Question: Kessil a350 & Neptune PMK issues
Greetings fellow hobbyists,
After having minimal success with my coral growth, I've decided to hone in on each component of my 90g mixed reef. My tank specs are as follows:
Livestock: tang/clowns/damsel/goby-shrimp pair/CUC
Coral: 2 hammers/few nems/few zoas/green slimer/3 headed duncan/2 headed candy cane
Sump: 10g sump with sock -> reefoctopus skimmer -->return pump --> chaeto also in-line carbon/GFO reactor <--> UV, and ATO setup
Flow: 2xjebao RW8s cross flow left to right, 1 RW15 from back to front
Lighting: 2 x Kessil a350s Tuna Blue (older version)
Monitoring: Apex Classic w/ pH, temp, salinity, & PAR
Chem:
Cal 450 - Dosing with ESV 2 part
Alk 8.5 - Dosing with ESV 2 part
Temp 79-82
SG 1.026
With all the toys Apex has to offer, I figured to invest in the PMK. The PAR readings with the Kessil a350s I felt were disappointingly below my expectations. While they were on max intensity and 8" above the tank, I was getting PAR readings barely at 90. So then I lowered both fixtures to 3" (still max) and now I'm getting somewhere in the 150s. Still, inadequate for my acros. After reading on here and on reef 2 reef, seen that the PAR meter with the PMK reports lower than usual readings for LEDs. I've seen the video on BRS Investigates and still feel that I'm not getting my answer. Can someone shed some light (no pun intended) on my conundrum? My concerns are:
-Does this sound like an issue others are having?
-Is there caliberation for Kessil a350s LEDs that I need to program?
-Should I supplement with a T5 retrokit?
-Are the Radions better than Kessils? (I know about the shimmer vs non-shimmer factor)
-Where do I go from here?
Thanks in advance and happy reefing
Greetings fellow hobbyists,
After having minimal success with my coral growth, I've decided to hone in on each component of my 90g mixed reef. My tank specs are as follows:
Livestock: tang/clowns/damsel/goby-shrimp pair/CUC
Coral: 2 hammers/few nems/few zoas/green slimer/3 headed duncan/2 headed candy cane
Sump: 10g sump with sock -> reefoctopus skimmer -->return pump --> chaeto also in-line carbon/GFO reactor <--> UV, and ATO setup
Flow: 2xjebao RW8s cross flow left to right, 1 RW15 from back to front
Lighting: 2 x Kessil a350s Tuna Blue (older version)
Monitoring: Apex Classic w/ pH, temp, salinity, & PAR
Chem:
Cal 450 - Dosing with ESV 2 part
Alk 8.5 - Dosing with ESV 2 part
Temp 79-82
SG 1.026
With all the toys Apex has to offer, I figured to invest in the PMK. The PAR readings with the Kessil a350s I felt were disappointingly below my expectations. While they were on max intensity and 8" above the tank, I was getting PAR readings barely at 90. So then I lowered both fixtures to 3" (still max) and now I'm getting somewhere in the 150s. Still, inadequate for my acros. After reading on here and on reef 2 reef, seen that the PAR meter with the PMK reports lower than usual readings for LEDs. I've seen the video on BRS Investigates and still feel that I'm not getting my answer. Can someone shed some light (no pun intended) on my conundrum? My concerns are:
-Does this sound like an issue others are having?
-Is there caliberation for Kessil a350s LEDs that I need to program?
-Should I supplement with a T5 retrokit?
-Are the Radions better than Kessils? (I know about the shimmer vs non-shimmer factor)
-Where do I go from here?
Thanks in advance and happy reefing
