Are kessil ap700 worth it?

symon_say · Oct 22, 2019

Hi

I'm setting a new tank, dimensions are 70x27x24, tank will bea mixed reef focus on softies and LPS, I have decided almost every equipment I'm gonna use, but haven't decide on lights.

I have read lots of bad stories about the ap700 from hardware to software problems.

But with ap700 I can cover the tank with just 2 fixture an maybe add t5 later, when corals star to grow, or not.

Are this light fixture worth it, or should I look for something else in that price range?

Crabs McJones · Oct 22, 2019

I used a single ap700 over my 40 breeder and absolutely loved it

ghostman · Oct 22, 2019

I’m a fan of the AP700, and really like the hardware. The app is bad, really bad, but I still enjoy the fixture. The color is amazing.

Zoaologist · Oct 22, 2019

For the money in my opinion there are better options that have better control.

HawaiianReef · Oct 22, 2019

This is completely a personal preference. The kessils will perform as any high end light out there. But there are pros and cons. They dont have as much control, but nothing that I've seen represents as well, at least for me. I miss free diving at home and that is the sole reason why I got into reefing here in the desert. The kessils create the most realistic shimmer imho. I had all hydras at one point, then I bought a kessil a360 and set it side by side with a hydra 26. There was no comparison for me. The shimmer was incredible. I do have to say, it seems like my sps do fine at lower setting on the hydra26 than the a360, but the ap700 is more than twice the output of the 360. The shimmer in the tank sold me. Now I will only use kessils.
So is the ap700 worth the money? To me I'd say yes, definitely. But I'm all about the shimmer. So it is solely a personal preference at this level.

symon_say · Oct 22, 2019

Zoaologist said:
For the money in my opinion there are better options that have better control.

Could you please elaborate?

C_AWOL · Oct 23, 2019

Depending on your goals, I assume 2 separate lights such as the newer a360x would preform better than 1 AP 700 for a comparable price

HawaiianReef · Oct 23, 2019

symon_say said:
Could you please elaborate?

I believe what zoaologist is referring to is the ability to control more of the light spectrum with of manufacturers such as the units from Aqua Illumination or AI. Their Hydra line is very popular and they just came out with new models as well. There's a lot of tried and true programs that you could just adapt and be successful.
The new kessil 360x offers more control over their previous 360 pucks because some reefers want to tweak their spectrums.
Honestly this is why I went with hydra 26hd as my first led experience. But once I set the light up, I never really played with it afterwords. Kessil let's you dial the color from white to blue and keeps the necessary spectrum you need to grow corals. So, with more control, like the AI hydra, you can mess up the spectrum and nuke your corals. With kessil, you could nuke your corals, but that would be from too much par, or over powering your tank. You will always have an optimum spectrum for your corals. But, as I said, AI hydras have a Huge following, and now, you can just look up who has been successful and "borrow" their program.
So pretty much either is going to be awsome.
There's also radion lights as well. And a lot of coral retailers are using them. I think WWC uses only radion for leds, but I could be wrong on that. I don't know anyone personally with them, but definitely worth looking in to. There's a lot of reefers that claim them to be top of line, and cost not much more than the ap700.

flagg37 · Oct 23, 2019

symon_say said:
Could you please elaborate?

i was thinking Radion too.

symon_say · Oct 23, 2019

I like radion but I'll need 3 radion to cover the tank, and that will make then cost a lot more.

vetteguy53081 · Oct 23, 2019

I had 2 AP700 over former tank and very happy with it. Great coverage and shimmer. Can’t beat kessils’ support too

HawaiianReef · Oct 23, 2019

You might want to look closely at the new 360x from kessil and run just 3 of those for your softies and lps. I have a 75g (4') softy lps and run 2 older a360we at only 50 percent and everything is thriving. The new 360x has a wider angle and has 20 percent more power than my a360. They're spaced out as you would on your 6' if you bought 3. If you find you need more par, you could add another.