Kessil A80s for a 46 Gallon Bow Front

[M3d1C]

Going to be upgrading to a 46 gallon bow front from our 7 gallon AIO. Right now I have an A80 Tuna Blue on our 7 gallon which works great with the spectral controller. I was thinking of upgrading to the A360s but after reading a bunch of reviews it sounds like you only get a couple years out of them. Just enough time for the warranty to expire. So, I'm debating about picking up another A80 and just using 2 of them on the 46 for now until I find something worthwhile. I'm looking for anyone running Kessil to give some input because I really do like our A80 and controller a lot but also looking for some recommendations for other lights people have had success with.

 

[DonTavo27]

it All comes down to what type of tank you’ll be running. IMO, if you’ll b keeping anything other then fish, the A80’s won’t cut it, maybe with some exceptions to soft coral, like Xenia, leathers, and some mushrooms. I would suggest 2 a160’s or 1 a360x
If you want to continue using kessil.

 

[W1ngz]

An a80 won't have anywhere near enough light to light the depth of a 20" deep tank. A pair of 360s are what you need. If not , maybe three 160s, but with that depth you'll not have much light at the sand bed with the 160s. You could maybe get by with 1 360, but you won't have much light at all on your outer edges.

What exactly did you read about the 360s? Most of the time, if you go looking for failure reports, that's what you'll find. Kessil has a solid reputation, which they wouldn't have if they had a massive failure rate.

 

[M3d1C]

An a80 won't have anywhere near enough light to light the depth of a 20" deep tank. A pair of 360s are what you need. If not , maybe three 160s, but with that depth you'll not have much light at the sand bed with the 160s. You could maybe get by with 1 360, but you won't have much light at all on your outer edges.

What exactly did you read about the 360s? Most of the time, if you go looking for failure reports, that's what you'll find. Kessil has a solid reputation, which they wouldn't have if they had a massive failure rate.

That's fair. I was on reading the reviews on BRS while pricing two A360 lights. I guess with Kessil I don't really have much to go besides the experience with the A80. I really want to keep that amazing shimmer in this 46 that Kessil seems to be known for. Just scared of dropping $700 every two years on lights. Course by then there will probably be something worth upgrading to so maybe I can keep that in mind while I'm spending the money.

 

[YankeeTankee]

IMO the kessil shimmer is too much. If you like that look then go for it.

Since you're open to ideas, ATI T5 Dimmable sunpower with reefbrite led strips would be my vote.

 

[DonTavo27]

Reefbreeders carry’s some good affordable fixtures, take a look at the 24” V2. I had one over my 40 breeder and everything did great.

 

[Crustaceon]

In all honesty, most people on this forum probably won’t keep their current leds (not the brand, lol) for more than two years before upgrading to something else. It’s like how it is with iphones, except it’s with radions.

Ex: “My G4 is garbage. I’m going to buy a G5. It’s WAY (slightly) better”.