Kessil A360x with ATI Straton?

[Dreamscape Aquatics]

Hello Reefers!

New to the forum as well as reef aquariums!

I have been in the freshwater hobby but always wanted to shift over to saltwater as it's been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember!

Anyhow, for the past couple of years i've been planning on setting up a system of saltwater tanks and have been gathering up equipment for them.

For the lighting, I currently have 4 Kessil A360x's and even though I love the way these lights make tanks look, I do not want coral shading to cause any dying tissue in the future.

So I have been looking into more 'blanket' type of lighting and now have been considering the ATI Stratons.

Would combining these two fixtures have good results for the look of the aquarium? Even though the priority is for the coral to be able to thrive without any issues, I do love the Kessil shimmer and would really like to keep!

Any input/ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[Nburg's Reef]

I’ve seen people use Kessils with coral care lights which are similar to Stratons. I think I remember someone on here using some with Stratons but it might have been the 160s.

either way, following along because I’m upgrading tanks and may need to add supplemental lighting. I really like my Stratons by the way.

 

[RCS82]

Kessils are great lights.
I would keep them and add some T5s. You'll have the shimmer and color along with T5 coverage.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I have a pretty much brand new Straton for sale if you need one. They produce a T5 look and blanket of light. As wide as they are, it might overpower the A360x. Not sure, never seen them together. I do agree with RCS82, I would go with Kessil A360s and T5 tubes. Besides Metal Halide, one of the best options out there.

 

[Dreamscape Aquatics]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your input!

I have considered the T5 tubes, but to be honest I would prefer the compact and more aesthetic look of LED fixtures. Also, I know that the T5 tubes need to be replaced every 6 months or so and that just sounds like an extra chore but also an extra expense! I'm not certain, but I imagine in the long run they can be even more expensive than a high-end fixture like the Straton or Corcalcare that provide similar type of lighting(?).

I am concerned about what Hurricane said, that the Straton may overpower the A360x's and the shimmer will be absent!

 

[Bpb]

It’s a balancing act. Straton, t5, coral care, or whatever additional light you choose…will impact the visual appeal of kessils. The more sources of light you have striking the water, the less shimmer will be present. Fundamentally that is unavoidable. So you CAN combine those two light sources. It would be very costly and require ingenuity to make the mounting solution attractive. The quality of light would be fine. But just expect some aesthetic compromise. To the point the straton may drown out the kessils almost entirely. Always ensure you are measuring and maintaining appropriate par levels with performing the balancing act of color and intensity.

 

[Dreamscape Aquatics]

I understand what you are all saying and thank you for your input!

I know it would be tricky to pull off correctly and I wouldn't make any random guesses at it. The intensities would all be measured with a par meter.

I am still gathering all the equipment for this project and just feel that it would be best to have everything at hand before it begins. I know that changing something as significant as the lighting can be stressful when the inhabitants have already adapted to a certain way. This is the reason I am trying to figure this all out beforehand, but would it really be a big problem if I started with just the Kessils and later added additional lighting?

My plan is to cycle the tank with dry rock and only add corals and fish much later on! I will at some point make a post of what I am aiming for as it is more a system of different aquariums connected, including a display refugium of about 75 gallons with macroalgae; a sump with heaters,pumps and any other filtering mechanisms; the main display and if everything permits a NPS tank somewhere in the system aswell! It's a big project that will take a while to get to where I hope but lets see how it all pans out!

Again, thanks for any of your feedback and ideas! They are all very welcome!

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

If you're not adding anything for a while, make a few trips to some local stores, Facebook get togethers, etc and check out the different lighting options.

If I wanted to so what you want, I would run something like the hybrid T5 fixture that allows you to mount Kessil in the middle. Those still let the Kessil shine quite a bit without drowning it out so much.

 

[Dreamscape Aquatics]

Unfortunately where I live there are no LFS with saltwater tanks! And generally speaking in my country there are very few and I think not so advanced!

It's a shame actually because we are surrounded by sea (even if not really tropical sea )

 

[Karliefish]

Kessils are great lights.
I would keep them and add some T5s. You'll have the shimmer and color along with T5 coverage.

completely agree with this recommendation. I have the straton’s (4) and am thinking of swapping out and going with Kessil A500’s with T5. I’m running a 365G mixed reef tank.

 

[Karliefish]

I know it might be way too late to chime in here, but your idea is the exact setup I am running on my 365G mixed reef tank. I use four straton lights with three A360X in between. You absolutely will love this setup as you get the shimmer of the Kessil but the blanket coverage of the Straton lights. You do have to tweak your straton program settings so they don’t drown-out your Kessil shimmer.

Curios to hear what you ended up doing.