Kessil A150W 10K review

[Anemonebuff]

I just finished replacing my RapidLED and BoostLED PAR38/PAR30s with three Kessil A150W Sky Blues.

The glitter lines are better than the PAR38s and have no Disco Ball effect.
They rival MH as well, maybe even better in reards to glitter lines.

The color IMO is very close to Iwasaki 15K 175 watters on a magnetic ballast. A little bluer than the 10K they advertise. The corals show great true colors and not the over-flouresce that bluer LEDs create. The colors are not washed out like the cool white/blue PAR bulb LEDs.

PAR38 washout

In regards to power I will make statements that are my personal thoughts based on animal behaviour and my experiences. I DO NOT have a PAR meter and tested none of the lights I have ever used. Not a disclaimer, but an outline to how I come to my conclusion.

The Kessils are mounted approximately 3-4" lower than the PAR38s. Kessil 110* optic and PAR38 60* optics. My White Tipped BTA was about 5" below the water line with the PAR38s and remained in it's spot since placed in the tank. It was a nice beige color the whole time.

Upon changing to the Kessils the anemone turned a deeper brown and in less than a day moved down under the rock inwhich it had been for the longest time. I have had my anemones move like that when changing lighting, usually after replacement or an upgrade. As for upgrade, I am reffering to switching from VHO to 175 watt MH. Or from 20K XM to 10K XM to 15K Iwasaki. Also, all of my corals are showing much brighter colors since the switch.

IMO/IME it tells me that the Kessils are more powerful. At 32 watts Kessil to 2 x 17 watt(34 watts) PAR38.

Before

After

Left/Center/Right

In the end, I am very pleased with my purchase. I will attempt to borrow a PAR meter and get some #'s up there.

Thanks for listening.

 

[reeftivo]

Nice to hear they are working out for you.

I've got a a350w w/gooseneck coming tomorrow.

I'll be trying it out on a 24w x 20d x 20h tank. Looking forward to getting it going because I'm tired of replacing MH bulbs and dealing with heat, evap and electrical $$

Tivo

 

[Patrick Cox]

How is the shimmer on your setup? I saw one at Macna and it seemed to be almost too much shimmer in the tank I saw. Thanks.

 

[jerpa]

The shimmer is more pronounced and rapid compared to MH. It never bothered me but I could see it bothering some.

 

[Anemonebuff]

How is the shimmer on your setup? I saw one at Macna and it seemed to be almost too much shimmer in the tank I saw. Thanks.

When the Vortechs crank up the surface agitation is really high and the shimmer is nuts. No bother, I dig it.

 

[Anemonebuff]

Nice to hear they are working out for you.

I've got a a350w w/gooseneck coming tomorrow.

I'll be trying it out on a 24w x 20d x 20h tank. Looking forward to getting it going because I'm tired of replacing MH bulbs and dealing with heat, evap and electrical $$

Tivo

I bought some corals from Manhattan Aquariums in NYC, and they switched to Kessil a350's and they look great.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Led shimmer is neat I guess but it does make it harder for me to look at a coral closely.

 

[Anemonebuff]

Led shimmer is neat I guess but it does make it harder for me to look at a coral closely.

True, but you could just limit your surface agitation.

 

[reeftivo]

+1

thats the nice thing about vortechs. You can tune them down if needed.

My a350w just arrived here at work , so I'm going to have fun tonight getting things going. I have a ton of surface movement on my system so hopefully the shimmer doesnt get out of control and become bothersome. I like my flow where it's at so if the shimmers bugs and I have to turn down the MPs, I may have to rethink things.

oh well, still super excited to see how it looks.

Tivo

 

[reeftivo]

note on the build after looking at it;

the a350w is friggin light!!! I kept thinking it had an aluminum body but it feels very "teflon like" -HMMM? Super clean build though and very nice looking.

also, the gooseneck is impressingly sturdy and solid-nice!

 

[Anemonebuff]

note on the build after looking at it;

the a350w is friggin light!!! I kept thinking it had an aluminum body but it feels very "teflon like" -HMMM? Super clean build though and very nice looking.

also, the gooseneck is impressingly sturdy and solid-nice!

Hope you like like it as much as I like the 150's.

Throw some pics up when you can.