Which Kessil?

[Diwrigh]

So I have some old T5's that came with my 57g rimless tank that I want to upgrade. The tank is 36x18x20.

I currently have no coral and only one fish, some live and dry rock (first tank, about a month old). I have a neptune Apex Jr coming in this week that I want to be able to integrate with my lights. Eventually I want to be able to grow all corals as I expand my experience and research.

That being said, I am going to be upgrading my lights soon, but want to get some that will enable me to have any and all corals in my tank in the future. I'm between the Kessil AP700, two A160WE's, or one/two A360W-E's (maybe keep the T5's and pair with one A360?)

Is the AP700 overkill? Are two A160's underkill? Would having the LED and T5 lighting be worth the difficulty and space? Should I go with narrow or wide angle 160/360's? All thoughts suggestions and opinions are welcome, I've saved for awhile and only want to buy lights once (for this tank of course ).

 

[Diwrigh]

 

[JBKReef]

I would say it depends on what your future plans are as well... once you get into this hobby you normally get the bug to go bigger. A lot of people buy smaller equipment and then wish they would have "future proofed" themselves and bought big enough equipment to start with.

For the size of that tank, 2 A160's will let you grow anything you want, however getting much larger than that you'll start to need more powerful lights. My suggestion would be 2 A360's, which will allow for expansion once/if you decided to go bigger.

An AP700 would fit well over your tank, and be powerful enough as well however you get some different functions with it vs the A360 (like using a phone app) The Kessil logic built into the A360's I like because you just adjust the color to something you visually find appealing and the light will do the rest. As apposed to some of the AI primes, or Radions where if you adjust the lights to what is visually appealing might not be best for coral growth.

If you're supplementing with T5's 2 A160's could be enough but with looking at the photo they might not be best option to go the hybrit approach as they might create some shadowing within the rockwork

 

[Diwrigh]

I would say it depends on what your future plans are as well... once you get into this hobby you normally get the bug to go bigger. A lot of people buy smaller equipment and then wish they would have "future proofed" themselves and bought big enough equipment to start with.

For the size of that tank, 2 A160's will let you grow anything you want, however getting much larger than that you'll start to need more powerful lights. My suggestion would be 2 A360's, which will allow for expansion once/if you decided to go bigger.

An AP700 would fit well over your tank, and be powerful enough as well however you get some different functions with it vs the A360 (like using a phone app) The Kessil logic built into the A360's I like because you just adjust the color to something you visually find appealing and the light will do the rest. As apposed to some of the AI primes, or Radions where if you adjust the lights to what is visually appealing might not be best for coral growth.

If you're supplementing with T5's 2 A160's could be enough but with looking at the photo they might not be best option to go the hybrit approach as they might create some shadowing within the rockwork

Hmmm so the AP700 doesnt have the phone app or Kessil Logic? Also worth noting I changed my aquascape last night, (took out some rock, created a bit more open space and moved away from glass) so Ill post a picture later of the new layout. Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm leaning towards the two A360's like you suggested. Do you think narrow angle would be best since its a fairly narrow but tall tank?

 

[hart24601]

I am using 2 160we over my clam tank with a 40b foot print. (34 frag tank, 36x18x12) Depends how high you want the lights. 15" off the bottom of the tank you will get approx. 200 PAR on the bottom with 2 a160 at max intensity.

From what I know the light coverage on the 160 vs 360 is about the same, the 360 just has 2x the power. I wanted smaller less bulky options that I used full power rather than 360 run at half power so I could have nice top down viewing.

 

[OriginalUserName]

Hmmm so the AP700 doesnt have the phone app or Kessil Logic? Also worth noting I changed my aquascape last night, (took out some rock, created a bit more open space and moved away from glass) so Ill post a picture later of the new layout. Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm leaning towards the two A360's like you suggested. Do you think narrow angle would be best since its a fairly narrow but tall tank?

The AP700 does have the phone app, the 360s do not. All of the controllable kessils have the kessil logic which basically keeps the spectrum optimized despite your visual color choice. What are your tank dimensions? A single 360 is good for about 20" of coverage for high light/SPS coral so a hybrid/T5 with one 360 would probably work well for a mixed reef. With just the 360 you might have pretty low light on the edges of your tank, which may or may not be an issue. Plenty of great corals do well with pretty low light.

A single AP700 is more powerful than two 360s and has more controllability if a little less flexibility (you can't space them out as needed). Since you aren't sure what you intend to keep, your best bet might be going with 1 360 or 2 160s which will give you some upgrade options without spending $800 that you may not need to spend. The aquatic life T5 hybrid fixtures are very popular and can be added to either of those configurations down the road.

FWIW, my new build has a DIY T5 hybrid with 4 T5s and 2 ap700s on a 53" tank.

 

[Diwrigh]

The AP700 does have the phone app, the 360s do not. All of the controllable kessils have the kessil logic which basically keeps the spectrum optimized despite your visual color choice. What are your tank dimensions? A single 360 is good for about 20" of coverage for high light/SPS coral so a hybrid/T5 with one 360 would probably work well for a mixed reef. With just the 360 you might have pretty low light on the edges of your tank, which may or may not be an issue. Plenty of great corals do well with pretty low light.

A single AP700 is more powerful than two 360s and has more controllability if a little less flexibility (you can't space them out as needed). Since you aren't sure what you intend to keep, your best bet might be going with 1 360 or 2 160s which will give you some upgrade options without spending $800 that you may not need to spend. The aquatic life T5 hybrid fixtures are very popular and can be added to either of those configurations down the road.

FWIW, my new build has a DIY T5 hybrid with 4 T5s and 2 ap700s on a 53" tank.

Okay thanks for the clarification. My tank is 36x18x20. I think I'm going to start with one A360 for now, and then down the road when I have the need for more spread I will drop the TD and add another 360. Im still unsure about the wide vs narrow angle though, obviously with just one I would want the wide but with the intention of keeping my current T5's until I purchase a second A360, should I go narrow? Thanks for the advice!

 

[OriginalUserName]

Okay thanks for the clarification. My tank is 36x18x20. I think I'm going to start with one A360 for now, and then down the road when I have the need for more spread I will drop the TD and add another 360. Thanks for the advice! I will update when I have made a purchase

FYI, BRS has a couple videos where they tested the 360s that will let you estimate PAR pretty well based on light distance etc.

 

[Diwrigh]

Ill check them out thank you!

 

[Diwrigh]

FYI, BRS has a couple videos where they tested the 360s that will let you estimate PAR pretty well based on light distance etc.

Oh also I forgot to ask, wide vs narrow for 2 A360's?

 

[Bdrake]

Wide. Narrows are to accommodate deeper tanks

 

[Diwrigh]

Wide. Narrows are to accommodate deeper tanks

Okay I thought so but just wanted to check since mine is 20ish deep. Thanks!

 

[Peter K]

I personally love the flexibility of the 360's that allow you position them any angle/distance, something you don't get with the AP700 but you do get the app with the AP700 so it all comes down to what you want. If it was me, I'd do 2 360's in case you ever upgrade. The 360's will grow with you and you can turn them right on down if need be. The kessil spectral controller makes up for not having an app and I love the set it and forget it nature of it. Good luck!

 

[pelphrey]

I just added a third 160 to my 3’ tank today. Nice lights by all means, if in doubt get the two 360’s!

 

[Ranjib]

three a360s.
that gives you enough par (3x80 watts, you want around 3-5 watts per gallon), and being a360 you can independently move/position them.

 

[Stevesreef225]

You really can’t go wrong with the 360s you can try 2 and always add a Third later.

 

[Diwrigh]

So I just purchased one 360, going to see how I like it (can't imagine I wont) while still running the T5's. Ill probably pickup at least one more 360 in the coming weeks. Thanks guys!

 

[madweazl]

I am using 2 160we over my clam tank with a 40b foot print. (34 frag tank, 36x18x12) Depends how high you want the lights. 15" off the bottom of the tank you will get approx. 200 PAR on the bottom with 2 a160 at max intensity.

From what I know the light coverage on the 160 vs 360 is about the same, the 360 just has 2x the power. I wanted smaller less bulky options that I used full power rather than 360 run at half power so I could have nice top down viewing.

If you have the lights mounted 15" above the water, you wont get anywhere near 200 PAR at the sand bed. With two A360WEs mounted 5" above the water, PAR maxed out at 198 at a depth of 15".

As for the original question, two A360WEs will work well for that setup (as would the AP700). I prefer the modularity and size of the A360 to that of the AP700.

 

[hart24601]

If you have the lights mounted 15" above the water, you wont get anywhere near 200 PAR at the sand bed. With two A360WEs mounted 5" above the water, PAR maxed out at 198 at a depth of 15".

As for the original question, two A360WEs will work well for that setup (as would the AP700). I prefer the modularity and size of the A360 to that of the AP700.

I have them mounted 15" from the bottom of the tank, (tank is 12" tall if noticed) not 15" above the water, and it's quite a bit over 200 PAR when I tested. Those two a360 you are referencing would be 20" from bottom correct? Depth makes a big difference.

 

[madweazl]

Even at a depth of 8", I was only getting 205 PAR (location 3 in the link I provided).