Kessil shimmer + Blade grow or glow?

[Schulks]

Hello, I have an 11 gallon nano tank with a kessil a80 over it and I am thinking about adding the new blade grow or glow. I want the kessil shimmer and the blade color pop. I am thinking about the glow but am afraid it will drown out the clowns and cleaner shrimp too much. I hear the main difference is do you want it purply or bluey though.

The tank is only about a month old and once I have stable parameters I am adding an anemone and then hopefully whatever else I can squeeze in down the line. it is a small tank though.

 

[ナイトコア猫]

If it's too much pop, changing the spectrum of the Kessil to include more green light will change the overall presentation and feel. The Kessil shimmer is from the concentrated intensity, not the colour—I have a few Kessil lights, mostly ones for reef, but even ones designed for plant tank use (e.g., the Kessil A80 Tuna Sun) have spectacular shimmer at the bottom of the tank.

A80 Tuna Sun Nano LED Light

Kessils most efficient LED module yet! The Kessil A80 Tuna Sun has a specially focused spectrum weighted towards a warmer white output perfect for refugiums, planted tanks, and fish-only aquariums where the cool blue output of most reef lights may not be desired.The design of the A80 integrated...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Comparing spectra, and intensity, I think the Glow can be balanced out by adjusting the spectrum of the A80 Tuna Blue if fishes become deemphasised:

The Blade Grow however, has fixed white LEDs that are not adjustable: in my thinking, this is undesirable; in contrast, the Kessil A80 Tuna Blue features adjustable spectrum. For this reason, I would opt to adjust the amount of green light (overall white light) via Kessil A80, not by placing a fixed bar of white LEDs. Otherwise, what will you do if instead of being too blue, it is too white? The Kessil may not be able to counter it enough, and your only option then would be to purchase a Blade Glow to offset the whiteness from the Blade Grow:

If it were me, I would add the Glow. If it is too much "pop", the adjustments on the Kessil A80 will help. The other way, you'll be left with less adjustability. It is far easier to add white (green) than to add blue.

 

[Schulks]

Hmm, I don't think I can adjust the green light on my a80. I have an a160we with a spectral controller on my other tank and adjusting the g, v, or r doesn't seem to change anything. Do you use the wifi dongle?

I think your assessment is right though. The grow would limit my control because of those whites. The glow will work better because then my whites are all on the kessil and I can adjust them right to where I want them.

 

[ナイトコア猫]

Hmm, I don't think I can adjust the green light on my a80. I have an a160we with a spectral controller on my other tank and adjusting the g, v, or r doesn't seem to change anything. Do you use the wifi dongle?

I think your assessment is right though. The grow would limit my control because of those whites. The glow will work better because then my whites are all on the kessil and I can adjust them right to where I want them.

To clarify, using the A80 colour knob for the most part changes the amount of green and yellow lighting. This we perceive visually as "more bright" and "more white". The design would be similar in nature to the aquarium in my profile (though there, my fill lights are very blue, and the photo of course, because of camera lenses, makes it look more blue than it is)

 

[Jekyl]

I would suggest an LED strip like orphek. The current kessil you have won't be enough for an anemone.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I would suggest an LED strip like orphek. The current kessil you have won't be enough for an anemone.

a80 will support a RBTA in a smaller tank without issue. Nem will need to be around the top half of the tank, but I have had a few nano tanks running that light without issue and all had RBTA in them.

Here is my nieces Edit: DIY Biocube 10g (standard 10g) (she calls it a bio cube, as it is an all in one, so the name stuck) we setup for her with an a80 (40% color and 80% max intensity via the Kessil controller) RBTA is going great in there.

 

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Never really got crazy growth with my 360s to be honest.

 

[Daveat]

I have a 23g nano with a kessil a160 tuna blue and just added a blade glow and don’t find it adds quite the fluorescent “pop” I was hoping for. It doesn’t seem to add any spectrum that my kessil can produce when it’s at the deepest blue. However… I find I’m able to run my kessil (with the controller) at closer to 25% color which adds a fair amount of “white” to the visible light and keep the Glow on to make the fluorescent colors pop a bit more. I think adding a “Grow” would only increase par without increasing any noticeable coloration or fluorescence, which personally I don’t need.