Kessil A360WE

[DaveRaz]

My best option is adding 3 360s to my existing set up due to heat issues I am sure encounter running the pacific sun pandora I was leaning towards. With a 74 degree room temp I am still 78 degrees in the water. I do not want to add a chiller.

The (2) 120w razors I am running have 2 clusters each. I plan to mount those at the back of the tank and install 3 kessils at the front, under a canopy. Tank is 24" tall by 48" long. I think I would rather install 3 of the narrow instead of 2 of the wide and just turn them down. Allows me more flexibility in the long haul. My concern is I will only have these installed about 4" off the water line due to the canopy. The canopy must stay, asked the wife. Happy wife. Happy life! Lol

Any feedback on this plan?

Thanks

 

[rgulrich]

I ran three 160W Razors prior to picking up/changing to 250W halides, and understand your concerns with temperature management. I, also, have similar "operating rules" when it comes to canopy use and light spillage. That said, I built a back for the canopy to limit the light coming out the rear and mounted ultra-quiet computer fans in it to provide the cooling the Razors (and now the halides) and Kessils need. I would recommend that to anyone mounting these and other LED arrays inside a canopy.

I would test the size of the footprint at that mounting height first before picking up either a 360N or 360W to ensure you're getting the desired coverage. The 360N should readily support SPS at 24" and when used with the Razors makes a real pleasing display. At any rate, I used small, inexpensive surveillance camera gimbal mounts for all six of my Kessils, custom building mounts to affix the lights (a cut and drilled piece of channel aluminum and a T-nut, assembly screws in the holes in the Kessil). These allow for rotation and a pretty wide range of motion for aiming as desired and fit with the canopy easily.

Cheers,
Ray

 

[Portsie]

Any chance we can see a pic of the lights in place Ray? I really like the sounds of it. My tank will be going in wall and the back side will be wide open, so I'm thinking heat won't be an issue.

 

[rgulrich]

Sure - here's a view from the front with the doors open on the canopy. I have the two outer Kessils pointed slightly inward, and the one in the center angled a bit toward the middle of the aquarium.


This view is with the canopy front lifted - the halide reflectors are visible, and the four Noctua fans mounted in the back cover are likewise visible.


This is a quick shot of the surveillance camera mount I used, with the "custom channel aluminum mount" on the Kessil.


This is the little T-nut you'd need to mount this light to a gymbal mount - Ace Hardware carries these in there massive array of nut and bolt trays. You'd need one to match the size of the attachment screw on the camera mount. The bracket on the table is the one from the Kessil Goose neck kit - don't buy one to just get the bracket. Pick up a chunk of channel aluminum as pictured above and cut/drill to fit. The little screws needed to attach the bracket to the light are the ones holding wire hangers as shipped.


Hope this helps in your adventures!
:beer:
Cheers,
Ray

 

[DaveRaz]

Thanks Ray. I spoke to Kessil today and they recommended the wide due to the lights only being 6 to 7" off the water. I am going to use your idea on the mounts. Good stuff.

 

[Portsie]

That's awesome Ray, thank you. You have sold me on the mh/Kessil combo. Love the idea of the articulating mount.

 

[tharkins]

Hi guys - enjoying this thread. I could also use some lighting guidance on a new 110 build 60x21x21. The tank is going in my family room so like those above I also need a canopy to help contain the light. I have not yet ordered the canopy so can have it customized to make it taller than the stock 8 inch height.

So question is...if I used mounting options similar to those above within the canopy what is the minimum canopy height you would recommend without making it so tall that it looks ridiculous? Figure 12 inches might leave the lights about 7-8 inches off the surface. Also could I get away with only 3 360W since my only intention is fish with some mixed sps? Also considering the radions as the profile might make them easier to install under the canopy.

Thanks for feedback!

 

[rgulrich]

@tharkins - What you're looking at is kind of a geometry problem. The Kessil A360N has a 30' off center spread, and the A360W a 70' off center: http://www.kessil.com/aquarium/A350.php
If you drew those out you should be able to get a good idea of how they'd cover your aquarium at a given mounting height. You could even do that with a cardboard cutout and hold it in front of your aquarium.
That, in turn, should provide you enough information for canopy height. As a WAG (a wild guess), just use the 11.5" height of the Deep Dimension canopy above and you should be in pretty good shape with enough clearance from the water for the LEDS and enough space for cooling (they have an internal fan).

I always recommend a small fan or two in a canopy to move the air out and keep the electronics/bulbs/LEDs cooler and provide air circulation above the aquarium.

Hope this helps.

@ those looking for the type of mount used: VideoSecu 1/4" x 20 Threads Swivel Security Camera Mount 2-6 Inch Adjustable Universal Pan Tilt CCTV Camera Mounting Bracket (from Amazon). If you have a much higher canopy or simply want to mount the Kessils on the wall or ceiling (hey, maybe you're building in an alcove or something) these provide some options.

Cheers,
Ray

 

[kevan]

I have 1400 Lx 700 D x 750 W tank with sps and have been running two Kessil 350W which has worked okay but needed a bit more so have just but 360WE in middle with spectral controller ,two out side lights on one channel and middle on second channel .
only been up for couple of days but happy with improvments to look of tank and every thing looks happy.

 

[VJV]

Hi everyone. I am planning a new build and would like to mount my lights as high as possible above the water line. I currently have the a360we's but am considering swapping them for the N version. Anyone knows/recommends how high can the 360Ns sit above the water line? The tank will be relatively shallow at 22 inch.

Many thanks!

 

[Coelli]

I have my 360NEs about 9" above the water on my 24" tank.

 

[VJV]

Thanks! So you have them 33inch from the bottom. Seems to be much closer than Kessil indication of 4-5 feet above the object to be illuminated. Must confess that this guideline confuses me significantly. It would imply that the Ns should be placed 26inch above the water in a 24 inch tank...???

 

[Coelli]

Thanks! So you have them 33inch from the bottom. Seems to be much closer than Kessil indication of 4-5 feet above the object to be illuminated. Must confess that this guideline confuses me significantly. It would imply that the Ns should be placed 26inch above the water in a 24 inch tank...???

4-5' seems to be really high. My LFS (with one of the best reputations in SoCal - so not getting bad advice here) recommended the NEs for my tank rather than the WEs, and was sure enough to say he'd swap them if I wasn't happy. He told me to mark my 36" tank 12" in on both sides with painter's tape, running it from front to back, then on the short side (18"), mark halfway across and then run painter's tape again from one side of the tank to the other across the 36" length. The lights (2 of them) were hung directly over where the tape lines crossed. For height, he said to raise the lights until the spread hit at the waterline. That was about 9" give or take on my tank and we cut the mounts (bent and painted electrical conduit) accordingly. Any higher and there would be lots of light spill; any lower and the light wouldn't hit the top of the water in the corners of the tank.

Hope that was helpful! I don't turn the lights all the way up btw - I've been creeping them up and will probably stop at 75% max, maybe lower depending on how it goes (they're at 60% now after a few months).

 

[VJV]

4-5' seems to be really high. My LFS (with one of the best reputations in SoCal - so not getting bad advice here) recommended the NEs for my tank rather than the WEs, and was sure enough to say he'd swap them if I wasn't happy. He told me to mark my 36" tank 12" in on both sides with painter's tape, running it from front to back, then on the short side (18"), mark halfway across and then run painter's tape again from one side of the tank to the other across the 36" length. The lights (2 of them) were hung directly over where the tape lines crossed. For height, he said to raise the lights until the spread hit at the waterline. That was about 9" give or take on my tank and we cut the mounts (bent and painted electrical conduit) accordingly. Any higher and there would be lots of light spill; any lower and the light wouldn't hit the top of the water in the corners of the tank.



Hope that was helpful! I don't turn the lights all the way up btw - I've been creeping them up and will probably stop at 75% max, maybe lower depending on how it goes (they're at 60% now after a few months).

Thanks again! That was very helpful!

 

[Lilly53]

Quick question; just installed 2 Kessils with the goose neck arm. The bracket is touching the aquarium reef water line. Will that be a problem for the corals...leaching metals into the water. Anyone address this issue?

 

[goreef170]

Quick question; just installed 2 Kessils with the goose neck arm. The bracket is touching the aquarium reef water line. Will that be a problem for the corals...leaching metals into the water. Anyone address this issue?

good question"¦ I would think kessil would of addressed this issue"¦. I would think its ok"¦. Isn't it covered in plastic ?

 

[nuxx]

We have 4 A360WEs on our tank 120x29x31", going to be adding 2 more soon.

Here's a video of coverage, it's in a "cloud" during the video ~ 40% color, 50% intensity. Normally would be at 50% color and 75% intensity (ramping up).

They are on goosenecks with 90 degree adapters about 8-10" off of the water:

 

[Underwoo]

Update on DYI moon lights for my 360 WE

Update on DYI moon lights for my 360 WE

I would like to thank the guy on this forum for the DYI idea on the moon lights for the Kessil. I made my unit so that it's removable. Got eveything I needed for under $20.00.Notice: the moon lights in the pic's look brighter than they actually are. It's just the right amount of light. Very happen with the results.Sorry about the quality of the pic's(Phone Camera)

Here are some pic's.





[URL=http://s48.photobucket.com/user/josev1/media/20150606_234419_zpsq8etlwkq.jpg.html]

 

[Broly_PT]

kessil and outher lights?

kessil and outher lights?

Hello everyone,

First of all my name is Pedro and I am from Portugal, 30 years old.

Need some help yours,

I have one aquarium with 59x23x23 LxDxH inchs, whit all kind of corals

I have 2 Kessil A360N and spectral controller but I find it little, how many i need to have for good light?

Some pictures above:

At the moment i dont have money to buy more kessil

And I'm thinking of putting a trough LEDs(ocean revive) in half and kessils on the sides, do you think that would help?

The effect would be very ugly?

greetings

 

[sushimi]

Just bought 2 kessil 360w-e lights for a total of 3 that will be over my 125 once I'm able to set it up. Pretty pumped.