Rob's 300 Gallon Deep Dimensions!
- Thread starter robert s b.
- Start date
robert s b.
Active member
brad65ford
New member
Any updates Robert, looking forward to your results.
robert s b.
Active member
New Light, ATI Led Hybrid 60" 8x80w 4x75 Led
New Light, ATI Led Hybrid 60" 8x80w 4x75 Led
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/l1ah-XCj53k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
New Light, ATI Led Hybrid 60" 8x80w 4x75 Led
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/l1ah-XCj53k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
brad65ford
New member
Wait.... So bye bye Kessils? Can to explain your thoughts on the kessils?
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
We understand why a change was needed.
robert s b.
Active member
Well I started off with 3 360w all in the back with a 60" 4x80w powermodules in the front of the tank. Back in December. Everything looked great and growth was decent. but not enough spread for my tank which is 36" front to back. so I bought 2 more a360we and put them in between the other 3 A360 all in a row, along with the PM's in the front. The growth was great, but I felt I was not utilizing the A360we, since they were sitting on top of the 2 braces I had on my 300g DD and was shadowing. So I decided 3 months ago to sell my PM's and got another A360we. And laid them out 3 in the back and 3 in the front and spaced out evenly. Like usual it ramps up and ramps down. And at peak for for 4 hours it sat at 90% blues and 50% intensity. And it bleached some of my Frags and burnt the tips of my Slimer and other acros. And my Zoas on the sand bed was closing up. So I dialed it down and even raised the fixtures to 14 inches above the water line and had it 80% and 40%. With further study, I have noticed SPS on the edges of the light spread was doing ok but not super. and the corals directly underneath Kessils was ok, but no PE. And growth seemed to be stunted. It seems some, like the intensity and some don't. If you look back in my thread, my corals was doing good with steady growth, but as soon as I took the PM T5's off something happened, corals didn't respond well. So 2 things, probably happened, I didn't acclimate my corals to the Kessils right or the PM's was actually giving them the better spectrum from the Blue+ bulbs I had. I remember back when I had MH, you can place the frag anywhere, from the sand bed to the top of the tank, and youll be ok. There is something about the Kessil's piercing Leds some corals don't like.,Its not like T5's or MH with their reflectors evenly distributes the light. Don't get me wrong and Im not bashing the Kessils, I invested $2k on these lights, Shimmer is awesome And nothing beats the blues on these, which I showcase when friends are over. Which they ooh and ahh, and cant tell if my corals are happy, but I can. So it makes me wonder, if I was actually Supplementing the T5's with the LEDs and not The Led's supplemented with the T5's. If you know what Im saying. Anyways still love the look and form factor of the Kessils. I originally bought LEDS and sold my MH because of electricity issues, we averaged over $400 per month on electricity bill, well I just recently added over 40 solar panels on my roof, and last months estimated bill was only $40 
.. So I started to think if I should go back to MH, but didn't want to build a canopy, so I chose the PM Led Hybrids. My corals are already responding pretty well, and getting PE during the day and not only extend at night. Well with MY experience and MHO only, Kessil by itself doesn't cut it, they need to be supplemented with another light source like T5's, MH or even another LED strip. Another thing I didn't like was all them damn cords, if they only made a link cable to supply power, would be awesome. My PM Hybrids only has 1 cord, so it does not take up a lot of sockets
.. So I started to think if I should go back to MH, but didn't want to build a canopy, so I chose the PM Led Hybrids. My corals are already responding pretty well, and getting PE during the day and not only extend at night. Well with MY experience and MHO only, Kessil by itself doesn't cut it, they need to be supplemented with another light source like T5's, MH or even another LED strip. Another thing I didn't like was all them damn cords, if they only made a link cable to supply power, would be awesome. My PM Hybrids only has 1 cord, so it does not take up a lot of sockets
robert s b.
Active member
Here you can compare the 2. if your on a computer you can play both at the same time.
Led at peak is at 70%
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/l1ah-XCj53k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Led at Peak is 80% and 40% intensity
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GGjCUOKtf68" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Led at peak is at 70%
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/l1ah-XCj53k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Led at Peak is 80% and 40% intensity
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GGjCUOKtf68" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Last edited:
brad65ford
New member
Well I started off with 3 360w all in the back with a 60" 4x80w powermodules in the front of the tank. Back in December. Everything looked great and growth was decent. but not enough spread for my tank which is 36" front to back. so I bought 2 more a360we and put them in between the other 3 A360 all in a row, along with the PM's in the front. The growth was great, but I felt I was not utilizing the A360we, since they were sitting on top of the 2 braces I had on my 300g DD and was shadowing. So I decided 3 months ago to sell my PM's and got another A360we. And laid them out 3 in the back and 3 in the front and spaced out evenly. Like usual it ramps up and ramps down. And at peak for for 4 hours it sat at 90% blues and 50% intensity. And it bleached some of my Frags and burnt the tips of my Slimer and other acros. And my Zoas on the sand bed was closing up. So I dialed it down and even raised the fixtures to 14 inches above the water line and had it 80% and 40%. With further study, I have noticed SPS on the edges of the light spread was doing ok but not super. and the corals directly underneath Kessils was ok, but no PE. And growth seemed to be stunted. It seems some, like the intensity and some don't. If you look back in my thread, my corals was doing good with steady growth, but as soon as I took the PM T5's off something happened, corals didn't respond well. So 2 things, probably happened, I didn't acclimate my corals to the Kessils right or the PM's was actually giving them the better spectrum from the Blue+ bulbs I had. I remember back when I had MH, you can place the frag anywhere, from the sand bed to the top of the tank, and youll be ok. There is something about the Kessil's piercing Leds some corals don't like.,Its not like T5's or MH with their reflectors evenly distributes the light. Don't get me wrong and Im not bashing the Kessils, I invested $2k on these lights, Shimmer is awesome And nothing beats the blues on these, which I showcase when friends are over. Which they ooh and ahh, and cant tell if my corals are happy, but I can. So it makes me wonder, if I was actually Supplementing the T5's with the LEDs and not The Led's supplemented with the T5's. If you know what Im saying. Anyways still love the look and form factor of the Kessils. I originally bought LEDS and sold my MH because of electricity issues, we averaged over $400 per month on electricity bill, well I just recently added over 40 solar panels on my roof, and last months estimated bill was only $40
Bingo, Bingo, Bingo!!! I have had the identical results as you. Been reefing for years and I know how to grow corals. These Kessils are funky, again I to am not bashing them but just do not believe they grow SPS ideally IMHO. I've poked around on the 360w thread asking for photos of success with sps's. Honestly i'm not impressed at all. I even called Kessil and spoke with a tech for over an hour asking him for success storys,,, nothing other then i must be doing something wrong. Only way to get my corals to start growing was added other LED fixture to my systems which just doesn't see right, does it? Right now i've added a hqi Radium MH to one of my systems along with the kessils and already seeing a different in sps coral and growth.
Bottom line here is there is more people that aren't haven't success with these Kessils but they are one of the best looking lights IMO on the market. Go figure.:deadhorse:
ChrisKirkland
Reef and Coral Fanatic
This truly depends on what LED fixture you use. I have all ecotech marine g2 fixtures and have great PE and great growth along with good coloration. Still trying to find the sweet spot to get the really good coloration.
snowdude10
New member
the shimmer from those 6 kessils are ridicules
kmooresf
New member
Bummer about the Kessils. I've had a lot of luck with them, however I am using the narrows............not the wide's. I feel like the wide's are better for LPS, or very high placed SPS. The narrows are great for SPS, but LPS are not happy under them. I keep my LPS on the sand and in the corners.
Your tank is beautiful either way, and I hope the new lights fix the issues. Nice job.
robert s b.
Active member
It was your tank that motivated me to sell my MH's and get the Kessils, and you have done a stand up job with your tank. You hit it on the nail with the N and the W versions of the Kessils. I had great growth with my sps that was on the upper end of the tank and the lower part, not so good. I think I was just finding an excuse to buy the ATI Led PM's
. Because I didn't really have a problem with the Kessils aside from the slow growth on the lower part of my tank. Their shimmer and their sharpness of the light it produces is unmatched, I should've had bought 3 w's and 3 n's and a couple of T5's and I probably would still have them.
kmooresf
New member
It was your tank that motivated me to sell my MH's and get the Kessils, and you have done a stand up job with your tank. You hit it on the nail with the N and the W versions of the Kessils. I had great growth with my sps that was on the upper end of the tank and the lower part, not so good. I think I was just finding an excuse to buy the ATI Led PM's
Well I'm glad I could inspire you, but bummed it didn't work out. Sucks to drop a bunch of cash on something that you end up changing. Although I like to get the newest thing as well. LOL! That ATI looks pretty awesome, so I will be following along to see how it goes. Good luck.
Zacktosterone
Active member
Well this is extremely discouraging. I have a 65x30x24" tank that I was running the ati led powermodule over and I wasn't getting the growth I wanted with sps so I switched out for 4 kessil a360we. And I find out a lot of people arnt getting good growth after I've relentlessly done research. It seems it wasn't enough. Looks like I'm going to have to retrofit some t5s
View attachment 306556
View attachment 306556
Really fantastic build Robert,
I just setup my 300DD with dual Herbies, and noticed you have the same issue I am experiencing which is the braces are submerged. Have you experienced any negative effects due to this ? do you find is it ok having the braces submerged?
I just setup my 300DD with dual Herbies, and noticed you have the same issue I am experiencing which is the braces are submerged. Have you experienced any negative effects due to this ? do you find is it ok having the braces submerged?
ChrisKirkland
Reef and Coral Fanatic
I also had the same issue I ended up reducing the flow in my 300 down and using a dremel to widen the teeth on the overflow.
