Kessil AP700 Reflector

pelphrey · Jul 13, 2017

I got my hands on the Kessil AP700 from a buddy of mine. I am very particular about my equipment on the reef tank and basically anything else I have! ha When I got the light the first thing I saw was the reflector, it looks like at some point it got to hot. How does this happen, is it safe to assume that this will negatively impact the spread? I also noticed the dust inside the vents, so I took the top panel off and it was pretty dirty. I run the 160's over my Reefer 250 (3 foot tank) right now and I am always blowing the light out and cleaning the lens. Also some of the screws under the fan cover show corrosion.

I have emailed Kessil on the reflector and I am waiting to hear their response, I wanted to get some input from the R2R team as well!

minus9 · Jul 14, 2017

To me, it looks like it came in contact with saltwater? Or it was in a canopy with no ventilation, but this is pure speculation.

pelphrey · Jul 14, 2017

minus9 said:
To me, it looks like it came in contact with saltwater? Or it was in a canopy with no ventilation, but this is pure speculation.

I can't answer those questions. I am in the process of possibly buying the light, I have to get these unknowns answered before I pay for it!

What you are saying does make sense though!

JamesP · Jul 14, 2017

I wouldn't buy that particular light in the pictures. I would recommend the ap700 as I own it and it is amazing, but the one in the pictures has been abused likely why it is being sold. Im pretty sure if kessil saw those pictures they would not honor any warranty claims also as they are very particular about damage from salt spray and lack of regular cleaning.

LV3 · Jul 14, 2017

I just bought a second AP700 for my tank on eBay and it arrived in the original box, with all the original parts, and the light is in flawless shape. My point being that when you buy something previously used, it should be in the best condition possible. Those are just the components you can see, who knows what kind of damage is inside if that's what it looks like on the outside.

Confuse · Jul 14, 2017

I can say from firsthand experience from running AP 700's inside a canopy that they get EXTREMELY HOT. One thing to note is that if you use the red and green colors in the spectrum, the max intensity of the light is automatically restricted to 70% by the software. As for the reflector, it looks like it got distorted by heat or something. You will get a lot of salt creep on your light, especially if you have wrasses, but you can easily clean that off with a moist rag. If the lens is in tact, then I don't see how water could have entered the reflector, unless the owner dropped it or something. I would pass on it, unless he's giving it away. I think the used price of the fixture plus replacing parts would probably more expensive than a brand new fixture.

pelphrey · Jul 14, 2017

JamesP said:
I wouldn't buy that particular light in the pictures. I would recommend the ap700 as I own it and it is amazing, but the one in the pictures has been abused likely why it is being sold. Im pretty sure if kessil saw those pictures they would not honor any warranty claims also as they are very particular about damage from salt spray and lack of regular cleaning.

Kessil has responded to my emails with more questions. Some I am unable to answer since I don't know the story.

LV3 said:
I just bought a second AP700 for my tank on eBay and it arrived in the original box, with all the original parts, and the light is in flawless shape. My point being that when you buy something previously used, it should be in the best condition possible. Those are just the components you can see, who knows what kind of damage is inside if that's what it looks like on the outside.

I agree with you 100%. Especially on a light this expensive. I did clean out the vents and under the fan, I was surprised to see the corrosion under the fan plate for sure.

Confuse said:
I can say from firsthand experience from running AP 700's inside a canopy that they get EXTREMELY HOT. One thing to note is that if you use the red and green colors in the spectrum, the max intensity of the light is automatically restricted to 70% by the software. As for the reflector, it looks like it got distorted by heat or something. You will get a lot of salt creep on your light, especially if you have wrasses, but you can easily clean that off with a moist rag. If the lens is in tact, then I don't see how water could have entered the reflector, unless the owner dropped it or something. I would pass on it, unless he's giving it away. I think the used price of the fixture plus replacing parts would probably more expensive than a brand new fixture.

I know on the 160's I have right now I can feel the heat under the lens, so no doubt this monster light is going to produce much more heat!

Thank you everyone for your input! I greatly appreciate it. I did a mock install of the light on my tank just to see what it looked like. The plan is to replace my 160's with the AP700, but for fun here is a picture of the 160's and AP700 on a 3' Red Sea Reefer 250!

LV3 · Jul 14, 2017

Looks great! The AP700 is so slick! That tank is going to pop!

dnguyen1 · Oct 11, 2019

I want to revive this--has anybody experienced how to fix this? this happened to me too!!

minus9 · Oct 11, 2019

dnguyen1 said:
I want to revive this--has anybody experienced how to fix this? this happened to me too!!

Did you contact Kessil?

EJReef · Jan 2, 2020

pelphrey said:
I can't answer those questions. I am in the process of possibly buying the light, I have to get these unknowns answered before I pay for it!

What you are saying does make sense though!

Are you able to replace the reflector? One of mine has the same problem.