Calling all Kessil owners

[Bradley Keck]

Hey everyone on R2R!

I have been a member of RC for over a year and researching reefing for almost two years now. I just recently joined R2R and love it! I am a former african cichlid aquarist now moving on to saltwater. I have a 60x24x24 tank, trigger 34 sump, RO varios 6 return, and Tunze ATO purchased last year. I have been researching, watching, listening, and reading about lighting for a mixed reef set-up. I have considered just about every option for my enclosed canopy (back side completely open). Since a lot of fixtures are not recommended for a canopy, I have decided to go with a LED/T5 system. I plan to use 4x54w LET retro's, but have been stuck on which LED's to use (surprise right?) I have come across a good deal on three a360we Kessils, spectral controller and link cables, but am worried about buyers remorse after reading some of the reviews about Kessils going bad after 1-2 years on BRS's site. I am really pushing my budget as it is just trying to get what I need to get this thing up and going, and cannot afford to spend that kind of money only to have it go out in a year or two. I'm wondering how many Kessil owners are out there who have not had problems with there Kessil A360's. Is what I read the exception or becoming the rule? Did they not clean them enough or did they just get a lemon? How long do these pucks last really? Any help here would be great!

 

[Monterey Bay Coral]

Kessil customer support is outstanding and if you have any issues you are well take care of. We have ran well over 20 kessil units and only have had an issue with one a150.(That we bought used) A simple email over to Kessil and we were taken care of. Currently we run 9 360 models and have had 0 isses since starting them well over two years ago.

 

[Somuchflo99]

Love my a80 plenty of light for what I have

 

[ReefNoobie88]

Customer support can not be beaten. Kessil kills it with that and a great product. I run two a160 over my 75g soon to be upgraded to a 125g with 75g sump. Great color, good growth and everything is very happy and healthy.

 

[BigJim]

I use three Kessils A360WE over my 72" tank with 4 T5 supplements. I have had zero issues in 2+ years.

 

[Salty.Reefer]

I use a A360W over my 24X24X20 tank and love it. Corals growing well and no issues with it running. I use a spectral controller and it works great. I think as long as you follow the maintenance schedule they should run for a long time.
As far as coral growth and coloration peoples issues that they report here on R2R is from them changing the settings too much. I like to set it and forget. Great light with awesome power consumption.
I also like the auto color blending. Too much control like radions IMO can cause you to change them too much.

 

[Radman73]

I have an A360W(non-e version) that I've had 4 years I think? Hard to remember sometimes lol! In any case, it's been rock solid for me over my 60 cube.

 

[Ranjib]

Two A80 and one A360 running for more than a year now. Absolutely love it. Cant comment if they'll run without any issue for years to come.. Never needed the customer care since I never had any issue.
I do clean the fixture once a quarter, the fan vent accumulates dust.

 

[Bradley Keck]

Thanks for all the replies! This is encouraging. I'm going to have to cut my budget elsewhere whether it be the skimmer, power heads, or refugium light. I think it would be worth it though. I just think Kessils with T5's gives about the best overall coverage, contrast, and shimmer of any LED T5 combo. Now, I may have to rethink getting 2 x250's for flow..

 

[Zack K]

Thanks for all the replies! This is encouraging. I'm going to have to cut my budget elsewhere whether it be the skimmer, power heads, or refugium light. I think it would be worth it though. I just think Kessils with T5's gives about the best overall coverage, contrast, and shimmer of any LED T5 combo. Now, I may have to rethink getting 2 x250's for flow..

Don’t cut the skimmer. [emoji6] Almost as important as light imo

 

[Bradley Keck]

Funny you should say that, because that is just what I was wondering. I have been hearing(BRS) about how nutrient rich is not necessarily bad as long as you do not accumulate nitrate and phosphate. Particularly in a set-up that's primarily softies and LPS. So I started to wonder if my refugium can adequately keep phosphate and nitrate low, could I go skimmerless? Kind of like the triton method, but I will not be able to achieve the turnover rate or size of refugium recommended. I have planned for skimmer all along though and the last thing I want is a huge algae outbreak once I get this up and going, so thank you for the suggestion. I'll keep the skimmer in the plans. My budget would allow for all the equipment I need, but I will have next to nothing left over for rock, sand, salt, test kits, and live stock. Oh well, I have waited this long, what's a few more months

 

[revhtree]

Hey everyone on R2R!

I have been a member of RC for over a year and researching reefing for almost two years now. I just recently joined R2R and love it! I am a former african cichlid aquarist now moving on to saltwater. I have a 60x24x24 tank, trigger 34 sump, RO varios 6 return, and Tunze ATO purchased last year. I have been researching, watching, listening, and reading about lighting for a mixed reef set-up. I have considered just about every option for my enclosed canopy (back side completely open). Since a lot of fixtures are not recommended for a canopy, I have decided to go with a LED/T5 system. I plan to use 4x54w LET retro's, but have been stuck on which LED's to use (surprise right?) I have come across a good deal on three a360we Kessils, spectral controller and link cables, but am worried about buyers remorse after reading some of the reviews about Kessils going bad after 1-2 years on BRS's site. I am really pushing my budget as it is just trying to get what I need to get this thing up and going, and cannot afford to spend that kind of money only to have it go out in a year or two. I'm wondering how many Kessil owners are out there who have not had problems with there Kessil A360's. Is what I read the exception or becoming the rule? Did they not clean them enough or did they just get a lemon? How long do these pucks last really? Any help here would be great!

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Technically, you don't need skimmer for the first few months or at least first 2 months while your tank cycling.

 

[jd371]

Four Kessil 160's over my 75g. Over two years now with no issues. One of them did develop a noisy fan an hour before it shut off one night, but was back to normal the next day, most likely dust. I clean them every couple of months now.

 

[Bradley Keck]

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for the input and help! It seeming more and more like the bad reviews I read are the exception. I basically have the tank, stand, canopy, RODI, sump, ATO, and return. I have saved up 2500.00 for the rest. I figure I still need lighting, heaters with controller, refugium light for chaeto or chaeto reactor or algae turf scrubber, power heads - leaning towards either tunze 6095's or new xf250's, skimmer, testing kits, rock, sand, and salt. Going to be tight whether I go Kessils or not, but man I am leaning towards getting them and the LET retro kits.

 

[azbigjohn]

I have run 3 Kessil a-360WE for going on almost 4 years, with no problems from any of them. Kessil had excellent support answering coverage questions before I bought them, and I have heard nothing but great things bout their service since, but not had to use the customer service since buying them.

 

[Scorpius]

I've been using Kessil 360 series since 2013. No issues.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Ive had A360's and currently have an AP700. The key to longevity lies in their care. If you keep them well maintained (cleaning them and blowing dust out if them) regularly, they'll last a long time. I cleaned mine once a month, two months max. Youll be surprised how much dust they can aquire in just a short amount of time. And as others have said kessil customer service is top notch. I've never had an email or phone call go unanswered.

 

[Radman73]

Ive had A360's and currently have an AP700. The key to longevity lies in their care. If you keep them well maintained (cleaning them and blowing dust out if them) regularly, they'll last a long time. I cleaned mine once a month, two months max. Youll be surprised how much dust they can aquire in just a short amount of time. And as others have said kessil customer service is top notch. I've never had an email or phone call go unanswered.

Funny. I haven't cleaned mine. Ever. I'm thinking I will this weekend just to see what comes out.

 

[billwill]

That combo over that tank will be perfect. I had two with four bulb T5 over my 90 for a couple of years inside a canopy. One of mine went bad, but under warranty and replaced. I pulled my canopy and decided on the cleaner look of Radions and their tank mounts. Lighting is the most important item for a reef tank, but doesn’t have to be most expensive to do the job. Constant parameters next important, then a protein skimmer.