Lights for red sea 425 - extremely confused

[Umrigark]

Folks,

I have decided to upgrade to red sea 425 (approx. 90 gal display) will create a build thread soon(spouse approved project ).

Looking to buy lights this thanksgiving season. Confused between 2 Kesil Ap9x or three radion XR 15. Radion is even more confusing with pros and blues. Visited Neptune aquatics today to stare at their Kessil lights liked the shimmer, but tanks also had lot of shadowed areas not sure if intensity was lowering, I visited late afternoon.

Tank goal> continue with mixed reef but eventually grow SPS colonies. Reefing experience of approx 1.5 years.

So right now I am down to four options : see poll

All suggestions welcome.

 

[popper]

I have 2 ap9x on a 48x24x20 (100g) They grow everything. Running a mix reef with sps lps etc.

 

[Da_Neefer]

I run 5 x Quanta Pro LED bars over my IM 112g tank. Here's an IG post with some spread and PAR info. Don't have to spend Radion money for great lighting

James Graham on Instagram: "So, yeah…here’s your king hill budget mofo lighting option for an early 4’ tank. $420 get you three Quanta Pro 24” bars. This is the OG Pop, Meso Blue, and Reef Crest Daylight all blended together and 13” above the tank. A

172 likes, 19 comments - telegraham on November 20, 2022: "So, yeah…here’s your king hill budget mofo lighting option for an early 4’ tank. $420 get you three Quanta Pro 24” bars. This is the OG Pop, Meso Blue, and Reef Crest Daylight all blended together and 13” above the tank. And that PAR...

www.instagram.com

 

[SupraSaltyReefer]

I’d go with three Radion XR15 G6 Pro. Mixing Pro and Blue models is going to give you different light spectrum even if you have both on the same template. The Mobius app is great as long as you don’t have any disconnection issues. The Kessil shimmer is nice. Not a fan of the app tho.

 

[Umrigark]

I run 5 x Quanta Pro LED bars over my IM 112g tank. Here's an IG post with some spread and PAR info. Don't have to spend Radion money for great lighting

James Graham on Instagram: "So, yeah…here’s your king hill budget mofo lighting option for an early 4’ tank. $420 get you three Quanta Pro 24” bars. This is the OG Pop, Meso Blue, and Reef Crest Daylight all blended together and 13” above the tank. A

172 likes, 19 comments - telegraham on November 20, 2022: "So, yeah…here’s your king hill budget mofo lighting option for an early 4’ tank. $420 get you three Quanta Pro 24” bars. This is the OG Pop, Meso Blue, and Reef Crest Daylight all blended together and 13” above the tank. And that PAR...

www.instagram.com

I am a fan of budget reefing. My 20 G runs on nikrew light, grows soft corals and lps just fine. But I found it hard to research and achieve right settings since there is very small community.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into these lights as well.

 

[Umrigark]

I have 2 ap9x on a 48x24x20 (100g) They grow everything. Running a mix reef with sps lps etc.

Great to hear. Can you point me your tank journal? Have been trying to visualize the look of the tank. I will checkout if you have some photos out there.

 

[Umrigark]

I have also been thinking of just getting one of the lights for now instead of stocking all of them. once I actually start adding corals and their lighting need increases I can add more lights of same or different company or even LED bars.

 

[Marcus H]

I'd run 2 pendants (xr15 or a360) and add a 3rd or bars down the line if you find you need them.

I bought bars for my frag tank off alibaba from the mfg who makes quanta. Quanta have a fèw more led packed in and a slightly different color array but the Chinese ones were half as costly even with tax and shipping. Would order again.

 

[Reefinglens]

I’ve ran kessil 350s, 360we, 360x, AP9X, xr15 pro, xr15 gen 5 blue, xr15 gen 5 pro and xr30 blue. Both with diffusers and without.

From my experience kessils, leave a lot of hard shadowing but work great for overall coral growth and of course give great shimmer to the tank. The 360x and AP9X deliver good spectrum but don’t do as well with tanks 24+” deep (which doesn’t apply to your tank anyway.)
I’ve found radions are best with diffusers, but you do lose a small amount of PAR, excellent light spread and spectrum.

All are great lights and really only depend on what you’re going for aesthetically because all will “get the job done”. Shimmer? More white or blue or violet? What kind of coral you plan on keeping? As @Mr2KiEu mentioned mixing radion pros and blues will deliver different color spectrums . I believe @wazzupmac runs both Radions and Kessils because he wanted a blanket of light with good spectrum from the radions and enjoys the shimmer from Kessil.

I’ve run a pro and blue side by side because I liked the look of a split spectrum tank. What ever you decide doesn’t have to be the means to an end. That’s what I love about this hobby. Near endless possibilities with all the new technology and products now available.

 

[Da_Neefer]

I am a fan of budget reefing. My 20 G runs on nikrew light, grows soft corals and lps just fine. But I found it hard to research and achieve right settings since there is very small community.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into these lights as well.

I bought 1 Quanta Pro Reef Crest and 1 Meso Blue when they were initially released to test them out compared to the Orphek Blue Plus/AI Prime combo on my now defunct 75g. Once over my tank I knew I was using them for the 112g upgrade.

For me it wasn't 100% about the budget although that did play a part. Who doesn't want to save money for more coral or fish? I like the design, high PAR, low wattage (0.9watt) per led for heat and longevity reasons, spread, lack of shadowing similar to T5's, and the spectrum. The visual look of the whiter Reef Crest and Meso Blue combo is spot on for me.

There are cons, you don't get dimming or controllability with these which is a drawback to some. Adjusting PAR is done by raising or lowering them like T5 or MH and also running different time schedules for each light.

I've also run a AI Prime 16HD's + Orphek Blue Plus combo and a Kessil APX9/T5 hybrid combo on previous tanks. If I was to buy lights again right now I'd seriously consider the new Reefi Uno 2.5. Based on everything I've read they are absolutely a Radion killer in all respects including price.

 

[Some Rando]

I’ve been happy with my Reefbreeders Photon V2 Pro. Provides tons of par and the app makes it easy to control with my phone. The price on them is great. Another bonus is it comes with 2 different mounting options included. Also if you do need any help or have problems I’ve always found Reefbreeders support to be very fast and responsive.

 

[Umrigark]

Thanks for the suggestions and personal experiences.

I’d go with three Radion XR15 G6 Pro. Mixing Pro and Blue models is going to give you different light spectrum even if you have both on the same template. The Mobius app is great as long as you don’t have any disconnection issues. The Kessil shimmer is nice. Not a fan of the app tho.

I also seriously thinking about mixing Kessils and Radions. I have not tweaked my light settings for months. I think I am the set it and leave it kind. Ha ha.

I’ve ran kessil 350s, 360we, 360x, AP9X, xr15 pro, xr15 gen 5 blue, xr15 gen 5 pro and xr30 blue. Both with diffusers and without.

From my experience kessils, leave a lot of hard shadowing but work great for overall coral growth and of course give great shimmer to the tank. The 360x and AP9X deliver good spectrum but don’t do as well with tanks 24+” deep (which doesn’t apply to your tank anyway.)
I’ve found radions are best with diffusers, but you do lose a small amount of PAR, excellent light spread and spectrum.

All are great lights and really only depend on what you’re going for aesthetically because all will “get the job done”. Shimmer? More white or blue or violet? What kind of coral you plan on keeping? As @Mr2KiEu mentioned mixing radion pros and blues will deliver different color spectrums . I believe @wazzupmac runs both Radions and Kessils because he wanted a blanket of light with good spectrum from the radions and enjoys the shimmer from Kessil.

I’ve run a pro and blue side by side because I liked the look of a split spectrum tank. What ever you decide doesn’t have to be the means to an end. That’s what I love about this hobby. Near endless possibilities with all the new technology and products now available.

I agree this hobby is so diverse, not just the livestock and corals but also equipment. I do like shimmer and the natural look.

For me it wasn't 100% about the budget although that did play a part. Who doesn't want to save money for more coral or fish? I like the design, high PAR, low wattage (0.9watt) per led for heat and longevity reasons, spread, lack of shadowing similar to T5's, and the spectrum. The visual look of the whiter Reef Crest and Meso Blue combo is spot on for me.

There are cons, you don't get dimming or controllability with these which is a drawback to some. Adjusting PAR is done by raising or lowering them like T5 or MH and also running different time schedules for each light.

I've also run a AI Prime 16HD's + Orphek Blue Plus combo and a Kessil APX9/T5 hybrid combo on previous tanks. If I was to buy lights again right now I'd seriously consider the new Reefi Uno 2.5. Based on everything I've read they are absolutely a Radion killer in all respects including price.

I will research Reefi Uno 2.5, info on their website does look promising.

one take way for me here is to take it slow. Will probably go for one light fixture and add more as I go. I don’t tweak the lights that much once set, so I am going to be fine with basic features like acclimation mode or even physical controllers.

 

[popper]

It really boil down to your disorder and how anal you are about this and that. all those lights will grow corals.

For me, I like the clean aesthetic..

 

[NATURAL_REEF]

I am running (2) XR15 G5 Blue and (1) XR15 G5 Blue over my S400 (probably same dimensions as the Reefer 425?). The top of the tank is getting around 425-450 at the top. Plenty of PAR but do have shade/shadow areas so I am thinking of adding some T5 for better coverage.
On the side note, mixed reef sounds great but it get really tricky to get the right flow once you start adding SPS (I am slowly getting of my LPS and others as my SPS collection grow)