My in-depth review on the Kessil LEDs

charliethetuna

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heres is a wild efflo i bought the last pic is how it started off the others are how it looks now .thats few months ago ill take another new one tonight its even bigger now ..so yes kessils do grow sps .
 

hllywd

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I started off last spring by subbing 3 - 400W MH pendants with unknown age bulbs I had for my 4+ YO cool white and royal blue (48 of each) Cree XRE/Meanwell ELN 60-48D DIY system. I had a bank of blues that wasn't working, and I wanted to streamline the system, and maybe add a few warm whites to the mix while I was at it. Around the same time I had a caulerpa outbreak I'm still fighting, but gaining a bit... maybe! The summer wore on, I blew my knee out completely and ended up with stainless steel and plastic in it's place, the MHs kept pumping out copious amounts of heat, and our electric bill soundly topped $400 with the Apex routinely shutting the lights off when the water topped 83F... I had looked at the A360s @ MACNA last year and liked the looks and form factor, when 3 of them showed up reasonable with shipping in the classifieds at RC I whipped out the AMEX card. They've been on my 210 for about a month now and everything seems to be regaining some color from the summer's abuse. After harvesting as much (about a five gallon pail) of the caulerpa, and overgrown SPS as I could before leaving for a couple weeks it seems to be receding. So far so good!

Mine are controlled by my Apex and other than the fairly bright cut on, and off I love the way they work, and the ease of setup through Fusion. I was limited to how I could mount them due to the height of my Mission canopy so they are pretty close to the water. The only issue I have with that is that on the back glass the light cones are obvious although everything in the tank is fully illuminated. I don't personally have an issue with shadows like some people complain about, I like the look. For our recent 2 weeks away, I turned my supplemental T5s (2x 80W ATI Coral+) off to try to help with the algae issue I monitored the tank every day via webcam. During our time away, with only the Kessils operating my remaining SPS colors began to improve, they are showing growth, and the caulerpa noticeably receded.

Really a month isn't very long to form a true opinion, but so far I'm pretty happy. Could I add 3 more and be OK? Probably, but I'm going to give my current setup a few months to completely adjust. For me the jury is still out, but for an initial report I think the Kessils are a good way to go.
 
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AquariGod

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I started off last spring by subbing 3 - 400W MH pendants with unknown age bulbs I had for my 4+ YO cool white and royal blue (48 of each) Cree XRE/Meanwell ELN 60-48D DIY system. I had a bank of blues that wasn't working, and I wanted to streamline the system, and maybe add a few warm whites to the mix while I was at it. Around the same time I had a caulerpa outbreak I'm still fighting, but gaining a bit... maybe! The summer wore on, I blew my knee out completely and ended up with stainless steel and plastic in it's place, the MHs kept pumping out copious amounts of heat, and our electric bill soundly topped $400 with the Apex routinely shutting the lights off when the water topped 83F... I had looked at the A360s @ MACNA last year and liked the looks and form factor, when 3 of them showed up reasonable with shipping in the classifieds at RC I whipped out the AMEX card. They've been on my 210 for about a month now and everything seems to be regaining some color from the summer's abuse. After harvesting as much (about a five gallon pail) of the caulerpa, and overgrown SPS as I could before leaving for a couple weeks it seems to be receding. So far so good!

Mine are controlled by my Apex and other than the fairly bright cut on, and off I love the way they work, and the ease of setup through Fusion. I was limited to how I could mount them due to the height of my Mission canopy so they are pretty close to the water. The only issue I have with that is that on the back glass the light cones are obvious although everything in the tank is fully illuminated. I don't personally have an issue with shadows like some people complain about, I like the look. For our recent 2 weeks away, I turned my supplemental T5s (2x 80W ATI Coral+) off to try to help with the algae issue I monitored the tank every day via webcam. During our time away, with only the Kessils operating my remaining SPS colors began to improve, they are showing growth, and the caulerpa noticeably receded.

Really a month isn't very long to form a true opinion, but so far I'm pretty happy. Could I add 3 more and be OK? Probably, but I'm going to give my current setup a few months to completely adjust. For me the jury is still out, but for an initial report I think the Kessils are a good way to go.

Good luck on that caulerpa man ! Jeez that's a lot.
 

kdub

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Thanks Doug! All my LPS really started to take off with growth once I added my Keeils...I control both of mine with my Apex and run them to 60% intensity. Going to ramp them up a bit and see how that goes. Overall, I really like the look and ease of use especially with my Apex. I still need to upgrade to fusion and it will be even easier to adjust the settings on them. Best of luck on your tanks with them!!
 

rayn

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Setting a 5' 120 up and really thinking kessil. I have one 360 W, sadly not the WE. I was thinking two over this tank, planning a sps tank. Now after reading this I am wondering if that is enough? What if supplemented with T5? Maybe a dual bulb, possibly a dual in front, one in back, and the kessil sandwiched between.
 

Eckolancer

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Setting a 5' 120 up and really thinking kessil. I have one 360 W, sadly not the WE. I was thinking two over this tank, planning a sps tank. Now after reading this I am wondering if that is enough? What if supplemented with T5? Maybe a dual bulb, possibly a dual in front, one in back, and the kessil sandwiched between.

Friend setup same size tank with 3-360we and t5s. He is thinking about adding a 4th Kessil now.
 

rayn

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Why is he wanting the fourth? Seems like enough light, and he is growing sps half way up in the tank.
 
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AquariGod

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Why is he wanting the fourth? Seems like enough light, and he is growing sps half way up in the tank.

You won't need more than two if you do it with T5's. You might want more than two if you want that shimmer to really come out, but otherwise, nah.
 

rayn

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That shimmer is a plus, but not needed. If I can do two that would be cool. Guess I can start there and add if I see the need.
 

Eckolancer

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It has an overflow on one end. He had it custom made to mount in his wall to see from both sides. Next time I'm over there I will grab a few more pics.
 

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