LED/T5 Retro Hybrid

iemsparticus · Apr 19, 2017

Hi All,

I have been an active aquarist for many years, but have always been on the fresh water side of things. I am very used to making sure water quality/conditions are stable, as My favorite fresh water tanks are high tech planted tanks.

That being said, I am making the plunge into saltwater. I'm designing a 48x24x24 (120 gal) tank that will start out being FOWLR as I familiarize myself with everything, and then will make the transition to mixed reef.

Because of that ultimate goal, my plan is to build the tank with mixed reef in mind. I was looking at different lighting options, and am very comfortable with the LED/T5 hybrid, coming from planted tanks. I am thinking of doing 4x 36" T5s, (2 in front of hood and 2 in back), with a row of Kessil A360Ws in the middle. What I am wondering is, should I go with 2 or 3? The lenses of the LEDs will be about 7.5"-8" from the surface of the water.

I am aware that too much light is almost universally worse than not enough, but of course I don't have to have the lights at full power. I don't know if having the more consistent spread would be better, or having light and dark spots is better. Obviously the T5s will work to smooth things out no matter what.

What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance!

cjd · Apr 20, 2017

Depends on a lot of factors. How are you going to aquascape your tank? If you leave the center open and have your rock work on the right and left you could get away with two kessils. Its a situation where two is good , three is better . If this is the lighting option you would like I would consider going the full 48 inch t5 's with two kessils in the middle over the main rock structures . The T5 's become the main light source and the kessils become the supplement . Having the kessils at 8 inches off water line really hinders the spread and turning them up to really use the LEDS potential will nuke anything under them. So the kessils would be used to add glitter lines and give you the controllability of dusk/ dawn and give your tank a sexy look when the main t5's go off , but the majority of growth would come from the t5's . It would be the best of both worlds . T5 /led hybrid and who doesn't want that??

iemsparticus · Apr 20, 2017

I'm pretty locked in to 3ft T5 fixtures because of space limits.

As far as aquascaping goes, I do plan on having LPS on the upper portions, and will have the softies/SPS in the lower regions.

iemsparticus · Apr 20, 2017

iemsparticus said:
I'm pretty locked in to 3ft T5 fixtures because of space limits.

As far as aquascaping goes, I do plan on having LPS on the upper portions, and will have the softies/SPS in the lower regions.

EDIT: I got the stony corals mixed up in my list... my bad. SPS at the top, then LPS mid, then softies. Hopefully you got the drift.

Btw... Kessil recommends 8-12" above water level...

cjd · Apr 21, 2017

Kessil installation guide states 1 to 2 feet off the water line . I find with kessils, to get the desired spread , the light should be as high off the aquarium. ( 24 inch spread / 24 inch high). Using the T5's will definitely take care of this issue and blend the light more evenly throughout the aquarium. But be aware of any hotspots under the leds as they are like laser beams and an inch left or right of coral placement could "nuke" it. Manufactures recommendations when it comes to leds seem to be underrated . some would say it should be doubled to get an even spread throughout our reef tanks. Not saying you cannot have success with less , but coral placement becomes more important. Ether way I think it would be an amazing light set up and if I had a canopy I would definitely do a kessil and T5 combo . If I had some mad wood working skills I would love a floating canopy over my rimless and that set up is exactly what I would choose!

cjd · Apr 21, 2017

INSTALLATION GUIDE

1. Remove contents from package.

2. Screw the hanging bolt (C) into the center hole.*

3. Hang the A360N / A360W 1 to 2 ft. above the object

to be illuminated.**

4. Connect power cord (A) to the specified DC power

supply (J).

5. Plug the power supply into an outlet with the correct

specifications (see product specifications for more

information).

6. Adjust the Light Intensity Control (I) and the Spectral

Tuning Control (D) to the desired setting. When set

fully to the left, the light is very close to Kessil Sky

Blue.The middle setting is very close to Kessil

Ocean Blue. Fully to the right is close to actinic blue.

7. The jacks beneath the controls can be connected to

an external 0~10V controller. Please consult your

controller’s owners manual for more information.

* The A360N / A360W may also be hung by mounting two metal

hooks (diameter of at least 2.5 mm and thread count of at least 6)

through its brackets (F).

** The A360N / A360W should only be installed on wood, acoustic

tile or other similar ceilings.

** For sufficient airflow, the intake and venting holes (E,G)

should be at least 12 in. from surrounding obstructions

BigJim · Apr 21, 2017

I have a 72” tank with 3 Kessil A360WE and 4 60” T5 retrofits. My Kessils are also about 8” off the water line. I ramp the Kessils up to 80% over 3 hours, run them at 80% with the T5s on for 6 hours then ramp them back down over 3 hours with the T5s off. This works great for an SPS dominated tank, but I have nuked a few LPS along the way. You will certainly have enough light and flexibility for any coral with that set up.

Make sure you design plenty of ventilation into the canopy. I use a couple fans and some vents in the top to keep things cool. And my tank is in my basement where it is already pretty cool. You don’t want your equipment dying due to overheating.

iemsparticus · Apr 21, 2017

cjd said:
INSTALLATION GUIDE

1. Remove contents from package.

2. Screw the hanging bolt (C) into the center hole.*

3. Hang the A360N / A360W 1 to 2 ft. above the object

to be illuminated.**

4. Connect power cord (A) to the specified DC power

supply (J).

5. Plug the power supply into an outlet with the correct

specifications (see product specifications for more

information).

6. Adjust the Light Intensity Control (I) and the Spectral

Tuning Control (D) to the desired setting. When set

fully to the left, the light is very close to Kessil Sky

Blue.The middle setting is very close to Kessil

Ocean Blue. Fully to the right is close to actinic blue.

7. The jacks beneath the controls can be connected to

an external 0~10V controller. Please consult your

controller’s owners manual for more information.

* The A360N / A360W may also be hung by mounting two metal

hooks (diameter of at least 2.5 mm and thread count of at least 6)

through its brackets (F).

** The A360N / A360W should only be installed on wood, acoustic

tile or other similar ceilings.

** For sufficient airflow, the intake and venting holes (E,G)

should be at least 12 in. from surrounding obstructions

Yeah, I saw that. However, they seem to be a bit inconsistent...

http://kessil.com/aquarium/getting_mounting.php

As long as I test the amount of PAR where the corals go, and I'm not at too high a level for any specific coral, I shouldn't have to worry about cooking them, right?

My question was more because I didn't know if it would be better to have a more even spread, or intentionally make hot spots... so 2 or 3?

cjd · Apr 21, 2017

In my experience ,If I was to do this on my 75 , since my overflow is in the middle and I have my aquascape on each side of the overflow . I would do one directly over each structure and would have two t5's in front and two in back. Probably put some blue moon lights in there as well because kessil blue isn't the Radion or AI royal blue that you either love or hate ..... If my scape went across the entire length of my tank I would do three kessils. The beauty of kessils is that you can keep adding till your hearts content. Two may be enough since you will be using t5's also . A good T5 reflector and ballast with ATI bulbs would be enough to grow anything you want without the kessils. The kessils become the supplemental light source to add shimmer and controllability and a little more punch during peak lighting hours. When the T5's go off the tank will look amazing...... as long as you like shimmer .

So I would start with two and as your tank grows and may benefit from another you can add down the road. I just wish you had the room for 48 inch T5's .

Now you are making me want to go to home depot and get some wood and make my own floating canopy!!!!!

iemsparticus · Apr 21, 2017

cjd said:
In my experience ,If I was to do this on my 75 , since my overflow is in the middle and I have my aquascape on each side of the overflow . I would do one directly over each structure and would have two t5's in front and two in back. Probably put some blue moon lights in there as well because kessil blue isn't the Radion or AI royal blue that you either love or hate ..... If my scape went across the entire length of my tank I would do three kessils. The beauty of kessils is that you can keep adding till your hearts content. Two may be enough since you will be using t5's also . A good T5 reflector and ballast with ATI bulbs would be enough to grow anything you want without the kessils. The kessils become the supplemental light source to add shimmer and controllability and a little more punch during peak lighting hours. When the T5's go off the tank will look amazing...... as long as you like shimmer . So I would start with two and as your tank grows and may benefit from another you can add down the road. I just wish you had the room for 48 inch T5's .

Now you are making me want to go to home depot and get some wood and make my own floating canopy!!!!!

Do it!

Yeah, my canopy has to be 48" long and no longer, so it won't fit 48" T5s, since The fixtures are longer. I'm using LET Retrofits, so they are pretty low profile, but still... 3ft is what I am stuck with.

I plan to use 2x Giesemann Azure and 2x Giesemann Super Actinic for my T5 bulbs... I don't mind blue.

@BigJim: sounds like a great setup. I'll be programming my lights with my Apex, so I'll be ramping up and down as well.

I'll also be running the Apex Lunar Module and Lunar LEDs for nighttime lighting. Pretty excited about this tank.

The back of my canopy will be completely open, so it should be very well ventilated. If needed I can put a fan at each end.

EDIT: As it turns out, the 48" LET Retro kit is actually a total of 47.5" long with bulbs installed... so... I can do 48" T5s!

That is sweet.

cjd · Apr 21, 2017

The 48 inch isn't a true 48 inch . Most retro fit t5 are 46 to 47 inch long, just FYI . Something to consider before going with the 36 inch. Not at home right now to get a true measurement of a 48 inch t5 but I think there about 45.5 inches.

Hers an Aruba Sun from Bulk Reef Supply
Available in 4 Sizes:

2 x 24w - L23"xW5"xH4.75"
2 x 39w - L35"xW5"xH4.75"
2 x 54w - L47"xW5"xH4.75"
2 x 80w - L59"xW5"xH4.75"

iemsparticus · Apr 21, 2017

cjd said:
The 48 inch isn't a true 48 inch . Most retro fit t5 are 46 to 47 inch long, just FYI . Something to consider before going with the 36 inch. Not at home right now to get a true measurement of a 48 inch t5 but I think there about 45.5 inches.

Hers an Aruba Sun from Bulk Reef Supply
Available in 4 Sizes:

2 x 24w - L23"xW5"xH4.75"

2 x 39w - L35"xW5"xH4.75"

2 x 54w - L47"xW5"xH4.75"

2 x 80w - L59"xW5"xH4.75"

Yup... I edited my above post. Definitely going with 48"... the LET fixtures I was going to get are 47.5" with bulbs in place. Perfect for me. That's great news. Get me an additional 15w per bulb, and a better spread from end to end.

cjd · Apr 21, 2017

Perfect , Awesome! Post picks of the install . It will be a great set up. If you check out Bulk Reefs 52 weeks of reefing episode on what they chose for their lighting on the 160 build ,you will see exactly this set up!!!!!

iemsparticus · Jun 1, 2017

I took the front panel off so you can see the lights inside.

2x Giesemann Super Actinic, 2x Giesemann Azure, and 2x Kessil A360Ws.

Ignore the hanging wires... I haven't finished tidying up the wiring and all that... just wanted to show what they look like.

cjd · Jun 1, 2017

iemsparticus said:
I took the front panel off so you can see the lights inside.

2x Giesemann Super Actinic, 2x Giesemann Azure, and 2x Kessil A360Ws.

Ignore the hanging wires... I haven't finished tidying up the wiring and all that... just wanted to show what they look like.

LOVE IT !!