Kessil A80 - PAR readings and review in a Fluval Spec III 2.6g Pico

capt_alaver

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a80-50percent.jpg 20230326_100606.jpg
Tank is a Fluval Spec III 2.6g (10.8" L -- 11.8" W -- 8.7" H)
I took these readings with an Apogee MQ-510 that I borrowed from the local fishie store.

This light seems to be a bit controversial. Some love it - others hate it.
My opinion? It's an amazing light that gets a bad rep from people who often misuse it.

If you plan on keeping corals, it needs to be roughly 4" from the water line. At least that's what I perceive this diagram on Kessil's website to mean.

2023-03-26 11_05_20-Window.png


A lot of setups I've seen that are bashing the light's performance have it hanging 12" or even higher. Obviously it won't do so well in that scenario. It's only 15W after all...

It doesn't help that Kessil's only gooseneck offering is really fricking long and clearly geared toward their more powerful lights. To mount this guy properly, I had to jury-rig the baseplate to the back of the tank using double-sided tape. This was the end result...

20230326_113836.jpg 20230326_105351.jpg 20230326_105501.jpg

... approximately 3-4" above the waterline.

As for the color dial, where I have it in the pic above seemed to be the most intense. I noticed the PAR dropping by roughly 10-20% when it was turned too far in either direction.

I've restarted the tank recently but here's a FTS from last year when it was in it's full glory:
LRM_20220105_145905.jpg
The Torch and the Ricordea's were very happy on the sandbed. The Montipora grew like a weed. The Frogspawn and Chalice weren't the happiest, but that's probably because the light was far too intense for them. I would've done things differently if I had better insight back then.

This is what the Torch looked like after ~4 months in that spot with the light at 100% intensity for 8 hours a day...
2023-03-26 11_20_39-Window.png

tl;dr - it's a great light. Just use it properly. :)
 
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ITCreefculture

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Funnily enough! I've just bought one of these for a 15L Acrylic Nano - a 'TMC Microhabitat' - a tank from many years ago I've just gotten around to setting up! I have been using my own PARwise for measurements and at full power I can get 400 on the floating rock scape. More than enough power.. so will be dialling it down once I decide what to put it and where.

I didn't mount it to the tank either, rather a piece of wood attached to the back of the table where the tank sits so it could sit lower on the tank as you say, the gooseneck is too tall for this tiny tank.

I love the colour, shimmer and it's got plenty of output for nanos with just enough spectral adjustment to tickle the chlorophylls nicely and still get good pop. I think it'll just set it once and use a WIFI plug for on and off - I might get the spectral controller for dimming at some point though!

MH15 1.jpg
 
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Lovefish77

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I have in a 6" deep pico tank and 8" above the water line.
Was wondering what to do as I dont have a par meter. Now it is all blue like 50% intensity.
 

minus9

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When I was dealing with pyramid snails, I used this light for my 3 clams in my sump. I kept them in a raised container and had the fixture a few inches above the clams and it was more than enough to keep them happy and growing while I slowly killed the little _________! I agree, people who complain about lights sometimes don't know how to use them, which makes all the difference.
 

AquaLogic

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I like the light, it's just so outdated and under powered for it's price. A Noo-Psyche K7 mini is 4x it's power, has wifi and app control built in, and costs much less. It's just a hard light to justify. If you want to control it then it's a 250+$ light when you add the controller and at that point you may as well have a prime... if you didn't just get the noo-psyche. I'm a big Kessil fan, I just bought an a500x... but I just don't see the value in the a80 compared to the competition.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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