Will (2) a360x’s over a 75g be able to work for sps/mixed reef?

[CincyReefer07]

Hey guys, I have a standard 75g rimmed tank with the center brace with glass lids. I have a pair of kessil a360x’s mounted roughly 8.5” above the water line of the tank. They are mounted inside of a 4 lamp aquatic life t5 hybrid fixture. I’ve only ever had the t5 turned on once for a period of about a month. I just liked the way the a360x’s looked in the water with the T5’s off and all my other corals (non-sps) grew and responded great without the T5’s.

I just added a locally grown(aquacultured I think would be the term) acropora to the left side of my tank about mid-level. Will I be able to give it enough light with just a pair of 360x’s? What settings do you guys set your a360x’s to for sps and how high off the water line are yours mounted? Would I be better off turning the T5’s on at least for a few hours in the afternoon as well? I believe I have a pair of coral+ and blue+ bulbs in it.

 

[Montiman]

This is an excellent lighting solution for even high-light SPS. I can not tell you the exact kessil intensity as this will depend on the Coral you are trying to keep and it is best measured with a PAR meter. I can tell you that on my 75 with 6 t5s and no LEDs I have had some lower light coral bleach at the top so you defanitely need to be careful. I would start with the kessils at no more than 50% intensity and slowly increase it if you believe you need more. You can also borrow a PAR meter and dial in the PAR.

With Kessils the color almost doesn't matter. The Kessil Logic is designed to make sure any color is good and provides the necessary nutrients for the corals. On my kessils I run 30% color 10% Red 10% Green and 50% Violet during the peak of the day and have the lights dim to 0% color and 0% intensity on all channels at the start and end of the day.

For the t5s they are mainly just for growth and shadow reduction. I normally only run t5s for 4 hours per day during the peak of the day. For the remainder of the day I use the LEDs to show off the corals.

 

[Spare time]

Kessil has a good guide to mounting heights on their website. i'd definitely keep the t5 on a few hours a day at least, but sps towards the upper half of the tank should be fine. Have you watched the brs video about the par output of the lights?

 

[CincyReefer07]

Kessil has a good guide to mounting heights on their website. i'd definitely keep the t5 on a few hours a day at least, but sps towards the upper half of the tank should be fine. Have you watched the brs video about the par output of the lights?

Yes I watched that almost a couple years ago when I first bought the kessils. As far as spacing and height goes I have them how BRS had recommended. I’d have to go back and look at what light settings they recommended. I don’t remember. But I think I had it close to what they said if I remember right. Have it at 65 percent intensity for most of the afternoon, peaks at about 70 percent for a brief period in the middle of the afternoon.

 

[Spare time]

Yes I watched that almost a couple years ago when I first bought the kessils. As far as spacing and height goes I have them how BRS had recommended. I’d have to go back and look at what light settings they recommended. I don’t remember. But I think I had it close to what they said if I remember right. Have it at 65 percent intensity for most of the afternoon, peaks at about 70 percent for a brief period in the middle of the afternoon.

I definitely think you can run them at 100% intensity if you go without the t5's. If you want to use the t5 with the kessils, then maybe try and keep those on a few hours. Renting a par meter would be a great way to figure things out, but that setup can definitely grow and color up those fancy sps corals

 

[minus9]

I would slowly ramp up the T5 time to match your peak intensity period of the Kessil's. With just two 360x's, you'll have a lot of shading, so the T5s will fill in everything for you nicely. If you just want to use Kessil's for sps, then you'll need more to create overlap.