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Max's Red Sea Reefer 170. (A Grand Journey of Discovery, Aggravation, and General Buffoonery).

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iTzJu

iTzJu

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MaxDamage984 said:
Great post! I am thinking of going LPS dominant mostly and I would like to stay away from having to resolder lights lol. I looked into some Chinese LEDs and some look really cool but I would like to avoid hanging from ceiling and aesthetics are important as its a display tank in my main room.

I would go with Chinese fixture all day if I can come up with a gooseneck style mounting solution.

Anyone know anything about Nanobox Duo?
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Nanobox are great fixtures and are highly regarded at the nano-reef forums - if you are going LPS mostly, the Kessil or the Nanobox should be perfect for you. I would actually lean more on the nanobox to be honest, if you're going for aesthetics.


side note, something i noticed - how did you go from an Eshopps S-120 Skimmer to the PSK-75/100 ?? lol
 
MaxDamage984

MaxDamage984

iTzJu said:
Nanobox are great fixtures and are highly regarded at the nano-reef forums - if you are going LPS mostly, the Kessil or the Nanobox should be perfect for you. I would actually lean more on the nanobox to be honest, if you're going for aesthetics.


side note, something i noticed - how did you go from an Eshopps S-120 Skimmer to the PSK-75/100 ?? lol
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Price lol. The store talked me into the other one first but I did some research and saw that the PSK -75 uses the same pump and is half the price of the S-120. Either is sufficient for my 43 gallon total water volume so I couldn't justify paying an extra 150$ for a slightly different shape plastic.
 
iTzJu

iTzJu

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Good call, I had the PSK-75 a long time ago before the new pumps and they were workhorses back then as well. The S120 is an amazing skimmer though too for it's size but with your small water volume the PSK-75 should take care of it nicely.
 
REEF DOCG

REEF DOCG

iTzJu said:
this really depends on what you plan on keeping in the tank, will you be SPS dominant or LPS/Mixed?

I love Kessils, they are awesome lights BUT they are not the best in terms of coverage especially when dealing with SPS - The single point light is awesome and creates beautiful ripples of light but will create a ton of shadows which SPS are not fond of. If you don't plan on supplementing them with T5s down the line - i wouldn't advise a single fixture for an SPS dominant tank. For a dominant LPS tank, they are perfect lights.

If you plan on doing SPS for this tank, I would advise on getting

Top Choice - ATI 24" 6 Bulb Fixture - T5s are proven for SPS and everything else - great growth and color and honestly, power wise it's around 150w - the Kessils, iirc are 100w at full power, only issue with t5s are the yearly bulbs and heat.

runners up suggestions -

MarsAqua 165w Fixture - not the best looking but cost effective and they work. If you're handy with a soldering iron, i would change out the red and green leds with 410-425nm UV leds and also remove the optics for better coverage - will still get some shadows but not as bad as the Kessils alone. can be easily hacked to work with an APEX as well.

Kessil a360W with 2 t5 supplements - better combo but not sure how you feel about t5s. if your handy, your make a floating canopy that can house the kessil and t5s

Radions and Hydra series have a good track record but can't comment on an experience since never owned either.
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Wow dude! Those where some detailed answers. I benefited by this article. I don't mean to infringe on max's build but but I have a similar light to a Mars aqua. And I like the way they light up the tank. And I still get a slight glimmer at the bottom. Nothing like the disco effect of a kessil but you make a good point. If Max likes the kessil then he should consider the combo with t5's if it doesn't bother him.

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REEF DOCG

REEF DOCG

f1ac3e21b6ecb6b8787a18536d41c235.jpg

This is my setup Chinese led replica of a Mars aqua. I believe.

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MaxDamage984

MaxDamage984

Whoa whoa. If I need to use t5s with a kessil then that's a no go. I was under the impression I can use a kessil 360we by itself. Otherwise that is too much $$$ if I have to run multiple lights [emoji50]


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REEF DOCG

REEF DOCG

MaxDamage984 said:
Price lol. The store talked me into the other one first but I did some research and saw that the PSK -75 uses the same pump and is half the price of the S-120. Either is sufficient for my 43 gallon total water volume so I couldn't justify paying an extra 150$ for a slightly different shape plastic.
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Smart, for not letting them talk you into something that they are only benefitting from. ;)

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MaxDamage984

MaxDamage984

Also I don't think it's possible to have a Chinese "replica" of Mars aqua as Mars lights are themselves a Chinese led lol.


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REEF DOCG

REEF DOCG

MaxDamage984 said:
Also I don't think it's possible to have a Chinese "replica" of Mars aqua as Mars lights are themselves a Chinese led lol.


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Got me there. I think what I meant was these are off branded. No name but they do light up nice.

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kschweer

kschweer

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You can also look into "lamp trees" for hanging the lights above the tank. I believe cad lights makes them. I had a buddy weld me up a set. The basically mount to the back of the stand and 90 out over the tank and that's where you hang the lights. It's a good look and no holes in the wall or ceiling.
 
REEF DOCG

REEF DOCG

I did some research on these (Halo)don't know a whole much. But their gooseneck is way better then the kessil. The wire for one hide on the inside of the tube which is a huge plus especially if you are looking for esthetics. Here's a pic.
1e00489d68f5c1231d1735d9ee545328.jpg


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iTzJu

iTzJu

Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
MaxDamage984 said:
Whoa whoa. If I need to use t5s with a kessil then that's a no go. I was under the impression I can use a kessil 360we by itself. Otherwise that is too much $$$ if I have to run multiple lights [emoji50]


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You'll be fine with just the one Kessil A360WE since you'll be doing mostly LPS - the t5s were just a suggestion if you wanted to do mostly SPS.

the light tree is also a good idea like @kschweer suggested - might also look into some DIY ones using conduit at HD/Lowes.
 
MaxDamage984

MaxDamage984

kschweer said:
You can also look into "lamp trees" for hanging the lights above the tank. I believe cad lights makes them. I had a buddy weld me up a set. The basically mount to the back of the stand and 90 out over the tank and that's where you hang the lights. It's a good look and no holes in the wall or ceiling.
Click to expand...

I will make a hole in my wall or ceiling over my tank stand anytime good sir!!!








.... Don't tell my future wife I said that.








.... I still stand by what I said. F&$k the ceiling or walls.
 
MaxDamage984

MaxDamage984

To throw more fuel into the fire...

1e261f37fe5315fc54e4981854e2660f.jpg
looks really nice!

But...

Kessil came out with a similar mounting arm
0678f8cc27b3df75b5396d3023632b1f.jpg


Choice A is 200$ cheaper however. $200 buys me a nice circulation pump....

Speaking of circulation pumps. Anyone hear of Jebao pumps? Seem to have the functionally of an mp 10 but like 10,0000 times less expensive?


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Trio91

Trio91

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Staff member
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iTzJu said:
You'll be fine with just the one Kessil A360WE since you'll be doing mostly LPS - the t5s were just a suggestion if you wanted to do mostly SPS.

the light tree is also a good idea like @kschweer suggested - might also look into some DIY ones using conduit at HD/Lowes.
Click to expand...
i agree, you'll be fine with just using the one kessil puck, being that your not looking to go SPS dominant, that should be plenty of light IMO

im running the 1 pendant and i am getting plenty of light....also know that i have this thing dialed down to about 20-30% intensity IMG_20160514_195613.jpg
 
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