Kessil owners - how do you do it?

[dwest]

Certainly no need for dimmable T5’s. I use my kessils for the ramp. Then both T5 and kessils for mid day.

 

[Darrell Brady]

Like many others, I have the 360 with T5's. 4 - 360WE with 8 60" T5 on a 72 * 32*24. It gives good spread and I don't have any issues growing SPS. With that said, BRS recently did a videa where Ryan was going to use Reef Brite LED in place of the T5. Might be food for thought. I don't see noticeable

heat differences with the lights on, maybe .2 - .4 degrees.

which 4 bulb combo are you running on your hybrid. like the look blue but not to blue.

 

[stiffljp]

Its half ATI Blue Special and half ATI Blue Plus

 

[afartindolphin]

You could probably get away with 4 360x's mounted about 6" above the water and be done. Another option is a floating canopy with Kessil's (or whatever led) and some bars for the front and back? You could do a canopy from 8020 and wrap the outside with some nice wood panels (or the same panels from your stand?) for a nice clean look.

I made a hanging fixture recently for an as of yet unrealized project. 2 48" Reefbrite Supra's on aluminum rails with a painted pine frame. Middle bar has mounting spots for my 3 360's. I could take some par measurements if wanted.

 

[Darrell Brady]

Its half ATI Blue Special and half ATI Blue Plus

Thanks Did your temp. rise much with your t5?

 

[Lylelovett]

Certainly no need for dimmable T5’s. I use my kessils for the ramp. Then both T5 and kessils for mid day.

I did my math wrong...

I can do the DX18 all in for $985.
If I go non-dimmable it's $700.

Sadly, the enclosure for the DX18 is much more elegant, so I would most likely pay the extra $300 for that and just use the P4 to switch it on and off. If I decide I need dimming later I can buy the interface I need for the P4 at that point.

So if the temperature increase from the T5s is negligible, I may go this route. Then add more lights later if I am that successful at SPS. We can always spend more $$$ on this hobby amirite?

Now I need to percolate on it for a day or so...

Thanks all.

 

[stiffljp]

Thanks Did your temp. rise much with your t5?

It might fluctuate .2 degrees - most fluctuation in tank temp is the variability of Ohio weather. Pretty normal for us to have 20 - 25 degree shifts between night and day in the summer

 

[User1]

I think you are on the right track by asking questions. However, there is more to hobbyists tanks than just light that provide the look you see around the various build threads. I think the first question I'd ask you is how do you like your Kessil's? You are already invested with them and their ecosystem so it is a bit easier plugging more of the same provided you can mount them safely. They are awesome lights and have various mounting height options that provide solid spread. If you want more focus then it is easy to add the 90 degree lens and increase par, focus, or punch through deeper tanks. I have them over my 30" tall.

If you are looking to replace then ask what don't you like about the current lights and lighting in general. That will help you build a possible upgrade list. I do not like buying bulbs and look for at least 5 years with my LED's. So in my case T5's and MH's are out. Been there done that. What else don't I like? Power bricks and cords. If I was to replace my kessil's and my requirements I just noted leaves me with the future Philips lights. Passive cooling and no brick.

Anyway I'm just sharing my thoughts if I was to upgrade away from my Kessils, what I can do to keep them, the cost to grow par be it adding additional lights or lens, etc. If I have more things I don't like then I look around and see what could be a fit for me. I do not look at other peoples systems because they do things different and it wouldn't be apples to apples. I'm lazy reefer so that alone puts me in the time out zone

TL; DR - how do I do it? Look at cost to add. Look at what I like or do not. Look at what I would do different. Then find a light to fit my biotype today and 5 years beyond.

 

[Lylelovett]

I love your post. This is how I'm always thinking about the hobby.

I have no issue with my Kessil lights. I just want more PAR so I can comfortably advance my skill in the hobby. But I want to make sure I'm taking a step up and a step in the right direction. And I also want to "future proof" my upgrade so I can get some life out of it.

My biggest constraint is often the fact that the tank is in our "great room", so the design needs to be elegant; which you often pay money for. While a more DIY/piecemeal option may be awesome and save money, I don't want that for this tank. This is what often brings me to a crossroads; example, I could add more individual Kessil lights, bringing the total up to 5 or 6, but maybe it looks cleaner and nicer to have 2 AP9X/Hydra/Radion? I could add 2 XR15s in between the Kessils, but am I going to like the look of cylinder, box, cylinder, box, cylinder? Where as 2x Mitras LX7206 looks very nice, or even the DX18 w/Kessils looks like a designed piece. *sigh* Fun and frustrating this hobby. LOL!

Does that make sense?

 

[Lylelovett]

I am also just 2 years into the saltwater hobby, so there's so much I've just not been exposed to that every hour I spend on it whether online or physically is a huge learning experience.

 

[User1]

I love your post. This is how I'm always thinking about the hobby.

I have no issue with my Kessil lights. I just want more PAR so I can comfortably advance my skill in the hobby. But I want to make sure I'm taking a step up and a step in the right direction. And I also want to "future proof" my upgrade so I can get some life out of it.

My biggest constraint is often the fact that the tank is in our "great room", so the design needs to be elegant; which you often pay money for. While a more DIY/piecemeal option may be awesome and save money, I don't want that for this tank. This is what often brings me to a crossroads; example, I could add more individual Kessil lights, bringing the total up to 5 or 6, but maybe it looks cleaner and nicer to have 2 AP9X/Hydra/Radion? I could add 2 XR15s in between the Kessils, but am I going to like the look of cylinder, box, cylinder, box, cylinder? Where as 2x Mitras LX7206 looks very nice, or even the DX18 w/Kessils looks like a designed piece. *sigh* Fun and frustrating this hobby. LOL!

Does that make sense?

It makes perfect sense, yes. The tanks location puts it visible to all. A bigger showpiece than say mine in my office/den

 

[andrewkw]

Hi all,

Kessil owners/lovers - help me out!

I'm considering upgrading my lighting to move from softie success to LPS and eventually SPS. I had another post here recently and got some great info, but now I need to approach it from a different angle.

Before I go and replace my 3 Kessil A360s on my 5'x2'x2' tank, I wanted to ask Kessil owners how they are successfully growing corals.

1. Do your A360s give you enough light and PAR levels? If so, what's your setup?
2. A common suggestion is to do a hybrid T5 setup. Is that the only way to really make use of my Kessils? I'd like to stay all LED, but maybe hybrid is my only way to go?
3. If I add 1-2 more a360s, will that even be enough or do these just not pack the power to fill a 24" deep tank?

Thanks for your help.

I have a similar but slightly smaller tank. It is softy dominated.

I use 3 kessils (350,360we,360x). Additionally I have 2 T5's - personally I just like having the T5's. They certainly help but I don't feel they are essential. I also run my kessils just on an on/off schedule so the T5's help with a slight dawn/dusk effect. A low cost option to fill in the gaps of the kessils have been black boxes. I have 2 between the kessils and eventually will add a 3rd black box to go with the 3 kessils. 3 or 4 or even 5 black boxes can be cheaper than one kessil. Don't get me wrong I love the kessils but having 5 or 6 over my tank is just too much money for me.

I don't measure par but I keep adding lights as the tank gets more and more packed. There are a couple of acros in here that do grow I just prefer soft corals and weird LPS.

 

[andrewkw]

I'm currently running 6 360x's and 3 Orphek blue plus bars on my custom 90g. On the onset I wanted to go all led's and made the transition from T5's to the Orphek bars over a year ago and absolutely love the combo.
With a 24" deep tank, you may want to consider the narrow reflector to get more punch, but you lose coverage, so you'll have to use more fixtures or combine them with a bar or panel style fixture to fill in the spaces. The key with sps is coverage/spread, no matter what light you use. But you could simply use more lights without the narrow reflector and you should have coverage and the pose where the lights intersect.

Just a couple phone pics to give you an idea of what is possible.

Not that I am by any means an expert but this seems like the ideal kessil sps setup. Pricey and power consumption is probably comparable to a T5/MH setup, but less heat, no bulb replacements and If you keep the lights clean they should be growing beautiful acros for 10 years or so before needing to be replaced.

 

[hobbyreefer]

I have a similar size tank at 60" long x 26" wide x 24" tall. I am running 5 Kessil 360x and the 48" Aquatic Life T5 DX. The goal for my tank was primarily acropora. I started with 3 Kessil's and the T5s, but I was surprised the max par was in the mid 200s. When I added 5 Kessils (1 per foot of tank length) I'm now able to get 350-375 par thought most of the tank.

I bought the DX fixture because I think it looked much better than the non dimmable model. I don't use the dimming feature.

I run my Kessils for ~12 hours per day ramping and I run my T5s for about 7 hours. My Tank certainly gets hotter when the T5s are on so I think that is a real issue.

If I were to start from scratch I think I would consider the LED bar instead of the T5s or I might consider 3-4 XR-30s. Here are my reasons:

Heat
Changing the T5 bulbs is nerve-racking (just scared they are going to break in the tank)
Reduce Power cordsI currently have 6 power cords and it would be nice to reduce these with the XR-30s.

My tank is only 9 months old, but my frags are starting to encrust and color up.

 

[Lylelovett]

I have a similar size tank at 60" long x 26" wide x 24" tall. I am running 5 Kessil 360x and the 48" Aquatic Life T5 DX. The goal for my tank was primarily acropora. I started with 3 Kessil's and the T5s, but I was surprised the max par was in the mid 200s. When I added 5 Kessils (1 per foot of tank length) I'm now able to get 350-375 par thought most of the tank.

I bought the DX fixture because I think it looked much better than the non dimmable model. I don't use the dimming feature.

I run my Kessils for ~12 hours per day ramping and I run my T5s for about 7 hours. My Tank certainly gets hotter when the T5s are on so I think that is a real issue.

If I were to start from scratch I think I would consider the LED bar instead of the T5s or I might consider 3-4 XR-30s. Here are my reasons:

Heat
Changing the T5 bulbs is nerve-racking (just scared they are going to break in the tank)
Reduce Power cordsI currently have 6 power cords and it would be nice to reduce these with the XR-30s.

My tank is only 9 months old, but my frags are starting to encrust and color up.

I love that DX18 look - I just wish there was a sleek way to get LED bars in there.

 

[Kjames]

I'm running 4- 360's (7am-9pm never going past 40%) with an Aquatic Life T5 hybrid set up (1actinic and 3 blue+ For 4hrs). Been doing great for my LPS And softie tank but not sure for SPS...

I've been running two Kessil 360's in an Aquatic Life fixture on a 4ft tank and SPS grows pretty well. I'm adding a third 360 and trying to decide on spacing.

 

[minus9]

I've been running two Kessil 360's in an Aquatic Life fixture on a 4ft tank and SPS grows pretty well. I'm adding a third 360 and trying to decide on spacing.

I would put one in the middle and space the other two evenly from the middle one based on par or your rock scape. You may find you get better coverage being closer to the sides than the middle fixture?

 

[Kjames]

I would put one in the middle and space the other two evenly from the middle one based on par or your rock scape. You may find you get better coverage being closer to the sides than the middle fixture?

Was thinking the same - a little closer to the sides than the middle.