Advice on LED lighting wanted

[SteveConn]

Great feedback guys

I have looked into the Panorama pro.. Its sleek for sure, but to pay that much for a fixture with little to go on in terms of long term results makes me hesitate.
The Maxspect Mazzara... well, the info I've read points to design flaws in the mounting and poor quality (rails scratched and not sturdy, wiring showing).. and one person raised questions about LEDs being interchangeable on given circuits (replacing a 3W Cree with a Bridgelux) and that one type of lens is a bad idea for different LED types.

AI Sols, according to people I have talked to, would give too much of a spotlight effect if I mount them low, and I would like to have the lights no more than 6" from the water.

Radion, although expensive, are looking to be the be a good choice. I like the color combo, the programming capability and looks like there are a few different ways to mount them low using competitor rails.

If anyone has the Maxspect Mazarra, I'd be happy to hear thier opinion of the fixture, but I'd rather pay more for the Radions at this point.

[Nano]

I'd pm or email Martin at modular led, he's an awesome guy to deal with! I'm sure he could fill you in about the panorama or radions, a little more. it is after all what he does

[SteveConn]

Yup, I've got a kit from Martin. He's great to deal with. The chocolate bar was good too!

[Ryan]

You guys that are running LED's for daylight (no other lighting types) how do your corals look? Was there a big light shock when you swapped over?

I'd love to go LED but I am not convinced they are any good for daylight. Seems alot of people are burning their corals on RC.

[Nano]

I have heard of it too, But the thing with these LEDs is that a lot of them are equivalent, or brighter then Halides, from what I have read anyways, and I think it all comes down to Light acclimation, I am getting the AI sol super blue, and I plan on running it dimmed for a long long while haha, Cause I'm on t5s and leds now, but its a big change for the corals to get so much light all the sudden! Thats what I think anyways, but I could be wrong

[mike31154]

There are several other relatively new players in the LED game worth a look. From what I've read so far the two I've provided links to below, have done extensive research & offer design innovations specific to our hobby rather than simply going with the cool white/blue colour combos offered in first generation fixtures.

Orphek claims to have developed their own very own LED based on several years of research
http://orphek.com/led/

Kessil is more of a spotlight design, using a high power LED array, rather than the commonly used Cree, Bridgelux etc
http://www.kessil.com/products/a150_...rium_light.php

[Ryan]

Has anyone used the Kessil? Are they dimmable? Likes dislikes?

[Nano]

I'm giving this thread 5 stars, cause I like the positivity, and learning thats going on here lol, even I'm learning.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Has anyone used the Kessil? Are they dimmable? Likes dislikes?

I have no personal experience with the Kessil but did some checking & it doesn't appear to be dimmable out of the box. So that would be a con if you're looking for such a feature. The power supply for the light is 24VDC & plugs into a normal wall outlet. If you had a way of providing variable DC power from 24 VDC down, I don't see why it wouldn't dim but not everyone will be willing to give that a try when other units offer dimming feature right out of the box. A handy DIYer could make it happen fairly easily though.