Weyrman
Active member
I was in the local fish store today and asked if and when they would be getting the A350's in. The clerk directed me to another clerk who had actually had a demo A350 for a weekend to check out. He was impressed with them. I asked if he had checked PAR and he had. I asked if the PAR meter had been calibrated and it had. I read earlier that some of you, rightfully so, use the PAR numbers for setting lights only and not for much else. However, for what's it's worth he said in a 30" tank at about a 60% intensity setting they measured 130 at the bottom and 500 at the surface. The lights were hung close to the surface.
I asked when they would be getting them for sale. He said not until probably September. He had talked with the distributor who relayed this info to him. I'm assuming since I was off the street asking the questions in his store that it's no secret. Kessil apparently wants to get it right and doesn't like how much it takes to set up the lights by using the nob at the top. You have to turn it to adjust intensity and another for colors. Then step back and check it out. Then adjust some more.
Kessil apparently wants a different way to adjust these so it's easier. It took the clerk and the distributor about an hour to "dial in" the desired lighting.
The clerk also said they weren't as nice as Radions (not sure of the spelling here), in his opinion, except that the selling point is these is the intensity goes deeper. He liked that. Kessil, via the distributor, is saying they should be good up to 40".
I was at the store after reading this thread via Google last night while looking for LED lighting options for a second reef frag tank. I'm still not sure what direction I'll go, LED or T5's or MH. I have a 2 MH set that came with a 240g tank I bought a while ago but I don't know yet if it works or not. I have T5's in a 135 gallon reef aquarium that was given to me about a month ago. It was full of stuff and I'm thinking of taking frags and putting them in the secnd tank. But I don't have lights for reef purposes for a second reef tank. I have a bunch of tanks but they're all set up for fresh water.
I think I have enough equipment, other than lights, to set up the 240g tank. The 240g came with a 2 1/2 foot tall skimmer which runs on two Rio 1700's. No idea what brand it is. I have a fair sized pump which came with a 160g tank I bought that had been a salt fish only tank. And I have plenty of extra tanks around to use as sumps or whatever.
LED looks like the way to go because of lower operation costs and bulb longevity. I'm just not sure that the technology has hit it's prime from what I've read here and elsewhere. I'd like to see some year long results on some LEDs first. Maybe it's there and I just haven't found it yet.
Anyway that's why I'm here. Just checking out lighting options. The Kessil discussion here was pretty interesting reading for a "newbie" to this board. I've been interested in a salt tank for years but the cost... I've had fresh water tanks for over 50 years. This is my first foray into salt. And it had to be a reef tank they gave me...
For what it's worth I just joined RC the other day. Thanks for the exciting reading! Also, I plan to attend the FRAG meeting in Scottsdale(?), AZ next week if I can make it.
I asked when they would be getting them for sale. He said not until probably September. He had talked with the distributor who relayed this info to him. I'm assuming since I was off the street asking the questions in his store that it's no secret. Kessil apparently wants to get it right and doesn't like how much it takes to set up the lights by using the nob at the top. You have to turn it to adjust intensity and another for colors. Then step back and check it out. Then adjust some more.
Kessil apparently wants a different way to adjust these so it's easier. It took the clerk and the distributor about an hour to "dial in" the desired lighting.
The clerk also said they weren't as nice as Radions (not sure of the spelling here), in his opinion, except that the selling point is these is the intensity goes deeper. He liked that. Kessil, via the distributor, is saying they should be good up to 40".
I was at the store after reading this thread via Google last night while looking for LED lighting options for a second reef frag tank. I'm still not sure what direction I'll go, LED or T5's or MH. I have a 2 MH set that came with a 240g tank I bought a while ago but I don't know yet if it works or not. I have T5's in a 135 gallon reef aquarium that was given to me about a month ago. It was full of stuff and I'm thinking of taking frags and putting them in the secnd tank. But I don't have lights for reef purposes for a second reef tank. I have a bunch of tanks but they're all set up for fresh water.
I think I have enough equipment, other than lights, to set up the 240g tank. The 240g came with a 2 1/2 foot tall skimmer which runs on two Rio 1700's. No idea what brand it is. I have a fair sized pump which came with a 160g tank I bought that had been a salt fish only tank. And I have plenty of extra tanks around to use as sumps or whatever.
LED looks like the way to go because of lower operation costs and bulb longevity. I'm just not sure that the technology has hit it's prime from what I've read here and elsewhere. I'd like to see some year long results on some LEDs first. Maybe it's there and I just haven't found it yet.
Anyway that's why I'm here. Just checking out lighting options. The Kessil discussion here was pretty interesting reading for a "newbie" to this board. I've been interested in a salt tank for years but the cost... I've had fresh water tanks for over 50 years. This is my first foray into salt. And it had to be a reef tank they gave me...
For what it's worth I just joined RC the other day. Thanks for the exciting reading! Also, I plan to attend the FRAG meeting in Scottsdale(?), AZ next week if I can make it.
