordered, so won't be changing my mind probably.

Thanks again for the thought out response. I'm sure it gets tiresome with dozens of people posting similar questions daily. Hopefully one day I can answer more than I ask.
 
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