Reef brite XHO with Kessil a360x

[AirIck]

Does anyone happen to know how much PAR the Reefbrite XHO adds to the Kessil a360x?

1 Kessil isn’t quite cutting it. I’m wondering if I can supplement with the Reefbrite or if I need to upgrade my primary light.

 

[Spare time]

BRS REEF BRITE XHO KESSIL - Google Search

 

[AirIck]

Yeah, I saw that video that’s why I posted this question because the video only references PAR for the quad. So it’s not helpful at all.

 

[Spare time]

Yeah, I saw that video that’s why I posted this question because the video only references PAR for the quad. So it’s not helpful at all.

It does have one map for the dual. There is also a little math involved but you can figure out the rough number at 9 inches as well

 

[Troylee]

I have a few reefbrites on my tank.. I was hitting 150 on my rocks and 75 on the sand in a 24” deep tank. With xho’s on only.

 

[bobnicaragua]

The XHOs will add a significant boost in par and spread.

 

[Rjukan]

Any chance anyone knows if this will work with the older A360? It looks like the same bracket and mounts, but I wanted to confirm before buying it.

 

[CBonito]

Does anyone happen to know how much PAR the Reefbrite XHO adds to the Kessil a360x?

1 Kessil isn’t quite cutting it. I’m wondering if I can supplement with the Reefbrite or if I need to upgrade my primary light.

What size is your tank?

Here is my 3 foot long tank with 2 a360x 8 inches over it and readings taken with Parwise.
I have the 55 degree reflectors. I get a nice strong oval of light across 3/4 of the tank which is more than good. The problem is that you're not bathing things in light, like you would with something from multiple sources and the PAR outside of the "oval" is not that great.

I was actually going to add another a360x and 2, 3 foot reefbrite blues which WOULD be more than enough.

But when I thought about it, I'd be spending close to what it would cost for an ATI Straton Pro 102 that would handle the entire job all by itself.

Kessil 360s are great for a smaller, shallower square/cube tank, but you need too many of them to cover a larger tank and it becomes kind of cost prohibitive and/or a waste of money compared to some other better options.

 

[minus9]

I would buy Quanta Pro bars over XHO's all day long. XHO's are grossly overpriced for what they are and how they're built. Get some Meso Blues and enjoy the tank.

 

[CBonito]

I would buy Quanta Pro bars over XHO's all day long. XHO's are grossly overpriced for what they are and how they're built. Get some Meso Blues and enjoy the tank.

I kinda thought so too. In at least my own situation, I would need another main light like another a360x and THEN 2 24-36" strips. And that's about 1200-1300 dollars depending.

I have not looked into the quanta bars however and know like nothing about them. I was looking at the reef brites and the orpheks which are a nice option too, but limited in their capabilities without buying all the other crap to go with them

So I bought an ATI Straton Pro. Now I can remove everything and replace it all with one light.
It will be here tomorrow.

 

[minus9]

I kinda thought so too. In at least my own situation, I would need another main light like another a360x and THEN 2 24-36" strips. And that's about 1200-1300 dollars depending.

I have not looked into the quanta bars however and know like nothing about them. I was looking at the reef brites and the orpheks which are a nice option too, but limited in their capabilities without buying all the other crap to go with them

So I bought an ATI Straton Pro. Now I can remove everything and replace it all with one light.
It will be here tomorrow.

I could easily light a tank with just a mix of Quanta bars alone and be happy, and at a fraction of the price of other lights. The Straton seems like a killer fixture, but it's bit too pricey for me.

 

[CBonito]

I could easily light a tank with just a mix of Quanta bars alone and be happy, and at a fraction of the price of other lights. The Straton seems like a killer fixture, but it's bit too pricey for me.

Oh, it's a total rip. But I guess it's supposed to be real good. It caught me at the right time where I just wanted to get past this lighting crap for good.

 

[Thuan]

I run my acto heavy 65g with 3 Kessil a360x and 2 Quanta Pro Meso Blues. Quanta is not dimmable, so I just plug into a timer

 

[CBonito]

I run my acto heavy 65g with 3 Kessil a360x and 2 Quanta Pro Meso Blues. Quanta is not dimmable, so I just plug into a timer

See, that's exactly what I mean and exactly what I would have had to do in my tank. Mine is 3 foot long by 2 feet by 12" tall. I have 2 of the kessils now and they work, but you just need a bunch of them. 3 would work, but honestly I would probably do 6 of them in reality. That's another point too...a lot of the bars aren't dimmable which isnt fun.

I also don't have a lot of room overhead because my tank is on my third floor and the roof pitch doesn't allow a lot of height where the tank is. Nice tank by the way.

 

[minus9]

I have three 3' meso blues and I turn them on 5 minutes from each other. You can use the Kessil's or any other fixture for your ramp up/down, but it's completely unnecessary. The whole dimming thing is a luxury and not required. We've been turning on bulbs manually over our tanks for decades without issue. But I get why people like it (I like it too), but it doesn't prevent me from lighting my tank with quality light.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

The ReefBrite 4’ fixture added 150 par blanket to my 75 gallon tank. I also use the a360x lights.

 

[CBonito]

I have three 3' meso blues and I turn them on 5 minutes from each other. You can use the Kessil's or any other fixture for your ramp up/down, but it's completely unnecessary. The whole dimming thing is a luxury and not required. We've been turning on bulbs manually over our tanks for decades without issue. But I get why people like it (I like it too), but it doesn't prevent me from lighting my tank with quality light.

If you have a tank that's shallower, and not a lot of room to hang the bars at the recommended height, dimming can be totally necessary to avoid hurting anything. Especially so with an orphek bar.

I agree though, that if you can get the recommended height above the tank, then you don't need it.
My kessils just turn off and on through my apex and there is no ramping or anything.

 

[CBonito]

The ReefBrite 4’ fixture added 150 par blanket to my 75 gallon tank. I also use the a360x lights.

That's quite a bit. Not bad at all. In my case, I would need to add at least one more kessil and then 2 bars...that's like 1200-1300 I think all said and done...and quite a bit more "stuff" over the tank which I'm trying to avoid.

So, I splurged a little extra and bought a straton pro 102. I'm waiting for it to arrive right now.

Great Video by the way.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

That's quite a bit. Not bad at all. In my case, I would need to add at least one more kessil and then 2 bars...that's like 1200-1300 I think all said and done...and quite a bit more "stuff" over the tank which I'm trying to avoid.

So, I splurged a little extra and bought a straton pro 102. I'm waiting for it to arrive right now.

Great Video by the way.

Yeah, I just added it for the shading problem. I actually dial the four Kessils down to 35% when the ReefBrite comes on. The ReefBrite is only on for peak lighting from noon to 6 pm. Then Kessils ramp up and down.

 

[CBonito]

Yeah, I just added it for the shading problem. I actually dial the four Kessils down to 35% when the ReefBrite comes on. The ReefBrite is only on for peak lighting from noon to 6 pm. Then Kessils ramp up and down.

It looks great and it was nice to see how the reefbrite setup works with the kessils in practice. I was going to hang everything from the kessil arms since they're bolted into my stand. I still love my kessils though and who knows, I may still use them on the tank if I can find a practical way to do it. You can do literally anything with a careful walk through home depot. LOL