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Innovative Marine Aquariums

kessil a150w 15k ocean blue led review


steely185

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First off I have to say I love love love this light. Color fits somewhere between a phoenix 14k and a xm 20k (a crisp blue/white with pop). Shimmer is very much like a halide but slightly more (not as tranquil but by no means disco ball like). Everything pops just right without being actinic. It's very compact, about the size of can of soda or beer. It's by no means dim like some reviews have said. I get better coverage and brightness than I did running a 24" sunpod running 150 watt halide on the same 20H. It runs fairly quiet, a small computer fan like noise for the fan running inside. There doesn't seem to be any banding of colors, it all mixes so you don't get a small rainbow on the sand bed. It doesn't appear violet like with some LEDs. Best of all it's only running 32 watts I believe.

 

Now for some pics. I took special care in making sure the color was accurate. I will post two videos once I upload them. Last note: excuse the aptasia as I plan on removing them when I transfer them to my new mr aqua tank.

 

 

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kalk paste is my friend. Screw the joes juice and aptasia x. :)

 

This was a tank of stuff I couldn't fit. I plan on removing all the aptasia prior to moving to my mr aqua tank.

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I wouldn't recommend one for A 30" tank if you want sps and real good coverage. I have 2 on my 36" 57 gallon and they are amazing. I love the color of them

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i dont really have anything in my tank now..it has been up for a year and I kinda stopped caring for it like 6months ago cause I kept saying I was gonna take it down..so i onyl have 2 heads of acans and 3 little zoa frags..was thinking of selling my Aquastyle DIY LED kit cause i dont like the color as much and i dont wanna play around with a million LEDs to try and get it right and buy one of these for now..and when i get some SPS pickup a 2nd down the road

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I would hesitate to say yes. I tried the kessil on my 75 yesterday and it was a bit more dim. I think large in part to they taller tank volume.

 

I will say that in a 24L x 12W x 16H it works well. I haven't noticed anything dim at all. I think you would be fine with the width because of the height of the tank but not a 30" length.

 

Here was a color and brightness comparison I did on my 75

 

It is obviously not as bright as a 250watt halide but the color is still great.

 

radium

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15k a150w

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kessil left, radium right. The zoomed pics above are better representation of brightness

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The taller the tank the less brightness with these leds, they also appear more blue because of the less brightness.

 

If that's all you are stocking in the tank right now then I would say yes. You may be a little dark near the edges though.

Edited by steely185
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yea and being only 12" deep I dont think i will have many SPS for a while and if I do they will be on the rock work only 3-6" below the water surface..

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I think you would like it. I have seen other leds and the color this one puts out is great. I had concerns at first but it hits every color (reds, purples, blues, greens, oranges...).

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I have the light on a 24 x 14 x 12 and have good coverage. I definitely have the sps in the middle of the tank under direct lighting, but the lps on the sides seem to be doing fine as well. I think you would be fine with the light over a tank 30 long as long as you plan your scape accordingly.

 

yea and being only 12" deep I dont think i will have many SPS for a while and if I do they will be on the rock work only 3-6" below the water surface..
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any word on the kessil A350 i was looking at other forums at reviews and some people were talking about that A350 but it dosent show any info on the web

 

Everything has been rumor at this point. Someone on some site (I forget which) emailed kessil I believe and they were saying march april as a possible timeline for the A350

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pilandisland

Wooow I like that B)

I want to purchase a 30 shallow tank, 24x24x12. I want to mainly keep SPS

Do you think the 15k would be best for it ? It looks awesome !

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You would just need to plan your placement of your SPS. You could also start with one and add a second later on if you like. I would focus most of your sps closer to the center (18" x 18" area maybe) where par would likely be higher. You could focus other items around that.

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pilandisland

Yeah I'd love to try it out, they're a little $$$ if I gotta buy 2 I'd rather go for a nano box.

What's the difference between these and Let's say Cree or boostled par38's?

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They definitely are brighter than par30s or par38s and get a better light spread from a single light. The color is better in my opinion having tried a par30 on the same tank.

 

This is not color or brightness adjustable. It's a fix color unlike the radion, sol, or nanobox.

 

I can't comment on the Cree's having not tried them.

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Red Sea Reefer

I just got the 10k sky blue for my BC29. Wow this light looks great. Glad to get the top of my biocube. Opens it up for nice top down viewing. I'll be going rimless this weekend.

 

I was set on the AI Sol but found this light w/gooseneck mount 2 months old in my local club for $200. I couldn't turn it down at that price. I figured worst case if I didn't like it I could knock $50 off and unload it for $150 anytime. I'm keeping it.

 

I am looking into thier horticulture lights as i am thinking of setting up another BC29 macro tank plumbed to my coral tank. Many people use thier lights for hydroponics, I wonder how macro algae would do? Need to looking the lighting spectrums.

 

I'll be getting a build thread w/pics up soon.

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