kessil a360w powerful enough?

[scmountain]

for my bow front build I am looking at lighting options.
I want to go the LED route
The tank is 72" divided via braces into 3 sections, and 30" deep.
I currently have an ecotech xr30 (gen 2 or 3) I feel that should be big enough for the middle section of the tank.

My questions are:
would 1 kessil A360w be powerful enough for the side sections?
would 3 of them be enough for the whole tank? (I dont love the XR30, but I already have it sooooo)
(I want to grow all types of coral!)

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

Kessil’s are not known for having a lot of punch. Perhaps if you also included two or four t5.


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[Cake_Boss]

On the other hand, Projectx has 2 xr30’s for sale


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[scmountain]

Lessie’s are not known for having a lot of punch. Perhaps if you also included two or four t5.


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I know they are the best growing light, but I cant stand the heat and die off.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

I know they are the best growing light, but I cant stand the heat and die off.

Heat and die off from what?


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[scmountain]

Heat and die off from what?

"With typical daily photo periods of 8-12 hours T5 bulbs carry the average life-span is 9-12 months."
and they run HOT!
but this is all from reading articles etc, never ran anything but LED myself

 

[Andrew_bram]

You will be fine add some t5. Dont believe everything on the Internet it is a lot of people that want to abandon older tech that works. Bulbs will last 12 months. I love t5.

If it were me I would do 4 by 80 t5 run them like 4/6 hours a day and run 3 of the kessil if that is you fancy. I would do 3 blue plus and 1 coral plus if you run 4. Also I would do let brand they use a good ballast and their reflectors are as good as they get and have a ton of punch for the bottom of the tank.

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[Dr.DiSilicate]

With a tank your size in Colorado I wouldn’t worry about the heat even a little bit. We are dry and cool most of the year and you have a huge sump. I have 3 halides over my tank which are hot but the 4 hours they run is almost the only time in the winter that my heaters don’t run. I also have two kessil for color and to extend the time the tank doesn’t look like windex lol. They don’t provide a ton of par. I can grab the meter and check for you tomorrow if you’d like. I also extend the run time of my halides for 24 months without any negative effects.

I kinda copy what Jason fox does with his tanks. 3-5 hours of halides and 12 of blue... works for me. Longer light in the winter for the heat and less during the hot months... tank is 76°


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[jda123]

For me, Kessils are a joke in all tanks but nanos/smaller stuff. They just lack the power and pop to do much. If you want to get some other lights to do some heavy lifting and let the kessils provide some viewing, then cool, but I would not count on them for more than this. If I assume that "all types of coral" means acropora, clams and even higher-light nems, then the Kessils are substandard alone.

I run MH for 10 hours and have no heat issues. If you cannot handle bulb changes, then what happens when you have to change out LED panels ever 4-5 years? LEDs don't last forever and while some people do keep them for more than 4-5 years, they are in the minority. Heat in Colorado is no issue, IMO... I welcome it since I spend 70% of my tank costs on heating.

 

[scmountain]

For me, Kessils are a joke in all tanks but nanos/smaller stuff. If I assume that "all types of coral" means acropora, clams and even higher-light nems, then the Kessils are substandard alone.
LEDs don't last forever and while some people do keep them for more than 4-5 years, they are in the minority. Heat in Colorado is no issue, IMO... I welcome it since I spend 70% of my tank costs on heating.

Valid point that I am used to a MUCH smaller tank so the Kessil's were not an issue. Good to know they wouldnt have grown the big boy corals, At this point I am going with 3 XR30's.
I cant wait to see where light tech is in 4-5 years!

 

[scmountain]

What setup for t5's or MH would I need? (I have been on the LED train for so long, Jon Snow knows nothing)
wouldn't the tank bracing straps be an issue?

 

[scmountain]

Also my tank is 28" deep wouldn't that be a stretch for T5?

 

[neil82]

I would venture to say that 3x250w MH with 4x80w t5s would give good results you would be happy with.

 

[scmountain]

I would venture to say that 3x250w MH with 4x80w t5s would give good results you would be happy with.

but I couldnt get that for under $500. having to be as frugal as possible

 

[Andrew_bram]

T5 let reflectors will kill it on a system your size. I had 220 with 6 bulbs and well over 200 on sand. Cant remember exact numbers but people where shocked. Dont under estimate t5.

Side note I am probably adding t5 to the 36 inch deep tank. Because I miss t5 they sure make corals have nice colors.

Bulk reef sells let retro kits

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[scmountain]

T5 let reflectors will kill it on a system your size. I had 220 with 6 bulbs and well over 200 on sand. Cant remember exact numbers but people where shocked. Dont under estimate t5.

Side note I am probably adding t5 to the 36 inch deep tank. Because I miss t5 they sure make corals have nice colors.

good to know. seeing my tank is 72" do I go for 2 x 36" fixtures 3 x 24"? MUCH cheaper to avoid the 2 foots. also 6 vs 8 bulb systems, is there really a difference?

 

[TheRealChrisBrown]

I would venture to say that 3x250w MH with 4x80w t5s would give good results you would be happy with.

This is exactly what I have on my 155 bow front...but you are at 28" deep. That same shop you bought the tank had 10 250w halides and ballasts for next to nothing...like $40 each I think. New bulbs might run you around $50 each? The T5's were really well priced for me on Black Friday from BRS. (The LET retro Kits mentioned above)

 

[neil82]

I would venture to say that 3x250w MH with 4x80w t5s would give good results you would be happy with.

Gotchya, I thought you were about to shell out for a few new kessils.
It is still possible that you could track down some used MH and t5 equipment at a good price point as @TheRealChrisBrown mentioned.

 

[Andrew_bram]

good to know. seeing my tank is 72" do I go for 2 x 36" fixtures 3 x 24"? MUCH cheaper to avoid the 2 foots. also 6 vs 8 bulb systems, is there really a difference?

I would get the 5 ft

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[Andrew_bram]

This is exactly what I have on my 155 bow front...but you are at 28" deep. That same shop you bought the tank had 10 250w halides and ballasts for next to nothing...like $40 each I think. New bulbs might run you around $50 each? The T5's were really well priced for me on Black Friday from BRS. (The LET retro Kits mentioned above)

Did they have any 400watt sorry to derail

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