thoughts on kessil A150 Led...

I like the Sol, however after seeing the a150 I liked the shimmer and color better. It matches much closer to a metal halide. If the a350 is dimmable then I will switch. I had to change the optics from 40 to 70 on the Sol to get better spread and to keep from torching coral in the center.
 
I just got a new kessil a week ago to replace my Current Nova extreme 6 bulb fixture. I have a 54 gallon corner bowfront so there is less areal to cover. I have my rock in a horse shoe pattern that kind of conforms to the three sided shape. I have one kessil right now, the Ocean Blue. I have to say I love the look. The shimmer is just great and I really like the blue it puts in. I like it much more than the higher white light of the t5s. As for my corals , I have a nice frogspawn, zoas, shrooms , polyps, and a really nice goniopora up high in the middle under the kessil. I have to say I did think I would need two and probably will but wanted to see what one did first. I was quite impressed when I observed the new kessil as I thought no way would it be bright enough but it's deceiving. It's intense but does not seem like it from looking in with the blue it has. To my surprise so far its been pretty amazing. Everything is open and extended more than with the t5s. The colors are deep and rich. The fish colors are very nice especially my yellow tang and the clowns. My anenome is doing very well. If you are using a 34 and it's more of a square on the order of a nano style then I think starting with one you would be very happy. Its in my living room and its really a nice light in the room with the blue hue and the shimmer. Love it so far and am observing to see if I may go to another but like I said wanted to see what one would do. Very pleased so far...
 
I feel like i see a different spectrum of blue from the 15k kessil. I have seen some tanks that have a true 15k look while some of them seem more like a 20k. Has anyone else noticed this inconsistency in the ocean blue kessil?
 
Kingpin,
Are your corals expanded more under the Kessil than they were under the T5's?
Have you changed anything else in your tank in the week you've been running the Kessil?

Nick
 
jumplittlechloe said:
I am thinking about changing over from my AI Blue Sol to the Kessil. I am going to wait till the a350 comes out to do so. I have a 34g tank. Would one light be enough?
Click to expand...

The A150W might be a good substitute, unless it is a SPS dominant tank.

jluspo said:
What's wrong with the AI Blue Sol?
Click to expand...

For comparison the Kessil has a single matrix LED that blends the color better and allows a great depth penetration. The glass optic lens over the Kessil make an incomparable shimmer that you will not be able to get out of an array-type LED, or anything that uses plastic optics. The Kessil will also provide a wider wavelength including a near UV spectrum. Plus it's a little more inexpensive. And has a longer warranty....

But you can always play with the dimming and color on an AI.
 
Frick said:
The A150W might be a good substitute, unless it is a SPS dominant tank.



For comparison the Kessil has a single matrix LED that blends the color better and allows a great depth penetration. The glass optic lens over the Kessil make an incomparable shimmer that you will not be able to get out of an array-type LED, or anything that uses plastic optics. The Kessil will also provide a wider wavelength including a near UV spectrum. Plus it's a little more inexpensive. And has a longer warranty....

But you can always play with the dimming and color on an AI.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation!

I actually have 2 a150w on my 120gallon tank (4x2x2). I just upgraded from a 65gallons a few weeks ago so it's fairly new. I am, however, using the same rocks and livestocks from the 65. Some of my corals have been under the kessils for a few months now and there have been noticable growth. I have some SPS that are growing well. I also have a derasa clam that is also doing very well.

I need to post pics of my tank so everyone can see how it looks. I'm just too busy with work right now. Once I get off my butt, I can show some growth pics from when I bought the SPS frag until today and you will see the growth. It looks great but I think I need 2 more kessils to even out the coverage. In the meantime, I am using my "old" t5s in addition to the Kessils. It looks fantastic.
 
Hey Nick, the corals are doing unbelievably. Never have had the expansion I am getting right now from any system which includes the Nova Extreme with T5HO's or the Coralife Aqualife 150 Metal Halide clamp on. My frogspawn and my polyps, and especially my mushrooms. Have done nothing different at all, just the new light. I know alot of guys are skeptical but I am pretty much sold so far. Also the look is tremendous. Love the Ocean Blue model I got. It actually takes a few days to really love it because you swear that it's not bright enough, but then you see the intense light that is really going in. Some may not like the blue and like the Sky Blue better, but for my eye love the Ocean Blue. Sits in my living room and the shimmer is wonderful and puts out a really nice wave of shimmer in the corner wall. It's pretty cool. Being a 54 gallon in the traditional you definitely would need two but with the pie shape the footprint goes where I need it. At this rate not sure if I want to add a second and won't for now as I observe how things progress. Also the size is very appealing. No bulky light on the tank and it's nice to be able to just look down in from above and see whats going on. Great light so far. Could not be happier and it has exceeded my expectations. I'll try and post a pic soon but my damn camera is on the blink and my phone pics suck....
 
Pics of my new tank & corals with Kessil

Pics of my new tank & corals with Kessil

I upgraded my tank a few weeks ago from a 65gallons (36x18x24) to a 120gallons (48x24x24). I've had the Kessils a150w for a few months now and are using 2-a150w on my new tank. Because the a150w is a pin-point light source, the shimmer is amazing. If you have not seen the a150w in real life, the shimmer has too much shadow which make it seems not bright enough. To even out the light coverage, I decided to add 2 of my T5HO as a supplement (1-10k and 1-actinic). I will use the T5s temporarily until I can afford to buy 2 more of the Kessils. This light is GREAT! If you look carefully at my tank, you will see I have a variety of coral frags all over the place. I have frogspawn, torch, lobo, zoos, blastos, duncan, trumpet, toadstool, colt, etc. You can kinda guestimate from the FTS on their placement relative to the light source. The tank is 24" tall and the a150w is about 6" from the water surface.

Here are some pictures.

Here is a full tank shot:

a>


To show some SPS growth, here is a pic of a birdsnest frag taken last Oct 12 and here it is today (Dec 6) after less than 2 months on the a150w:

a>


Here's another SPS from Nov 18th to Dec 6th (less than 1 month) The newer picture looks smaller but that's because of the perspective. The real coral looks heftier than a month ago:
a>


Here's a picture of my derasa clam:
a>
 
I don't know why its so hard to beleive that the kessil can support sps growth. I have seen some new tips branching off on my staghorn since putting up the fixtures, which was only a couple of weeks.

On another note, did enaybody see the kessil giveaway? grand prize is a custom built 350 to meet the winner's specific needs..... I might have the a350 before its released! LOL (wishful thinking)
 
Mrmaguyver said:
I don't know why its so hard to beleive that the kessil can support sps growth. I have seen some new tips branching off on my staghorn since putting up the fixtures, which was only a couple of weeks.

On another note, did enaybody see the kessil giveaway? grand prize is a custom built 350 to meet the winner's specific needs..... I might have the a350 before its released! LOL (wishful thinking)
Click to expand...

May I ask how the kessil performs regarding retaining the SPS colors? I noticed the SPS pictures posted seem to be brown?
 
With so many people having bought these a150w's I wonder how come there are not that much reviews or comments? Could these be inefficient in the long run which is why nobody uses them as main lights?

Then again maybe they're really good and the users just aren't saying.

Just my thoughts...
 
With so many people having bought these a150w's I wonder how come there are not that much reviews or comments? Could these be inefficient in the long run which is why nobody uses them as main lights?

Then again maybe they're really good and the users just aren't saying.

Just my thoughts...
 
kingpin9995 said:
Hey Nick, the corals are doing unbelievably. Never have had the expansion I am getting right now from any system which includes the Nova Extreme with T5HO's or the Coralife Aqualife 150 Metal Halide clamp on. My frogspawn and my polyps, and especially my mushrooms. Have done nothing different at all, just the new light. I know alot of guys are skeptical but I am pretty much sold so far. Also the look is tremendous. Love the Ocean Blue model I got. It actually takes a few days to really love it because you swear that it's not bright enough, but then you see the intense light that is really going in. Some may not like the blue and like the Sky Blue better, but for my eye love the Ocean Blue. Sits in my living room and the shimmer is wonderful and puts out a really nice wave of shimmer in the corner wall. It's pretty cool. Being a 54 gallon in the traditional you definitely would need two but with the pie shape the footprint goes where I need it. At this rate not sure if I want to add a second and won't for now as I observe how things progress. Also the size is very appealing. No bulky light on the tank and it's nice to be able to just look down in from above and see whats going on. Great light so far. Could not be happier and it has exceeded my expectations. I'll try and post a pic soon but my damn camera is on the blink and my phone pics suck....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. My concern is where you state that your corals are expanding more than they were before.

I'm wondering if they are "panning" for light....IE expanding more to increase their surface area to gather more light. numerous people have observed and documented SPS bleaching when they switch over to LED lighting from MH's. The reason for this was explained in the link I posted earlier in this thread, (Bottom of page 5). If you're corals are expanding more than they were with your previous lighting set up, then I suspect they are getting less light than they were before.

I really want to like this light. It's priced well, its attractive, its easy.....its really pretty much everything I want except I'm unsure about it providing as much light as I would like it to.

Nick
 
Nick is right, the expanding is a soft corals way of grabbing more light. It makes sense as well, these lights are only 32 watts and on a tank that is 24" tall it will be hard pressed to penetrate. Those of us with shallow tanks can take better advantage of the lack of punch. My tank is only 17" tall but 40x40 so I would need at least two. Taller tanks may need more than one to cover and penetrate.
 
Update: I made a newb move and lowered the lights to 3 inches from the surface of the tank and ended up bleaching my staghorn coral..... These lights should definitely not be underestimated.... Raised them back to 5 inches above surface. RIP staghorn.
 
Still loving my a150w. Have 4 over my 150g tank. Lots more colors coming out in coral. Not a single bleach out. I really enjoy them.
 
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