Kessil H80 or H380 for a Refugium?

[Fritzhamer]

You guys rock!

 

[Fringe09]

Ended up purchasing the H380 and A-Series Mounting Arm.

 

[randyBRS]

Ended up purchasing the H380 and A-Series Mounting Arm.

Sweet! Can't wait to see that algae growth!

 

[Fringe09]

Sweet! Can't wait to see that algae growth!

Thank you. My tank is still cycling. Chatted with AlgaeBarn and they recommended I wait until I have at least 5 ppm of Nitrate before purchasing Chaeto.

 

[madweazl]

Definitely the best choice in my opinion. I have the H80 over a 14x13.5x9.75 refugium and I don't think it would be very effective with much more area than that in regard to intensity (coverage area is more than adequate however).

Edit: my advice, put it as low as you can possibly get it so it doesn't cast light into other chambers; really helps in regard to maintenance of reactors, skimmers, etc. Mine is currently 8.5" above the water and if the mount would allow, I'd drop it another 4". You could use a chain to hang the H380 lower (provided it still covered the designated area).

 

[Fringe09]

Definitely the best choice in my opinion. I have the H80 over a 14x13.5x9.75 refugium and I don't think it would be very effective with much more area than that in regard to intensity (coverage area is more than adequate however).

Edit: my advice, put it as low as you can possibly get it so it doesn't cast light into other chambers; really helps in regard to maintenance of reactors, skimmers, etc. Mine is currently 8.5" above the water and if the mount would allow, I'd drop it another 4". You could use a chain to hang the H380 lower (provided it still covered the designated area).

That's interesting. The manual for the H380 says 12" to 24" above the object to be illuminated. Mine is at 13". The arm that I bought is adjustable. I can bring it down much lower.

 

[randyBRS]

That's interesting. The manual for the H380 says 12" to 24" above the object to be illuminated. Mine is at 13". The arm that I bought is adjustable. I can bring it down much lower.

Absolutely! For the Chaetomorpha testing we did, the fixtures were at 7"-8". : )

-Randy

 

[Fringe09]

Absolutely! For the Chaetomorpha testing we did, the fixtures were at 7"-8". : )

-Randy

Thanks. I'll lower mine also.

 

[Roggio]

I bought the H380 based on these reviews. I'm really happy with it and growing Chaeto for the first time. One issue I'm having is how much it's heating my tank. I typically keep my tank (600g water volume) at 79'. Even with the heaters off my tank stays at 80-81' with the light running on a 15 hour cycle. My fuge is more than large enough to add another light but I'm concerned about the heat. Maybe I should mount it higher?

 

[PiscesPower]

Thanks for the suggestion. Now I need to find a way to mount it. Buy the Gooseneck or do something else.

I have the H80 in my Reefer 250 mounted with the gooseneck. It's a bit cumbersome, but I have a much smaller space to work in, and my fuge section is 'engineered'. I know someone who has installed a number of Reefers and has mounted the H80 on the inside 'ceiling' of the cabinet. Drawback is you can't access the knobs, but if you have it on a controller and keep it on 'grow' that wouldn't be an issue. All the wordiness and I would say I would have preferred to have it mounted inside rather than with the gooseneck, except for the fact that the gooseneck keep it closer to the H2O surface. Hope this rambling response helps at least in adding information to your own decision making process.


As a response to someone else's post I have had excellent growth of Chaeto and Dragon's breath with the H80 Tuna Flora in my wee fuge.

 

[madweazl]

I bought the H380 based on these reviews. I'm really happy with it and growing Chaeto for the first time. One issue I'm having is how much it's heating my tank. I typically keep my tank (600g water volume) at 79'. Even with the heaters off my tank stays at 80-81' with the light running on a 15 hour cycle. My fuge is more than large enough to add another light but I'm concerned about the heat. Maybe I should mount it higher?

Are you sure this is being caused by the H380? I run Kessil (360s on the display and H80 in the refugium) and haven't had any issues related to heat but when the two T5s come on they will increase temps approx 1.5° if the ambient temps are warmer in the room (>77°).

 

[Roggio]

Are you sure this is being caused by the H380? I run Kessil (360s on the display and H80 in the refugium) and haven't had any issues related to heat but when the two T5s come on they will increase temps approx 1.5° if the ambient temps are warmer in the room (>77°).

Hmm the only other thing that's changed is I've added a large external skimmer. I'll have to look into it further and report back.

 

[madweazl]

Hmm the only other thing that's changed is I've added a large external skimmer. I'll have to look into it further and report back.

They generally run exceptionally cool so I'd be really surprised if it caused any issues related to heat. Hopefully it is something simple and easy to correct.

 

[Roggio]

They generally run exceptionally cool so I'd be really surprised if it caused any issues related to heat. Hopefully it is something simple and easy to correct.

I really appreciate you pointing this out to me. It turns out the Apex fallback was triggered on one of the heaters. I have a failsafe but that was still letting the temp climb to over 81'. Thanks so much

 

[madweazl]

Awesome, glad you found the cause hopefully all the inhabitants are still OK.

 

[madcanary]

took this on FB hate it lowers photo quality ill get a better one, replaced my SB sprite Fuge version with the H380 on my #synergysump had about 8 months on the SB ready to see what this will do.

 

[emvanburen]

Interestingly I just added the h380 and it is definitely heating the tank when on. I have the rsm 650 which has a pretty closed sump area and a fan running when above temp. The new light is adding at least a half degree if not a full one. Hopefully the temp will drop tonight.

Any ideas besides a chiller? Maybe a vent fan?

 

[Roggio]

Interestingly I just added the h380 and it is definitely heating the tank when on. I have the rsm 650 which has a pretty closed sump area and a fan running when above temp. The new light is adding at least a half degree if not a full one. Hopefully the temp will drop tonight.

Any ideas besides a chiller? Maybe a vent fan?

Mines still running hot and I'd like to add another. As far as I know a fan is the only option besides a chiller. A fan will lead to increased evaporation.

 

[don_chuwish]

For the long narrow sump chambers so many people have, wouldn't a strip light form factor be better? Added benefit of no gooseneck or other hanging headaches, easy to move for harvesting, little to no light leakage outside that chamber. I know they exist, just not sure how good any of them are... anyone have experience?

 

[ScherzReef]

These look really interesting! I'll have to share this with the new product team to look at!

Thanks!

-Randy

So I don't have room in my sump for a refugium.
I have a 300 G reef system including a 60"X 20"X 20" sump.
The max area in my sump, after my return and oversize Protein skimmer would give me about 10G for a refugium.
Therefore I'm building a algae reactor, 7" diameter 24"H.
I'm thinking of using 2 of the H80's or 1 H380 to light the reactor.

Thoughts?
If one of the above would be grass to perfect for the reactor-
How far should the light(s) be from the acrylic reactor?
Which one would be best?

And if Kessil would make the equivalent of the H80 or H380 as LED strip lights specifically for reactors, I'd buy them Now.
There are so many LED strip lights for reactors to be used to grow cheato, but none that I have any confidence in, anyone know or tested LED strips? BRS TV should test?
Kessil should make some


Thanks