Kessil A-360WE, thought this were best light, but PAR reading shocked me

[balajeek15]

Year ago during setup i researched and i saw a lot of people and BRS rate Kessil is best led lights, I added two on my 73g tank, my plan is mixed reef. Last week i rented the led par meter from BRS and tested it and was surprised to see result. I did a little map all over the tank for my record so i know in near future where to place corals. (see the pdf at my current settings)

At 55% blue and 38% white . (this was running my setting for a year without knowing) ( I started up with this number after reading lot of members with kessil running at similar %), what i got after testing is
- highest point directly below the light gives 130
- mid point around 80
- lowest at sand is around 60

At 95% blue and 41% white
- high: 270
- mid : 140
- low: 90

I was playing with increasing white and blue, I am not sure what ratio is right or is it just for our preference to be more white or more blue, I personally don't like to be white, towards blue looks good on corals.

So my question, is it good or safe to run the light at 95% or even at 100%, or should i add another light in between and run all 3 at lower percentage to achieve near 250-300 par at top for acros.

Starting today I plan to increase by 10% every week reach 95%

Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Hitman]

If you add the lenses they produce more par then the non x. But I agree the marketing being high out put is misleading as you have to buy extra parts to get it. I can’t remember the person on here who did the test but he taped the lenses to the non x 360’s and again lost the battle. Non as for spectrum the x wins as they added the extra colors.

 

[balajeek15]

If you add the lenses they produce more par then the non x. But I agree the marketing being high out put is misleading as you have to buy extra parts to get it. I can’t remember the person on here who did the test but he taped the lenses to the non x 360’s and again lost the battle. Non as for spectrum the x wins as they added the extra colors.

Do you remember or have link for that lenses you are mentioning? Thx.

 

[Hitman]

Do you remember or have link for that lenses you are mentioning? Thx.

A360X Narrow Reflector

The A360X Narrow Reflector strengthens the light beam of the best-in-class A360 for further penetration and contrast. With an easy to attach magnetic design, the reflector increases the center light intensity by up to 3x while adding a dynamic depth to your tank. This accessory is perfect for...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Hitman]

And here is a good read on the lights. @Doostur did a great job with info on them.

Kessil A360WE, A360x, and A360x w/ Narrow Reflector Par Results...

Here are my results. They are simply for reference. Down and dirty real customer testing. Nothing professional about it. Unfortunately I was unable to complete the test in my running tanks, I had no room. So I setup my QT 10g tank as my bench. I didn't bother to check any other positions...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[balajeek15]

A360X Narrow Reflector

The A360X Narrow Reflector strengthens the light beam of the best-in-class A360 for further penetration and contrast. With an easy to attach magnetic design, the reflector increases the center light intensity by up to 3x while adding a dynamic depth to your tank. This accessory is perfect for...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

thanks for the link, the product says its compatible with 360X, do you mean to say It can be fitted to 360WE too? I haven't got a chance to read the article you mentioned yet, but will do

 

[Hitman]

thanks for the link, the product says its compatible with 360X, do you mean to say It can be fitted to 360WE too? I haven't got a chance to read the article you mentioned yet, but will do

Well it can be DIY’d to fit a 360we. For testing he just taped it on the 360we.

 

[CindyKz]

Y

At 55% blue and 38% white . (this was running my setting for a year without knowing) ( I started up with this number after reading lot of members with kessil running at similar %), what i got after testing is
- highest point directly below the light gives 130
- mid point around 80
- lowest at sand is around 60

At 95% blue and 41% white
- high: 270
- mid : 140
- low: 90

Following, as I have 4 kessil A360WE's over my 180 gal (in addition to 4 T5 bulbs). I'm confused by your statements "55% blue and 31% white" and "95% blue and 41%" white". On mine there are two dials, one for color (turn it one direction makes it bluer and the opposite makes it whiter). The other dial is for light intensity. Even using my apex I can't turn the white and blue up and down individually, nor could I do that with the Kessil controller. Can you explain what you mean?

 

[balajeek15]

Following, as I have 4 kessil A360WE's over my 180 gal (in addition to 4 T5 bulbs). I'm confused by your statements "55% blue and 31% white" and "95% blue and 41%" white". On mine there are two dials, one for color (turn it one direction makes it bluer and the opposite makes it whiter). The other dial is for light intensity. Even using my apex I can't turn the white and blue up and down individually, nor could I do that with the Kessil controller. Can you explain what you mean?

Yes it was confusing to me when i operated the light when I first got and as you said its one dial to set blue/white + dimming dial and at below 14% it turns off too, but once i connected to apex all the settings are two different control and all i do is set the intensity and blue to the desired level, the percent what i mean is what the percentage showed in my apex. see image below

 

[Doostur]

The 360x is an amazing quality LED. Colors, blending is amazing. Their controller unlocks alot of bells and whistles. If you need more power, add a narrowing filter.

AP700 is proven. I used it myself up until a month ago. Great results. Wish the interface werent so clunky and had finer adjustment/controls. Latest firmware did fix alot of issues.

 

[balajeek15]

The 360x is an amazing quality LED. Colors, blending is amazing. Their controller unlocks alot of bells and whistles. If you need more power, add a narrowing filter.

AP700 is proven. I used it myself up until a month ago. Great results. Wish the interface werent so clunky and had finer adjustment/controls. Latest firmware did fix alot of issues.

I have two 360we, would you recommend adding the DIY lenses or worth switching to 360x

 

[Doostur]

Tough one. I have had both.

I would only go from A360We to 360x if you have extra money to burn and need more par.

If you need higher par, then go 360x with reflector. I would not put the reflector on the 360we unless you come up with a better way to mount it. My test was very down and dirty and dont think it was a good fit. Just not meant for it.

If you sell your a360we for $225-250. And can pick up a used 360x for about $350... definately worth the $100-$125 extra. I dont feel the 360x is worth the $450 new price.

 

[balajeek15]

Tough one. I have had both.

I would only go from A360We to 360x if you have extra money to burn and need more par.

If you need higher par, then go 360x with reflector. I would not put the reflector on the 360we unless you come up with a better way to mount it. My test was very down and dirty and dont think it was a good fit. Just not meant for it.

If you sell your a360we for $225-250. And can pick up a used 360x for about $350... definately worth the $100-$125 extra.

Any experience of 360x working with Apex to its full potential

 

[CindyKz]

Based on your PDF you tested your PAR at 38% intensity. You can get much more PAR out of the kessil than that.

 

[Doostur]

Any experience of 360x working with Apex to its full potential

Kessil is still working on Apex compatibility. No ETA.

Kessil is still working on wifi dongle. Was supposed to be out by end of last year... No ETA.

 

[Esage]

If you are only running at 38% intensity you need to crank that intensity up. Check out BRS's par map of the 360WE

BRStv Investigates: Is the Kessil A360 Tuna Blue the best LED light for reef tanks?

Today on BRStv, we have a brand new episode of our series, BRStv Investigates. In this series, we explore popular reefing theories, products, methods, and what the manuals are missing, with a focus on putting them to the test! Today we are taking a look at the performance of the Kessil A360...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[balajeek15]

If you are only running at 38% intensity you need to crank that intensity up. Check out BRS's par map of the 360WE

BRStv Investigates: Is the Kessil A360 Tuna Blue the best LED light for reef tanks?

Today on BRStv, we have a brand new episode of our series, BRStv Investigates. In this series, we explore popular reefing theories, products, methods, and what the manuals are missing, with a focus on putting them to the test! Today we are taking a look at the performance of the Kessil A360...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Yes I watched this a year ago which made to buy this light, (I watched again now)
One thing I am missing is how much intensity and color i need to set to get that PAR and i favor more blue for viewing.

Currently I am increasing 5% every few days to reach high PAR.

 

[Midrats]

I'm not sure what the problem is here.

 

[Sm51498]

What do you feel you will get out of higher par? Those ranges seem ideal for a mixed reef or even a sps reef with acros at the top and other species lower down.

 

[balajeek15]

What do you feel you will get out of higher par? Those ranges seem ideal for a mixed reef or even a sps reef with acros at the top and other species lower down.

As you can see i get just around 100 PAR at top at my current set percentage, wouldn't you need at least 250+ PAR to grow acro on top, which is what i am trying set by increasing the percentage slowly. The whole idea i started with this percentage is becaz of some post here suggested at that level and I I just believed it.