MaxSpect R420R or AI Hydra 52?

[Tiansho]

So after some time at looking at these two units for my 80 Gal upgrade, I thought to come to the forum and ask for input/opinions on what should I do for my tank.

I currently upgraded to an 80 Gal tank from a 40 Gal. Over my 40 Gal I had a MaxSpect R420R 120 W 10,000K. It was good for my Lps dominated tank with one sps . Now in my new tank, I want to keep the LPS I have, but I want to add more SPS.

LPS: Bubble tip, Mushrooms, Hammer Head, green zoas, and GSP.
SPS: Red Planet

I know I need to add a light, and was looking to buy another R420R 150W and get it done with, but the AI hydra seems like a great choice as well.

I currently live in an apartment, and when I move to a house I will upgrade, Don't know time frame yet. the only sure thing is I will upgrade to a >160 G !!!!

for that size a tank I will have to get more lights. Should I start transitioning to the hydras or stay with MaxSpect? any input on these lights or other brands for that matter is appreciated.

I know another R420R 150W would be around $600 and the AI about $900. big price difference.

Thank you.

[coolhandgoose]

I have the hydra 52 and love the color, they can grow anything. The only thing about LED is u can have a lot of shadows. I wish I had two over my tank but maybe the budget gods will smile on me one day.

[Tiansho]

Yes. I currently have the MaxSpect. I called concept aquarium and they actually recommended the new Kessil AP700. Which is $1200. Coolhandgoose how big is your tank?

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[Myka]

If you want to add more SPS I'd suggest a switch to T5 instead of LED. The ATI T5 fixtures are currently probably the most popular lighting system of all types out there right now for SPS dominant systems.

Of the fixtures mentioned in this thread though, I dislike the Hydra the least.

[Skimmer Juice]

Originally Posted by Myka

If you want to add more SPS I'd suggest a switch to T5 instead of LED. The ATI T5 fixtures are currently probably the most popular lighting system of all types out there right now for SPS dominant systems.

Of the fixtures mentioned in this thread though, I dislike the Hydra the least.

this ^. I have a razor 160w 20k , a few kessil a360we . Used both lights on my mixed reef , both the maxspect and kessils did fine with a couple sps I have a bunch of high end zoas and some nems flower/bta with a ton of different lps .
razor :
pro: sleek
built in controller
good build quality
corals did fine
price

Cons:
disco ball effect

Kessil:
sleek
natural shimmer
color pop
small/easy to hang
price

Cons :
manual control
only 2 dials to adj (for people who need more control )( I dont use contollers like to manually adjust my lights , yes I know Im old )

So after using both lights for a while I ended up preferring the kessil instantly , the shimmer is ridiculous so natural looking . Used a single kessil for about 1 year everything did great zoas have great color , my lps loved the lighting more than any other corals , my 2 sps did fine but grew really slow . Just for the heck of it I decided to gut my old tek light removed all but 2 reflectors , cut some holes in the fixture for my kessil a360we .
Got to ati actinic bulbs dropped the kessil in and hung the light . The atinics were way different spectrum wise then I was expecting, I was expecting blue for night time however the at actinc were really pink looking and they really brought out some green in corals I had never seen before . While the t5 did take away some shimmer its worth it as with in a few days my zoas were really reacting well to the t5 supplement like night and day , the skirts got longer color stayed the same as the color was great under the kessil , and now the zoas were growing twice as fast as before . So in my opinion the best thing I ever did was combine the 2 lights together , now I have 2 a360we in the middle of my tek fixture running 2 39w t5 bulbs run the t5's for about 6-7 hrs a day and then just 2 a360we with the blue %100 and my corals love it .
So I would recommend selling your razor get 2 kessils and add 2 or more t5 bulbs and then dont worry about what corals you can and cant get . Dont get me wrong the ati hybrids are super nice I think the price is not worth what you pay for IMO I preffer the matrix chip in the kessil to the ati led clusters.
if Im going led Im sticking to kessils with t5 , here is my fixture it now has 2 a360we's in . I seen a couple tek lights on kijiji for $100 I think .




And a starfish riding a crab

[Tiansho]

Love the set up. I was thinking of the hybrid myself. I was looking at the ATI hybrid, a bit out of my range. But with my aquatronica i can set the lights to run for a couple hrs.

Thank you for your input. Lots to think about. So LED with T5.



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