Kessil A360w and SPS loss

[spacetime]

Hello I am having issues with my sps and the new Kessil A360w and ALC controller.

Had a po4 spike but that has since subsided. Good news is my spider sponge has finally opened its polyps. My purple psamacora is gaining weight but my sticks are looking ill.

As you can see in the photo the underbelly or parts which are not in direct light from the pendant is dying off. What can I do? Should I just buy a different fixture, I would hate to have lost $500 on this.

 

[KoleTang]

I wouldn't blame the fixture. P04 spike will do that. What are your parameters? How much flow?

What does "ill" mean? Browned out? Bleached? Receding?

 

[spacetime]

Colors are ok on top. Corals are turning a pale brown underneath with some pieces lossing tissue. I've fragged to try to stop what I believed was STN and there were no parasites when I dipped the piece.

 

[FlyinBryan]

I've not heard good things w/those lights.

 

[TJ's Reef]

What percentage are you running it at ? Do you have a FTS shot with light on we can see ? I'm a self-proclaimed 'LED Snob' and IMHO the Kessil fixtures are very nice for a single point light source and more than capable of growing SPS in a Nano/Bio-Cube. What lighting were these Corals previously under ? If T5 they will indeed need to adjust to the single point light source and may have some loss of color underneath to begin with. A white Starboard or sand bed would help reflect light back up and may help.

Cheers, Todd

 

[mr_gasket]

I agree with tj's. The corals need to adjust to the single point light source. I don't think you will have color in the shaded spots that you are talking about. Its the same way with my a150.

 

[spacetime]

15g system with approx 5g sump, 24x12x12.
Ph is 7.8
DKH 7.7
Ca 415 (just dosed)
Nitrate are high 10-20 (usually 0)(preping 5 g water change) <20g volume
PO4 .03

This spring were going to paint our living room and after I'm going to either cycle my 34g RSM130 or go with a 60 cube. The light should be better suited to a 24" cube.

I currently have the light at 43% per my ALC controler. Its on from 12-9 with a 90 min ramp up/down time. Max blue/white ratio is 45%.

 

[spacetime]

Here it is with the lamp on.

 

[Genesis Corals]

One thing that caused my mini crash was a nitrate spike that weakened the corals and allowed AEFW to gain the upper hand. I dipped everything, but never put the corals in a QT to check for eggs. The same thing you are describing of the undersides losing tissue and becoming very pale happened during my spike and that was were the AEFW like to feed. Check for parasites and if not that give the corals some time to recover from your spike and also to the new light. GL.

 

[spacetime]

Thanks. Guess this all happened when I was target feeding the sponge, was always a heavy feeder and dosed phyto with no problems. Guess I just was too heavy handed with new food.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Personally, Anytime I try SPS with Kessil LED's they Loose all their Color and go Brown.

They do not Die and Do Grow but they loose all their Color.

Kessil are Great for Softies and LPS as those Corals seem to Love them.

But all my SPS and Chalices are Lit with T5's.

Chalices always Die when I try them under LED too.

 

[mr_gasket]

I have an SPS predominant tank. I was running an A150 ocean blue over my 45 cube until yesterday when i got rid of it....Replaced it with an A360we because I absolutely loved my A150 so much. I switched because I felt like my a150 ocean blue was keeping my Red Planet and Tierra Del Fuego more on the green side being the single color temperature. And the Tim "the tool man" Taylor side of me wanted more power and a new toy [cue grunting]. haha. I have only had one acro loose its color from the A150, and that was some piece that looked turd brown to begin with that I picked up from my LFS for 10$ to see what happens. We'll see what the A360we brings I guess.

 

[jazmyne]

Update?

How's your tank doing with the Kessil light? Would like to hear your updates.

 

[Jimbo662]

SPS in my tank are loving the 360s. It could have been that the intensity was too low and they weren't getting enough light. it looks like you had the right height. I started my around 50% and slowly ramped up to 63%.

 

[choff]

No issues with color or growth under my kessils. I only have one chalice (JF cosmopolitan) and it's growing very very well. My DT does better than my FT that has a radion g2.

 

[spacetime]

I have the lamp over a new 60g cube and I love it. Can't tell about shadowing yet as the tank is lightly stocked. The nutrients are still too high for my sps as zeovit system has not run nutrient poor yet. But I wouldn't recommend it for the tank I had it over 24x12 as it doesn't have enough space to spread out over.

 

[mr_gasket]

I'm still enjoying my kessil over my 45 gallon. Once I hooked it up to my apex and got my light schedule where I wanted it my growth exploded. Prior to my 360-we I had single branch frags of about 1-1.5 inches. Te first three months I did not control the intensity or color and had pretty similar growth because I kept my light pretty blue and the intesity relatively the same as the 150. In the past 6 months my single stick frags have turned into multiple branches of 1.5-2 inch pieces. I have also been battling my alk and calcium and I believe if I had those more stabile I would have seen even more growth. Unfortunately being gone weeks at a time is not helping my situation. My color has remained just as good if not better now as well.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

BTTTT....
Tagging along for more feedback , I saw some nice tanks .I started following strictly SPS tanks with the kessil as the primary light it proly stuck the nail in the coffin to try one . In the last picture posted I see a thick bodied sps that appears to be losing a branch on the left rear area . It is the coral sitting in front of a monti cap . I also saw a small shallow nano tank in Aussieland with a a360we over it . That person has now reported that the SPS are starting to STN/RTN from the base . The owner of the tank thinks the issue is shadowing . The few others I could track removed sps after losses . My digging around says Birdnest and easy to keep monti's seem to do okay with this light . I already know once I place one sps nub in a tank I am off to the races . That being said I'll keep learning from other user's experiences until d day comes .

 

[spacetime]

I can't say it is the lights fault for the 15 gal that I had issues with, but it was likely due to trying to carbon dose on such a small system. Anyway I have a 60 cube where the light looks much better. Less problems with shadowing. However I am still fine tuning zeovit as i have excess PO4, so I cannot say that it is the lights fault my SPS have not colored up.

 

[lionfish5740]

All of my corals (zoas/palys and SPS) are doing great under Kessil lights for the past year. It could be that you had the light intensity too bright for those corals or didn't acclimate them to the light.

Carbon dosing a small aquarium can be done, I did it with an 8 gallon reef for a few years with no issue. I agree that the excess PO4 is a likely cause of the SPS color issue IMO.