I regret invest in two Kessil 360X

[Gaoweihd]

I've got two 360X lights for my tanks, and both have the wifi dongle. Yesterday I was setting them up with my Apex controller via IoTa, it was a bit of a hassle and took longer than I expected. Today I found that the connection will drop if the Kessil light power got unplugged and then plugged back in. Tried fixing it for a couple of hours but no luck, so I just reset everything to how it was before, which also took a while.

IMO The Kessil App is designed with a very frustruated and counterintuitive user experience. It's pretty slow to start up, and you can't skip the loading screen that takes forever. Plus, it keeps freezing on me, and I've had to uninstall and reinstall it a bunch of times.

Just a heads-up for my fellow reef enthusiasts: if you're thinking about getting Kessil lights, you might want to check out other brands. Just sharing my two cents to help out!

 

[TX_REEF]

I'm sorry to hear you had that experience - in my shopping for my system, I actually specifically went for the AP9x over 2 360s because the AP9x has wifi built in. I have no issues with it at all. Maybe return or swap?

 

[19Mateo83]

I have the ap9x also and no issues. I have the spectral x controller for a 360x

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I have a few kessil 360x's and they have been great, the app has more to be desired that's for sure but I only use one wifi dongle with the k-link. luckily I never mess with the lights so the app isn't a deal breaker for me , and when power is lost they always power back up with all settings restored.

it may take some time but they will grow on you, and I think they definitely look better with mixed lighting, I run mine with t5's and other leds I don't necessarily like them as the only light source.

 

[Kfactor]

i find it good never had a problem at all once there set you should't have to touch them at all

 

[Gaoweihd]

I've been having them for about 10 months, I agree that when everything is setup then they work as expected. But whenever I need to use the app, for example, to change the lightning when I view the tank, it's a frustrated experience. Yesterday and today I wasted 6 hours trying to use Apex to control the light scheduling, which drove me crazy since I need to use the app a lot.

Overall I won't touch it after the setup. If I need to view the tank, I'll just have to view it with the existing light spectrum.

 

[Gaoweihd]

after hours of reseting, this is what driving me to the edge of being crazy

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

after hours of reseting, this is what driving me to the edge of being crazy

push on the INT to activate that control then slide the slider....

 

[slythy]

Man I would just get USB C cables, link them together and then get the spectrum controller and use the APEX 0-10v controller.

I have used my old kessil a360w tuna suns on my planted tank for the better half of 10 years without a single hickup using 0-10v on my original apex.

 

[Gaoweihd]

push on the INT to activate that control then slide the slider....

wow thanks for the tip! I didn't know that I need to click on the widget to activate the scroll

 

[Gaoweihd]

Man I would just get USB C cables, link them together and then get the spectrum controller and use the APEX 0-10v controller.

I have used my old kessil a360w tuna suns on my planted tank for the better half of 10 years without a single hickup using 0-10v on my original apex.

Thanks, I might go with that route then. How much control do I get from the 0-10V connection? I've never used one. Does it let you scheule the full spectrum and time window?

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

the app is definitely behind the curve it needs some work

 

[KK's Reef]

I've been having them for about 10 months, I agree that when everything is setup then they work as expected. But whenever I need to use the app, for example, to change the lightning when I view the tank, it's a frustrated experience. Yesterday and today I wasted 6 hours trying to use Apex to control the light scheduling, which drove me crazy since I need to use the app a lot.

Overall I won't touch it after the setup. If I need to view the tank, I'll just have to view it with the existing light spectrum.

Playing devil's advocate here... but how do you know it's not the Apex software that's not playing nice?

 

[slythy]

Thanks, I might go with that route then. How much control do I get from the 0-10V connection? I've never used one. Does it let you scheule the full spectrum and time window?

It basically does the 2 knobs so spectrum and intensity. You get to control 0-100% on both knobs.

 

[Gaoweihd]

Playing devil's advocate here... but how do you know it's not the Apex software that's not playing nice?

I do think it could be an Apex problem since other posts asking similar question with other IoTa devices.

My frustration is mostly from setting then resetting the Kessil wifi dongle with the app. I have two lights for two separate tank so I did a lot of resetting.

 

[areefer01]

I was going to ask why you had two Kessil dongles but you just mentioned the two displays. That makes sense. My experience has been different although I only had a different setup with a single display and three a360x lights. The iota integration was a huge quality of life improvement over the Kessil app. Once I had the Fusion integration the app was never used again.

 

[Gaoweihd]

I was going to ask why you had two Kessil dongles but you just mentioned the two displays. That makes sense. My experience has been different although I only had a different setup with a single display and three a360x lights. The iota integration was a huge quality of life improvement over the Kessil app. Once I had the Fusion integration the app was never used again.

How reliable is your IoTa connection? Mine was setup yesterday and after a power reset on the Kessil light, the control is gone. (IoTa module still shows up in the Fusion app, but it just doesn't control the light, and the light is turned off)

 

[slythy]

How reliable is your IoTa connection? Mine was setup yesterday and after a power reset on the Kessil light, the control is gone. (IoTa module still shows up in the Fusion app, but it just doesn't control the light, and the light is turned off)

I use iota on my sicce SDC pumps with no issues at all.

 

[areefer01]

How reliable is your IoTa connection? Mine was setup yesterday and after a power reset on the Kessil light, the control is gone. (IoTa module still shows up in the Fusion app, but it just doesn't control the light, and the light is turned off)

To be honest I've not had any trouble. Both with Kessil and the Sicce power head. My original installation was 3 Kessil a360x using the cables and hardwire dongle. I did not like that controller at all. Very frustrating and cumbersome to use. I heard about Kessil and Neptune working on the iota integration so hopped on it when it became available.

Overall I can't complain about it. One thing I've noticed in this hobby is that two hobbyist can use the same piece of gear and have two different experiences. I'm not right, your not wrong, but we have different experiences which is interesting. I'm in a single story home with a pretty decent home network. My wifi drop in behind me mounted on the ceiling. Unifi home lab.

I don't have a second wifi dongle to see how it would work so of no help really. If you haven't though I would reach out to Neptune via their portal and create a ticket. I'm wondering if by any chance the two wifi dongles are causing some form of interference? I don't know.

Hobbyist to hobbyist sorry to hear. I like the iota integration and wish more followed it. Assuming, of course, it works for everyone.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Just curious, did you setup the dongle as a direct connect or router connect?