Kessil H80 Tuna Flora

[Crabs McJones]

Ok thx Crabs_Mcjones !!

Also it's best to do it reverse cycle of your display tank

 

[Powerdrum]

Ok great thx!!

 

[Philt56]

A80 cover 18"x18" although mine lights up my entire cabinet well on my RSR 250.

How do you have it mounted in your reefer stand? With the gooseneck? Just ordered a baffle for my 425xl sump to use half of it as a refugium and trying to choose the right light for it.

 

[Philt56]

Just got mine. On growth spectrum and 50% for now.

The baffle for the reefer tank is from little ocean.co.uk.

Is flow from the filter socks enough or do I need a little power head to tumble the chaeto more ? It doesn’t really move now.

 

[Philt56]

Wonder if I should mount the gooseneck on the inner glass where the black sponge is? Mounting on the sump’s side puts it quite a bit higher up, although not sure if it will stretch too far towards the socks and the light won’t be as centered over the fuge area if I mount on the inner glass wall.

That gooseneck is rather stiff (has to support the light’s weight) so it’s hard to bend it as much a# you might want.

 

[bombero11]

Any update on the performance w the h80 growing chaeto?

 

[Philt56]

It’s growing well, chaeto has probably doubled.

 

[Stixlife]

Hey Crabs what setting do you have your h80 set to for growth I have been useing the grow setting with not much luck. I think it may have to do with the no3 being only 3 and my po4 only being 0.25. What’s your thoughts on this?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hey Crabs what setting do you have your h80 set to for growth I have been useing the grow setting with not much luck. I think it may have to do with the no3 being only 3 and my po4 only being 0.25. What’s your thoughts on this?

Currently using the H380, but when I had the H80 I had it set to Grow at 100% intensity. If nutrients are to low you may not have any growth. How much chaeto do you have in your fuge? I've noticed with my setup that if my chaeto gets to big, it stops growing, and I have to trim it back considerably before it'll start growing again. So about every two to three weeks i'll take it from basketball size to almost the size of a baseball. 75% cutback

 

[Stixlife]

I started with about 4 inch round ball. I have noticed when I got it it was loose and fluffy now it is kinda thick and course not much bigger but definitely different texture. I have it on grow and 100 percent but was thinking the color should have more red in it but it is kinda red purplish color. Kessil lights do rock though, and this is coming from a hardcore echotech guy.

 

[Tam13]

@Crabs Mcjones , @Philt56
I have both lights (H80 & H380). With the H380, the chaeto turned white, with the H80 I do not have any growth.
Can you guys share the dimensions of your refugium area (depth, width and length)? What distance is the light above the water (4, 8, 12 inches or else)? Do you guys have it tumbling, how much flow to you have? What light are you using H380 or H80?
Thanks

 

[Crabs McJones]

@Crabs Mcjones , @Philt56
I have both lights (H80 & H380). With the H380, the chaeto turned white, with the H80 I do not have any growth.
Can you guys share the dimensions of your refugium area (depth, width and length)? What distance is the light above the water (4, 8, 12 inches or else)? Do you guys have it tumbling, how much flow to you have? What light are you using H380 or H80?
Thanks

Currently using the Kessil H380 12 inches off the water surface in a fuge that is 9.5x11.5
I've found with mine that the chaeto needs to be acclimated to the H380. I started out at three hours per night, and over a couple weeks ramped it up. I now have my chaeto lit for 16 hours and have not had a problem. As to the no growth, how big is your chaeto right now? I've found that if it gets to big it stops growing, and I have to considerably trim it back (around %75) before it'll start growing again due to the large amount of chaeto tanking my nutrients.

 

[Tam13]

Currently using the Kessil H380 12 inches off the water surface in a fuge that is 9.5x11.5
I've found with mine that the chaeto needs to be acclimated to the H380. I started out at three hours per night, and over a couple weeks ramped it up. I now have my chaeto lit for 16 hours and have not had a problem. As to the no growth, how big is your chaeto right now? I've found that if it gets to big it stops growing, and I have to considerably trim it back (around %75) before it'll start growing again due to the large amount of chaeto tanking my nutrients.

@Crabs Mcjones Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate.
My sump is the eshopps R-300 so the refugium area is (12" x 9") x 12" deep.
I just bought a new ball of chaeto two days ago from a store that is growing it under a H380. Seeing your comments, I wonder if I should give another try to that new ball directly under the H380 light? Right now the new ball is the size of a baseball. The old one is also the size of a baseball but no grows over three weeks.

Did you see any growth during the three hours schedule ramp up or none? Was it turning white?
Another option could be doing a mix of three hours of H380 and continuing with 12 hours or H80, what do you think?
Is the sump too small for H380? Your dimensions seams similar, do you have any picture by any chance?

 

[Crabs McJones]

@Crabs Mcjones Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate.
My sump is the eshopps R-300 so the refugium area is (12" x 9") x 12" deep.
I just bought a new ball of chaeto two days ago from a store that is growing it under a H380. Seeing your comments, I wonder if I should give another try to that new ball directly under the H380 light? Right now the new ball is the size of a baseball. The old one is also the size of a baseball but no grows over three weeks.

Did you see any growth during the three hours schedule ramp up or none? Was it turning white?
Another option could be doing a mix of three hours of H380 and continuing with 12 hours or H80, what do you think?

When doing the acclimation you'll notice minimal growth due to the shortened photoperiod, you won't really notice the growth until you get into the extended hours. But acclimating it will help prevent it from turning white and dying off in the future
I also see that you're new to the forum, don't forget to introduce yourself over in the Meet & Greet Forum so we can all say hello.

 

[Tam13]

When doing the acclimation you'll notice minimal growth due to the shortened photoperiod, you won't really notice the growth until you get into the extended hours. But acclimating it will help prevent it from turning white and dying off in the future
I also see that you're new to the forum, don't forget to introduce yourself over in the Meet & Greet Forum so we can all say hello.

I have been reading this forum for two years now but just decided to start posting today as I am getting frustrated with growing chaeto...
Do you think that the sump (eshopps R-300: (12" x 9") x 12" deep) I have is too small for H380? Your dimensions seams similar, do you have any picture by any chance?

 

[JBKReef]

For a lot of the success and failure behind this light I feel it depends a lot on water chemistry as well. I have had two different macro algaes melt away, I do not believe its because the H80 was not successful I think my nitrates were negligible and the algae was starved. The success and failures are on a case by case basis. I've seen basketball size chunks of chaeto grown with the H80.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have been reading this forum for two years now but just decided to start posting today as I am getting frustrated with growing chaeto...
Do you think that the sump (eshopps R-300: (12" x 9") x 12" deep) I have is too small for H380? Your dimensions seams similar, do you have any picture by any chance?

this is my growth over a 1 week period
start

end

I'll let it get a little bigger than this, but then i'll trim it back down to around the beginning size.

 

[Tam13]

this is my growth over a 1 week period
start

end

I'll let it get a little bigger than this, but then i'll trim it back down to around the beginning size.

@Crabs Mcjones Thanks again for all this information / pictures. It helps me visualize your setup, that is very helpful .
Here is what I am going to try, I will split the ball in two and do the following.

Ball 1: Run the H380 for three hours during a while and if not turning white, I will increase the duration of the lights. Technically I bought it from a store that was growing it already under a H380 so might be good, their light is 7 inch above the water and chaeto was almost at the surface. I will run my light at 12" like you are doing.

Ball 2: Run the H80 as currently done at 7 inch above the water for 12 hours.

I will manually switch the balls every day from the refugium to a dark area of my sump. Hopefully I start noticing growth on a least one ball.

Last question , is your chaeto tumbling or not?

 

[Tam13]

For a lot of the success and failure behind this light I feel it depends a lot on water chemistry as well. I have had two different macro algaes melt away, I do not believe its because the H80 was not successful I think my nitrates were negligible and the algae was starved. The success and failures are on a case by case basis. I've seen basketball size chunks of chaeto grown with the H80.

@JBKReef I can tell you that my tank has nitrates. It is a fish only tank and I like to feed them a lot...

 

[Crabs McJones]

@Crabs Mcjones Thanks again for all this information / pictures. It helps me visualize your setup, that is very helpful .
Here is what I am going to try, I will split the ball in two and do the following.

Ball 1: Run the H380 for three hours during a while and if not turning white, I will increase the duration of the lights. Technically I bought it from a store that was growing it already under a H380 so might be good, their light is 7 inch above the water and chaeto was almost at the surface. I will run my light at 12" like you are doing.

Ball 2: Run the H80 as currently done at 7 inch above the water for 12 hours.

I will manually switch the balls every day from the refugium to a dark area of my sump. Hopefully I start noticing growth on a least one ball.

Last question , is your chaeto tumbling or not?

Not tumbling, I wouldn't put to much effort into trying to get it to tumble either as eventually it'll just get caught on something or grow to big to tumble anyway. Depended on how often you trim it back, most reefers will flip it over after trimming it.