NEW to the forum LED suggestion?
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lextheimpaler
New member
Kessil ap 700
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Ron Reefman
Active member
Answer jayball's questions and then tell us what features you want to pay for in an led fixture.
The basic fixture with 2 channels (mostly blue and mostly white) and dimmer knobs will work just fine and can be bought for $90. Or you can get one with 6 or 7 channels to control each color led individually and the ability to slowly ramp the lights up and down like sunrise and sunset and the ability to hook up to an Apex controller which will allow you to change the light by phone even when you are away from home for $750. And then there is just about every combination in between.
MarsAqua, Reef Breeders and OceanRevive all have good quality basic fixtures between $100 and $200.
Elricsfate
New member
Ryan at BRS has brought up a couple of times the notion that perhaps more control isn't better. I was wondering what your thoughts are on that Ron?
I've had informative discussions with you in the past, so I'm just seeking your opinion here. Do you feel like offering "too many" control options, and thus allowing perhaps less experienced reefers the opportunity to get things all out of whack, is a bad thing?
I also want to be sure I understand these control options. When you set your blue levels to something proper for the corals you are keeping, the rest of the adjustments primarily affect how the tank/corals *look* to you from the outside...is that right? In other words, changes made to other spectrums (green, white, etc) do not impact the needed blue levels, they merely alter the way your eye perceives the tank.
Lights are one of the next big ticket items on my list...
Ron Reefman
Active member
I can see how somebody could get 'overloaded' with too much control of color with 6 or 7 channels. And for my money, the 2 channel led fixtures have light that works to keep corals healthy and growing just fine. There is NO NEED for 6 or 7 channel color control unless, like me, you are kidding yourself into thinking you know so much about coral needs that you can do better. But IMHO, for most reefers, including me, you are just fooling yourself! And then there are the reefers who are so over the top crazy about the exact color of the light in their tank (for their eyes) that they need the extra control. In short, 6 or 7 channels of color control is for the reefer's benefit, not the coral's benefit... 95% of the time!
If somebody gets a 6 channel system that far out of whack that is causes harm, that's on them. The basics are just too easy. 50% to 100% more blue than white. A simple 2 channel example: whites at 40% and blues between 60% and 80%. If there are 2 channels of blue add them together (same for 2 whites). Example: I do 40% white with 5w leds, so 90% blue with half my blue leds which are 5w and 90% with the other half of my blues which are 3w is just about 100% more than the white. There are so few red, green and violets that for the most part they don't make a big difference.
Q: "I also want to be sure I understand these control options. When you set your blue levels to something proper for the corals you are keeping, the rest of the adjustments primarily affect how the tank/corals *look* to you from the outside...is that right? In other words, changes made to other spectrums (green, white, etc) do not impact the needed blue levels, they merely alter the way your eye perceives the tank."
A: Yes and no. The blue is by far the most important. However white and other individual spectrums like red and green do play a role in coral development and color. The pigments corals produce are kind of like us. You are fair skin color and you go out in the sun. If you do it right, you make brown pigment. Do it wrong and you turn red. Do it very wrong and you blister. Other colors also play a role in the coral's ability to produce other chemicals they use internally.
IMHO, the white leds can do that without the red and green leds that also create the dreaded 'Disco Effect' or red and green shadow edges in the tank. I don't even use them except over my refugium. That algae likes the red spectrum better, but it can be overdone.
All in all, the mix of blue and white is important to both the coral and you. IMHO the corals do well at a 2:1 mix of blue to white and my eyes quite like that color as well. I'm not sure pushing even more blue is useful, but going more white if your eye likes that better, is OK. But beyond 1:1 and I think you start doing harm by not having enough blue for the zooxanthellae to do photosynthesis and feed the coral properly. They will still survive, but it isn't optimum. And that's mostly my opinion and experience based on what I've read and been told by a few people a lot smarter than me... like at MCNA Conferences and very knowledgeable speakers we get at our local club events.
bif24701
New member
This is why Kessil Logic is so great! Kessil removes all the fluff and ensures that your light will grow healthy coral no matter what color choice you make, as long as you don't fry them with too much intensity.
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Elricsfate
New member
Thanks for the replies. I have been considering either the Kessil AP700 or the Maxspect Ethereal for lighting my 180. (Yes, I know I'll need more than one of either on a 6 ft tank).
Obviously the price difference is attractive. But I'm still reading/researching. I'd rather buy the right thing once...
Obviously the price difference is attractive. But I'm still reading/researching. I'd rather buy the right thing once...
bif24701
New member
I have the Kessil AP700s, two over my 6' 180 and love them. I'm getting great results, love the color and the sleek look.
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ericarenee
New member
i have 6 of these . the 3 on my display i have the on like 20 % white and 50 blue
Ron Reefman
Active member
Corals all have different needs and tanks are all different and I don't trust Kessil to pick the spectrum or intensity for me.
BUT, like I said in the post above, I'm one of those people who wants color control because I think I know better what my corals need and I completely realize that I'm probably kidding myself!
sde1500
Active member
At least you admit it haha.
I am just 1 year into keep corals, so still newer to it myself. Chose a LED because they look nice, run cool, and don't use a lot of power. But avoided ones with extra control or functions. Lightning storms are awesome, as is making it look like clouds passing over head, but they aren't useful for corals. Also 6 channels of control means a lot of adjusting without really knowing what you are doing. Stick to a 2 channel blue/white LED. Simple, easy, corals still grow.
