Kessil h380 testing

[JC reefer]

I bought the Kessil H380 with hopes that it will super charge my refugium and raise my PH. The system has been up for 3 years and I do not do enough water changes and feed to much. Levels are all in acceptable ranges except my PH which can swing down to 7.70 at times. The the average at 7.84. Yikes.

Understandably the tank has some algae issues and the few corals I have show slower than desired growth.

If this light lives up to what the community has stated it can do then it should out compete algae in the DT and get the macro algae working so effectively the that systems PH will actually rise.

So stay tuned in and see if the Kessil H380 will actually raise the PH in the 90 tank.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Along for the ride! I've got the little brother the H80.

 

[JC reefer]

So let’s not jump to any conclusions. There is just not enough data yet.

I added the Kessil H380 on October 31 at 7 pm and ran it through the night.

Hysterically the PH would peak around 10 pm each night. From here on out let’s just note the PH at midnight each night. That way we can see if there is a difference based on a fixed point each day and see if the peak of the PH swing changes.

Day 2

Day 3

So far there has been an increase of .02 each day.

 

[ca1ore]

Been using the h380 for over a year, and while it grows chaeto gang busters it does not make much difference to pH.

 

[Brian W]

Just bought this light a few weeks back and learned real quick that the light will turn chaeto white overnight if the light is too low.
I started off with a golf ball sized piece of chaeto 2 weeks ago, now I have about 3 softball sized piece of chaeto.
My nitrates are 0 and phosphates are 0.08. I have not checked my pH yet but I know its high. I had a tiny amount of algae in the tank but now its gone. My bare bottom tanbk used to be filled with detritus every two weeks and now its not bad, I may be able to go a couple months before cleaning it, im guessing.
following along.

 

[Whipples]

@Jimmy Lee is spot on, have this light as high as you can! It is VERY powerful and can do more harm than good when your nutrients drop. If you are running in the 3-5ppm range of nitrate it will bottom that out in a day or two if it is too close. I've got mine about 15" off the refugium now because my nutrients are low and noticed some whitening of my chaeto. This light is a powerful tool but use caution

 

[Brian W]

@Jimmy Lee is spot on, have this light as high as you can! It is VERY powerful and can do more harm than good when your nutrients drop. If you are running in the 3-5ppm range of nitrate it will bottom that out in a day or two if it is too close. I've got mine about 15" off the refugium now because my nutrients are low and noticed some whitening of my chaeto. This light is a powerful tool but use caution

I have to flip my chaeto daily. Im thinking about just tanking the skimmer out and using a small power head to make the chaeto turn automatically. Too bad you cannot dim this light.

 

[Whipples]

Mine grows too thick to flip it, but I do run Triton and I believe that adds some extra juice into the water for the chaeto which helps. I do notice a pH bump overnight, daytime I sit about 8.13-8.16 per Apex and it will peak after the refugium light is on at ~8.21-8.24. So it works incredibly well, just requires some balance and patience. I run it on an 8 hour timer reverse of my display which is lit for 9 hours currently.

 

[hart24601]

Just a heads up, if you notice growth stalling out after a while you might need to supplement iron or another element. I added KZ automatic elements to mine. Iodine and Iron.

 

[Whipples]

@hart24601 totally agree! I have mine set to bloom versus veg, since i had an H150 Purple before and that spectrum is very similar. Do any of you use bloom over veg?

 

[ws6kid]

Mine is about 6" from the water and pointed directly into the chaeto. Only turns it white when I let it get overgrown. Photosynthesis is actually too good and consuming all of my nutrients! Going to shorten the photo period and pull most of the chaeto. The light is awesome.

 

[Brian W]

@hart24601 totally agree! I have mine set to bloom versus veg, since i had an H150 Purple before and that spectrum is very similar. Do any of you use bloom over veg?

My light is about 15 " above the chaeto as well
I use veg., may have to send off another Triton test in a month to check my Iron and Iodine.

 

[kashman100]

I have to flip my chaeto daily. Im thinking about just tanking the skimmer out and using a small power head to make the chaeto turn automatically. Too bad you cannot dim this light.

It is a shame the light is adjustable but you can buy the H series spectral controller for adjustability

 

[hart24601]

I downsized to a reef jar and sold all my reefing gear on my 60 cube. Except the h380 as I am so impressed with the light. I now use it for nepenthes (pitcher plants) that I am growing in my external overflow on my 180g FW discus tank. I really like the h380, I know you can get great results with black box grow light, but for the size and mounting gooseneck with the power of the 380 I don't think there is anything else like it.

 

[JC reefer]

Day 4

Not to screw the data but 10 minutes before midnight the reading showed an increase of .01.

 

[JC reefer]

Day 5

Second day in a row where the ph did not rise any higher but the bottom of the swing has come up considerably.