Light advice for TMC Microhabitat 60

[Ch4rlie]

Hello

I had bought a TMC Microhabitat 60 cheaply, there was no light included, apparently the flat light that usually comes with the standard set up is woeful. Was told by the chap that AI Prime or Kessil are the best but pricey.

So, am here to ask which lights would be suitable for this little 60 litre tank.

Plan is to have live rocks and sexy shrimps and maybe a softie or two.
(Advice on stocking this would also be greatly apprecieted am a complete newbie to the dark si...ahem i mean saltwater side of things.)

Have been looking at Kessil lights, in particular the A150W and the A160WE, difference is the price really but what is worth going for, the lights are going to be second hand rather than new as prices are pretty high for these.

Also have heard there is a bit of a design issue with the flow holes and anemones and/or sand blocking this hole causing overflow and causing havoc. Has anyone heard of these issues and how to recify this?

Thanks

 

[Donya]

I've never used Kessils, but I have an AI prime on one of my 20gals and I've been extremely happy with it. I've kept anemones (BTA and mini maxi currently) and a lot of softies under it. You can get it set up on home Wi-Fi (or connect to it directly with a phone) and program custom sunrise/sunset/etc. and pick the intensity of different parts of the spectrum. I know a lot of expensive lights these days have that functionality, but I think the prime is one of the cheaper ones that allows it.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, interesting.

Have been looking online, the ai prime and kessil a160we Tuna Blue are similar in prices at between £120 - £150 for second hand. I truly like both, really.

My feeling is, I'd rather the kessil light as there are more options (i may be wrong on this) and have found some on sale with controllers and gooseneck holders etc, remember this is just a little 60 litre tank and may add a sump if its possible with this particular tank setup, so don't need a whole lot of light but it depends on what I want to have stocked I guess.

From what I see, I have got a looooooot to learn................

 

[StevenF]

From everything I have read, Kessil has always had the best spectrum coverage of any LED lamp with a lot of features and good reliability. Never had one though. I hadn't seen the AI unit before but it looks like most of the focus is on the computer control rather than the quality of the light or the spectrum.