New Kessil LED Lighting

[johnsutter71]

I finally decided to jump on the LED bandwagon and dropped a lot of money on new lights. I purchased them from marineandreef.com because they were just introduced to the public as of June 1st and they're the only store online to actually have them in stock. I just found out they were shipped Friday so I should get them in a few days. As soon as I get them I'll take some pics and post my impressions. I purchased 2 fixtures for my 90 gallon reef to start with. I'll be hanging them with griplock wire the same way you would hang a track lighting fixture. The wire arrived yesterday and I can't wait to see how it's gonna look when it's finished. I only hope that my clam's respond to the LED's as well as they do with my T5's. On a side note I've listed my 3 month old ATI fixture if anyone is interested.

http://www.marineandreef.com/Kessil_A350W_Wide_Angle_Tuna_Blue_90W_LED_Fixture_ p/rke09771.htm

[koa25]

I'm interestes. I'll tag along. They look beautiful in the video kn the page. Hopefully the lights produce for you. And the clam holds up under them. Keep us posted. Good luck.

[johnsutter71]

Tomorrow is the big day. Can't wait to see what they look like. Pics will be included

[johnsutter71]

This turned out to be an amazing upgrade. Today has beenvery busy. I ordered 300 snails from reef cleaners which also arrived today.While I installed the new lighting the snails were acclimating. Firstimpressions were outstanding quality and well packaged. Everything looksamazing and once I got everything attached and cleaned up I spent the lastcouple hours playing around with the color temps and intensity. My powder blueacts like he's on coke. I'm T5's were pretty intense so I don't think havingthe brightness turned up will be much of difficult adjustment. I have themmounted about 12" above the top of the tank and the light spread isimpressive. Two fixtures would easily cover a 72" tank.

[johnsutter71]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_wk5Arfl_U&feature=plcp

[Zack]

What size tank would you think is max for one of these? Btw upload a longer vid! Those things look AWESOME!

[johnsutter71]

2 lights on a standard 125 would not be any issues. My tank is 48x25x18 and their is a lot of overlap. The depth of the light mounted a foot above the tank is amazing. I could see 2 lamps over a 150 gallon tank but I'd probably add a 3rd for a 210 or a 240 which is what I will be upgrading to next year. My hamster wills are already spinning on that move. Later today when I get home I'll shoot a better video with my camcorder. I shot that clip with a Canon t3i and a standard wide angle lens.

[350gt]

That does look good......

[lt1z28]

Nice!

[ErikH]

Do you have a center brace on that tank?

[rrasco]

Do you have a center brace on that tank?

Looks like it to me.

How many LEDs are in that fixture? I thought one 90w at first, but if there are whites and blues, that isn't the case, at least two I would presume. Probably more I would think though.

[koa25]

If you watch the video on them you can see about a dozen leds. But just one huge lens they reflect through. Looks pretty sharp. I like them. I'm too scarred to try leds again as of right now.

[johnsutter71]

Yes their is a center brace. I use egg crate to prevent jumpers. It has 2 dials for intensity and color temp. I never have to worry about changing bulbs for different color combinations which pays for itself due to the cost in bulbs alone. I called my wife to ask how it looks since I left for work before my timer turned on and she said the clams looked great and the corals were in full bloom.

[350gt]

Just start them a little higher than you plan to keep them or dialed back some if you can control intensity... Patience is key when swapping to led....

[johnsutter71]

The ATI T5's stunted the growth of my flower pot coral that hasn't fully extended in several days. I'm hoping the LED's bring him back to its former glory. I like how I have the LED's mounted about 12-18" above the rim of the tank but I could drop them down quite a bit if my clams aren't happy. It's hard to tell if the inverts are getting enough light intensity because the type of lighting looks so different. Each fixture is 90 watts of overlapping light and the documentation states it's the equivalent of a 250 watt metal halide. Does anyone know how accurate those claims may be? Kessil looks to be a pretty reputable brand and they certainly cost a lot (you get what you pay for in this hobby). It would have been nice to get the Ecotech lights but at 700 a fixture it was way out of my price range for 2 sets. The only downside is that you have to manually adjust the brightness levels for time of day and I work long days. Therefore I have to leave it on 1 setting most of the day. I just have to find a happy medium and stick to it.

[350gt]

Get a par meter!

Without one, your just going to wonder.... I borrowed one and it answered all my questions about how much light I was getting, you are seriously threatening all of your corals by swapping and not knowing what's going on..

[johnsutter71]

I'd love to get one but they are quite expensive

[rrasco]

There is one charter members can borrow. Louis at Elegant Reef has it. Contact him for loan details. Reminds me, I need to get it to test my new LEDs too.

The only concern I'd have with your LEDs are the spread. I know they have 70* optics, but LEDs are very narrow in their output and while you should get adequate numbers directly under the fixture, anything to the sides may suffer. The PAR meter would confirm or debunk this claim.

[johnsutter71]

There is one charter members can borrow. Louis at Elegant Reef has it. Contact him for loan details. Reminds me, I need to get it to test my new LEDs too.

The only concern I'd have with your LEDs are the spread. I know they have 70* optics, but LEDs are very narrow in their output and while you should get adequate numbers directly under the fixture, anything to the sides may suffer. The PAR meter would confirm or debunk this claim.

If you look at this particular LED it was designed to offer a wider light displacement. It's not going to have the same penetration as the narrow beam model but it recomended usage is for 25" deep aquariums which is what mine is. This is Kessil's latest and greatest model and They're hard to find online as most places either have them on order or haven't received them yet.

[rrasco]

Right, but there is a significant difference between what our eyes see as light and what corals are capable of actually using. I would be interested to see how much your PAR numbers fluctuate from directly under the fixture and as you get closer to the edge of the tank.

[350gt]

That's what I meant....

Louis has the meter...

[ErikH]

Just keep your eyes on things, if they start to brown out, the issue is not enough light. If they bleach, you need to dial them back. Unfortunately a PAR meter doesn't give a totally accurate measure of the useable light that is in the water. Par meters have a difficult time picking up the light in the 400 range. You will find that regardless of what you see, your par ratings will be great directly under the LED, but as you go further to the side, your PAR drops drastically. If you could imagine your PAR being overlayed on an ant mound, that's basically how your coverage goes.

When we tested the PAR on Todd's tank, I was disappointed. The AI SOL was supposed to compare to a 400w halide, but that was in no way true. We could see that instantly in the corals.

[350gt]

where does it say they compare to a 400? i thought they were only compared to 250 watt metal halide?

the par meter came in handy in comparing my previous fixtures par level to my LEDS, that way I underpowered them for a bit to help acclimate them to the levels my old fixture was at. Now I am fixing to surpass the level my MH/t5 fixture was at and only using 50% power. I lost a few frags but that was it, everything has seemed to acclimate well.... If i would have done it by eye, everything would have toasted...

So with that, I say the par meter definitely has a upside...

[johnsutter71]

As for the kessils it states on their web page and the video they posted that they are equivalant to 250 metal hylades. I've been looking at par meters and foster&smith sales them for around $130. Not sure how good they are though

[ErikH]

where does it say they compare to a 400? i thought they were only compared to 250 watt metal halide?

the par meter came in handy in comparing my previous fixtures par level to my LEDS, that way I underpowered them for a bit to help acclimate them to the levels my old fixture was at. Now I am fixing to surpass the level my MH/t5 fixture was at and only using 50% power. I lost a few frags but that was it, everything has seemed to acclimate well.... If i would have done it by eye, everything would have toasted...

So with that, I say the par meter definitely has a upside...

I was speaking about the AI SOL Blues, sorry, I should have specified.
Claims are claims, but the proof is in the puddin'. While at their "hot-spot" they may be comparable to a 250, if you move the PAR meter over a couple of inches, you start to see a major drop in PAR.

[350gt]

I didn't.... Had pretty much even levels with 3 units running parallel on my tank... I put much thought into the optics and swapped them to get a little more coverage in between the 3 units.

I will take hot spots in place of heat and higher energy costs.... Problem with Ai'S isn't there power, rather there spectrum which I am about to address soon....

I would love to see what the kessil is doing in terms of par.

[johnsutter71]

As promised I just shot a high deff video. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS2BP6kIKbM&feature=youtu.be

[350gt]

Still looks good....

I remember when that vlaminigi was that small...