Kessil A350

[lgull1]

hello, everyone. No problems on anything here. All good comments. I hope the Kessil group does not mind me posting this response in me asking about some questions since Aimforever got those numbers.

Aimforever, hope you don't mind me giving those numbers to Kessil. here is his response.

Your feedback is appreciated and I have listed a few things below to help you feel better about bringing Kessil to your home. Also, keep in mind we did extensive testing over 12-18months before the launch of our A350 to make sure it will perform as a sole source of light for any tank.



First I would like to say those PAR numbers do not sound realistic, not to say that’s not what someone's meter read, but there have been others who have much higher readings not to mention feedback from our A150 with higher readings. In some cases there are just too many variables to get consistant readings (different meters, tanks, water conditions, etc..). Below are some links to PAR for the A350 and other info-

http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/supply/kessil-a350-led-aquarium-light-tuna-blue-color-tune-able

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx_dI_MQlss&feature=related Shows 200+/- at bottom of tank (This is off center as stated in the comments)

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2118736&highlight=lowry&page=9 Post 214 from Frick



Second is a quote from reef central that is very good advice- " PAR is just to give us an idea as to how powerful a light source is, it's not a definative answer as to whether it will grow coral or not"



And third, I recently just returned from a trip to Michigan and had the chance to visit one of the service companies there. He took me to a customer's house to show me how good the tank was doing after a few months of using our lights. His tank is the same size as yours and is mostly SPS, but does have LPS & soft coral along with some Clams at the bottom (photo attached). The customer commented on how much growth and color he has been getting from all his coral and how he couldn’t be happier with these results. Customers contact us all the time to give us this kind of feedback. Keep in mind he is only using 4 A150W Sky blue which would be like 2 A350W on about 80% power.



While nobody can guarantee a success in a reef tank, we have done all we can to make sure we provide everyone with a viable metal halide replacement.

That reassured me.

 

[lgull1]

All good

All good

hello, everyone. No problems on anything here. All good comments. I hope the Kessil group does not mind me posting this response in me asking about some questions since Aimforever got those numbers.

Aimforever, hope you don't mind me giving those numbers to Kessil. here is his response.

Your feedback is appreciated and I have listed a few things below to help you feel better about bringing Kessil to your home. Also, keep in mind we did extensive testing over 12-18months before the launch of our A350 to make sure it will perform as a sole source of light for any tank.



First I would like to say those PAR numbers do not sound realistic, not to say that's not what someone's meter read, but there have been others who have much higher readings not to mention feedback from our A150 with higher readings. In some cases there are just too many variables to get consistant readings (different meters, tanks, water conditions, etc..). Below are some links to PAR for the A350 and other info-

http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/supply/kessil-a350-led-aquarium-light-tuna-blue-color-tune-able

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx_dI_MQlss&feature=related Shows 200+/- at bottom of tank (This is off center as stated in the comments)

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2118736&highlight=lowry&page=9 Post 214 from Frick



Second is a quote from reef central that is very good advice- " PAR is just to give us an idea as to how powerful a light source is, it's not a definative answer as to whether it will grow coral or not"



And third, I recently just returned from a trip to Michigan and had the chance to visit one of the service companies there. He took me to a customer's house to show me how good the tank was doing after a few months of using our lights. His tank is the same size as yours and is mostly SPS, but does have LPS & soft coral along with some Clams at the bottom (photo attached). The customer commented on how much growth and color he has been getting from all his coral and how he couldn't be happier with these results. Customers contact us all the time to give us this kind of feedback. Keep in mind he is only using 4 A150W Sky blue which would be like 2 A350W on about 80% power.



While nobody can guarantee a success in a reef tank, we have done all we can to make sure we provide everyone with a viable metal halide replacement.

As you can see, I don't believe everything that a manufacturer says, but if they are going to charge 400.00 a light, they better back it up with something. I was kind of surprised by the numbers that's all,but i have never personally took par reading from my bulbs in 10 years so who knows what they were. Whatever light someone likes is all that matters. Of course, we all would like to keep corals as well. Alex T, i was kinda of surprised that it would take 6 years to pay off the lights but i guess you would of had to get quite a lot. Mine will be paid off in 2.5 years minus the electric and i have the peace of mind of not having to change my bulbs period. That i like. Good comments all.

 

[lgull1]

sorry for the double post. Hey Frick, they quoted you here in the e-mail. hey, small world.

 

[Aimforever]

^Thanks.

Any opinions on light spill? comparable to T5s?

No problems with light spill. Even the wide version has very crisp beam of light, beyond which the light abrubtly stops. I would imagine the regular version would be even better since it has the extra reflector to focus the light better.

I think these would look amazing over an Elos tank. They are super compact and sleek and like I said even with the wide version the shimmer is just incredible. As I discussed above though, you may need a couple of them depending on the size of your tank to get a good result.

Aimforever, hope you don't mind me giving those numbers to Kessil. here is his response.

...

First I would like to say those PAR numbers do not sound realistic, not to say that's not what someone's meter read, but there have been others who have much higher readings not to mention feedback from our A150 with higher readings. In some cases there are just too many variables to get consistant readings (different meters, tanks, water conditions, etc..). Below are some links to PAR for the A350 and other info-

Thanks for posting the follow up. One thing is for sure, Kessil has really great customer service to write replies like that. I'm impressed. I just wanted to point out that the links he provided give par readings for the regular a350, which I would expect to have higher par readings than the a350w I was measuring. I'm using the standard Apogee par meter lots of people commonly use and have always gotten close to expected readings with other fixtures, so I'm fairly confident the readings I got are somewhat reliable.

I do agree that par readings aren't everything and there are countless other variables involved in growing sps. For me, the main factor that made me a little disappointed with the 350w was that when I put it solo over the tank everything just looked dark to my eye. Like I keep saying, the shimmer was incredible, but the overall brightness was lacking.

I'm really not trying to single out Kessil here either. The same holds true with other LED fixtures I have used. My 120G display is pretty packed with SPS and up until recently I was using 2x 250 HQI MH plus 4 T5s with great results but I wanted to switch to LED to save electricity and stop replacing expensive bulbs. Ecotech said their Radion should cover 24x24x24, so per their recommendation I got 2 for my 48x24x24 120 gallon display. It was not close to being bright enough and I was pretty disappointed initially. I wasn't happy until I added a total of 4 Radions + 2x Reefbrite XHO actinic LED strips. Since adding the extra LEDs the SPS are thriving and even the ones low in the tank are growing well and most important of all, it just looks right.

I have no regrets getting the a350w & I really do like it. I just think I set my expectations unfairly high in thinking that a single a350w could cover my 36x36x6 frag tank, and should have got at least 2 right off the bat.

 

[jbannick18]

Do you think a regular a350 would have the brightness you are talking about on a 34 gallon solana? I've noticed the darkness with every led I've seen and have been wary about making the switch from t5.

 

[Dazed1]

I've had my 350W over my 3' tank for about 1.5 weeks. And i kind of agree. Something feels a little dull. Specially the corners.
Luckily I do not have too many SPS or high light corals yet, since I recently started this tank. I'm thinking I'll probably have to go with 2 x radion's 6 months from now.

 

[Aimforever]

Do you think a regular a350 would have the brightness you are talking about on a 34 gallon solana? I've noticed the darkness with every led I've seen and have been wary about making the switch from t5.

It depends how many T5 bulbs you have now and what kind of corals you have. You may be able to get by with 1.

I've had my 350W over my 3' tank for about 1.5 weeks. And i kind of agree. Something feels a little dull. Specially the corners.
Luckily I do not have too many SPS or high light corals yet, since I recently started this tank. I'm thinking I'll probably have to go with 2 x radion's 6 months from now.

Or you could add a few more 350s

 

[franklypre]

Dazed I've had a 400w over my 58 3ft and it was still a little dim towards the sides, that's just point source lighting. Anybody running these with T5s to supplement?

 

[Dazed1]

Or you could add a few more 350s

If they come up with a controller, yes. That's one thing missing from the kessil package.

 

[bwp]

Do you think a regular a350 would have the brightness you are talking about on a 34 gallon solana? I've noticed the darkness with every led I've seen and have been wary about making the switch from t5.

I previously posted a pic and video of the A350 (not wide) over my Solana. I am still trying to get ahold of a PAR meter, but it feels like it is at least as bright as the 150MH it replaced with both channels at 100%. I have mine mounted 11.5 inches above water and it easily covers the entire tank

-Bryan

 

[BeanAnimal]

Based on the spread and par I am getting on my frag tank I believe you would need roughly 6 of the regular 350s to approach the brightness of 2x 400 watt radiums for a 48x24x24 tank.

That is a 2 x 150 watt metal halide tank that will stustain anything anywhere in the tank. Using 2 x 250 watt bulbs on a tank of those dimensions would be suitable but approaching (if not certainly) overkill. There is simply no way on this planet that a 4' tank needs 2 x 400 Watt halides under any circumstances. I am not defending the Kessil lights (hell, most folks around here think I am an LED hater) but being upset that (2) LED fixtures that consume a total of ~200W are not as bright as (2) MH that consume ~1000W is kind of silly. I don't think any reasonable person expects a 100W pendant to be able to compete with a 500W fixture. LEDs are growing in efficiency, but still nowhere near 5x more efficient than conventional arc lamps.

I have no regrets getting the a350w & I really do like it. I just think I set my expectations unfairly high in thinking that a single a350w could cover my 36x36x6 frag tank, and should have got at least 2 right off the bat.

That is more reasonable. The depth is not really the issue, it is the spread and basic physics at work (the inverse square law). (2) wides tilted slightly in to overlap at the same 9" height would likely be ok. You will still have weaker corners than the middle, but it will help. The problem is the square shape and 2 fixtures with a round radiation pattern. You have to be high enough to cover front to back and that is the same distance from side to side.

 

[Aimforever]

That is a 2 x 150 watt metal halide tank that will stustain anything anywhere in the tank. Using 2 x 250 watt bulbs on a tank of those dimensions would be suitable but approaching (if not certainly) overkill. There is simply no way on this planet that a 4' tank needs 2 x 400 Watt halides under any circumstances. I am not defending the Kessil lights (hell, most folks around here think I am an LED hater) but being upset that (2) LED fixtures that consume a total of ~200W are not as bright as (2) MH that consume ~1000W is kind of silly. I don't think any reasonable person expects a 100W pendant to be able to compete with a 500W fixture. LEDs are growing in efficiency, but still nowhere near 5x more efficient than conventional arc lamps.

You must have misread my posts since I certainly never stated that I was upset that the Kessils didn't have the same output as a 400w MH. That would be absurd. I was just trying to help answer the OP's question about switching from 400w radions to A350s and felt that it would take roughly 3x 350s to deliver similar output. Whether or not this is overkill for a particular sized tank is sort of irrelevant to the original question.

I disagree that 2x 250w halides is "approaching (if not certainly) overkill" for a 120 gallon tank, but of course that is just my opinion based on my successes and preferences. For many years I used 2x 250s + 4x 54 watt T5s over a 120 with excellent results and I would hesitate to even call that overkill. I know a few reefers who use 400w radions over their similar sized tanks also with excellent results. I agree perhaps it is approaching overkill, but to say "there is no way on this planet under any circumstances..." is pretty close minded. At the end of the day all that matters is are you getting good growth and do you like the way it looks. There are an infinite number of ways to acheive that and the kessils are certianly one great option.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Before; A150W Sky Blue 10K (this has been on there for 10 months.)

What is that in the bottom left of your tank? it looks like 2 jelly fish... I didn't see them in any other pic.

 

[wes42079]

Alex T,

I don't have a sps dominated tank but i do have some sps near the sand bed probably 5 inches off the sand bed. More of the monipora that covers the rocks. Porite variety. I could not tell you if you could actually grow them on the sand bed though. I had VHO lighting and MH before. I would say your Radiums are going to have more punch than the Kessil. That being said, i do have the wide angle variety that spreads more than punches down. I would think you would need 3 of them to cover your tank but i can't speak for the A350 that doesn't go wide. I have two A350W lights covering my 48" tank perfect. I can't complain. I have them going 100 percent though. I never thought i would like that blue but it brings the colors out nice and my corals are loving the new LED's. I have had some for over 10 years and they adjusted great. The temp drop is incredible though. Nice cool water here for my Florida tank and the corals love it.The only thing i will say about them is the converter gives off some heat. I thought they would be warm but they are quite hot. You put that underneath your tank anyway so it shouldn't be a problem. I would go with 3 A350W but you would have to be the judge of that one. Hope this helps. Oh, my lights are 9.5 inches off the water also. My rock structure? I would have to say i have an sps about the size of a softball or better and its about 8 to 10 inches below the water. I'm guessing though. The higher you go with them, the more they angle out for better coverage. For the size of the lights, they are bright. I am impressed.

For all the reefers that are currently using the Kessil a350/a350w on their aquariums, can you please post pictures?

Explanations of your aquariums are nice and all, but it would really be more beneficial to see pictures of the coverage and corals.

 

[buddythelion]

I actually think the explanations are more useful. There's already a few good pictures on here.

 

[wes42079]

I actually think the explanations are more useful. There's already a few good pictures on here.

Buddythelion, I agree with your comment.

I just figured that it would enhance a post to see pictures of peoples aquariums. Especially when a few reefers stated that the brightness isn't as great compared to their VHO's or MH's.

 

[BeanAnimal]

wes42079:

Photos are useless at conveying color and brightness. There are too many variables from the room lighting (amount and color) to the camera settings (exposure, white balance, compression, etc) to the software settings used to process the image and lastly the computer and monitor the photo is viewed on.

Want to see what they look like? See them in person

 

[Aquatron]

Hey,

Could one of you that has a 350 please tell me what size hole is needed to allow the light to slide thru. I am getting my 30" x 15" heatsink made and i need to tell them hole size needed drilled for pricing?

Thank You!

 

[lgull1]

go on kessil's website and the dimensions are there. All i can say for the LED's so far is all my corals are loving the new lights and i am getting some good color out of the corals. It has been 3 weeks since i installed the lights. My experience only.

 

[Aquatron]

Thank You lgull1,

I found it after i posted Yeah i am liking the lights too the more i research them.