How many Kessil Tuna’s

IE Reefer · Mar 20, 2021

Hi everyone, I have a 29g which is 30"Wx12"Dx18"H and I was wondering how many Kessil Tuna blue’s I need. Thank you in advance.

JumboShrimp · Mar 20, 2021

I would say three (3) minimum; four might be better. These 2 are on a tank 24” long and only 14” deep— and it’s pretty maxed-out. (If you daisy chain the cables, you might want to try cheap Amazon cables instead of expensive Kessil cables.) Best wishes!

CEReefer · Mar 20, 2021

Depends on which tuna blue, they have anything from a80 to a500 in tuna blue version.. it also depends on the kind of corals you want to have.. if you have a 30 wide and do mixed reef you may get away with a single a360x..

Imaexpat2 · Mar 20, 2021

I would personally suggest 2 x 160 Tuna Blues. 2 x A80 's wont have enough par in all probability unless your doing LPS and Softies only. A single 360X wont have enough spread and leave you with darkened ends of the tank.

HB AL · Mar 20, 2021

Depends on what you plan on having in the tank. A couple 160's would work fine or try a 360. On my current 90G I started with 5 160's 5 years ago and they grew all types of corals top to bottom including acros with no problem. As the years went on when the 360x came out I got 4 360we's from my lfs for pretty cheap so I replaced the 160's with 4 360we's. Then about 3 months ago the owner of the lfs asked me if I wanted to buy and add a 360x at his cost price so I now have a 360x in the center and 2 360we's on either side. Whatever you decide to go with should work out well. Heres a pic of my tank lit up with a 360x and 4 360we's.

CEReefer · Mar 20, 2021

HB AL said:
Depends on what you plan on having in the tank. A couple 160's would work fine or try a 360. On my current 90G I started with 5 160's 5 years ago and they grew all types of corals top to bottom including acros with no problem. As the years went on when the 360x came out I got 4 360we's from my lfs for pretty cheap so I replaced the 160's with 4 360we's. Then about 3 months ago the owner of the lfs asked me if I wanted to buy and add a 360x at his cost price so I now have a 360x in the center and 2 360we's on either side. Whatever you decide to go with should work out well. Heres a pic of my tank lit up with a 360x and 4 360we's.

Very cost effective for sure, but that is so aesthetically unpleasing ;-)

JumboShrimp · Mar 20, 2021

(Yes— to clarify, I thought you meant the a80’s, which are very low powered. Only about 18 watts, if I remember correctly. Good for rather shallow softie tanks.)

HB AL · Mar 20, 2021

CEReefer said:
Very cost effective for sure, but that is so aesthetically unpleasing ;-)

What is "aesthetically unpleasing" ? The only thing I can think of from the pics is that you don't like the arms holding the lights perhaps? Whatever it may be the most important thing for me "only" is that the corals and fish live in a thriving environment. I do have a canopy that hides everything and the light reflection on the wall and ceiling but really thats the only function it served, and since I would have to remove it when I needed to get in the tank I haven't used it since I tried it out when I first setup the tank. I just use a simple piece of black cardboard to block the lights emission point since its in my bedroom. This is one of the things I like about this forum, you have so many members and reading through all the different opinions and how they would do things differently in there minds which in some cases gives you a better way of setting something up your looking to do.

CEReefer · Mar 20, 2021

HB AL said:
What is "aesthetically unpleasing" ? The only thing I can think of from the pics is that you don't like the arms holding the lights perhaps? Whatever it may be the most important thing for me "only" is that the corals and fish live in a thriving environment. I do have a canopy that hides everything and the light reflection on the wall and ceiling but really thats the only function it served, and since I would have to remove it when I needed to get in the tank I haven't used it since I tried it out when I first setup the tank. I just use a simple piece of black cardboard to block the lights emission point since its in my bedroom. This is one of the things I like about this forum, you have so many members and reading through all the different opinions and how they would do things differently in there minds which in some cases gives you a better way of setting something up your looking to do.

The single a360x between 4 a360we.. but I was just kidding!