I drank the Kessil Koolaid!

[Raindog3030]

I have read about all the major and some of the minor LED fixtures until my eyeballs became less moist...and, as I'm sure you've guessed from the title, I have landed on a pair of Kessil A360WE with the A series controller for my little 20 gallon long (supreme overkill!!!) They should arrive within the week.

Overkill, because we will be re-purposing these lights in the next year or two after we move into our permanent house and setup a proper reef. (Where they will most likely be transplanted into a T5HO hybrid fixture).

In any case, my main question is after deciding to spend a great deal of money on these 2 fixtures, goose necks, and a controller...do i really have to spend another $20 on what looks like a standard male-to-male TRS(tip-ring-sleeve) cable? There is no way that this thing is that special, is it?

So, I ask of you other Koolaid drinkers, have you ever taken this cable and toned it out, is it just a standard 3.5mm TRS...because it looks like it!

On a separate note, I intend to start with the acclimation mode, since we are moving from a Current Orbit (not the pro) to these beautiful/powerful things...would you all suggest a good intensity to acclimate to? We are talking about 12" total depth and mixed reef population. Our most light hungry monster is a piece of WWC Grafted Cap sitting about 3-4" below the surface, and I will die (my wife will kill me) if I burn this beautiful piece!

I know the real answer is get a PAR meter, which is likely on the way, but if someone has already resolved this mystery, then I'd rather not re-invent the wheel.

 

[Dickeybrazil]

Good choice

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I’d grab a lux meter ($15).

Match the intensity at the waters surface, then drop it 30-40%.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lighting-upgrade-with-a-lux-meter-saltyfilmfolks.248417/

 

[DancingShark]

Any links to make it easier for lazy guys like me @saltyfilmfolks

 

[madweazl]

Start around 30% intensity; ramp it up and down during your photo-period (six hours up and back down have worked well for me). As for the control cable, a standard 3.5mm audio cable is all you need.

 

[Raindog3030]

Start around 30% intensity; ramp it up and down during your photo-period (six hours up and back down have worked well for me). As for the control cable, a standard 3.5mm audio cable is all you need.

That's what I figured, thanks for the reply/confirmation!

 

[madweazl]

Oh, my lights are only 5" off the water so if you mount them higher, you'll need to increase intensity as well.

 

[Raindog3030]

Indubitably, not sure how high we'll end up yet, probably somewhere in that range though...thanks again!

 

[Midrats]

Your are going to be able to broil a tri tip under there!

 

[Daniel Waters]

@Raindog3030 , In regards to the cables, No, you do not have to use the Kessil link cables at $20 a pop. Male to male 3.5mm cables will suffice.

 

[Christopher Davis]

Good Aniken good! Muhahahahah welcome to the dark side!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Love me some Kessil koolaid! I've got 3 A160we, two over my 35g cube 6-7" off the water(can't remember) and maxing out at 75%. One over my 14g IM Fusion peninsula, maxing out at 100%.

 

[bif24701]

I don’t know about Koolaide but Kessils are well designed and thought out reef lights that can grow any coral well. I love mine.

 

[Raindog3030]

They are allegedly arriving today! So, the real question is...do I try to broil that tri-tip before setting them up over the reef, or maybe we just go for frying an egg?

 

[Stephen Glover]

Yep, just buy a male to male 1/8 audio cable and you are good to go.

 

[XxJDMcivicEK9xX]

I know your tank is much smaller than mine but here was a vid I made for my Lessie settings

 

[WWIII]

It's a "standard" 3.5mm audio cable male to male, but I would suggest buying a decent one. The one's kessil sells are pretty good. I purchased some from guitar center and radio shack that were nice as well.

The tip is intensity channel, the ring is spectrum channel, and the sleeve is the ground fwiw.

 

[Ben Seaver]

I recently got 8 of the 360 WE over my 350 gallon a I love em. Everything is fat and happy, shimmer is amazing and I just love walkin into my house after a hard days work and stare at that tank..lol. I am going to add a couple T5s eventually but I’m in no hurry. I bought the cheapo male to male audio cables off amazon and they work just fine.

 

[srad750c]

I have read about all the major and some of the minor LED fixtures until my eyeballs became less moist...and, as I'm sure you've guessed from the title, I have landed on a pair of Kessil A360WE with the A series controller for my little 20 gallon long (supreme overkill!!!) They should arrive within the week.

Overkill, because we will be re-purposing these lights in the next year or two after we move into our permanent house and setup a proper reef. (Where they will most likely be transplanted into a T5HO hybrid fixture).

In any case, my main question is after deciding to spend a great deal of money on these 2 fixtures, goose necks, and a controller...do i really have to spend another $20 on what looks like a standard male-to-male TRS(tip-ring-sleeve) cable? There is no way that this thing is that special, is it?

So, I ask of you other Koolaid drinkers, have you ever taken this cable and toned it out, is it just a standard 3.5mm TRS...because it looks like it!

On a separate note, I intend to start with the acclimation mode, since we are moving from a Current Orbit (not the pro) to these beautiful/powerful things...would you all suggest a good intensity to acclimate to? We are talking about 12" total depth and mixed reef population. Our most light hungry monster is a piece of WWC Grafted Cap sitting about 3-4" below the surface, and I will die (my wife will kill me) if I burn this beautiful piece!

I know the real answer is get a PAR meter, which is likely on the way, but if someone has already resolved this mystery, then I'd rather not re-invent the wheel.

Get a regular 3.5 mm gold cable from somewhere else, save the money dude. Don't start above 30% intensity @12 inches above water, they are very strong lights. I probably wouldn't go below 50% on color, I don't know how strong the UV channel on these are. I burned a few corals before I learned how intense they were. You won't see the damage unless you know what you're looking for and it may be too late.

 

[Raindog3030]

Wow! These lights look amazing, the shimmer is real! Dang, this koolaid tastes good!

I did indeed order a cheap-o $5 cable from Amazon, although I probably could have just soldered one up at the office, I am a little lazy!

I was successful in getting everything set up yesterday, I used one of my recording cables in the interim until the cheapy shows up later today.

Setup the cycle to hit 30% intensity at the max, and only for an hour of the day. Color maxes at 60 to get a little white for a short period, about an hour as well.

@srad750c I'm going to do my due dilligence and read about that today, thanks for the tip!

Thank you everyone for your help/suggestions!!!