Lighting to use on multiple tanks

5453 Views 47 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Nigel95, May 6, 2017

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · Apr 4, 2017

After searching on the internet I saw the kessil a160we Tuna Sun which I seem to like. Maintenance would be easy due the lighting is relative high. Currently I have a 6.6 gallon tank which isn't sufficient with lighting. In the future I would like to buy a 17-29 gallon tank. So my idea was to use the kessil a160we on my nano till the soils run out; then use it on a bigger tank. People told me kessil is expensive and there are other ways out on the market. So my questions are:
1) Will the kessil a160 we Tuna Sun be possible to use on low intensity on my nano? I have monte carlo and eleocharis acicularis mini. Tank dimensions are 42x25x22,5 cm WxDxH.
2) Are there any alternatives that I can use for my nano and future tanks and maintenance will still be easy. I saw floodlights but a lot of scams are going around with lumens output. So It would be hard to buy a sufficient one.

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jeffkrol

· #2 · Apr 4, 2017

With LED technology progressing relatively fast and your unknown timeframe of possibly years it is not really your best option to spend way more now for its use in the future.
Kessil is dimmable down to at least 10% so no real problem there..

It is not difficult nor expensive to high light a 6.6gal tank.

Reactions: 1

RobnSonji

· #3 · Apr 4, 2017

Kessil seems like WAY overkill on a 6 gallon tank.... I mean it would work...but I wouldnt drop that kind of $$$ on a light for that size tank.
But if you got it like that....then go for it lol

Ive never had a tank that size so I dont know the appropriate lights but Im sure someone will be along shortly who has

If I had the money for a Kessil....I would instead go ahead and buy the bigger aquarium now and still have enough money for a decent LED

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 4, 2017

Yeah I just scaped this tank and afterwards I would liked a bigger one. But I'm fine with this one for like a year. I can't really find cheaper good lights for rimless tanks. Only ledstrips but can't attach them to a rimless tank. Can't put my build in led with a timer on which is a pain. That's why I liked the idea of using the Kessil now and for future tank. True point that technology goes gast. Hmmm?

jeffkrol

· #5 · Apr 4, 2017 (Edited)

New Radion over Kessil anyday.. Sight unseen..

Aquaticlife Halo is next.

20" 16W 24/7
https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Plant...91336657&sr=8-6&keywords=20+in+aquarium+light

$187 14W..........
https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-FugeR...1336811&sr=8-17&keywords=20+in+aquarium+light

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 4, 2017

US must be heaven with all that stuff haha. They don't sell it here. Just searched for a mini gooseneck kessil. Shipping to The Netherlands cost $427?

jeffkrol

· #7 · Apr 4, 2017 (Edited)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BTKI9IY?psc=1
Pretty blue overall but scores 100% for plants..
http://spectra.1023world.net/
Substituting 3 more 4500k and 3 less blue/blue/violet would almost make it perfect..

9350K 80CRI.. still 100%..

There are a lot of eek bay and amazon options..

China direct as well ..
Just look for a freshwater compatible "Chinese black box" Probably use it at like 20%...but 1/3rd the price of a Kessil/Radion/Halo. No automation (easily) but dimmable..

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...ghts-sbox-16-basic-fresh-water-plant-led.html

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 5, 2017

With all the ship cost it gets closer to Kessil. Just curious what would you Guys buy for like a 20 long. 2 x tuna sun 80 or one tuna sun 160?

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 5, 2017

jeffkrol said:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BTKI9IY?psc=1
Pretty blue overall but scores 100% for plants..
SPECTRA
Substituting 3 more 4500k and 3 less blue/blue/violet would almost make it perfect..
9350K 80CRI.. still 100%..

There are a lot of eek bay and amazon options..
China direct as well ..
Just look for a freshwater compatible "Chinese black box" Probably use it at like 20%...but 1/3rd the price of a Kessil/Radion/Halo. No automation (easily) but dimmable..

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...ghts-sbox-16-basic-fresh-water-plant-led.html

They told me not to buy some crap. Are the chinese black box okay with lifespan?

jeffkrol

· #10 · Apr 5, 2017 (Edited)

Nigel95 said:
They told me not to buy some crap. Are the chinese black box okay with lifespan?

Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay) - Reef Central Online Community

best to read that a bit...
They are basically a driver and a circuit board w/ diodes.. LED's are under driven to extend lifespan..
Crap is a matter of opinion. If one needs to buy 3 @ $150 over a 10yr lifespan or 1 @ $500.. well do the math..
BTW: Any "black box" as above is much higher in output than a Kessil..
even better @

Oh well. Cheapest I see is about $90 at other sellers anyway

I have 3 OceanRevive, 3 EverGrow fixtures and a ReefBreeder fixture over 4 tanks. The EverGrow fixtures have been in use for 3 years with zero issues. Two of the OR fixtures are 2 years and the other is 18 moths old with zero issues, the ReefBreeders is only 6 moths old with no issues. But I had a ReefRadiance fixture I bought used at 3 months old and the built-in controller didn't work properly and they refused to fix it. I got a controller from OR and replaced it myself.

And just to be clear, all these fixtures are made by EverGrow.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2544650&highlight=kessil+lifespan

nothing is without problems.. or supporters/detractors.
Originally Posted by trueperc View Post

I have been a Kessil A360we owner for over a year and half. Now thankfully I only use these to supplement my metal halides. Now while under warranty the customer service is top notch. My question for this group, has any of you had to deal with a failed unit out of warranty? My story is, I had two fail under warranty, and they shipped me new ones and told me to keep the old ones. I was shocked but was very happy. Since then, two more have gone just last weekend. I am out of warranty and completely understand that, but I emaiedl the company and asked if I could get these repaired as the cost of these up in Canada are $500 per unit. I was told no. So I have had a total of 7 lights and 4 failures in a year and half. That is not good. I did all the troubleshooting and its indeed the units. I love the look these lights give off, but I hate the fact that now I am sitting on $2000 worth of nothing in a very short time when these where suppose to last 5 years. Something to think about when buying the AP700. I am just trying to find out if this is just an outside of Canada thing or has anyone had to deal with this? Myself if I do go leds again, it will be EcoTech or AI at least you can get parts and upgrade them after the warranty period is over.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24253909&highlight=failure#post24253909

Your failure rate is really high. I have 8 of the 360WE's over my 480g display going on 1.5 years now and not a single failure.. I have other friends who run A360's and 360WE's that have been going even longer without issue. That leads me to wonder if there is a reason why yours are failing like that. Especially given the number of failures you've had which (from my experience) is way out of the norm for these lights.

Obviously one can pick and choose what they want to..
If heat management is sub-par any LED light will be compromised..

My personal beef w/ Kessils for freshwater is their spectrum is "lacking" and technologically are not keeping up.
Second would be $/PAR.. Not very good as compared to modern tech.
Radion XR15 FW gen4 is "state of the art" (still could be better.

) and fairly reasonable on a $/PAR value though "note" new and untested..
Has little to do w/ lifespan though.

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Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #11 · Apr 5, 2017

jeffkrol said:
Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay) - Reef Central Online Community

best to read that a bit...
They are basically a driver and a circuit board w/ diodes.. LED's are under driven to extend lifespan..
Crap is a matter of opinion. If one needs to buy 3 @ $150 over a 10yr lifespan or 1 @ $500.. well do the math..
BTW: Any "black box" as above is much higher in output than a Kessil..
even better @

How long do your leds last? - Reef Central Online Community

nothing is without problems.. or supporters/detractors.
Originally Posted by trueperc View Post

Kessil Club - Page 53 - Reef Central Online Community

Obviously one can pick and choose what they want to..
If heat management is sub-par any LED light will be compromised..

My personal beef w/ Kessils for freshwater is their spectrum is "lacking" and technologically are not keeping up.
Second would be $/PAR.. Not very good as compared to modern tech.
Radion XR15 FW gen4 is "state of the art" (still could be better. ) and fairly reasonable on a $/PAR value though "note" new and untested..
Has little to do w/ lifespan though.

Found a site that ships to me but all the lights are way to much wattage and kelvin. They are pretty much all based on reef tanks.

jeffkrol

· #12 · Apr 5, 2017 (Edited)

Nigel95 said:
Found a site that ships to me but all the lights are way to much wattage and kelvin. They are pretty much all based on reef tanks.

Wattage isn't a problem if they are dimmable. Actually is a benefit since at low output the LED's will last a lot longer..
Kelvin is another matter.. Depends on the channel balance. Usually these are 2 channel designs w/ one blue and one white channel. Running only the white channel (50% output)
works for some.. Depends on the color temp off the whites and/or if they put in supplemental colors..
165w Led Aquarium Light For Reef Marine Tank Flower Seeds Cactus Seeds Led Aquarium Freshwater Lampe Aquarium Compact Fluorescent Grow Light Best Fluorescent Grow Lights From Wattshine, $118.6| Dhgate.Com
If you can find the reef type the fw are not far behind..

According to that site shipping to the Netherlands is free..

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #13 · Apr 5, 2017 (Edited)

How is this one for my current 6.6 gallon and future 17-29 gallon. It has green spectrum to.. @jeffkrol

Spectrum: White/Blue/Green/Red/UV
View angle: 90 degrees
freshwater--- 6x12000 K, 12x6500 K, 2x450nm, 2x660nm, 2x410nm

-channel 1: 12x6500 K

-channel 2: 6x12000 K, 2x450nm, 2x660nm, 2x410nm

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/New-...Grow-Marine/32793516666.html?isOrigTitle=true

jeffkrol

· #14 · Apr 5, 2017 (Edited)

Nigel95 said:
How is this one for my current 6.6 gallon and future 17-29 gallon. It has green spectrum to.. @jeffkrol

Spectrum: White/Blue/Green/Red/UV
View angle: 90 degrees
freshwater--- 6x12000 K, 12x6500 K, 2x450nm, 2x660nm, 2x410nm

-channel 1: 12x6500 K

-channel 2: 6x12000 K, 2x450nm, 2x660nm, 2x410nm

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/New-...Grow-Marine/32793516666.html?isOrigTitle=true

Base "color" (all diodes on) is probably close to 14000k. Bit too blue to begin.. Lowest one could go is 6500k (one channel off)..
China's just "throwing colors" in w/ little regard for "science"..

Now that doesn't necessarily make it "bad".. Certainly can grow things and have a look many like..but as you might have guessed I'm a bit "particular"..
In other words.. "close but no cigar" here.
What to look for (not easy to find)

If "ported" to a 2 channel design:
Ch1 Cool white, blue (green, either channel really but best here)
Ch2 Warm white, red.

Addendum regarding the above light.. 'IF" you understand that "the best" (relative color) will be achieved at about 20W output (only one channel, ignore their "unrealistic" power ratings) it will work fine....6500k channel on full, a "smidge" of the other channel
Pictures don't match descriptions either afaict..

kanaal 1: 12x6500 K
-kanaal 2: 6x12000 K, 2x450nm, 2x660nm, 2x410nm

Look up DsunY on that site...

These people "get it" as well..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INM0J1M?tag=vs-powersports-convert-amazon-20

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ibebian

· #15 · Apr 5, 2017

@Nigel95 sounds like you're moving on from Kessil but I basically had the same logic. A160 Tuna Sun over a 12" planted cube. I needed the longer gooseneck as the shorter will not center your light. I tried both gooseneck and the A80 as well. I decided against the A80 because it was not very flexible in mounting/positioning. And even trying the A series goose on the A80 required the angle bracket that made it look ugly, not to mention didn't include all the necessary screws(?).

Right now I'm still evaluating the A160. I have it on 30/40% via controller but for some reason getting much less pearling than a 12" Finnex Planted+ I was using. Might be because I changed my co2 location though so will need to test more.

Overall I wanted to like it but I'm not *that* impressed. I love the form factor as I use lids on all my tanks and it can be a pain to deal with.
@jeffkrol have you heard of MicMol AquaAir? What are your thoughts on those?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

jeffkrol

· #16 · Apr 5, 2017 (Edited)

ibebian said:
@Nigel95 sounds like you're moving on from Kessil but I basically had the same logic. A160 Tuna Sun over a 12" planted cube. I needed the longer gooseneck as the shorter will not center your light. I tried both gooseneck and the A80 as well. I decided against the A80 because it was not very flexible in mounting/positioning. And even trying the A series goose on the A80 required the angle bracket that made it look ugly, not to mention didn't include all the necessary screws(?).

Right now I'm still evaluating the A160. I have it on 30/40% via controller but for some reason getting much less pearling than a 12" Finnex Planted+ I was using. Might be because I changed my co2 location though so will need to test more.

Overall I wanted to like it but I'm not *that* impressed. I love the form factor as I use lids on all my tanks and it can be a pain to deal with.
@jeffkrol have you heard of MicMol AquaAir? What are your thoughts on those?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thanks for the link.. Still way too much blue for a fw tank though. visually speaking.. They keep making these "hybrid" saltwater lights ..

Good for Reef Tank and Planted Tank

LEDs:
16pcs White LED
10pcs Blue LED
2pcs Red LED
2pcs Green LED
14pcs RoyalBlue LED (Ch 2)

i mean it can be done since output intensities are quite different for the most part..but not that way..

no bandwidths, no color temp of the whites.. Not enough for an informed opinion..
It is somewhat of a cultural thing. Pacific rim likes the crisp blue/white of ADA style tanks..which is fine if the light can be "culturally tailored" but not the way they design them really.
It is like "hit and miss" .
Had this type of discussion w/ DsunY when I helped someone modify to one to "our" standards. Kept saying it would be too "yellow"..
Judge for yourself how "yellow" it turned out..
https://youtu.be/lkq9rr8NQtc
https://youtu.be/kHX1hosIgzE

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #17 · Apr 6, 2017

ibebian said:
@Nigel95 sounds like you're moving on from Kessil but I basically had the same logic. A160 Tuna Sun over a 12" planted cube. I needed the longer gooseneck as the shorter will not center your light. I tried both gooseneck and the A80 as well. I decided against the A80 because it was not very flexible in mounting/positioning. And even trying the A series goose on the A80 required the angle bracket that made it look ugly, not to mention didn't include all the necessary screws(?).

Right now I'm still evaluating the A160. I have it on 30/40% via controller but for some reason getting much less pearling than a 12" Finnex Planted+ I was using. Might be because I changed my co2 location though so will need to test more.

Overall I wanted to like it but I'm not *that* impressed. I love the form factor as I use lids on all my tanks and it can be a pain to deal with.
@jeffkrol have you heard of MicMol AquaAir? What are your thoughts on those?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I need a lid too for shrimps. Really don't know what to do with Kessil/lighting. Not "impressive" sounds bad for all the money. Buying a Chinese black box isn't going to work for my current tank I guess. The box itself is going to be my tank size lol..

Thanks for all help so far @jeffkrol

Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #18 · Apr 6, 2017 (Edited)

This one looks good for my current nano and a future 23,6" x 19,7" x 14,2". Bit pricy for chinese stuff idk if I have to pay duty aswell.. @jeffkrol

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Smar...id=b0b76ee4-23d7-4d95-9252-bd2ea82ab941&tpp=1

What about buying a black box thinking about a future tank on my nano atm. Would it be ugly since a lot of light would go beside the tank (nano).

No reviews on the site..

You are a damn expert at this things I guess

jeffkrol

· #19 · Apr 6, 2017 (Edited)

Nigel95 said:
This one looks good for my current nano and a future 23,6" x 19,7" x 14,2". Bit pricy for chinese stuff idk if I have to pay duty aswell.. @jeffkrol

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Smar...id=b0b76ee4-23d7-4d95-9252-bd2ea82ab941&tpp=1

What about buying a black box thinking about a future tank on my nano atm. Would it be ugly since a lot of light would go beside the tank (nano).

No reviews on the site..

You are a damn expert at this things I guess

Yes there is the size thing to consider...
As to the DSuny you posted..sort of same old same old.
One thing though, they will "build to suit"..

IF "I" was thinking about that box I'd tell them to

replace all the 6500K w/ 3000K LED's.

..
W/ channel 2 OFF (410 containing one.. not sure they are correct w/ 450 but oh well)
All 6500K replaced w/ 3000k
This is a VERY rough picture of it..but should be within reason.

No no expert, just like playing w/ color..

SPECTRA

Actually if you do customize, may as well tell them to substitute cyan for green..

programmeur Een (11 LEDs):10 3000k, 1x12000 K wit

programmeur Twee (3 LEDs):2 x 450nm UV, 1 x 410nm Paars

programmeur Drie (15 LEDs):3 x 470nm Blauw, 1 x 450nm Koningsblauw, 3 x 660nm Rood,2 x CYAN, 6x12000 K wit

programmeur Vier (11 LEDs):1 x12000 K wit, 10 x 3000 K

Crazy amount of light for a nano though..
Note Believe red channel is wrong...some type of typo but guaranteed it is purple/blue regardless on NM ratings..

give me some time to re-analyse this. Haven't had my coffee.

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Nigel95

Discussion Starter · #20 · Apr 6, 2017

How much does it cost extra to customize at DSunY. And is it worth the extra $80 for the DsunY instead of one like this https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Dimm...lgo_pvid=315affa4-18d7-4352-ad18-6ad397f72251

What would you do in my situation with this nano, running for a year and switching over to like a 25gallon?

I don't mind to spend the money just want to fit it for both tanks if possible (nano and future tank). If this is not possible tell me. Worst situation is spending $100 and having an ugly nano.

Take some coffee first haha! @jeffkrol

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