Kessil a360x vs a500x vs ap9x help

[iGotJokess]

I have a 180 gallon (6x2x2) and am looking for lighting options. Looking to have a mixed reef, mostly SPS. What would you recommend? I know with the xr15’s it makes more sense over the xr30’s, is that the same with kessils? I’ll probably supplement with (2) 6’ Quanta bars.

I currently have a 90 gallon with 2 xr30’s and 2 quanta bars and it works great par wise but I want to try kessils on my upgrade.

Any help is appreciated with the 3 different kessil options.

 

[ReefLaw]

I you can afford it, I would do three ap9xs with the two quanta bars and call it a day. I have two on a 5 foot tank and it works great for me

 

[Bj’s Reef]

I’m following, to see we’re this goes. I will say my brother inLaw had four 360 s over his 200 gallon tank with T5s. Without the T5s the par was super low. He switched over to the 500xs. The par was spot on without the T5s. I think he was running the 500xs at around 30%. If I’m thinking correctly he was running three of them.

 

[Bj’s Reef]

Riverbanks zoo here in Columbia uses the ap9xs over there coral farm. They are running two over each coral run. I will post a picture if I can find it.

 

[twentyleagues]

All 3 do different things. 3 500x with the bars would do anything, thats a lot of money and over kill. 3 ap9x and bars again would do anything, a lot of money very good coverage. 3 360 and bars would do ok better on the budget may have to place corals accordingly. All 3 options youd want a par meter for. Kessils are amazing lights they dont get enough credit. I truly think the 500s are too much for many reasons. You could certainly do a combo of 1 ap9x and 2 360s along with the bars. ap9x in the middle and the 2 360s on either end best of both worlds.

 

[JNalley]

Each AP9X covers an area of 3' x 2' x 2' for an SPS Dominant Reef. I have one over a 3' mixed reef tank, it's mounted 7.5" off the surface and I get full coverage side to side and front to back, my tank is only 18" deep so I run it at 25% and still get 350 PAR on the sand in the dead center of the tank, it's between 200 and 250 at the corners. They can punch well over 300 PAR down 24" at full blast. So at most you'd need 2 x AP9X and some supplement bars to help with shadowing. Hope this helps

Edit: An AP9X is 2x A360x Tuna Blue's with an elliptical reflector to blend light better in the center and get it out to the edges of tank. They're spaced exactly 9" apart from one another, which makes sense for the 3' coverage.

If you lit your tank with A360's, you'd need 4; if you lit with A500X's, you'd only need 3, though, under the right circumstances, you might actually be able to get away with 2 if they were mounted high enough, but to be fair, 500x's are kind of overkill. No matter which combo you choose though, you only need either 1 AP9X OR 1 WiFi dongle, you can connect the rest of them with USB-C cables (The K-Link is just a USB-C cable, you can get one of these instead of paying reef tank tax on their K-Link cables).

If you do 2 AP9X's and 2 Bars, I think you're going to have to get a 0-10v Adapter that switches from Kessils connector, to the traditional headphone jack connector in order to make them compatible.

 

[iGotJokess]

I appreciate all of the feedback from all of you. Seems like (2) ap9x’s is the way to go at least to start which seems crazy because I believe most recommend 4-5 xr30’s for an sps tank. Any reference for mounting height and length inbetween each light?

 

[JNalley]

I appreciate all of the feedback from all of you. Seems like (2) ap9x’s is the way to go at least to start which seems crazy because I believe most recommend 4-5 xr30’s for an sps tank. Any reference for mounting height and length inbetween each light?

they cover 36 x 24 x 24 each for SPS Dominant. So cut your tank in two, then hang each one in the center of that section. No need for complicated overlaps and things of that nature, especially if you intend to supplement with 2 lightbars down the road. (Not for nothing, Kessil + T5 combo looks awesome)

 

[iGotJokess]

they cover 36 x 24 x 24 each for SPS Dominant. So cut your tank in two, then hang each one in the center of that section. No need for complicated overlaps and things of that nature, especially if you intend to supplement with 2 lightbars down the road. (Not for nothing, Kessil + T5 combo looks awesome)

Never had T5 but always considered it. What bulb combo do you use with the kessils?

Do they have t5 hybrids compatible with the ap9x? The ones I’m seeing don’t, and are only 18in deep not 24

 

[twentyleagues]

Never had T5 but always considered it. What bulb combo do you use with the kessils?

Do they have t5 hybrids compatible with the ap9x? The ones I’m seeing don’t, and are only 18in deep not 24

You would probably need to find a 36" 4 bulb t5 kit to work it to cover the tank. 8 bulb would be better. Thats if its a standard 180g tank. Blue+ if you can find them are a great all around bulb. These used to be everywhere, not so much any more. If you are not handy you could do 2 of these

36" T5HO G3 Hybrid 4-Lamp Light Fixture

Welcome to the future of aquarium lighting! Combine your favorite LED Light module along with Aquatic Life's T5 lighting fixture to create a stellar lighting system! Accepts many of your favorite LED lighting modules, including popular models from EcoTech, AI, and Kessil! Includes standard LED...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

If I were you I'd stick to the original plan of a couple 6' led bars. T5s are getting harder and harder to find. You will need to change the bulbs every 6-12months depending on usage.

 

[Outlaw Corals]

One of my tanks is a 30ga long i was running 2 AI Hydra 26’s, they are on their way out i got a lot of use out of them, my plan was to replace them with XR15’s but once i heard the AP9X were made to have the metal halide with T5 look i was sold, i got the AP9X last week and I’m very happy with it, when the lights go on my other tank I’ll be getting a couple more AP9X’s

 

[JNalley]

Never had T5 but always considered it. What bulb combo do you use with the kessils?

Do they have t5 hybrids compatible with the ap9x? The ones I’m seeing don’t, and are only 18in deep not 24

For now, I am only using the AP9X. I have probably a year to go before I have a colony big enough in that tank to worry about shadowing, so I have saved my money up front (not to mention I am hoping more/better options come out in that time) and will hunt for a deal while I wait and watch them grow. But I have seen some Kessil+T5 combos in use, though the amount of money one of the guys spent on his fixtures kills me; he got the AquaticLife DX18 Dimmable ($600 each). If it was between that or something else, I am positive I'd choose something else. You could opt for LED bars, which are generally cheaper. When the time comes, I may even go the LED route if something strikes my eye that I couldn't do better myself.

If you're handy though, you could always source your own T5 fixtures and dimmable ballasts, it would be much cheaper that way, but like twenty said, you will have to replace bulbs every so often, and with costs of things going up, you'll have to decide for yourself if that's worth it or not.

 

[twentyleagues]

You used to be able to get kits like icecap kits they were not that hard to build and came with everything needed except bulbs. Work horse are also a great t5 ballast and are still around I picked one up a few months ago to replace a ballast that has been running for me off and on 20 years. They are pretty cheap too. If you have a dedicated lighting supply in the area they will have them and can print off wiring diagrams. You will need wiring kits, reflectors, and endcaps too which they should supply or be able to supply also. But honestly led is probably the way to go. I haven't seen a good supply of coral capable t5s in many years. Grow shops are another good source of t5 parts. Sunlight supply used to carry t5 parts as well haven't been on their site in years though much cheaper to get them local. I used to run my reef tanks with t5 can you tell? lol. They are a great light source but by themselves they are boring. Mixed with kessils though.....