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Cultivated Reef

Kessil vs Maxspect


Jorgieee

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Agreed. When I talk about the Kessils having a similar quality to halides, I'm not talking about the reflectors at all. I'm talking about the single point source. Right now there really isn't an LED product on the market that has a good reflector which means that your corals are being illuminated from a single point, not the single point + multiple reflections where the angle the light is hitting the coral is different for each source. There is a reason why many people in the know are switching to multiple rows of LEDs (e.g. Kat and Ben's nanobox ATI retros, my light kind of fits the bill, a razor with a pair of BML strip lights).

 

Good to hear you're using the BML's as well. Right now I'm T5 with BML on the front and back but as the heat rises I'm going to be tempted to return to the Razors plus BML strips. I have one of the new 20K 3 channel fixtures and I love it for doing sunrise and sunset on a T5 tank.

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Paleoreef103

 

Good to hear you're using the BML's as well. Right now I'm T5 with BML on the front and back but as the heat rises I'm going to be tempted to return to the Razors plus BML strips. I have one of the new 20K 3 channel fixtures and I love it for doing sunrise and sunset on a T5 tank.

I'm not, I'm full LED. I just have a DIY light that has three rows of LEDs on it for better coverage. I do like those BML strips. They are excellent little products.

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I'm not, I'm full LED. I just have a DIY light that has three rows of LEDs on it for better coverage. I do like those BML strips. They are excellent little products.

 

Right, misread that last sentence. We need an update on your thread. ;)

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Right now no LED, even the Kessil and the point source light, replicate a metal halide lamp.

 

 

Beg to differ but the Kessils are damn near dead ringers for smaller HQI pendants. Not everybody is running a mogul size halide in a reflector the size of a BBQ grill.

 

The only thing I don't like about Kessils is they are still based on cool-white LED tech. Not matter how seamless the light source it's still cool white plus royal. If you don't mind the color it's a fine light. If you're fussy about color you'll to switch to a Radion, Nanobox, etc or other light. I have nothing against Maxspect, but every one I've seen has serious disco issues. Again, if you don't mind all those colors the light is fine. Corals won't care.

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I have nothing against Maxspect, but every one I've seen has serious disco issues.

 

Running them 12"+ above the tank with the standard 90 degree optics (or using the 120 degree reflectors) seems to reduce "disco" to virtually nothing...

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Thunderstruck34

Without getting too long winded I'd say that kessils are the closest to Mh that I've seen. Again not a Mh but damn good, and replicate the natural sun , think of when you snorkel and look at the water etc. I will say that I had to rearrange my scape to adjust for the shadowing but I personally like this shadowing effect. I've never seen a fish shadow under any other lighting aside from kessil.

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Beg to differ but the Kessils are damn near dead ringers for smaller HQI pendants. Not everybody is running a mogul size halide in a reflector the size of a BBQ grill.

 

The only thing I don't like about Kessils is they are still based on cool-white LED tech. Not matter how seamless the light source it's still cool white plus royal. If you don't mind the color it's a fine light. If you're fussy about color you'll to switch to a Radion, Nanobox, etc or other light. I have nothing against Maxspect, but every one I've seen has serious disco issues. Again, if you don't mind all those colors the light is fine. Corals won't care.

 

I still disagree, respectfully. :) Even with a smaller HQI pendant, and this is the only type of MH pendant I've ever owned, you get reflection that spread out the light. This comes either via a smaller smooth reflector or the bumpy kind that they tend to put in most of the smaller cheaper pendants. That spread, including the bounce back off the glass, is key IMO.

 

Even with the tiniest of reflectors you're still talking 4 or 5 inches wide while the Kessil is a small point of light with no reflector.

 

I want to be very careful here because people read what they want to read in some of these LED threads. I'm only talking reflection and direction of light into the tank, not caring about the source. I am not one of those who thinks LED can't grow corals.

 

I'll end it with one of my favorite acros grown under Maxspect Razors when I was running them in November last year.

 

Top

Sw5uOo.jpg

 

Front

7lDmBo.jpg

 

Same coral, this week, under T5 with LED supplementation.

 

Top

0k5YyI.jpg

 

Front

xBfmjB.jpg

  • Like 1
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I still disagree, respectfully. :) Even with a smaller HQI pendant, and this is the only type of MH pendant I've ever owned, you get reflection that spread out the light. This comes either via a smaller smooth reflector or the bumpy kind that they tend to put in most of the smaller cheaper pendants. That spread, including the bounce back off the glass, is key IMO.

 

Even with the tiniest of reflectors you're still talking 4 or 5 inches wide while the Kessil is a small point of light with no reflector.

 

I want to be very careful here because people read what they want to read in some of these LED threads. I'm only talking reflection and direction of light into the tank, not caring about the source. I am not one of those who thinks LED can't grow corals.

 

I'll end it with one of my favorite acros grown under Maxspect Razors when I was running them in November last year.

 

Top

Sw5uOo.jpg

 

Front

7lDmBo.jpg

 

Same coral, this week, under T5 with LED supplementation.

 

Top

0k5YyI.jpg

 

Front

xBfmjB.jpg

 

Pearlberry?

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Wisenheimer

I love my Kessil 160WE. I'm using the Spectral Controller over an 18" cube and never get over 65% and everything is happier than I've ever seen it, colours are good and I'm getting good growth, even my Monti Confusa and Digi.

 

My vote is for 2 160we and a controller of your choice over that width of tank or 2 360we if you think you'll be really SPS heavy and you're worried about coverage front to back (since $ is no object when I'm spending your money).

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I want to add ... saw a Jedi Mind Trick monti under a Kessil at a LFS today at lunch. Wow, it looked terrific. Sticks in the same tank, hard to see any color on them. That monti though, very nice.

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  • 2 years later...

Someone liked an old post of mine in this thread so I figured I'd correct a few embarrassing typos and add ...

 

I still believe spread is king and for that reason do not like Kessils by themselves.  Since this thread was made I switched to a Nanobox retro fixture with T5's plus the Nanobox Lime pucks.  Awesome blend.  In addition Bulk Reef Supply set up a tank using Kessils plus T5's for LED goodness and T5 coverage.   If you go to their Youtube page you can find a bunch of videos on the advantages of different lighting.  

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