Kessil Lights: Why is everyone selling them?

[Kevinsreefs]

I love my a350 and my a360 that I have over my 300g display fuge with one SB Reeflight right now! Everything has been happy under it except for a certain few LPS (hammer and acanthophyllia) but I can't completely attribute that to the Kessils. I know everyone has said this, but I love the shimmer, it makes everything look gorgeous!

However, I have only had these lights for 2 months over this new tank/sump build so I can't say a whole lot for growth. Will update though!

 

[siggy]

GREAT systems all of you!
Beautiful corals, so no doubt kessils get the job done, so whats the debate about, amount of growth, color or the overall looks of the tank?
Im learnining that full coverage is important to alot of others, im using shaded areas for softies and mushrooms.

 

[brett_schn]

Do you guys think an a160 would be good for a standard 1 gallon tank

 

[bif24701]

GREAT systems all of you!
Beautiful corals, so no doubt kessils get the job done, so whats the debate about, amount of growth, color or the overall looks of the tank?
Im learnining that full coverage is important to alot of others, im using shaded areas for softies and mushrooms.

I don't know [emoji854]

Here is another random video and picture of my tank. Note the dark area in the center where that stupid brace is, not really that bad I actually have well enough PAR there.

 

[siggy]

Nice production, i can understand the OCD factor , a linear source would definitely assist, thats a wide brace

 

[Battytink]

I've had my kessil a160s over my 60 gallon running on 2 years now, the color and shimmer is beautiful, I run one per 24" (it's a custom high) 10 in above the water, depth is 30" my highest output has been 70 % at 50/50 and I saw a lot of sps growth in the upper of the tank, a lot of death to my softies, even on the bottom. I now run at 50/50 an hour and a half out of the day and the rest of the time between 20 and 30 actinic and ramp up to 65 % for 3-4 hr then ramp back down overall light period is 9 hr and I see everything is happy. I have an inch growth every 2 months on my sps and the softies gain a polyp a month, these lights are gorgeous, I have a lot of flow, dirty tank, and I run an open top. Use your shadows, nothing wrong with them, my mushrooms and sun coral are thriving in them. As far as sleek, these on the gooseneck are gorgeous, the controller is small and easy to program and to light a 60 gallon I spent 800, I spent 400 initial on my mh and changed bulbs for 200 every six months so in a year they paid for themselves and I love my electric bill. No fans either these things cool themselves great and evap is 2 gallons or so a week. Sorry for the long post.

I am in the market for a sleek looking small foot print light like the kessil too.
Any one here have used the kessils on heavy sps reef with at least 15 months or more?
I would love to hear from those that have used it at least a year or more...
Thanks

 

[gpwdr]

A Tuna Sun along with a Tuna Blue creates some nice sunshine.

 

[CODE3EMT]

There is nothing wrong with Kessil LED's.......EcoTech LED's.......or any other LED's out there today. They ALL can grow coral. Proof is out there many in the hobby use LED. This debate is always an interesting read. It will be a glorious day when Metal Halide bulbs go Adios, bye bye, and no longer legal to be manufactured or banned. Then we will either
A) See Reefers admit LEDs do grow coral
B) Reefing will be cheaper since we will loose many of the die hard Metal Halide users when they refuse to go LED.

LED vs Metal Halide is like Ferrari vs. Lamborghini. Both are great both are fast and expensive. Sorry I just don't buy the whole everyone is selling their Kessils. I have my AP700 on my Reefer 450 and I have bleached corals with it by my own ignorance. LED's are tried and true. So keep calm and reef on.

 

[BlennyKravitz]

There is nothing wrong with Kessil LED's.......EcoTech LED's.......or any other LED's out there today. They ALL can grow coral. Proof is out there many in the hobby use LED. This debate is always an interesting read. It will be a glorious day when Metal Halide bulbs go Adios, bye bye, and no longer legal to be manufactured or banned. Then we will either
A) See Reefers admit LEDs do grow coral
B) Reefing will be cheaper since we will loose many of the die hard Metal Halide users when they refuse to go LED.

LED vs Metal Halide is like Ferrari vs. Lamborghini. Both are great both are fast and expensive. Sorry I just don't buy the whole everyone is selling their Kessils. I have my AP700 on my Reefer 450 and I have bleached corals with it by my own ignorance. LED's are tried and true. So keep calm and reef on.

I agree with everything except that the AP700 is actually the Porsche 918 of LEDs.

-AP700s on 525XL

 

[DSC reef]

There is nothing wrong with Kessil LED's.......EcoTech LED's.......or any other LED's out there today. They ALL can grow coral. Proof is out there many in the hobby use LED. This debate is always an interesting read. It will be a glorious day when Metal Halide bulbs go Adios, bye bye, and no longer legal to be manufactured or banned. Then we will either
A) See Reefers admit LEDs do grow coral
B) Reefing will be cheaper since we will loose many of the die hard Metal Halide users when they refuse to go LED.

LED vs Metal Halide is like Ferrari vs. Lamborghini. Both are great both are fast and expensive. Sorry I just don't buy the whole everyone is selling their Kessils. I have my AP700 on my Reefer 450 and I have bleached corals with it by my own ignorance. LED's are tried and true. So keep calm and reef on.

Im a metal halide guy but if I go led, kessil has my attention and will be my choice. Why the hate for metal halide and exactly how will it be cheaper for the hobby if someone refuses to go led? I don't understand the debate though. There are so many great lighting solutions out there and choices are what makes this hobby great to me. Pic one that you like best, plain and simple. Stating that getting rid of a type of lighting will make this hobby better or cheaper is something I can't get behind.

 

[CODE3EMT]

I only say that because a there has been talk of doing away with Incadesent type bulbs in the near future. Will it ever happen? Who knows. Many people out there are leaning toward "greener" options and Metal Halide is in the "Green Energy" crosshairs

 

[Trueblue17]

I have three 160's on my 22g and I just bought two AP700's for my 90g shallow that I'm putting together now. There's absolutely nothing wrong with these lights, but I find that people tend to "play" around with settings and that's where everything goes wrong. LED's are a different beast when it comes to reef lighting. I think Kessil removed the "tinkering" aspect with these lights by giving you the spectrum that corals need and you just set the color to your liking (visually) and intensity is based on the coral's demand, sps, lps, softies, etc...
Yes, there are shading issues with single point light sources, but those can be addressed by adding more fixtures, supplementing w/T5's or placing corals between fixtures. Also, shading happens in nature, but in our glass boxes, the conditions aren't always optimal, which causes other issues.
After having these lights for over 2 years, I've concluded that color settings under 50% work best (in my tank) and the PUR % goes up the more blue the lights are set.
The last factor is intensity, people set it based on visual brightness, which never works out in their favor. Start low and slowly, very slowly turn up intensity, only a couple percent a month. Anything faster than that will result in shock and then it's a long recovery or white-out.
Don't fear, Kessil's are great lights, but with anything, you have to understand how they work in order to be successful. Just because someone has MH's, doesn't mean they're going to be successful at keeping corals. Which brings up another point, we keep water, not corals.
Sorry for the long rant, but I constantly read users bash a product without either owning it or blame it for their misunderstanding or misuse of the product.
Okay, that's all for me.

I agree ive had Kessils for 3 years and I think your right they are very powerful lights and you still need to know what spectrum and intensity your corals need and not play too much just set it and leave it for abit to see how the corals react, even with the Kessil Logic , and im thinking people are ending up stressing their corals out when they first get these lights not realizing how powerful they are and then the corals don't do well until they adjust which can take months . I finally got myself a spectral controller o help me to stop playin with the dials too much. I don't get a crazy amount of growth when I first put the coral in for up to 3 months , but then they take off and start growing like mad, and the my coral are very vivid , bright and very healthy looking.