Kessils with or without T5s

[Matthew40b]

So currently I have two kessil a360we lights on my 48” 75 gallon tank and am looking to make it into an sps dominant tank growing mostly acropora. I have two more kessil a360we that I can throw on there and have four total. So I was wondering if that would be a good idea or if I should go with the aquatic life hybrid because I would get a better color spectrum with that right? Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!

 

[Spare time]

4 a160WEs is more than enough. You would probably end up with photoinhibition if you added the t-5's to a 4 kessils given that the kessils each cover 24x24.



PS don't bother with a par meter on kessils unless you get something that works well for blue (the apogee one does not work well with kessil as it is not sensitive enough in the blue spectrum).

 

[User1]

One of the reasons I with with LED was to avoid replacing bulbs. I used to run a MH w SVHO's and disliked the bulb replacement. After a while the DIY LED craze happened so I jumped ship and never looked back. My point is I went LED and do not mix with T5's. The reason? Bulb replacement and cost.

Just a choice. T5's grow some coral though no doubt. So it wasn't a decision on that - it was just me being lazy and moving that money to wine or other hobbies

 

[minus9]

For sps, my rule is 18x18 coverage for kessil's. You can add Orphek bars if you want a little extra coverage and pop.

 

[Kyl]

For sticks the blanket from T5 will be more benefit than two additional point source lights imo. Even with 3 fixtures on my DT, which is 4', there was still a lot of shadowing. Granted mine are lower powered A160's, but there's only so much viable spread you can get from a single point light source, no matter the lens.

Since you already have two extra though, why not try it first and if shadowing becomes an issue, get rid of 1-2 and add the T5's.

 

[Matthew40b]

Thank you guys for your input! I think that one of my main concerns is that the kessils wont put out enough par for the acros because I have heard that they are very underpowered compared to radions and I dont have a par meter to see how they perform. I added a picture of my tank to show you guys. Its a new tank so I wont be adding coral for awhile but I think my plan is to grow some acros on top of each shelf rock. I am concerned that without at least one more light in the middle the coral on the middle rock wont get the required par. So I could add one more light there or for overkill I could add two. I was only thinking about the t5s because I wasnt sure how the kessils would perform and I know people have great results with led t5 hybrids

 

[User1]

Thank you guys for your input! I think that one of my main concerns is that the kessils wont put out enough par for the acros because I have heard that they are very underpowered compared to radions and I dont have a par meter to see how they perform. I added a picture of my tank to show you guys. Its a new tank so I wont be adding coral for awhile but I think my plan is to grow some acros on top of each shelf rock. I am concerned that without at least one more light in the middle the coral on the middle rock wont get the required par. So I could add one more light there or for overkill I could add two. I was only thinking about the t5s because I wasnt sure how the kessils would perform and I know people have great results with led t5 hybrids

Good morning. If you haven't seen these yet check out BRS's video on them. They also had an update last week or the week before using Kessil'l lens. I believe their testing showed mounting the lights 8" to perform the best. I believe Kessil documentation says mounting height from water:

8" - 12" mixed reef (where I have mine)
4" - 6" SPS

Not sure if this helps you but figured I'd note it if you haven't seen it. I agree with others that T5 will give you a uniform spread compared to a360x's. However when comparing the a360x to other lights it isn't less when comparing to similar power / Watt lighting. The design and layout is different so the mounting matters. It is a 90W light at the end of the day and it wouldn't be fair to expect similar numbers to a 207W light (for example).

 

[roc1hmr]

Orphek bars + 2 kessil= success imo! Can’t beat kessil and orphek bars add nice pop!!

 

[Lizdoesreef]

I ws in your position a few weeks ago!!! I went dominant sos in my elos 120, also 48" long. I had four jessika 360s, but finally pulled the trigger and go the hybrid with 4vO t5 bulbs. I had four kessils on top but one of them recently crapped out, so I have three which is plenty.bi haven't tested the par yet, but based on a bra video, I should have around 500 at the top which has been my goal.i also bought a gyre to improve flow, and plan to get a smaller second model to cause alternate flow patterns. I had to get rid of most of my los... because they didn't favor the higher flow and lighting!. T5s is great for not only growth, but to prevent shadowing!!! Also I bought the expensive german bulbs that claim they bring out pinks and reds in sps. We shall see. I already see an Increase in growth w everything in the tank in the last month.

 

[minus9]

Kessil's will absolutely grow sps just fine, but like many other LED's out there, you need to know how to use them. When using pucks/point source LED's to grow sps, you'll benefit from using multiple fixtures, no matter what brand. Just look at some of the tanks lit by Radion's and count how many they use, a lot. So it's not going to be any different with another brand. You'll need enough fixtures that intersect every 18" or so to reduce shadowing. The great thing about using Kessil's is the mounting angles you can utilize. The ones in front can be angled towards the back and the ones in back can be angled forward. As mentioned above, these lights were designed to mounted close, 6" to 8", especially with the new 360x's.