Is 2 x Kessil A360we good enough for acro

[AspiringReefer]

I got a few acro about a week ago. One is brown and the other is half brown while one is still colorful. My tank has been up for about 3 months and stable. Mind you this is also my first tank. I keep 440 ca 10 DKH 1350 mag 1-5 nitrate and undetectable phosphate due to the test kit minimum of.25 . My salinity is stable at 1.025 with an auto top off system. Only use RODI water for refills and use Kalk in my auto. Just thought I should give some background on my tank before people assume high phosphates. I run GFO and Carbon as well.

The real question in this is I have 2 x kessil a360we over my 75 g tank will those produce enough par for acro half ways up the tank where the top of my live rock are? I also have a glass cover so the cat doesn’t stick her paws in for a meal.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ndrwater]

Welcome to R2R!! Should be just fine!! Post up some pix!!!

 

[AspiringReefer]

The brown one is a reef raft Canada Cadillac (the most colorful) but it’s brown after just getting in there ... it was -60 with windchill when it arrived at my door

 

[AspiringReefer]

Got that anemone not realizing the tank was supposed to be set up for a year so he struggled the first month I had my tank set up but now has gotten huge off of his shrimp feasts

 

[Firemanreefkeeper]

I assume you had it shipped from somewhere based on last post. In my experience acros don't ship well and your alk at 10, while not high, is high for a shipped coral. I tested shipped coral once and got a 6.5 dkh and a 6.2dkh on another order. Its a big swing and might be the reason for the setback. As for the light.... my friend has your same lights and has them growing just fine under them.

 

[madweazl]

I also have a 75g that is acropora dominant and I will say, no. The exception to this is going to be in two areas directly under the LEDs at a depth of no more than eight inches (provided your Kessils are no more than six inches above the water). If you have the corals mounted in those areas, they will grow and color up appropriately. This thread has the data I've collected for the A360WEs on the same tank and a couple hybrid solutions that also worked well for me. I would have gone with a third Kessil if I didn't have a center brace and canopy that had been cut for the two Kessils (didn't want it to look like Swiss cheese). With that said, I believe three would have worked out quite well.

 

[AspiringReefer]

I also have a 75g that is acropora dominant and I will say, no. The exception to this is going to be in two areas directly under the LEDs at a depth of no more than eight inches (provided your Kessils are no more than six inches above the water). If you have the corals mounted in those areas, they will grow and color up appropriately. This thread has the data I've collected for the A360WEs on the same tank and a couple hybrid solutions that also worked well for me. I would have gone with a third Kessil if I didn't have a center brace and canopy that had been cut for the two Kessils (didn't want it to look like Swiss cheese). With that said, I believe three would have worked out quite well.

I have the same issue .. I have the middle bar there but would love to have a third. Another thought was offsetting it and having two on one side for high par on just the one side?

 

[Hemmdog]

I have the same issue .. I have the middle bar there but would love to have a third. Another thought was offsetting it and having two on one side for high par on just the one side?

Grab the aquatic life hybrid. I started with 2 360we’s as well. The growth wasn’t there. Things are better with the hybrid. I’m toying with the idea of puting a160’s on the far edges of the hybrid as well.

 

[Jekyl]

Think alk is supposed to be close to 8. Could also try moving it higher.

 

[AspiringReefer]

Grab the aquatic life hybrid. I started with 2 360we’s as well. The growth wasn’t there. Things are better with the hybrid. I’m toying with the idea of puting a160’s on the far edges of the hybrid as well.

That looks like an awesome idea! I hope I can convince the wife. I don’t currently have a canopy either so hoping this doesn’t mess with the living room with spillover light.

I know nothing about t5 what bulbs should I use?

 

[Jekyl]

Maybe easier and cheaper just to buy a couple T5 and add them to the mix

 

[Hemmdog]

That looks like an awesome idea! I hope I can convince the wife. I don’t currently have a canopy either so hoping this doesn’t mess with the living room with spillover light.

I know nothing about t5 what bulbs should I use?

It’s not bad the fixtures angle it down really well. I don’t have a canopy either. I use 2blue+ and 2 true actinic. I might switch it up with a coral + in a few months when these bulbs start to fade. I have the t5’s only turn on for 6 hours just for the peak.

 

[Jekyl]

I'd try lowering your alk to around 8 before spending money on new lights. Kessil LED should have no issues with sps when not shaded

 

[madweazl]

That looks like an awesome idea! I hope I can convince the wife. I don’t currently have a canopy either so hoping this doesn’t mess with the living room with spillover light.

I know nothing about t5 what bulbs should I use?

This is going to depend on how sensitive you are to it. Personally, I hate the spill over and it bugs the crap out of me.

In regard to the lights, I prefer a whiter look. The Kessils are at 50% color and I use two Blue+, an AquaBlue Special, and a Purple+ (this T5 combo is closer to the Kessil running around 60% color but still remains crisp vice a yellow tint). It has produced great colors and growth in the corals.

 

[AspiringReefer]

So glad I joined this forum you guys are awesome!

 

[AspiringReefer]

I'd try lowering your alk to around 8 before spending money on new lights. Kessil LED should have no issues with sps when not shaded

I have done some research on this as well wwc I think keeps around 8.6 ? Don’t quote me on that and I remember something on a BRS investigates that higher Alk gave more growth so I got it to 10 and am trying to keep it there. I am wrong on this? I am new and just thought above 12 was bad so gave myself some wiggle room. Normally one week to the next I see a swing of maybe .3 DKH and adjust from there but I am also only adding about 2-3 tsp of Kalkwasser to keep it there. Meaning I am not using up much DKH. Which equals horrid growth as well lol. Considering everything is frags I didn’t expect much consumption at the beginning however. I am a firm believer that the more research the better. In fact I would rather research something than watch tv (if it interests me).

 

[madweazl]

I've never had good results running higher alkalinity levels; I maintain 6.5-7.0 dKh typically (around natural sea water levels). I consider mother nature about as close to perfection as you can get so I try to keep things closer to that range.

 

[AspiringReefer]

Sounds good maybe have to slowly lower it. I just don’t want to swing parameters too fast and stress everything. Things are stressed enough with me being new to reefing lol.

 

[Salt1972]

We've been trying to grow SPS frags for about a year. We started with higher Alk and low nutrients (like yours) and killed all of our frags within 6 weeks. We were advised on R2R to lower Alk or raise nutrients. We lowered Alk to 8.5 and allowed PO4 to go to .06 and we've had more success, but SPS is still a struggle for us, especially in a mixed reef tank with a moderate bio load.

We have a 125g system with 4 Kessil 360WE's. About 8 weeks ago, we borrowed a PAR meter for the first time and realized that our 50-60% peak intensity was WAY lower PAR than the SPS needed. We've ramped up to 95% intensity and all of our corals seem much happier. Our light are about 5 inches over the water. It's easy to understand why so many reefers run LED / T5 combo.

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

We've been trying to grow SPS frags for about a year. We started with higher Alk and low nutrients (like yours) and killed all of our frags within 6 weeks. We were advised on R2R to lower Alk or raise nutrients. We lowered Alk to 8.5 and allowed PO4 to go to .06 and we've had more success, but SPS is still a struggle for us, especially in a mixed reef tank with a moderate bio load.

We have a 125g system with 4 Kessil 360WE's. About 8 weeks ago, we borrowed a PAR meter for the first time and realized that our 50-60% peak intensity was WAY lower PAR than the SPS needed. We've ramped up to 95% intensity and all of our corals seem much happier. Our light are about 5 inches over the water. It's easy to understand why so many reefers run LED / T5 combo.

Mind sharing your par readings?