Kessil Amazon Sun for fuge - review and impressions

[sixpackgarage]

MY LFS had a killer deal on the older Kessils.. I was using an A160WE over my fuge as I had it laying around. I thought the Amazon Sun would be better for plants. So far so good. It's been a couple of weeks and there is a new Mangrove growing out of the sand and also seeing some grass and Caulerpa growth. I'll add pics as I go along. I picked up a PMK a couple of days ago and wanted to get a PAR reading. Here it is

 

[saltwater sam]

It doesn't look like your mangroves are getting very much light?

 

[sixpackgarage]

It doesn't look like your mangroves are getting very much light?

I agree it does not look like it, but they seem happy and there is one baby. Once I get more babies with some foliage, I'll maybe trim the parents. raising the light would be futile because the mangroves have already grown enough where they are touching the bottom of the tank. I also only want to illuminate the fuge section, not the other areas.

 

[saltwater sam]

They look really unhealthy. Do you see the large spaces between the leaves? That's called the internode, and the internodes are supposed to be much shorter. The leaves aren't supposed to be that far apart. The reason that is happening is because the plants are stretching for light. Healthy plants have short internodes. Just letting you know the facts. If you aren't planning on giving them more light, mangroves might not be the best choice for this setup.

 

[sixpackgarage]

Noted. If the babies don't become healthy or if the parents start dying, I'll remove them. Time will tell

 

[saltwater sam]

Your macros and grass look good though. Do you have closer pics of those?

 

[sixpackgarage]

Your macros and grass look good though. Do you have closer pics of those?

Thanks. I'll get some Friday when I get back from Vegas. The grass is growing decently and the Caulerpa adds a few leaves per day. I still want a bunch more plants.

 

[carmelpi]

How close are the internodes supposed to be?

 

[saltwater sam]

This is what they look like when they have plenty of light

 

[carmelpi]

Hrmmm... I just looked at my vacation pictures from Palau (amazing btw!) and the mangrove babies all over looked like yours, with the little close leaves. Looks like I need to up the light under my mantis tank

 

[adamwheel]

I have that light over my display Refugium. It's only been in use for about a week. I had a metal halide typically used for horticulture (2100k). The Kessil is so much more visually appealing. The shimmer is great and I'm already loving it with the assumption 6700k will do very well with macros.

 

[sixpackgarage]

Ok got a snapshot of the mangrove baby.. I assume that is what this is. It's growing about 1/4" per night

 

[saltwater sam]

No, I'm pretty sure that's a macro.

 

[sixpackgarage]

Kessil Amazon Sun for fuge - review and impressions

No, I'm pretty sure that's a macro.

Yep, you were correct. Here it is a couple of days later

Also another thing is coming out of the sand

Thought this Caulerpa was dead meat, but new leaves are coming out

Things are cooking

 

[sixpackgarage]

The little nub looks to be Caulerpa?

 

[carmelpi]

Some species of halimeda i'd guess. It looks calciferous?

 

[sixpackgarage]

Some species of halimeda i'd guess. It looks calciferous?

what's weird is it doesn't look like the other macros that I have.. wondering where it came from..?

 

[sixpackgarage]

Growing growing

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Cool looking halimeda! May have to add calcium to keep it happy.

I see some nuisance algae starting up. I'd nip that in the bud before it gets out of hand. Maybe add a caulerpa to suck up nutrients. And snails to help with clean up.

 

[sixpackgarage]

Thanks Michael. I keep my calcium pretty high. I've been pruning the hair algae about once per week. The main tank is looking pretty crisp, so I think the nutrient export is working so far.