Lights for 40ext SPS Dominate

[1bitereefer]

I’m in the process of my build, I have a kessil a360we at the moment. Will that be enough for that tank to be SPS Dominate or would I be better suited with 2 or adding the aquatic life T5 Hybrid

 

[SteveEreef]

Adding the second kessil and

 

[SteveEreef]

Adding the second kessil and going with the T5 hybrid sounds good

 

[1bitereefer]

Adding the second kessil and going with the T5 hybrid sounds good

You don’t think either just the 2 Kessil or the one with the hybrid t5 would be good?

 

[GlassMunky]

You don’t think either just the 2 Kessil or the one with the hybrid t5 would be good?

For SPS no.
those Kessils have very poor output and SPS need high light. Also the Kessils will have shadowing since they are small point source lights, the T5 give a full blanket of light.

 

[Reefer40b]

You could get away with 2 kessils for a while and adding the T5's as they become colonies.

 

[1bitereefer]

For SPS no.
those Kessils have very poor output and SPS need high light. Also the Kessils will have shadowing since they are small point source lights, the T5 give a full blanket of light.

Right but in the BRS video it shows on a 24” cube 1 Kessil and the hybrid is getting 425-260par 6 inches deep, and 270-290 12” deep,

 

[GlassMunky]

Right but in the BRS video it shows on a 24” cube 1 Kessil and the hybrid is getting 425-260par 6 inches deep, and 270-290 12” deep,

you just asked opinions.
As someone who has kept a heavy SPS tank in the past, i will say that the more light the better.
Sure you could get away with it for a while, but like mentioned, as the corals grow, they start shadowing everything else in the tank and make it harder to get even light, which is why you see most SPS heavy tanks with crap loads of lights.

 

[GlassMunky]

also, 425 isnt very high PAR, and 260 is nothing for SPS.... some Acros like upwords of over 600+

 

[1bitereefer]

also, 425 isnt very high PAR, and 260 is nothing for SPS.... some Acros like upwords of over 600+

Gotcha, yeah looks like I’ll need both, thank you

 

[GlassMunky]

Gotcha, yeah looks like I’ll need both, thank you

if money is tight, go with just one kessil for now, and get the other down the line in a few months. the great part about those hybrid fixtures is they are modular so you can add when you need.

 

[jda]

Kessils are weak lights and especially outside of the center of it's cone. You need a lot to keep SPS, especially acropora. They also test them at 100% which nearly nobody runs since they can burn coral.

You are going to need more than one. Also, if you find somebody who uses Kessil on a well-established SPS tank (meaning, they are not a noobie), then you will likely find the only person... everybody adds T5s to them and it seems that nobody regrets it.

 

[Bpb]

Single kessil < two kessils < two kessils + T5HO