Kessil a80 question

HamHandler · Jun 29, 2017

I have taken the lid off of my 12g nano cube and hung a kessil a80 above it. Due to my mischevious 5 and 2 year old children I would like to build my own hanger and put the lid back on. My question is if I cut a hole out of the lid and graft in a piece of glass or plexiglass will it have an affect on the light shining through it? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Justin Hartmann · Jun 29, 2017

You could check the kessil site and see if they give you light spread data for the height your light would be off the lid. Then you could approximate how big of a hole you would need to get most of the lights through and into the tank. You might end up with some spill over onto the solid lid that would bounce into your room. The other thing IMO is if you look at leds the glass they use to cover the actual LED's is probably pretty high quality and can control diffusion and focus of light. If you add glass between the tank and the light it will likely cause some diffusion and scatter going through that layer and would not be as bright as if you were to use egg crate or something. Thats just my quick thoughts, not sure if that helps you.

Justin Hartmann · Jun 29, 2017

Oh one other thing I have experienced when I had a glass top was the humidity collecting on the glass and the salt creep that accumulated also blocked a fair amount of light. It took a little more cleaning effort to keep it as clean as possible.

Ty Hamatake · Jun 29, 2017

The hole would have to be pretty large. Is a screen top out of the question?

HamHandler · Jun 29, 2017

Thanks for the input guys I'm glad I came to this site. I would consider using some sort of screen also. This will be my first time keeping corals so I'd rather ask some extra questions than kill something.

madweazl · Jun 29, 2017

The housing of the A80 is quite large and the spread is excellent but I think it would need to be about four inches off the water to cover your tank (same dimensions of my refugium oddly enough).

Ty Hamatake · Jun 29, 2017

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/diy-aquarium-screen-top-kits-1-8-netting.html
This does wonders in keeping my three year old's toys, nerf darts, snacks, etc out of the tank.

HamHandler · Jun 29, 2017

I looked in to it before I set it up and it is hanging 4 inches above the water now. I think will try some sort of screen I just wanted to make sure it didn't mess with the light too much.

HamHandler · Jun 29, 2017

Ty Hamatake said:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/diy-aquarium-screen-top-kits-1-8-netting.html
This does wonders in keeping my three year old's toys, nerf darts, snacks, etc out of the tank.

This is perfect thank you.

Ty Hamatake · Jun 29, 2017

HamHandler said:
Thanks for the input guys I'm glad I came to this site. I would consider using some sort of screen also. This will be my first time keeping corals so I'd rather ask some extra questions than kill something.

We're happy to have you here! This is a great place filled with great people, that love helping out whenever we can. We also love pictures

HamHandler · Jun 29, 2017

Here's how it sits now. Once I get everything figured out and get a spectral controller I'm gonna add more coral.

madweazl · Jun 29, 2017

The spread and color mixing of Kessil is unmatched in the industry.

S&SReef · Jun 30, 2017

I tried to cut a hole in my 24 jbj top for my kessil a150w it really hurt the spread if the light.

S&SReef · Jun 30, 2017

You could get clips like on a nuvo and cut some acrylic to cover.

awtank2017 · Aug 28, 2017

S&SReef said:
I tried to cut a hole in my 24 jbj top for my kessil a150w it really hurt the spread if the light.

I also have a JBJ 24g nanocube with the stock CFL's. It is in my high school science classroom so I need a lid on the tank for sure. How did your new lighting setup work out? Any suggestions on modifications or lighting to use. I can't spend a lot. Right now I am looking at the Steves Lighting LED replacement (http://www.stevesleds.com/NanoCube-24-LED-Upgrade--Plug-and-Play_p_264.html) but my boss is not happy about the price. So I am now looking for cheaper alternatives.