Kessil Club

[slief]

Originally Posted by makers marc

Slief,

So ive had my 2 x Ap700 mounted 12 inches above the water line for 5 months on my 180g, which makes it a total of 22 inches from my highest placed acro frag. It maxes out at 80% for 3 hrs midday, total run time is 14 hrs daily.

I mounted it higher for more spread and less shading initially. Just read Dana Riddle's review on the unit https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2018/3/aafeature.

Using the sample par/pur map attached he provides, he mentions that only the areas with 100+ par/pur will be strong enough to grow sps corals. So that would be the blue, green, and purple areas.

Does his argument fall under the "par can't be truly measured for LEDs?" If so, is his argument valid?

Im trying again, to decide whether I lower my unit or not. Thanks.

I think that article was very well written. I have both a Seneye meter and an Apogee. Both meters have a calculation for PAR under the bluer spectrum because they can't accurately read it. Instead, they calculate based on whatever formulas they have determined work best when compared to mucj higher quality professional grade meters. How accurate that is is anybodies guess but I've been told it's fairly accurate but there are many of the factors that come into play as I noted above. Surface agitation, height from the water, types of corals and types of SPS as well as the spectrum.

Much is made about PAR but as noted in the article, PUR is very important since that relates to the spectrum that corals get their usable photosynthetic radiation from. This is an area that Kessil has done very well in. They are powerful lights with the right mix of diodes to meet the PR demands of almost any coral. Its interesting that the article notes 100 par minimum for SPS. Some will grow in less than that if the spectrum is right but obviously the greater the intensity, the better the growth (to a point since too much intensity can burn and kill coral). I have a huge birdsnest on the bottom of my 24" deep tank that is growing just fine. Granted, it's growing slower than it did when it was up high in my tank. It got too big so I had to move it. Again, this is where coral placement comes into play. I won't place nicer SPS near the bottom.

I have most of my SPS up higher in my tank. Most being 12" below the waters surface but some are higher and they all grow upwards. in the end, we need to be selective about coral placement regardless of the lights but what i can tell you from years of running Kessils is that they will grow any coral just fine. You just need to be selective about placement and careful with intensity because they are much more powerful than meets the eye. in the end, I think that article provides a pretty good guideline for people looking at these LED's.

[slief]

Originally Posted by makers marc

Slief,

So ive had my 2 x Ap700 mounted 12 inches above the water line for 5 months on my 180g, which makes it a total of 22 inches from my highest placed acro frag. It maxes out at 80% for 3 hrs midday, total run time is 14 hrs daily.

I mounted it higher for more spread and less shading initially. Just read Dana Riddle's review on the unit https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2018/3/aafeature.

Using the sample par/pur map attached he provides, he mentions that only the areas with 100+ par/pur will be strong enough to grow sps corals. So that would be the blue, green, and purple areas.

Does his argument fall under the "par can't be truly measured for LEDs?" If so, is his argument valid?

Im trying again, to decide whether I lower my unit or not. Thanks.

I might lower it a couple inches but I wouldn't run them closer than 8" to the water. You could always increase the intensity as well. I suggest no more than 2% a week and doing it once or twice a week so you can easily go back 4% if the corals respond adversely. That or just leave it alone and see how your corals do. Maybe see if you can borrow a PAR meter if you don't already have one. Shut the flow off or at least reduce surface agitation when using the meter if you go that path.

[tank o tang]

Running 3 ap700's over 180gal at 10" above water at 45% intensity and corals, nems, and rock are doing great. Spa, lps, and zoas. Loving these lights.

[Thor2j]

Originally Posted by tank o tang

Running 3 ap700's over 180gal at 10" above water at 45% intensity and corals, nems, and rock are doing great. Spa, lps, and zoas. Loving these lights.

I imagine your PAR isn't very high , but hey if it's working, it's working.

[madweazl]

LEDs arent any different that any other type of light in regard to PAR readings, the only issue is sensor's ability to read specific spectrum properly. For the Apogee "full spectrum" sensor, response starts to fall off below 450nm so your PAR readings may be read lower than actual values for anything below that (same goes for spectrum above ~680nm).



This is true of all light sources, not just LED. Dana's results are factual and you can certainly use them to work out a plan of attack.

[captain.nero]

Originally Posted by Zacktosterone

Why a Kessil Club? because Kessil is probably one of the most underrated, least spoken of lights on the market that are considered one of the big names. I would like to start a thread for all kessil owners. I myself own 4 a360w.

please share your tanks, your lights, your livestock, progress etc. Hopefully if there are any issues with the lights we can stand together and help each other out

Kessil Blue Tuna owner here. Love this light!

[smatter]

Originally Posted by captain.nero

Kessil Blue Tuna owner here. Love this light!

Welcome to Reef Central

[ComforablyNumb]

Converted my 65gal planted from ho tubes to a Kessil Sun a160. Freshwater shimmer

[tletourneau]

Apex controlled Kessil 360's on my freshwater and saltwater aquariums, love them!

[GreenbriarManor]

I'm getting ready to build my first 150g 60x24x24 reef - would like to be able to dabble in all the basic livestock but SPS.

I'm in the early stages of planning my lighting, and after reading hundreds of reviews for Maxspect, AI, and Ecotech, I'm leaning toward Kessil. Specifically leaning toward A360EW.

Looking at the spec I think 3 should be enough for my needs and tank size, but wanted to bounce it off the expertise in this thread.

Thanks in advance,
J

[madweazl]

Originally Posted by GreenbriarManor

I'm getting ready to build my first 150g 60x24x24 reef - would like to be able to dabble in all the basic livestock but SPS.

I'm in the early stages of planning my lighting, and after reading hundreds of reviews for Maxspect, AI, and Ecotech, I'm leaning toward Kessil. Specifically leaning toward A360EW.

Looking at the spec I think 3 should be enough for my needs and tank size, but wanted to bounce it off the expertise in this thread.

Thanks in advance,
J

Three will work well and a predominantly LPS/Softie tank and even with well placed SPS. With that said, I have a 48" AquaticLife hybrid for our 150g running four A360WEs along with four T5s (an acropora dominant build).

I used two A360WEs on our 75g when it was a mixed reef and it worked well (added a LET T5 retrofit as I transitioned into SPS).

[Djbeasley05]

I use 2 a80s on my 28g nano cube and 2 a160we’s on my 60 gallon cube. Kessil customer service is amazing! I bought the a160’s used and a couple of the led’s were burnt out. Contacted kessil and they sent me two brand new a160’s at no charge. You don’t see that very often.


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[LobsterOfJustice]

Originally Posted by madweazl

Three will work well and a predominantly LPS/Softie tank and even with well placed SPS. With that said, I have a 48" AquaticLife hybrid for our 150g running four A360WEs along with four T5s (an acropora dominant build).



I used two A360WEs on our 75g when it was a mixed reef and it worked well (added a LET T5 retrofit as I transitioned into SPS).

What T5 bulbs are you running?


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[madweazl]

Originally Posted by LobsterOfJustice

What T5 bulbs are you running?


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Two ATI Blue+, one AquaBlue Special, and one Purple+.

[nreefer]

Looking for some advice on switchhing out my DYI LED fixture for Kessil. My tank is 8 feet long, 30 inches deep and 30 inches wide. I have eurobracing which reduced the light transmission width of the top to 18.5 inches wide.

The tank is a peninsula viewed by 3 sides with a center column rock work. It is a mixed reef with sps near the top. Do you think 7 A360's down the center would be good or better to do 2 rows of 4 A360's?
Is it worth supplementing with T5's to reduce shadowing?

I'll probably wait for the A360x's to come out before I buy.

[GardenVariety]

Originally Posted by nreefer

Looking for some advice on switchhing out my DYI LED fixture for Kessil. My tank is 8 feet long, 30 inches deep and 30 inches wide. I have eurobracing which reduced the light transmission width of the top to 18.5 inches wide.

The tank is a peninsula viewed by 3 sides with a center column rock work. It is a mixed reef with sps near the top. Do you think 7 A360's down the center would be good or better to do 2 rows of 4 A360's?
Is it worth supplementing with T5's to reduce shadowing?

I'll probably wait for the A360x's to come out before I buy.

I would do 6 straight down the middle and 1 on each front corner pointing in.

[nreefer]

Thanks, do you think I should supplement with some T5's?

[smatter]

Originally Posted by nreefer

Thanks, do you think I should supplement with some T5's?

You shouldn't need to, and why would you want to? I think it ruins the crisp, beautiful light of kessil when you add the flat, washed-out light fluorescents put out. Look how bad it looks at the office, or when you look in the mirror, I don't want that over my tank. You also completely negate the small form factor when you add a big clunky T5 unit.

[nreefer]

Ok fair enough, I thought it would be a way to eliminate some of the shadowing down the edges. Do people find that the 140 deg. spread bounces off the glass enough to have light hitting the lower rock work?

[smatter]

The wide lens definitely reflects off of the glass. When I cloud up the tank a little during maintenance it really becomes apparent. As far as shadowing goes, it gives the tank a natural look, some depth and dimension. Eight 360s are going to light it up like Times Square!

[Bpb]

Originally Posted by nreefer

Thanks, do you think I should supplement with some T5's?

I think it depends more on what kind of coral you’re keeping than anything.


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[ComforablyNumb]

I temp added t5's to my reef 8hrs/day, didnt notice much difference in coral health/growth either positive or negative, so took them down after 4 months .. but you will definitely get a washed out look if you add them to Kessils. They will reduce apparent shimmer.

Some people claim it is the ideal combo tho..

[makers marc]

Any major difference between major vs minor diffuser kits?

And do they help light spillover I get from my AP700 x 2 into the room? That gets annoying, especially with kids who get the brunt of the spillover when they are close to the tank.

[justajason]

The minor lenses do channel the light from what I can tell. The corals seem to like it as well *


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[GardenVariety]

Originally Posted by nreefer

Ok fair enough, I thought it would be a way to eliminate some of the shadowing down the edges. Do people find that the 140 deg. spread bounces off the glass enough to have light hitting the lower rock work?

Par drops out considerably around the edges. I've installed a 6th Kessil in the corner to combat that for my SPS. I've taken an Apogee meter to every inch of my tank to map it out.