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90gDreams

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Halide bulb went out on me and I can't find hamilton 20k in stock anywhere. Good excuse as any to do the LED plunge but gotta pull the trigger in the next day or so. Mixed reef but heavy sps. Likely going to transition the 90g to all SPS heavy on montipora.

I like my halide style alot so I'm leaning towards red sea 90 or 160 to have point source style lights.
 
I probably have a used radium I'd you need something to hold you over.

But as a halide lover....Kessils, you will want kessils. Only thing that shimmers like a halide, great color and easy adjustments.
 
I probably have a used radium I'd you need something to hold you over.

But as a halide lover....Kessils, you will want kessils. Only thing that shimmers like a halide, great color and easy adjustments.
I really appreciate it but I'm running DE not Mogul bases.

The Kessil a500 has had me window shopping since they came out. $1400 is painful to think about though.
 
I really appreciate it but I'm running DE not Mogul bases.

The Kessil a500 has had me window shopping since they came out. $1400 is painful to think about though.

Welcome back to the world of halides!
 
What’s your total budget for lights and how long is your tank?

Standard 90g 48x18x24. Budget is around a grand but nothing firm. I know I just cannot bring myself to spend 3-4k running multiple radions etc.

Welcome back to the world of halides!
Never left. I took a seven year break from the hobby. When I decided to get back in I just unpacked my old lumatek ballasts and Phoenix bulbs.
 
I have these available

 
hit up @Doberman13 he has lots of LED stuff slightly used for sale. Might bring the cost down for ya.

For a 90g, two of the A360x's with some bar LED's will cover you for most stuff. Add a 3rd kessile if you want full SPS. I dont think you will need the A500's unless you want them to be the only lights on the tank.
 
hit up @Doberman13 he has lots of LED stuff slightly used for sale. Might bring the cost down for ya.

For a 90g, two of the A360x's with some bar LED's will cover you for most stuff. Add a 3rd kessile if you want full SPS. I dont think you will need the A500's unless you want them to be the only lights on the tank.
For a360x I think I'll need to do 2 or 4 a360x. 3 of anything gets weird because of the cross space. What's your thoughts @Doberman13 ? I'm running two retrofitted t5 atinics in a canopy right now.
 
BRS has recently put out comparison videos on a huge number of lighting configurations recently for par, spectrum, blending, shimmer, etc. Worth watching if you are in the market. Personally, I run 3x Noopsyches and 2x 48-inch Orphek Blue Plus that I've modified with dimmable drivers on a 5x2 tank. On a 4x2 tank you could probably do 2 point sources and 2x 36-inch bars, or just 4 bars. You can do that well under $1k. The Noopsyches alone give plenty of par, but I added the bars to improve the spread, as small form factor LEDs are very point-source like and leave big shadowed areas. That's one big difference you would see with Kessils versus MH.
 
I’m fixing to make the change as well. I watched the BRS and for my setup I decided on the the AI 16 HD. Cost and Mounting height primary reasons. I have 125 with glass brace. I am currently running two 400 watt MH with Reef Brite atinics. But with the Heat and Electricity cost. I decided to switch.
 
I’m fixing to make the change as well. I watched the BRS and for my setup I decided on the the AI 16 HD. Cost and Mounting height primary reasons. I have 125 with glass brace. I am currently running two 400 watt MH with Reef Brite atinics. But with the Heat and Electricity cost. I decided to switch.
I've seen a lot of folks say the AI 16 doesnt have what it takes on larger tanks. Especially coming from two 400w. How many do you plan to run?


I've run phoenix for a long time and have been happy. Didn't think to look on amazon for whatever reason.

BRS has recently put out comparison videos on a huge number of lighting configurations recently for par, spectrum, blending, shimmer, etc. Worth watching if you are in the market. Personally, I run 3x Noopsyches and 2x 48-inch Orphek Blue Plus that I've modified with dimmable drivers on a 5x2 tank. On a 4x2 tank you could probably do 2 point sources and 2x 36-inch bars, or just 4 bars. You can do that well under $1k. The Noopsyches alone give plenty of par, but I added the bars to improve the spread, as small form factor LEDs are very point-source like and leave big shadowed areas. That's one big difference you would see with Kessils versus MH.

I'm no so hot on noopsyche. I have a v3 on my 32g biocube and it is the only tank i've ever had fail to the point i had to completely tear it down and reboot. I redid the entire tank with new rock, water, and sand so the noop is the only holdover aside from the tank itself. Things looked great but dont grow and withered away. Doberman and I fixed it up with the par meter the other week so I guess we will see. If I can find some success with the noop it does fit the budget.

In any cased I found 2 20k hamilton at aquacave. Hopefully they were actually in stock and not dropship/backorder. I'll give it a day or two and see if a tracking number shows up.
 
My first lighting setup on my 72g bowfront was 2x Noopsyche gen 2's and a single 36" T5(not even T5HO). The T5 eliminated some of the shadow from the cross brace. As my taste in coral got more expensive I added two kessil a360we's for more PAR.

Now with a good amount of SPS I run 4 Kessils a360x's(max 50% intensity) along with 24" and 36" reefbrite strips on the bowfront. I like to have them set high above the tank with narrow filters for better spread and ease of tank maintenance.

I believe you would be able to successfully run the 90G with 2 A360x's, the T5HOs you have and maybe add some 36" LED bars if it needs more spread.
 
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