Kessil A80 - PAR readings and review in a Fluval Spec III 2.6g Pico

capt_alaver

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a80-50percent.jpg20230326_100606.jpg
Tank is a Fluval Spec III 2.6g (10.8" L -- 11.8" W -- 8.7" H)
I took these readings with an Apogee MQ-510 that I borrowed from the local fishie store.

This light seems to be a bit controversial. Some love it - others hate it.
My opinion? It's an amazing light that gets a bad rep from people who often misuse it.

If you plan on keeping corals, it needs to be roughly 4" from the water line. At least that's what I perceive this diagram on Kessil's website to mean.

2023-03-26 11_05_20-Window.png


A lot of setups I've seen that are bashing the light's performance have it hanging 12" or even higher. Obviously it won't do so well in that scenario. It's only 15W after all...

It doesn't help that Kessil's only gooseneck offering is really fricking long and clearly geared toward their more powerful lights. To mount this guy properly, I had to jury-rig the baseplate to the back of the tank using double-sided tape. This was the end result...

20230326_113836.jpg20230326_105351.jpg20230326_105501.jpg

... approximately 3-4" above the waterline.

As for the color dial, where I have it in the pic above seemed to be the most intense. I noticed the PAR dropping by roughly 10-20% when it was turned too far in either direction.

I've restarted the tank recently but here's a FTS from last year when it was in it's full glory:
LRM_20220105_145905.jpg
The Torch and the Ricordea's were very happy on the sandbed. The Montipora grew like a weed. The Frogspawn and Chalice weren't the happiest, but that's probably because the light was far too intense for them. I would've done things differently if I had better insight back then.

This is what the Torch looked like after ~4 months in that spot with the light at 100% intensity for 8 hours a day...
2023-03-26 11_20_39-Window.png

tl;dr - it's a great light. Just use it properly. :)
 
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Funnily enough! I've just bought one of these for a 15L Acrylic Nano - a 'TMC Microhabitat' - a tank from many years ago I've just gotten around to setting up! I have been using my own PARwise for measurements and at full power I can get 400 on the floating rock scape. More than enough power.. so will be dialling it down once I decide what to put it and where.

I didn't mount it to the tank either, rather a piece of wood attached to the back of the table where the tank sits so it could sit lower on the tank as you say, the gooseneck is too tall for this tiny tank.

I love the colour, shimmer and it's got plenty of output for nanos with just enough spectral adjustment to tickle the chlorophylls nicely and still get good pop. I think it'll just set it once and use a WIFI plug for on and off - I might get the spectral controller for dimming at some point though!

MH15 1.jpg
 
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