Kessil AP700 Pro & Cons
- Thread starter NormanB
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minus9
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What are you planning on keeping? Sps, lps, softies? The light is great, but the app sucks, but there are ways around the app to make it work. I have two 700's over my 90g sps.
You could always pair it with the aquatic life hybrid and that would give you a lot more flexibility.
You could always pair it with the aquatic life hybrid and that would give you a lot more flexibility.
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NormanB
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I plan on it being a mixed reef with only a few acros that aren't high light demand.
The aquatic life option is way cool, but more than I want to spend on lighting.
So, you agree that that 1 AP700 isn't enough for a 75?
Thanks for your comments!
The aquatic life option is way cool, but more than I want to spend on lighting.
So, you agree that that 1 AP700 isn't enough for a 75?
Thanks for your comments!
Makers Marc
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Have you had success growing acros using this as a standalone lighting?
Makers Marc
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My main issue is that I've inquired on here, Reefcentral, even with Kessil directly.
And I can count on 2 fingers, the amount of ppl in the entire hobby that have picture evidence, of succesfully growing acros over time using this lighting only with no supplemental t5s.
Ppl always point to Neptune Aquatics, but it suks there aren't more hobbiest with proven success. So its hard to determine if acros not acclimating well is your fault or the light .
And I can count on 2 fingers, the amount of ppl in the entire hobby that have picture evidence, of succesfully growing acros over time using this lighting only with no supplemental t5s.
Ppl always point to Neptune Aquatics, but it suks there aren't more hobbiest with proven success. So its hard to determine if acros not acclimating well is your fault or the light .
minus9
5000 Club Member
For a mixed reef it will work just fine, especially if you put sps in the middle. I won't use this thread to discuss whether Kessil alone can grow coral successfully or not, but would be happy to discuss in another thread?
Aardvark1134
Well-Known Member
As a kessil fan if you have the money I would recommend 2x of the 360x instead with the wifi controller that comes out next month. But this method would be about $200 more than the ap700
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Pro: Hardware and form factor are great
Con: Software sucks, fixture shipped riddled with bugs, still has bugs four years later, is effectively EOL, brand manager laughs about promised but not promised feature being long abandoned.
I wouldn't give Kessil a dime for an AP700 at this stage.
Con: Software sucks, fixture shipped riddled with bugs, still has bugs four years later, is effectively EOL, brand manager laughs about promised but not promised feature being long abandoned.
I wouldn't give Kessil a dime for an AP700 at this stage.
minus9
5000 Club Member
Yeah, I really wish they would fix the programming bugs so that the program is identical to the manual setting you just implemented. It's the reason I'll be selling my 700's and replacing them with 360x's and the spectral controller.
The work around is to set one color and just ramp up and down. It's funny, but the ramp up is so different than the ramp down and the color setting is the same for both. In the ramp up, it's really lighter (less blue) than the ramp down which is deep blue almost all the way. Ugh!
The work around is to set one color and just ramp up and down. It's funny, but the ramp up is so different than the ramp down and the color setting is the same for both. In the ramp up, it's really lighter (less blue) than the ramp down which is deep blue almost all the way. Ugh!
Peter K
Active Member
Will be running 4 AP700's over our new sps dominated 360g - I'll keep you posted but it will be a while before corals go in. I do plan on supplementing the light with orphek's OR2 bars but the majority of the light will be from the AP700's. The app is a royal pain but we will see how they perform on the corals themselves. We've been using the 360's for years and have been able to grow sps no issues whatsoever (we had 6 over a 180) so it will be interesting to see how the 700's do.
Xmoji
Eat, Sleep, Reef
If you tank is 48” long then I dont think it’s enough light for your tank. I currently have it over my 57 gallon, 36” lo g and am contemplating adding a puck for more light. I am however going more sps. If your not going with much sps then maybe you can get away with some lesser demanding Coral. I get the best coloration for sps in between the two pucks and no more than 4 inches tot he outside of the puck.
Software is glitchy and the light turns on and off and random times of the day or night.
All that said I do like them. They do color coral well and have decent growth with them.
I hope this helps.
Software is glitchy and the light turns on and off and random times of the day or night.
All that said I do like them. They do color coral well and have decent growth with them.
I hope this helps.
blasterman
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We have kessils over our office tank. While setting up I encountered this very embarrassing error:
lol
Ah, the joys of 2.4ghz and integrated wifi. Also make sure you stick to SSIDs and passwords under 8 characters and all lower case. I almost feel like I'm at work reading these lighting posts. Pretty soon you'll need to VLAN your reef lights and do firmware updates to keep the chinese from hacking them.
As for Kessils, I've seen two A360s on a 75standard handle basic SPS just fine. The problem of course with a single kessil is it will only grow SPS underneath it....unless you like it to grow sideways towards the light.
Makers Marc
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Umm. Ive had 2 x ap700s for 3 yrs bud. That's my point. Great so far for any LPS or softies. SPS not so much.
DangerDave
Valuable Member
I have 5 AP700s, and have been running them for about 3 years now.
Pros: awesome hardware and design. Very responsive customer service. Have Had great growth on lps & sps.
Cons: the app is lame, but works. They never came through with apex support (their bs attitude about this really bugs me).
Pros: awesome hardware and design. Very responsive customer service. Have Had great growth on lps & sps.
Cons: the app is lame, but works. They never came through with apex support (their bs attitude about this really bugs me).
ReefPiracy
Active Member
The AP700 needs firmware update. Works just fine for me on Apple. Works just as good as orphek. Really like that if you change spectrum you still get same par, radions and orphek lose par when tuning spectrum more blue. It will have a hard time doing a tank deeper then 20" unless you run pretty close to water or stack lights. The brace on a 75 is going to limit this light. Spread on kessil is mental. Kessil has always been more about spread then super high par. 250 is sweet spot for SPS in my book. Need to feed intense to push higher par.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
It still has bugs, like the colour shift on profiles and randomly starting for a few seconds off-schedule, on the latest firmware, for some people. I have to think they've gone through a few versions of IC's since the controller and software were by all accounts farmed out by DiCon, which probably explains why some have issues and others don't.
