Kessil A360WE and T5

[Spectorman]

Hey y'all! I am officially, supplementing mybKessil 360's with T5. The kessils ramp all day then ramp down. The T5s turn on around 1pm for a half hour then shut off. Then I have them back on around 5 to 10 pm.
I'm happy with the timer set for my lighting.
My question is....my parameters are honestly, in great shape. Will I get better growth with the T5's in your experience with the Kessil? Thanks yall

 

[brett7768]

I just did the same thing. Only time will tell, but it cant hurt. There was too much shadowing with the Kessil alone.

 

[.Chris.]

Best thing you can do. I had just a Razor, and upgraded to T5s. HUGE difference. Better growth, better colour, no shadowing.

 

[Spectorman]

I'd like to add my T5 system consists of 6 24 watt ATI bulbs. 1 coral plus,2purple plus,2 blue plus,1actinic. Should that amount of bulbs and wattage be enough for SPS?
Back in the day my MH's were growing serious pieces. I miss it. I'm hoping I solved some problems here. Thanks again y'all.

 

[.Chris.]

Should be more than sufficient.

 

[rc1626]

I did the same on my last tank. If there ever were part of the light spectrum missing from kessil's alone that corals needed the t5's will more than make up for it. I ran an ATI Blue+ and Coral+ and colors and growth were great. Running kessils at about 70 - 80% intensity and color at about 60-65% with one of each on the ATI bulbs was where I liked it. Ran Kessils from dawn to dusk (ramping) and had t5's come on mid schedule for about 4-5 hours for midday intensity. Par numbers were real good, (I did run 4 kessils on my 75gal.). I probably could have gotten away with a little less intensity on the kessils. Currently putting together a new setup (standard 120 gal.) and will be doing the same. 4 kessils and either 2 or 4 t5's.
Rob

 

[Spectorman]

Awesome! I've been at this sport a long time. I'm just using a completely different lighting system than I ever have before. Ergo,the questions. You've made my head rest easier.

 

[rovster]

It can only help, but why fire the bulbs for only 30 min to then fire them again later. The repeated firing will put excess wear on your bulbs and ballasts. I think it's a great idea what you're doing but just fire them once a day.

 

[MakomekTVN]

It can only help, but why fire the bulbs for only 30 min to then fire them again later. The repeated firing will put excess wear on your bulbs and ballasts. I think it's a great idea what you're doing but just fire them once a day.

Guess his home from work for lunch and want to check on the tank with cool t5 on.

 

[Reef Frog]

If shading is the issue someone is trying to solve, wouldn't you want to run the T5 bulbs more than an hour per day?

 

[Spectorman]

Actually, yeah....I go home for lunch at the same time about everyday. So, yeah....while I'm home they're on. I'll probably change it.

 

[Bpb]

I would modify my overall photoperiod to make the tank viewable under your favorite conditions for the max amount of time with the fewest bulb starts and stops as possible. So if you work a regular 8-5 job. why not have the kessils ramp up from noon-5, have the t5 come on from 5-10, then ramp back down with leds during the late evening. You'll get to view the tank under both bright day and evening conditions and wont waste your whole photoperiod while you're at work.

 

[Spectorman]

Good idea! I'll figure out my optimum times. It is to me as all of us our obsession. Lol! My wife hates the time and $$$ I put in but....I don't notice anymore