AP700 vs two 360WE's

[jason]

Looking for advice on using a single AP700 VS two 360WE's. Tank is a rimless 48x18x24. I'm leaning to two 360we's but wanted to get others advice.

Thanks

 

[VIN6]

get 2 ap700 and in future you will need to add t5 to prevent further shadowing from happening. The a360we is good if you are not planning to keep sps .

 

[ikolbaba06]

I have 2 ap700 over a 48x24x24. I do not have t5 as additional light. I don’t think I will add t5 any time soon. And I wouldn’t go with just two 360’s, If anything it would be 4.

 

[WWIII]

You can start with one ap700, but depending on what corals you want to keep, you probably will need 2 ap700s for a 48" tank. Maybe could get by with 3 360we's also, but 4 would be better.

 

[pelphrey]

Everyone above me stated it spot on! I have a 36" tank with the aquatic life t5 hybrid and three 160's.

 

[Montiman]

I understand everyone wanting more light. I have 3 360s and 4 t5s on a 4 foot tank but for a mixed reef 2 360s or a single ap700 is fine. If I were to pick I would do the ap700 because it includes 8 LED colors rather than 5 and I would appreciate the advanced control. That being said I have been happy with my 360s and I don’t think you can go wrong either way.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Two 360 are about the same as one ap intensity wise depending on the Lens.
Benifit of the 360 is you can mount them farther apart.

And they fit better in the Hybred retro kits if you ever go that rout.

 

[hart24601]

If you use the tank arms with the a360s you can just move them a little bit each week if you're worried about shading. Just move them 1" into a new spot every so often.

Now controllably is another matter.

 

[jason]

So based on what everyone is telling me. Kessil's light description as far as coverage is false?
AP700
For a Mixed reef:
Coverage is 48"x24" hanging 15"-18" above water surface.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

So based on what everyone is telling me. Kessil's light description as far as coverage is false?
AP700
For a Mixed reef:
Coverage is 48"x24" hanging 15"-18" above water surface.

No. That is 98% correct. At 12 13 in is pretty sweet coverage.

Here’s the thing about shadowing. The angel of the light. Naturally on the far left and far right , the farthest front and back you may have shadows on some of your rock, depending on the scape.
Just like the sun does really.

If you move the two Light sources farther apart , naturally the shadows on the left and right are reduced. The front and back can be trickier but you Amy not have that problem. That’s why adding t5 to front and back reduces shadows in some tanks. It Lights Front and back and end to end to get the left and right.

In all honesty , the coolest kessil tank I have seen is a 6 footer with 5 Kessil 160’s. May have been 6. 160’s.

 

[Scorpius]

The more the merrier when it comes to the 360/160 series Kessils. I run 3-360we's and 4-36in T5's on a 36in tank.

 

[ikolbaba06]

I have 2- a360 over a frag tank and 2x ap700 over my main tank. I would have to say by just personal observation and by use of an apogee mq-510, 2- a360 are not even close to the intensity of 1 ap700. Also look at all the brs par charts and The article by Dana riddle on a360 and ap700 there is a huge difference with par measurements and I know it’s not all about par.
I love both lights but I will say the ap700 is superior to the a360 in light spread, intensity and frankly coloration. I have never used the aquatic life t5 fixture but I could see where the a360 would be a better fit in that combo.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I have 2- a360 over a frag tank and 2x ap700 over my main tank. I would have to say by just personal observation and by use of an apogee mq-510, 2- a360 are not even close to the intensity of 1 ap700. Also look at all the brs par charts and The article by Dana riddle on a360 and ap700 there is a huge difference with par measurements and I know it’s not all about par.
I love both lights but I will say the ap700 is superior to the a360 in light spread, intensity and frankly coloration. I have never used the aquatic life t5 fixture but I could see where the a360 would be a better fit in that combo.

Just my 2 cents.

I’d like to fact check myself as I could be wrong. Did you have thatvaricle and charts handy.?
The 360 do have different lenses. That reduces intensity.

 

[ikolbaba06]

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2018/3/aafeature

Not sure if that’s going to work but that is the riddle ap700 review.

The brs tv videos on YouTube have the a360 charts.

Both lights are very good. I’m just saying the ap700 is much more powerful.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Just got home, and I'm late tot he party. I was going to post a link to my AP700 review but I see it has already been done. Thanks guys! Let me know if there are any questions!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2018/3/aafeature

Not sure if that’s going to work but that is the riddle ap700 review.

The brs tv videos on YouTube have the a360 charts.

Both lights are very good. I’m just saying the ap700 is much more powerful.

Just got home, and I'm late tot he party. I was going to post a link to my AP700 review but I see it has already been done. Thanks guys! Let me know if there are any questions!

thanks guys. I’ve read it.
My 360 numbers are from users here.

It seems odd to me that the 160 360 700 wouldn’t be low med high,
Roughly doubling power with each model. My notes and metering showed that was the case. Appearantly it may not be.

 

[AcanthurusRex]

AP700 requires a phone app which if frequently broken and rarely updated. I now use an old iPad which I can choose not to update for the AP700s.

 

[Montiman]

AP700 requires a phone app which if frequently broken and rarely updated. I now use an old iPad which I can choose not to update for the AP700s.

Many have expressed problems with the phone app but I have not. It seems that after a power outage multiple lights can loose sync but other than that I have not had problems.

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

I have 2 AP700s mounted in the aquatic life hybrid fixture. They fit no problem. You just need some longer screws. The included bracket fits perfect. You can slide them back and fourth easily in the fixture. . Change the distance between them. I’m still building my 245 - 72x30x27 setup. I should have water in it this weekend and I’ll give a better opinion on the performance of the light. But I really like all the videos I’ve seen on the AP 700.

 

[AcanthurusRex]

Many have expressed problems with the phone app but I have not. It seems that after a power outage multiple lights can lose sync but other than that I have not had problems.

If you don't update your phones OS then there may not be an issue. When iOS11 came out the app was broken for six months. The point is that OS updates will eventually make these lights inoperable. The only solution is to not upgrade the devices OS.
Yes, they lose their time base quite readily.