Kessill AP700 Lights...what is the green and red lights for?

[RussC]

I'm considering adjusting my AP700 scedule. I currently had it on a 12 hour day with a 2 hour lunar cycle. So I guess you could say that is a 12 hour plus 2 hour day. I had a serious brown algae brekout which I completely nipped in the bud with GFO. But I've noticed it begin to return, likely due to the GFO becoming saturated. SO it got me considering reducing my lighting schedule a couple of hours-10 hour lights, 2 hour lunar cycle at the end.

What is the significance of the red and green lights settings that are offered with this light? What are they for? Does one benefit something? Or another? when taking a blue setting and introducing a larger percentage of red, it reduces the blue and gives a more "clear" look. What is the benefit to corals? If any. I"m just digging for info to learn more about the specifics of what th AP700 is capable of.

PS I noticed my algae started to return a little. Took a phosphate reading and it was zero. That tells me the problem is likely the lighting. That's why I'm hear to begin with.

 

[Tcox]

12 hours is a lot and you have a great/powerful light. I would shoot for about an 8 hour photo-period. The lunar lights shouldn’t matter much.

Green and red are hardly used and should be dialed way down. I’m not savvy enough to suggest a specific intensity to tie specific setup, but I can recommend some settings to you for the purpose of ratios but for intensity, I would rely on a real world user.

Here’s what I use on a different light:

Ultra Violet: 119%
Violet: 116%
Royal Blue: 79%
Blue: 80%
Green: 4%
Red:4%
White: 19%

These values should be pretty accurate to align with ecotech’s recommendation based on their studies. Once again, you should use this only for ratios and not your intensities. Divide each value by two or three and I would image it would be a decent starting place

 

[bif24701]

I'm considering adjusting my AP700 scedule. I currently had it on a 12 hour day with a 2 hour lunar cycle. So I guess you could say that is a 12 hour plus 2 hour day. I had a serious brown algae brekout which I completely nipped in the bud with GFO. But I've noticed it begin to return, likely due to the GFO becoming saturated. SO it got me considering reducing my lighting schedule a couple of hours-10 hour lights, 2 hour lunar cycle at the end.



What is the significance of the red and green lights settings that are offered with this light? What are they for? Does one benefit something? Or another? when taking a blue setting and introducing a larger percentage of red, it reduces the blue and gives a more "clear" look. What is the benefit to corals? If any. I"m just digging for info to learn more about the specifics of what th AP700 is capable of.



PS I noticed my algae started to return a little. Took a phosphate reading and it was zero. That tells me the problem is likely the lighting. That's why I'm hear to begin with.

If algae is growing then you certainly have PO4 even if testing results are zero. This just means algae is up taking the nutrients before they accumulate and show up in a test. The light could be a problem, if you have more light going into the tank than needed. 12 hour photo period is pretty long. You can reduce it to 8 hours, 6 hour peak with 1 hour ramp up/down. Using too much red can also help algae grow so if you are using it don't. The AP700 it's self isn't the problem. You might need more grazers, reducing feeding, grow macro algae, increase wet skimming, change filter socks more often, organic carbon dosing, and don't forget to manually remove as much as possible.

How old is the system? How much Nitrates? What export methods do you use? Live stock? Bio load? How much flow?

There are many possible cause to algae, you could remove the lights but I assume you need them to keep the corals alive. The Kessil AP700 doesn't cause algae outbreaks anymore than any other lighting system.


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[RussC]

good suggestions. I just changed my lighting to a 10 hour program and will look at reducing the reds a little. A do like the way the tank looks when the reds are on. It gives a middle of the day look as if you were snorkeling around high noon. But I can still give it a shot. Like I said, still trying new settings, etc.

I could certainly pick up more grazers. No doubt about that. Been on the sock changes every four days. Been feeding small portions of pellet food twice a day with one feeing of mysis for my carnivore. Have not started carbon dosing yet figured I'd mix the tin with the gfo soon.

As for parameters, they are doing well.zero ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. I have live rock, skimmer, marine pure ceramic block, gfo media reactor.

Tomorrow starts my 10 hour light program. That'll be might start.

 

[RussC]

I'd still like to find something about why does Kessil offer a green and red light adjustment. WHat's the significance of these two colors? What role does that hue play in coral life/growth. Still looking...

Emailed Kessil too. They are usually pretty good about getting back, just slow to respond.

 

[bif24701]

I'd still like to find something about why does Kessil offer a green and red light adjustment. WHat's the significance of these two colors? What role does that hue play in coral life/growth. Still looking...

Emailed Kessil too. They are usually pretty good about getting back, just slow to respond.

The red and green have no value to coral health or growth. They are there purely for the user to adjust the light as they prefer. Green is seen by humans the brightest and when added to aquarium lighting gives along with a little red gives a more bright and white look to the display. Go a head and try this: set the light to the most blue setting, then add equal red and green about 20-30%. You will notice the display looks more white and bright than with the blue alone.

I would change filter socks no more than every 3 days. BRS did a video that showed changing the socks after more than 3 days didn't reduce NO3 or PO4. This is because after 3 days the trapped stuff has had enough time to break down into NO3 and PO4. Changing at 3 days or less and you remove the waste before it breaks down.


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[mcgyvr]

yep.. its more about improving color rendition vs benefiting corals (it does some though)..
reds look more red and greens look more green with those vs a fixture without green/red diodes..

 

[RussC]

Makes sense. In the meantime, is it possible to delete a thread I started? I can’t seem to find a delete option. You guys answered all my questions in this thread so really no need for it to be posted.

 

[mcgyvr]

You can report it and request a mod delete it but leave it so that others can learn by it and maybe they won't need to create the same post when they use the search...
I know..I know.. who uses search functions in message boards...

edit.. oh now I see your other duplicate post..
yeah click the ! on that post under your username section and report it and just tell them "duplicate post please delete"