Kessil AP700.... is it worth the $

[Cherish.merenda]

Love love love mine. League of their own. Zero compromise.

Do it now.

Awesome. Do you mind sharing your lighting schedule and color? I've been trying to find a good spot on the color wheel as well.

 

[Mnk9569]

I've been running 2 on a 6ft 150 and they are strong I have them at 50% for 3 hrs a day with ramp up and down if I go past that it starts to bleach so had halides on it before and the ap700's seem stronger

 

[BlennyKravitz]

Very nice looking tank. Corals look great! Thanks for the visual!

Thank you! Even though after all of this money blown, it all comes down to the stupid water anyway.

 

[BlennyKravitz]

Awesome. Do you mind sharing your lighting schedule and color? I've been trying to find a good spot on the color wheel as well.

Thanks! I have been running all blue with a 65% white peak in the AM. The skimmer is off during that peak as I dose Red Sea Reef Energy.

 

[Mnk9569]

Oh yeah just dial them up slow the acclimation mode is sometimes to strong depending on what you have in the tank if you have any other ??? Pm me I have everything kessil makes even the flora lights so can give you a honest opinion

 

[1stNoel]

Awesome. Do you mind sharing your lighting schedule and color? I've been trying to find a good spot on the color wheel as well.

I spoke to Dave from Kessil at Reef-a-Palooza in Orlando. The best spectrum is between 7:00 to 9:00 on the wheel. I let the corals cook under that portion of the colorwheel, but I also put a few hours of the deepest blue to just gawk at the corals. Another recommendation, if you like the deepest blue, is to customize the color +15 Red and +10 Green. You'll notice a bit more pop in the corals.

I own 4 Ap700s and am a huge fan of them.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

BRS choose the AP700 over everything else on their 160. I have no experience with them but tanks I've seen with them look stunning. They did put a few T5 in the hood, but IMO they didn't need it. I think it gives the older reefer guys a bit of a comfort zone having the older lights they are used to. LEDs are the future, until they come out with something newer... Bahahahahaha.

I have a A160 on my nano and the corals and I love it.

 

[Lousybreed]

For around the same price you could do dual 250w Radion Metal Halides. I will put a metal halide tank against anything. Yes you have to replace bulbs every year to two years, but the color and growth are amazing. For dual 250w you are looking at $700, for dual 400w around $750.

 

[Snotdoc]

I switched from MH T5 to Ap700 and two A160 on my 48in shallow 80g SPS dominated Reef about two months ago. Colors look fantastic and growth has been off the charts. I was going to add T5 but don't think I need it. Note that I tuned my light with a PAR meter to replicate my prior values and the corals didn't even flinch at the switch. I also ramped them up slowly over two weeks. I'm planning a bigger system and plan on going all Kessil. I LOVE the shimmer, look, and growth. Well worth it imho.

 

[BlennyKravitz]

For around the same price you could do dual 250w Radion Metal Halides. I will put a metal halide tank against anything. Yes you have to replace bulbs every year to two years, but the color and growth are amazing. For dual 250w you are looking at $700, for dual 400w around $750.

I hear you that you like your stuff and it's hard to give up what works. Stability is everything in the reef... I don't get how using a bulb that literally starts changing color the second you fire it up subscribes to that philosophy.

I said I'd never give up a manual transmission either, but I did because it's better.

 

[bif24701]

When the Kessil AP700 is compared to other LED systems it cost less than others per linear ft.

I am very pleased with my choice of 2 AP700s on my 180 SPS display

 

[BlennyKravitz]

When the Kessil AP700 is compared to other LED systems it cost less than others per linear ft.

I am very pleased with my choice of 2 AP700s on my 180 SPS display

I thought I was the only one with two AP700s AND a discus tank too!

What are you nuts?

In my kitchen...

 

[bif24701]

I thought I was the only one with two AP700s AND a discus tank too!

What are you nuts?

In my kitchen...

Yes, yes we are!

 

[BlennyKravitz]

Yes, yes we are!

Wow. Those are huge! What do you feed those guys? Mine are tiny little guys. Love your aquascape.

 

[Confuse]

Love love love mine. League of their own. Zero compromise.

Do it now.

This is a pretty reasonable use of two fixture on that size tank. Many people try to get away with one and don't get good results. While I agree that buying two fixtures is a hard pill to swallow, Kessil's marketing tactic of emphasizing spread really hurts the reputation of these lights as their PAR diminishes the higher you hang them.

 

[BlennyKravitz]

I've been running 2 on a 6ft 150 and they are strong I have them at 50% for 3 hrs a day with ramp up and down if I go past that it starts to bleach so had halides on it before and the ap700's seem stronger

How high off the water? I found raising mine has better coverage and less shadowing because the other three pucks were coming into play once they were high enough.

 

[bif24701]

How high off the water? I found raising mine has better coverage and less shadowing because the other three pucks were coming into play once they were high enough.

I've also since raised mine about 2" more, no detectable/noticeable lose of PAR but much better overall coverage and illumination/smaller softer shadows. They are just over 9" above the water now.

 

[bif24701]

Wow. Those are huge! What do you feed those guys? Mine are tiny little guys. Love your aquascape.

Mostly black worms, frozen food, and Tetra color bits.

I think the reason ours are doing so well is because my wife changes the water every 2 days (70-80%) and cleans the filters every week.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

They did put a few T5 in the hood, but IMO they didn't need it. I think it gives the older reefer guys a bit of a comfort zone having the older lights they are used to. .. Bahahahahaha.

I heard that

Eventually kessil (and everyone ) will submit to multi puck and then diffusions to give better coverage. It a tech in its infancy. Pretty exciting.

With luck they'll all get spectrum improvemts as well so we get a better par to intensity ratio more like t5 and metal halide do.

Old guys don't like tanks brighter to get the same par I guess;Oldman

 

[bif24701]

I heard that

Eventually kessil (and everyone ) will submit to multi puck and then diffusions to give better coverage. It a tech in its infancy. Pretty exciting.

With luck they'll all get spectrum improvemts as well so we get a better par to intensity ratio more like t5 and metal halide do.

Old guys don't like tanks brighter to get the same par I guess;Oldman

There is no question in my mind that LEDs will continue to evolve while other technologies remain stagnate thus in 5 years or so LED will completely dominate the market and MH/T5s will start to die. Both T5s and MH have reached the peak of their technology and will not gain additional efficiency and effectiveness. There is no known ceiling to LEDs, ever two years they get much better than before.