To be SPS dominated, 60x30x30 233g - Kessil A360WE + T5HO ?

[Biff0rz]

I currently have 3x Kessil A360WE's. I've heard a lot of good things about hybrid setups with Kessil + T5HO. I was considering buying a 60" hybrid with 4x T5HO plus running the 3 Kessil's in it. Do you think this will output enough uniform light through the whole tank? Should I get a 4th Kessil? Also, for the 4 T5HO bulbs, I'm not sure which color(s) to get (ATI brand).

 

[Spare time]

I would just add another kessil. It should be cheaper than getting the hybrid setup.

This is my reference https://www.kessil.com/aquarium/choosing.php

 

[Albertan22]

I have 3 Kessil A360xs in a 60” Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid and am pretty happy with it. I just started the tank in February so my SPS is still settling in. Here is my Par map as of a few weeks ago running the Kessils at 70%.

 

[Biff0rz]

I would just add another kessil. It should be cheaper than getting the hybrid setup.

This is my reference https://www.kessil.com/aquarium/choosing.php

Thanks! I was planning to grow sps which is why I was considering it. 18x18" is what kessil recommends, at 30" deep I'm a bit off. I suppose I could always add more kessils over time.

 

[Biff0rz]

I have 3 Kessil A360xs in a 60” Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid and am pretty happy with it. I just started the tank in February so my SPS is still settling in. Here is my Par map as of a few weeks ago running the Kessils at 70%.

Wow, it looks like you could have sps in the middle of the tank all the way to the sand! Do you have any pics of the setup? What are the dims of the tank besides the length?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I think you'll definitely need that hybrid fixture if you're set on primarily SPS. I have 4x Kessil a360we over my 4ft 120g and am getting about 200 par at the top of my rockwork. I'm not planning to go with the hybrid fixture but probably the 470nm AliExpress bar, which should add ~100 additional par.

I should say that I picked up all the lights used and I do think some of the LEDs on the matrix aren't working.

 

[Biff0rz]

I think you'll definitely need that hybrid fixture if you're set on primarily SPS. I have 4x Kessil a360we over my 4ft 120g and am getting about 200 par at the top of my tank. I'm not planning to go with the hybrid fixture but probably the 470nm AliExpress bar, which should add ~100 additional par.

I should say that I picked up all the lights used and I do think some of the LEDs on the matrix aren't working.

How far are they mounted above the surface?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

How far are they mounted above the surface?

Pretty close, 6-8 inches.

 

[Albertan22]

Wow, it looks like you could have sps in the middle of the tank all the way to the sand! Do you have any pics of the setup? What are the dims of the tank besides the length?

The tank is a 72x24x24 180 gallon. Lots of pics in my build thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/albertans-180-gallon-reef-build.680488/

 

[jda]

Many folks not happy with kessils as the main light choice over their SPS dominated tanks. They work fine if there are enough T5s to do the heavy lifting. I have not used them since they have so little power, so just repeating what others have posted, so take this with a grain of salt and for what it is worth (nothing), but do your homework.

If you have them, then give them a shot before you get new lights, just do not expect much, IMO.

 

[Biff0rz]

Many folks not happy with kessils as the main light choice over their SPS dominated tanks. They work fine if there are enough T5s to do the heavy lifting. I have not used them since they have so little power, so just repeating what others have posted, so take this with a grain of salt and for what it is worth (nothing), but do your homework.

If you have them, then give them a shot before you get new lights, just do not expect much, IMO.

I've purchased an Aquatic Life 61" T5HO hybrid. The plan was to mount 3-4 of the Kessil's between, but I came across the Reefbreeders Photon 50-V2+. I was considering mounting that between the T5 fixture. Do you think I'll be better off with the Photon?

 

[andrewkw]

I feel like you are probably going to need, or at least want more lighting. My soft coral dominated tank that is 60x18x24 has 3 kessils + 2 black boxes + 2 T5's. I have been toying with adding a 4th kessil across the 5 feet but will probably just add a 3rd black box.

Since it's a 30" wide tank I think you will need more front to back even if you don't need side to side. Maybe go with 4 T5's on both sides? Kessils are great lights imo and I do have the odd sps in my tank, but I feel like you need a lot more of then you expect, which is why I went with the cheaper option of black boxes to fill in between them.

 

[Biff0rz]

I feel like you are probably going to need, or at least want more lighting. My soft coral dominated tank that is 60x18x24 has 3 kessils + 2 black boxes + 2 T5's. I have been toying with adding a 4th kessil across the 5 feet but will probably just add a 3rd black box.

Since it's a 30" wide tank I think you will need more front to back even if you don't need side to side. Maybe go with 4 T5's on both sides? Kessils are great lights imo and I do have the odd sps in my tank, but I feel like you need a lot more of then you expect, which is why I went with the cheaper option of black boxes to fill in between them.

I haven't found a good fixture that has 4 t5's on each side plus room for leds in between. The photon v2 looks capable of growing sps in a deep tank but only 24" wide. So with the t5 fixture plus the photon, I was hoping that'd be enough - but the 61" aqualife only has 2/side. I'm not really wanting to build my own canopy. If I have to also keep and use the kessils then I think I could fit two of those over it too.

 

[andrewkw]

If it is a brand new tank you are probably good to go with what you suggest but I would say you almost certainly will need more lighting in the future. If this is a transfer from existing tank with bigger colonies you might need more light now. You can add more kessils later too, but if you blanket the tank in them it will eventually become cost prohibitive which may or may not be an issue for you.

Funny you mention the canopy, I'm just taking a break from constructing one now. For 4 years my lights have been held with a makeshift canopy made out of scrap wood the previous homeowners left behind!

 

[Albertan22]

I find on these forums people recommend WAY more light than you need, especially at the start. I also find those that are running 5 or 6 fixtures on a 4 foot tank have never used a PAR meter in their tank and just assuming they need more and more light. I would argue that you certainly do not need 8 T5’s plus LED fixtures for any rectangular tank 24” wide (front to back) or less. An 8bulb T5 would be plenty of light on its own for that type of tank. My 4 T5 bulbs are enough for a mixed reef and create a nice blanket of even light. The 3 Kessils add a nice shimmer and bump the PAR up significantly to the point I could have an SPS dominant tank.

 

[andrewkw]

I find on these forums people recommend WAY more light than you need, especially at the start. I also find those that are running 5 or 6 fixtures on a 4 foot tank have never used a PAR meter in their tank and just assuming they need more and more light. I would argue that you certainly do not need 8 T5’s plus LED fixtures for any rectangular tank 24” wide (front to back) or less. An 8bulb T5 would be plenty of light on its own for that type of tank. My 4 T5 bulbs are enough for a mixed reef and create a nice blanket of even light. The 3 Kessils add a nice shimmer and bump the PAR up significantly to the point I could have an SPS dominant tank.

This is a 30" wide and 30" deep tank that is being asked about.

 

[Biff0rz]

If it is a brand new tank you are probably good to go with what you suggest but I would say you almost certainly will need more lighting in the future. If this is a transfer from existing tank with bigger colonies you might need more light now. You can add more kessils later too, but if you blanket the tank in them it will eventually become cost prohibitive which may or may not be an issue for you.

Funny you mention the canopy, I'm just taking a break from constructing one now. For 4 years my lights have been held with a makeshift canopy made out of scrap wood the previous homeowners left behind!

It's a new-to-me tank, but yes, just starting off. I wouldn't mind selling the 3 kessil's and using the Photon V2, but, I want to make sure I'm a little future proof now, even if it's overkill for the current tank. Having some headroom for future growth is worth it to me. The photon + the 2 T5's on each side sounds like it will provide enough coverage for the 30" tank from some of my reading. I'm wondering if many people have gone this way, I see a lot with this fixture with radions

 

[Biff0rz]

I find on these forums people recommend WAY more light than you need, especially at the start. I also find those that are running 5 or 6 fixtures on a 4 foot tank have never used a PAR meter in their tank and just assuming they need more and more light. I would argue that you certainly do not need 8 T5’s plus LED fixtures for any rectangular tank 24” wide (front to back) or less. An 8bulb T5 would be plenty of light on its own for that type of tank. My 4 T5 bulbs are enough for a mixed reef and create a nice blanket of even light. The 3 Kessils add a nice shimmer and bump the PAR up significantly to the point I could have an SPS dominant tank.

I will be using a PAR meter once I have everything up and running.

 

[Albertan22]

This is a 30" wide and 30" deep tank that is being asked about.

I missed the post where he said it was 30” deep. That extra depth does change things for sure. If using Kessils you can mitigate that by using the narrow reflectors, but then you need to add more fixtures for sure.

 

[madweazl]

I have a 60x24x24 150g with a Kessil/T5 hybrid (I also the same setup with 2 Kessils over my 75g acro dominated tank). You can find the Kessil result here and the Kessil/T5 results here. Further up in the same thread are results for the AquaticLife hybrid fixture for the 75g. The PAR from the T5s in the AquaticLife fixture are dismal; I dont know if they've done anything to address it but I ditched it and went with LET retrofits over the 150g.