Kessil lighting coral coloration

andys · Sep 4, 2016

willthethrill said:
So I physically put the lights at 4 inches to the water to get a sense of how it would look and it looks odd. Almost makes me nervous. I did a search on a few forums to see what the consensus was with Kessil lighting heights, and about 90% of people say they have theirs 8"-10". I guess I'm gona try to bump up the lights from 65 to 75 or 80 and see if there's a change in coral coloration after a few weeks.

Be very careful it is very easy to burn your corals with the kessil's. changing the intensity is not going to change the color.

mcarroll · Sep 4, 2016

Right....use that lux meter to make sure any changes aren't too big.

As close to the same as before as possible wold actually be best. Let the corals settle into this change for a week before you also change the intensity (if that's what you plan to do).

willthethrill · Sep 4, 2016

So I bent the goosenecks down a bit more. The lights are angled inwards a little bit I guess it's ok since its pointing at the area I want covered anyway. It's 5.5" from the surface now and I'm reading 42k. Intensity and color remains the same.
http://i1320.photobucket.com/albums...2-4FE8-449C-8DCB-5BF2A04880CA_zps4d5t6ndu.jpg

willthethrill · Sep 4, 2016

On a side note this is the first time I'm using photobucket. How do I make it show the picture on the thread instead of just the link

nbagnardi · Sep 4, 2016

willthethrill said:
Looks like I gotta order the Kessil mounting arms and ditch the goosenecks. The mounting arms look like you can set the exact height you want and how far out too. With the goosenecks you're kind of limited to how much you can bend them.

if you're going to keep the Kessils for the long haul, which i recommend, but definitely adding at least one more... check out www.6061.com his mounts are gorgeous and worth every penny. one thing i didn't see anyone touch on was water quality. your LFS could have elevated levels of zooxanthella than what you have in your home tank. i went with 4 of the 360N on a red sea reefer 450 to get the proper coverage and penetration.

mcarroll · Sep 4, 2016

willthethrill said:
It's 5.5" from the surface now and I'm reading 42k.

You were reading 18,000 lux at the beginning, unless I was mistaken.

You'll want to turn it down to very close to 18,000 lux now. At most, raise it a couple thousand lux.

willthethrill · Sep 4, 2016

mcarroll said:
You were reading 18,000 lux at the beginning, unless I was mistaken.

You'll want to turn it down to very close to 18,000 lux now. At most, raise it a couple thousand lux.

You mean nerf the power output of the lights? And then bring it back up over time?

mcarroll · Sep 4, 2016

Right!

Soft - I like that metaphor!

For maximum safety from bleaching, I'd go up a few thousand lux a week at most.

Keep an eye on nutrients and feeding while you're doing this – corals will need a supply of nutrients as well as good gas exchange/water flow while they are adjusting...makes it easier on them. If nutrients and flow are excellent you might get away with raising the light faster, but it's a risk.

zoomonster · Sep 4, 2016

I think the biggest mistake people make with Kessil's is believing the 24x24 coverage for the A360WE. I made that mistake starting with 3 on a 6ft 200g but quickly added 2 more. If not for a big center overflow it would have been 3 more. At one per 24" the shadowing is terrible, the shimmer is way more than MH and just not enough light even at full power.

As far as coral colors a couple things
1) Corals may go brown, green (or even die) after shipping, change of tanks or change of lights. Like most stores here, who are more concerned with appearance, I'm sure they were blasting blue light.
2) That's all of course happened to me and sometimes it just takes time for the coral to re-acclimate, be happy and color back up. Even at that colors may morph or at least appear different under different lights. Then again there are those that just continue to look good and grow right away.
3) For Kessil's in particular... Daylight colors grow better and bluer colors look better. I run a 3 hour ramp up and ramp down morning and night. Colors are by far best during those periods but fish look best more day light. In the process of changing out controllers but I believe I was peaking at 74 power and color I keep tweaking 68-72 for the bulk of daytime.

willthethrill · Sep 4, 2016

zoomonster said:
I think the biggest mistake people make with Kessil's is believing the 24x24 coverage for the A360WE. I made that mistake starting with 3 on a 6ft 200g but quickly added 2 more. If not for a big center overflow it would have been 3 more. At one per 24" the shadowing is terrible, the shimmer is way more than MH and just not enough light even at full power.

As far as coral colors a couple things
1) Corals may go brown, green (or even die) after shipping, change of tanks or change of lights. Like most stores here, who are more concerned with appearance, I'm sure they were blasting blue light.
2) That's all of course happened to me and sometimes it just takes time for the coral to re-acclimate, be happy and color back up. Even at that colors may morph or at least appear different under different lights. Then again there are those that just continue to look good and grow right away.
3) For Kessil's in particular... Daylight colors grow better and bluer colors look better. I run a 3 hour ramp up and ramp down morning and night. Colors are by far best during those periods but fish look best more day light. In the process of changing out controllers but I believe I was peaking at 74 power and color I keep tweaking 68-72 for the bulk of daytime.

Makes sense.

So since one 360we isn't enough for a 24 by 24 area, on a 4 foot long tank I'd have to put 2 over a 2 ft area since the brace is right in the middle. That seems like overkill to me. Not that more light isn't better, just that my tank dimensions make it weird for Kessil placement. That center brace is what messes it up. In the future if I decide to bump up my light game, I think I would just sell my Kessils and get something else more practical for a 2 ft by 4 ft tank

zoomonster · Sep 4, 2016

willthethrill said:
Makes sense.

So since one 360we isn't enough for a 24 by 24 area, on a 4 foot long tank I'd have to put 2 over a 2 ft area since the brace is right in the middle. That seems like overkill to me. Not that more light isn't better, just that my tank dimensions make it weird for Kessil placement. That center brace is what messes it up. In the future if I decide to bump up my light game, I think I would just sell my Kessils and get something else more practical for a 2 ft by 4 ft tank

Yeah my tank has braces and it's two lights per 2ft section except center which is one and of course with goose necks I can tweak the light coverage. With two lights per 2ft that's (2x90w) 180w which puts it in line with the new Radion G4 Pro's at $800 each. You would probably do well just to sell the Kessil's and by a single 4ft hybrid fixture with LED and T5. IMO that's the only way to go now other than MH/T5. I switched from MH/T5 and while the Kessil's are good just no comparison especially with SPS growth. I also like the new Radion's but not so sure they are much better than the Kessils I have now.

willthethrill · Sep 4, 2016

zoomonster said:
Yeah my tank has braces and it's two lights per 2ft section except center which is one and of course with goose necks I can tweak the light coverage. With two lights per 2ft that's (2x90w) 180w which puts it in line with the new Radion G4 Pro's at $800 each. You would probably do well just to sell the Kessil's and by a single 4ft hybrid fixture with LED and T5. IMO that's the only way to go now other than MH/T5. I switched from MH/T5 and while the Kessil's are good just no comparison especially with SPS growth. I also like the new Radion's but not so sure they are much better than the Kessils I have now.

You have a pic of your tank you could share? I wana see what 2 Kessils look like so close together across the length of the tank. In my head I'm imagining it looking cramped

mcarroll · Sep 4, 2016

If you could do it over...

With you coming from T5's I would have recommended you to try a strip LED vs pucks or china boxes. It seems like the style of light is just too different for most folks that are used to T5. The Current Orbit Marine Pro is probably my favorite, but there are tons of them...you'd need the 48" DUAL kit. Right now that's $584 at drfost. Kills virtually all of the coverage and shadow issues. Similar to my DIY lights, actually, just a lot nicer.

willthethrill · Sep 5, 2016

So I dug up my old Aquatic Life t5 4 bulb fixture [emoji102] I'd have to get 4 new bulbs but...what if I can put this thing up and then angle the Kessils diagonally from each front corner.

willthethrill · Sep 5, 2016

What combination of 4 t5 bulbs is the best? Ati's?

ahammer · Sep 5, 2016

I would say the browning out is from other parameters in the tank and not enough light.

willthethrill · Sep 5, 2016

Anyone have any input on me throwing in my old aquaticlife 4 bulb t5 fixture in combination with my 2 A360we's?

leebauer · Sep 5, 2016

I was running two 360wes over this rimless 75 and decided that it just wasn't enough so I now have a 160we in the middle. As far as coloring and pop I'm no necessarily impressed but everything is doing well. Can't say much for growth except one of my hammer frags

BigJim · Sep 5, 2016

I realize the topic of this thread is about coloration under Kessils, but you should probably consider other factors. We don't even know what types of coral you have. It's important to know the corals you keep and your tank parameters before you start making big changes. Is it a new set up? It can take months or even a year before a tank is mature enough for corals to really thrive.

I had three Kessil A360WE over my 6 x 2 foot tank for five months and had good color and moderate growth on mostly SPS and a few lps. I cured the rock for six months before starting up the tank and had the parameters dialed in before adding corals. I added four T5 lights in May because of issues with shadowing and things are even better. I'm a believer in T5 lights or T5 and led combos, but you can grow nice corals under your lights. Just make sure you have everything else covered or changing your lights won't have much impact.