Kessil Club
- Thread starter Zacktosterone
- Start date
GardenVariety
New member
Just joined the club!
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Wow! How big is your tank?
ComforablyNumb
New member
The new X model. More than enough 
The new X model. More than enough
Hope so, I wanted to get as much coverage as possible
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ComforablyNumb
New member
Cant even give them away for free in my market..
smatter
Active member
This made me laugh! I feel you brother. In every room in my house it looks like a shotgun went off from all the hooks I've had halides hanging from. I've since patched them, but I know they're there.
footballcs12
New member
Should I add some t5 supplements? I've had my 2 a360we's for a couple of years over my 75 gallon and had no real issues but haven't had much of anything to blow me away either. I've lost quite a few sps, and a couple chalices but that could be due to my crazy life and lack of time for a real consistent maintenance schedule. Life has calmed down a little bit, I've got a little extra cash at the moment and idk if I should add a couple t5s or buy a different lighting unit all together. Anyone have any thoughts?
LobsterOfJustice
Recovering Detritophobe
I definitely would, I think you will be pleased. You could also double the number of kessils as mentioned above but that's $$$.
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ComforablyNumb
New member
I ran t5's above my 4' kessil only lit reef...took them off after 5 months because I saw no difference in health or growth either way and I didnt like the washed out look the t5's gave the tank.
But it wont hurt..
But it wont hurt..
ComforablyNumb
New member
Not really. I have a 4' tank lit by 2 a360's and I dont have trouble growing corals over the almost 4 years they have been in place..
robert s b.
Active member
robert s b.
Active member
2 360we and 4 blue+ t5's in my frag grow tank
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madweazl
Member
Define very low. Most will grow and color up just fine in 200 PAR and a pair of Kessils over a standard 75g can produce 200 PAR in much of the tank.
Notes:
1) Location 3 is centered under one light right to left but not front to back (approx 4" behind the center line front to back).
2) Locations 6 is very close to the center of the tank (left to right and front to back).
3) The lights are centered over the tank front to back and 15" apart (7.5" left and right of center).
4) The lights are mounted 5" above the water line.
5) There is a bit of light spillage on all viewing sides of the aquarium so the lights could be mounted closer to the water to increase PAR values without losing coverage.
6) PAR values were measured on our local clubs Apogee MQ-500 with full spectrum sensor using a correction factor of 1.32.
7) Standard 75g Marineland aquarium 48"x18"x21" (LxWxH).
8) Two Kessil A360WE running 65% color.
9) MP40s set to feed mode while measurements were taken.
10) Return from sump remained on but has fairly low flow and doesn't agitate water surface much.
Tested the Aquatic Life Hybrid with two Kessil A360WEs. The two additional T5s produced a 21% increase in PAR (averaged across the nine data points in common with the LET fixture). All things are not equal as the tank has been torn down and moved since the last set of measurements were run with the LET retrofit. The layout is roughly the same, however. The fixture is also mounted an inch higher which certainly made a difference.
Notes:
1) Location 3 is centered under one light right to left but not front to back (even with top of rocks on the back side of these two corals).
2) Locations 6 is very close to the center of the tank left to right (a couple inches closer to the front glass front to back).
3) The Kessils are centered over the tank front to back and 18.5" apart (9.25" left and right of center).
4) The fixture is mounted 6" above the water line.
5) There is a bit of light spillage on all viewing sides of the aquarium so the lights could be mounted closer to the water to increase PAR values without losing coverage.
6) PAR values were measured on our local clubs Apogee MQ-500 with full spectrum sensor using an immersion correction factor of 1.32.
7) Standard 75g Marineland aquarium 48"x18"x21" (LxWxH).
8) Two Kessil A360WE (60% color) with four 54w T5s in a 48" Aquatic Life Hybrid fixture (2 Blue+, 1 AquaBlue Special, and 1 Purple+)
9) 16" side rails mounted on the Aquatic Life to narrow the unit 2" from how it ships.
10) MP40s set to feed mode while measurements were taken.
11) Return from sump remained on but has fairly low flow and doesn't agitate water surface much.
12) Hybrid column represents the Aquatic Life fixture with only the T5 on.
13) LET column represents past results of the LET T5 retrofit kit for comparison.
14) The LET retrofit had two 54w T5s (1 Blue+ and 1 Coral+ at the time).
slief
RC Sponsor
I'd argue that the insane colors you see in most of these SPS tanks are NOT the result of high PAR but rather the mix of light colors the corals are under as well as sufficient nutrients in the water. Ever go scuba diving? Most of these corals we have in our tanks tend to look very washed out in the ocean under natural sunlight where as in our tanks under artifical light, they can take on a whole new look. The same coral under one LED can look completely different under the next light. Most corals with red or green in them for example tend to fluoresce more under blue, royal blue and UV spectrums. Add a bit of red or even green and you can bring out other colors too. PAR is tough to measure on Kessils and having run them myself for many years, I can tell you they grow SPS great. Also, when taking PAR measurements, there are a lot of factors that can impact PAR values. Surface agitation is one that has a huge impact but water clarity also plays a big factor. While our water may seem clear to the eye, particles in the water can impact PAR. Having a UV sterilzer can have a fairly big impact on water clarity which can impact PAR values as well. Bottom line though, people often read into PAR to much when in fact, PUR is actually equally if not more important when it comes to coral growth but the color spectrum you have the corals under will play a huge role in the colors the corals display to the eye.
madweazl
Member
For what it's worth, I run the Kessils at 50% (average PAR of about about 240).
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