1 or 2 Kessil A160WE?

LetItReef

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Hello,

Will I be needing 1 or 2 unit for standard 29g, 30x12x18 with mostly LPS and couple SPS?

Thanks!
 

Lynn52

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You might consider one a360WE. It is stronger light and will cost less than 2 A160s.
 

ebushrow

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Your at kind of a odd size for just having 1 light, however, 2 would be overkill IMO. Kessils cover a 24"x24" space, so if you centered it on your tank you would have bout 3" on each side that would just have ambient light....might be ok for low light LPS but it would be pushing the limits I think.....if you used 2 there would be a pretty significant 12" overlap where things would be blasted with light....

you could just go with 1 and raise it higher off the top of the tank, but the intensity towards the bottom would be dim....

the 360we would do the same thing, however, with the higher power, you might get more light to penetrate to the bottom...either way I would highly suggest the Kessil spectral controller to dial in the lights as it really seems to work well.
 

Lynn52

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I agree on the spectral controller. I control lights on 2 tanks with it.
 
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LetItReef

LetItReef

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I would go for one A160 with Controller for now and if I upgrade for 36" tank then I will get another set.
Would you happen to know if you can control the A150 version- sunrise, sunset?

Thanks again!
 

reefhobby

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2 Kessil 160. I have one over my 24x24 45 gallon cube, it cover the whole area but isn't strong enough. I would get 2. I'm upgrading to a radion
 

Mattrg02

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I believe that acroporas will always need more than one kessil, no matter what the par is. This is due to shadowing basically starving the coral.

I haven't seen a single tank with acroporas and just one kessil. Large,
flat corals to fine because they are so spread out and collect a lot of the kessil spot light.

This is just my theory.
 

clee36

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i can definitely understand what you are saying.
i have a 360we over a 20x20x20 and i do experience the shadowing.
i dont think its to the point where it negatively impacting my corals.
but i can certainly see this being an issue on a larger tank.
fyi the light is about 4 inches over the water.

I believe that acroporas will always need more than one kessil, no matter what the par is. This is due to shadowing basically starving the coral.

I haven't seen a single tank with acroporas and just one kessil. Large,
flat corals to fine because they are so spread out and collect a lot of the kessil spot light.

This is just my theory.
 

Mattrg02

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i can definitely understand what you are saying.
i have a 360we over a 20x20x20 and i do experience the shadowing.
i dont think its to the point where it negatively impacting my corals.
but i can certainly see this being an issue on a larger tank.
fyi the light is about 4 inches over the water.

Got any acroporas that are thriving?
 

acolotto

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kessils are not for sps, they have huge drop offs in par output as soon as you get away from being right under the light. Id look into getting maybe a ai hydra 26, ecotech xf15, or one of the chinese leds (theyre actually really good!)
 

clee36

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one piece that i bought when i first got sps is indeed thriving. growing very nicely. (sorry i dont know names of anything)
wait, i know the name of another one i have, a green slimer is growing nicely as well.
i just added a few other frags frags about a month ago. they are keeping their color. we will see in the future.
other sps like the birdnest and monti dont stop growing.
not comparable, but hey, they are still sps! :)
that being said, im still considering a second light for another angle.

Got any acroporas that are thriving?
 

Mattrg02

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one piece that i bought when i first got sps is indeed thriving. growing very nicely. (sorry i dont know names of anything)
wait, i know the name of another one i have, a green slimer is growing nicely as well.
i just added a few other frags frags about a month ago. they are keeping their color. we will see in the future.
other sps like the birdnest and monti dont stop growing.
not comparable, but hey, they are still sps! :)
that being said, im still considering a second light for another angle.

I've got a green slimer that kept its color. Other than that, no other acropora has survived under my single kessil 360we. Green slimers are known to be pretty easy...

That's why I suspect the shading being the cause of slow deaths.
 

clee36

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I've got a green slimer that kept its color. Other than that, no other acropora has survived under my single kessil 360we. Green slimers are known to be pretty easy...

That's why I suspect the shading being the cause of slow deaths.
i read they were very easy keep, the slimers.
id says the farthest an acro sits from a light in my tank is maybe 11 inches.
at its brightest it hits about 90% with 35 or 40 color, i cant remember off the top of my head. ill have to check when i get home.
there are other people out there that have had success with kessils.
 

nanoman28g

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Will I be needing 1 or 2 unit for standard 29g, 30x12x18 with mostly LPS and couple SPS?
Thanks![/QUOTE]

Get two. One is not enough for that length. I have 1 a160we over my 18x18x22 cube and wouldn't trust my A160 over a tank that is more than 18 inches long. All of my SPS are growing very well under my Kessil BTW.
 

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