Kessil A360X’s and Acropora Success
- Thread starter Chipper1978
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Love this tank but you should throw in there that you are using Orphek light bars also because now it becomes misleading. Somebody’s gonna thing their tank is gonna look like that with only the kessil. Did I say I love this tank.I think this is a good start, but from experience and having used Kessil for the past six years, you'll probably add a couple more fixtures in the future as things start to grow. I've always used a 12hr cycle with my Kessil's and the peak time varies from 6hrs to 8hrs. I keep them blue during the ramp periods, then I like a little more white during peak hours. I like to shoot for 200 par near the bottom of the rock work and whatever the top is based on your rock height should be fine, just measure those areas and place light loving sps there. For me, having the lights mounted 8" to 9" above the water with no narrow reflector, you will be able to cover 16" to 18" square. In my current tank, it's more like 12" square (because I'm packing the sps closely). So, if you want to use the 360x's on their own, I would plan on using double of what you currently have, yes, double. If you were using radions xr15's, I would say the same thing. The great thing about using the 360x's, is the ability to angle them or move them exactly where you want them to cover your scape. For spectrum, I would run color between 25% to 50%, violet at 100% with no red or green.
Here are a few pics to show you what can be done with the 360x's.
minus9
5000 Club Member
I usually include the Orphek's in my responses about my lighting, but sometimes I'm only talking about one or the other. I only have three bars on the very edge of three sides of the tank. I wasn't trying to mislead and I'm more than confident in what kessil's are capable of doing on their own.
If I didn't have the Orphek's, I would spread the 360x's out a bit more and angle the outside lights in slightly and I would still have great coverage and coloration. I'm actually planning on redoing my canopy in 8020, which will allow me to mount the kessil's on swivel mounts and really fine tune their placement.
Btw, thank you! It's good to point out the details in case someone missed them, but that's why I included pics of my whole lighting set up with these posts.
The most important thing for people to understand is, no matter what light(s) you use, coverage for sps is paramount and that simply means more fixtures, regardless of manufacturer. Panel style lights are the only exception here, but even then, you'll need more than what you think for sps. I love hybrid led lighting because it addresses and covers the short-comings of different fixtures combined.
Happy reefing!
Bpb
2500 Club Member
This really is the biggest area of importance that most people just seem to miss. Too often do people mistake spread for coverage. They’re not the same thing. Even the BRS info out there tends to mislead this phenomenon. The light testing in empty boxes just measures par evenness at the sandbed or various levels. A single eraser sized point source can look nice and even 24” away. But it won’t cover the crevices of stony corals or wrap AROUND branches like multiple points of origin will. Sandbed lateral spread means next to nothing but it seems to be the primary metric manufacturers and retail reviewers are going by. It just misses the mark on sps effectiveness. Overall intensity averages aren’t as important. Tullio really hammers this point home in a lot of his talks. Great info.
Bpb
2500 Club Member
While I appreciate devils advocate, I don’t think your proposition really comes to fruition in practical practice in a normal home aquarium. By the time a t5 fixture were raised high enough to act like a point source, the par would be so low it would be unusable. But yea...sure, an 8x80 watt sunpower fixture hung 40 feet over a swimming pool would act like a point source and shimmer like crazy. You are correct.
U
User1
Guest
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas…Trees. Rush
Kessil a360x technically it doesn't matter because you can mount it higher, lower, and change the lens. I actually think people overlook the actual reef. Scuba divers know this. Over looked it is but there is a lot of death on natural reefs due to shading and build up.
If you want spread then you need to look at ATI straton and Philips Coral Care Gen 1 or 2 (preferred). However the Kessil a360x is more than capable of lighting a SPS dominated reef. And no, you don't need more
Bpb
2500 Club Member
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas…Trees. Rush
Kessil a360x technically it doesn't matter because you can mount it higher, lower, and change the lens. I actually think people overlook the actual reef. Scuba divers know this. Over looked it is but there is a lot of death on natural reefs due to shading and build up.
If you want spread then you need to look at ATI straton and Philips Coral Care Gen 1 or 2 (preferred). However the Kessil a360x is more than capable of lighting a SPS dominated reef. And no, you don't need more
I suppose at that point it comes down to aesthetic preferences of shape. Acros have some parallels to bonsai in that aspect
U
User1
Guest
Oh - I think it is probably all aesthetics and art at that point. Some hobbyist have mad skills at aquascape, placement, among other things. So yes I can see the bonsai vibe and comment. Without a doubt.
Hope all is well and have a great evening!
Midrats
Valuable Member
Rest in peace Neil. I'm putting on Hemispheres as soon as get home from work now since you've got it in my head.There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas…Trees. Rush
Kessil a360x technically it doesn't matter because you can mount it higher, lower, and change the lens. I actually think people overlook the actual reef. Scuba divers know this. Over looked it is but there is a lot of death on natural reefs due to shading and build up.
If you want spread then you need to look at ATI straton and Philips Coral Care Gen 1 or 2 (preferred). However the Kessil a360x is more than capable of lighting a SPS dominated reef. And no, you don't need more
I have 4 kessil a360x on my 4 ft tank and even though it gives more then enough PAR ( at max intensity im getting over 450 par) i noticed that kessils shadow alot due to its puck design. I ended up adding 2 reef brite strips to help with that. There is no doubt that they grow acros perfectly fine but the shadowing will become an issue once they start growing.My Waterbox 130.4 is approaching 7 months old and I just purchased my first acro frags. I am running 3 Kessil A360X’s over the 4 foot tank. I rented a PAR meter and can get 250-350 PAR at max intensity. Unique Corals states their acros are under 200-250 PAR LED’s, so I figured I should be good. However, I’ve been told repeatedly, and read, that the Kessils are not sufficient to sustain good growth and color for acropora. Is this true? Anyone out there successful with acros and Kessils only?
Don't take this the wrong way please but your comment about "good gives you some hope" the first thought that crossed my mind was why did you buy the Kessil's
I think where people ask questions or raise questions or say odd things about kessil is around the contrast. Note that I didn't say shade but rather the contrast and depth. Scuba divers know this because light varies over a reef crest but the Kessil chips do an excellent job of providing the depth and contrast that many think of shade. And when shade is mentioned then the brown stuff hits the whirly thing and people panic and spread false information.
Someone here on this forum, a fellow very knowledgeable, said something that always sits with me forever now. Along the lines of there is so much death and decay on a coral reef mixed in with all the splendour and beauty. Its true when you think of it. Mother nature does not hire a hobbyist to frag corals. No. She throws one heck of a tempter tantrum in the form of wind, fire, rain, and everything in between to include global effects.
My point to this rant is that shade, contrast, depth is all natural to a reef. Monti's will grow and shade their lower base. Lower base will die off. Purple stylo will grow. Base will shade. Base will die. Top will prosper. Such is the forest as with maples and oaks...
Small video I found interesting:
BRS for what it is worth:
Plenty more. I think you are off to a good start. Take a few photos on your phone. Save. Check back and take more in a couple weeks. Repeat. I have my SPS test frags grow so slow I thought maybe it was lights. Then thought maybe water chemistry. Then one day BAM and they are off to the races. I only say this as my tank is 2 1/2 years old and only now, in my opinion, starting to be coral ready. But that is what I get for starting with dry rock
What intensity do you run your a360x. I’ve got one I over a 20 gallon cube. I want to do a mix but mainly Zoanthids. Right now I’m pretty much running 50-50 and haven’t really messed with any of the other settings. I’ve seen a lot of a lot of people have their intensity at 100%?
minus9
5000 Club Member
I don't think you'll hit 100% on a 20 cube unless you're doing sps. Par meter is the only way to know.
1stNoel
Well-Known Member
Kessils are great lights.
The issue that I had with them (during initial release) is that Kessil's factory setting of 50% light strength for acclimation was rather strong and would cook my corals. I currently run mine at 30%; I also have Radions and I only run them at 45% (and these are at 20" mounting heights).
In summary, make sure you test with a PAR meter during initial setup. If you're reading 200-250 PAR, then that's a great starting point for SPS. You can slowly increase from there.
The issue that I had with them (during initial release) is that Kessil's factory setting of 50% light strength for acclimation was rather strong and would cook my corals. I currently run mine at 30%; I also have Radions and I only run them at 45% (and these are at 20" mounting heights).
In summary, make sure you test with a PAR meter during initial setup. If you're reading 200-250 PAR, then that's a great starting point for SPS. You can slowly increase from there.
U
User1
Guest
I peak at 80% over a 30" tall tank. I only have a few pieces of acro (3 in fact) and they are up top. Few montipora with the rest being LPS and soft corals. I plan to lower the lights once I finish the new canopy and hope to lower to 70% but we will see.
My primary concern for all LED lighting be it over the counter or DIY is thermal management vs. intensity. I think the Kessils have a nice design for air flow and a good fan. However, they do need to be dusted out at least once a month if not every other. That and I have a German Shepherd and her hair gets in there - go figure. Anyway I run my LED's lower intensity for that reason hoping to gain longevity out of the LED.
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