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Unread 02/03/2015, 08:24 AM   #76
Mr. Comer
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Over the past year I've had zero growth with my LPS, ok growth with SPS, and softies have had little growth (lights were at 40% intensity). The water flow is looking good and the water parameter are dead on (nitrates were a little to low). So I'm thinking its a light issue-ya, I know softies shouldn't need much light. I've had good growth with phoenix 14k 250de's before I switched. Supposedly the a350w at 100% is close to a 250 mh with a good ballast and reflector. Plus, I like the look of my tank better with more light. After a decade of mixed tank reefing I'm changing the tank to a softie/lps tank and no more colorful sticks. I have a new skimmer on order and I'm going to start feeding the corals. The wife and kids wanted more coral movement in the tank so I'm happy to oblige


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Unread 02/03/2015, 12:28 PM   #77
Scorpius
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oseymour View Post
You are going to have to acclimate the corals to the light. Do you have the controller? I believe it has an acclimation mode.
I have the controller now. I don't have any corals yet, but I have kessil set at 25 max intensity for several hours then ramps back down. I'd like to let my tank mature some more before trying corals again. Well my coralline algae could be considered a coral.


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Unread 02/04/2015, 12:07 PM   #78
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Set up my a350ws 5 days ago. They look awesome. I thought they would be ridiculously bright though. could be that they are on the 90 degree adapter and 8 inches above the water. but either way they are sweet. corals seem to be loving them as well. cant wait to post some growth pics down the road. shimmer effect is great.


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Unread 02/04/2015, 12:30 PM   #79
Zacktosterone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Comer View Post
Over the past year I've had zero growth with my LPS, ok growth with SPS, and softies have had little growth (lights were at 40% intensity). The water flow is looking good and the water parameter are dead on (nitrates were a little to low). So I'm thinking its a light issue-ya, I know softies shouldn't need much light. I've had good growth with phoenix 14k 250de's before I switched. Supposedly the a350w at 100% is close to a 250 mh with a good ballast and reflector. Plus, I like the look of my tank better with more light. After a decade of mixed tank reefing I'm changing the tank to a softie/lps tank and no more colorful sticks. I have a new skimmer on order and I'm going to start feeding the corals. The wife and kids wanted more coral movement in the tank so I'm happy to oblige
Try increasing the intensity to 80% or switch to halide completely and let us know


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Unread 02/04/2015, 01:59 PM   #80
Mr. Comer
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I ditched my hood and went topless so I don't want to put back up the MH. The Kessil should have more than enough juice to work. I started feeding the corals this week and the new skimmer arrives Tuesday. I'll run this for the next month or two and see how things go.


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Unread 02/05/2015, 12:06 PM   #81
SecGenGSX
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Question for you guys. I have a standard 125 but only have a single center brace. Normally I would do 3 of the 360's but the center brace messes with the placement of the center light. I was thinking of doing 2 360's and 2 160's to work around the single center brace. Are you able to link the 360's and 160's together? Any thoughts?


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Unread 02/05/2015, 12:09 PM   #82
Zacktosterone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SecGenGSX View Post
Question for you guys. I have a standard 125 but only have a single center brace. Normally I would do 3 of the 360's but the center brace messes with the placement of the center light. I was thinking of doing 2 360's and 2 160's to work around the single center brace. Are you able to link the 360's and 160's together? Any thoughts?
I don't think so. Best to get 4 A360. It will cost the same if not, less

IMG_20150122_142718~2.jpg


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Unread 02/05/2015, 12:35 PM   #83
cody6766
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I ditched my hood and went topless so I don't want to put back up the MH. The Kessil should have more than enough juice to work. I started feeding the corals this week and the new skimmer arrives Tuesday. I'll run this for the next month or two and see how things go.
That's why I went with the A350s too. I have no trouble with growth on my 120g with two of them, but three would be better. As I mentioned before, I added T5s for aesthetics, but they do add to the total light. I havn't noticed a change in growth, color or health.

As for the 6' tank, your best, but not cheapest, bet is 4x A350s or A360s. If you get the narrow ones, 4 is best for even coverage on that length anyway. You can do it with 3, not counting the bar issue, but 4 will look better. I think this can vs best concept is the biggest problem with LEDs. They don't seem to be better or worse than MH, but they are different. You CAN light roughly the same footprint, 1 to 1, but MH does it better. I'm guessing it's beause LEDs are much more directional than other light sources, but I don't know for sure. What I do know is my 120 looked MUCH better when I held the A350 that is over my Solana on it, just to see, compared to two. There's a 6' tank at my LFS with 4 Radions on it and it looks better than those with 3 similar size LED fixtures. It seems that people try to wedge LEDs into this 'cheaper overall, more eficient' hole. They are in some cases (my Solana), but are less so in larger tanks when you use what is best, not what works. LEDs offer a lot, but the cost to play right is still high.


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Unread 02/05/2015, 03:01 PM   #84
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SecGenGSX View Post
Question for you guys. I have a standard 125 but only have a single center brace. Normally I would do 3 of the 360's but the center brace messes with the placement of the center light. I was thinking of doing 2 360's and 2 160's to work around the single center brace. Are you able to link the 360's and 160's together? Any thoughts?
Yes they can be linked together using a 3.5mm male/male plug.


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Unread 02/05/2015, 04:34 PM   #85
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I agree with Zack. You will need at least 4 of the a360we and likely 5. I would go with the 360's (especially if this is a 24" deep tank) as these can be turned down if need be and can be used for a larger upgrade. You could certainly start with 3 and add as you feel you need them.


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Unread 02/05/2015, 05:52 PM   #86
SecGenGSX
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Thanks for the responses. My tank is the standard 125 with dual corner overflows and is 22" high. My thought was if I did the 2 a360's towards the middle I could use the a160's on the ends. The overflows take up a good chunk of real estate so I wouldn't have that much to light on the ends. There is not much of a cost savings by going that route, I just wanted to see if it would be possible.


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Unread 02/05/2015, 09:52 PM   #87
Matthias7
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I am currently running 3x A360WE over my 250--60x36x27(need 1 more). I use a spectral controller and ramp them up to 70%. I have a mixed reef and seen a great response from my corals. (Please excuse the diatoms)


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Unread 02/05/2015, 09:54 PM   #88
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A slightly better picture


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Unread 02/10/2015, 10:46 PM   #89
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Just added 8 Kessil 360NE over my 478 gallon SPS tank.



And the controller.


I currently have it on acclimation mode. Starting at 30% and ramping to 65-70%. I think I will reacclimate the lights as to not shock the corals.


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Unread 02/10/2015, 10:54 PM   #90
Zacktosterone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist View Post
Just added 8 Kessil 360NE over my 478 gallon SPS tank.



And the controller.


I currently have it on acclimation mode. Starting at 30% and ramping to 65-70%. I think I will reacclimate the lights as to not shock the corals.
Holy cow, keep me posted on this one lol


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Unread 02/10/2015, 11:00 PM   #91
Newbie Aquarist
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Holy cow, keep me posted on this one lol
I just added them on the 5th of February so it's gonna be a while.


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Unread 02/10/2015, 11:13 PM   #92
Zacktosterone
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Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist View Post
I just added them on the 5th of February so it's gonna be a while.
What lighting did you replace?


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Unread 02/11/2015, 06:11 AM   #93
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What lighting did you replace?
Four 250W MH on icecap ballasts with a 420 VHO. This is how it looked before.




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Unread 02/11/2015, 09:43 AM   #94
Tcook
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This tank will be very interesting to watch over time coming from that MH/VHO setup


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Unread 02/11/2015, 10:00 AM   #95
ReefKeep66
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This tank will be very interesting to watch over time coming from that MH/VHO setup
Agreed. Keep us posted!


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Unread 02/11/2015, 12:51 PM   #96
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Tcook, off topic, but do you have a bigger pic of your FTS that's in your avatar? I'd love to see your tank!

Now ON TOPIC.

I have a Rapid LED DIY (24 LEDs) in the existing hood of my 24g JBJ nano. Next month I want to upgrade and am looking at the 360WE with a gooseneck mount. I'll be removing the hood and going topless.

Would the Kessil be a good fit with my tank? It's approx. 19" cube give or take. Right now I have zoas and a torch, but want to begin adding more LPS and SPS.

Thanks!


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Unread 02/11/2015, 01:37 PM   #97
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Quote:
Originally Posted by debincalif View Post
Tcook, off topic, but do you have a bigger pic of your FTS that's in your avatar? I'd love to see your tank!

Now ON TOPIC.

I have a Rapid LED DIY (24 LEDs) in the existing hood of my 24g JBJ nano. Next month I want to upgrade and am looking at the 360WE with a gooseneck mount. I'll be removing the hood and going topless.

Would the Kessil be a good fit with my tank? It's approx. 19" cube give or take. Right now I have zoas and a torch, but want to begin adding more LPS and SPS.

Thanks!
In my opinion I would suggest the Kessil 360NE as the spread is 18x18. Maybe even the 160we would be even better.


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Unread 02/11/2015, 03:18 PM   #98
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Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist View Post
In my opinion I would suggest the Kessil 360NE as the spread is 18x18. Maybe even the 160we would be even better.
So then you think the 360WE would be too much?


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Unread 02/11/2015, 03:39 PM   #99
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So then you think the 360WE would be too much?
Yessir. I'd do the 160WE and use the extra money to buy more corals.


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Unread 02/11/2015, 04:03 PM   #100
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I'm looking at doing either the A160we or A360we on a 8'x2'x2' FOWLR tank. They both say they cover 24" of surface area. Any suggestions?


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