Jon's Reef
Valuable Member
Figured some others may find this info useful. I have been using a Kessil H380 for my refugium but wanted to try the Neptune GRO to see how it compares. In particular, I was wondering how the par distribution compares.
Sump: Crystal Reef Aquatics TRS30. The refugium section is ~11x11x15" (filled to 13").
Flow rate: 600 GPH
Dosing Method: Triton
Macro type: Chaeto (thin strain variety)
NO4: 9 ppm, dose 2 ml Neonitro and 2 ml Acropower per day
PO4: 0.05 ppm
Kessil H380 Settings:
Setting: Grow
Height: 9" to the light, 5" to the shade edge
GRO settings:
Height: 2" off the water surface
Current Issues:
Some Pics:
Kessil without shade:
Kessil with shade:
GRO:
Par maps:
First impression is that it is quite a bit weaker in terms of par. For reference, here is a pic of my chaeto currently (grown under the H380, pruned about a week ago)
The left side is "open" due to the flow and recent pruning. Under the surface there is a fairly nice green chunk. At the surface, it appears that it grows most healthy around the edge in the 500 par zone. I checked par under the surface/ chaeto and there is no significant difference. It goes to 0 fairly quickly with a small amount of chaeto blocking the light. I think the Kessil would work more ideally if I could have the chaeto constantly spinning, but with this sump setup that is difficult to do/ not possible.
Sump: Crystal Reef Aquatics TRS30. The refugium section is ~11x11x15" (filled to 13").
Flow rate: 600 GPH
Dosing Method: Triton
Macro type: Chaeto (thin strain variety)
NO4: 9 ppm, dose 2 ml Neonitro and 2 ml Acropower per day
PO4: 0.05 ppm
Kessil H380 Settings:
Setting: Grow
Height: 9" to the light, 5" to the shade edge
GRO settings:
Height: 2" off the water surface
Current Issues:
- Light spill causing coralline growth in the skimmer
- Due to lowering of the light, brown chaeto on the surface. I flip it about 1 time per week.
- new system in the works with rectangular refugium, so 1-2 of these may be a better fit vs the H380.
Some Pics:
Kessil without shade:
Kessil with shade:
GRO:
Par maps:
First impression is that it is quite a bit weaker in terms of par. For reference, here is a pic of my chaeto currently (grown under the H380, pruned about a week ago)
The left side is "open" due to the flow and recent pruning. Under the surface there is a fairly nice green chunk. At the surface, it appears that it grows most healthy around the edge in the 500 par zone. I checked par under the surface/ chaeto and there is no significant difference. It goes to 0 fairly quickly with a small amount of chaeto blocking the light. I think the Kessil would work more ideally if I could have the chaeto constantly spinning, but with this sump setup that is difficult to do/ not possible.
