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new kessil A350.. just out***post your pics***

randythefishdude

By randythefishdude,
in Lighting Forum

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randythefishdude

randythefishdude

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It says it's dimmable, but is there a data port for a controller? Kind of a deal-breaker for me. I'm spoiled by the aquailluminations controller, and anything less just isn't going to cut it.

i think it dims from the knob on the top of it i think

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randythefishdude

randythefishdude

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Bummer. I really like having the day laid out on the controller. A little bit of light when I get up in the morning, full blast kicks on around noon, starts to dim down around the time I get home from work, dusk to moonlight at night while I'm watching TV.... I'd have to do that all manually.

 

It does look like a nice light. They were demo'ing it at Neptune Aquatics the last time I was there. They had it hanging over a tank that was about 6' x 6' and it had a surprising amount of light. The spotlight gives a moody look as there are lots of shadows and shimmer.

i agree with a little more control to the light ...as far as the speactrum named tuna blue, they says its really good i think i heard perfect from them, dont remember, but i gess time will tell.

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joeyhatch11

joeyhatch11

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Are the Kessil's really worth the money? I'm considering getting a Ocean Blue for over my 15x15x7 work tank. Thoughts?

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randythefishdude

randythefishdude

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Are the Kessil's really worth the money? I'm considering getting a Ocean Blue for over my 15x15x7 work tank. Thoughts?

to be honest im not shure go to kessil .com and they have a tank calculater u enter the demensions and it lets u see how many u need ...but i do like the blue color they give off

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CarrillXXP

CarrillXXP

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For 400$ dollars count me out. It's a waste of money for what little functionality you can even get out of the thing.

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madfx

madfx

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I think many are missing the point.. Show me another attractive compact form factor LED fixture packing this sort of power, especially at this price point. You can't, because every other offering is the same tired heat sink + fan assembly.

 

I think manual dimming has it's merits. You can dial in the color you want as well as the intensity, without having to adjust the fixture height - something you can't do with the halides this fixture is aiming to replace. Sure you don't get your thunderstorms (lol) or the sunrise/sunset fades. But realistically speaking, how often are you around to witness that?

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GiantBen

GiantBen

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For what it is worth, the calculator seems worthless.

 

48x24x12H = 3 min, 4 max...okay. I thought 2 might have been okay with a shallow tank.

48x24x48H = 3 min, 4 max...okay...odd that an extra 36" of depth doesn't change anything....

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madfx

madfx

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You don't need to sell me on auto dimming, I run a Sunpower. I'm just saying color spectrum and intensity control are more important (functionally) than ramping up and down in my opinion. It makes them a good alternative to halides. Probably not the best choice for computer geeks turned reef keeper..

 

 

I see my lights dim every day since my tank is in the living room. It's awesome that they are on low in the morning and night and then go into the 8-7 hour light cycle automatically during the day. There's no way you can do that with the Kessil, even if you add a crappy plug-in timer from china (which is about the most autmation you can do).

 

I admit I left the thunderstorms on, and the night light is on the lunar schedule for a few hours before it shuts off. But my $79 aquailluminations controller can do those things, so why not.

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randythefishdude

randythefishdude

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For 400$ dollars count me out. It's a waste of money for what little functionality you can even get out of the thing.

i wouldent call it a wast of money but every one has there own opinon ....i think it would give out good light and it looks good i think i would get it over my biocube ...unless i did diy led the other fixtures are around the same price and it does have 2 dimmers built in i wouldent mind dimming myself as i go to my tank to feed my fish 2-3 times a day anyway

 

im gonna sell my a150 and get this bad boy over my tank!!!!!!!

i want one too

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Red Sea Reefer

Red Sea Reefer

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For nano tanks this thing might pack to much of a punch. 90 watts of LED, Kessil recommends it for tanks at least 24 inches deep and they say the light should be 1 to 2 feet above the tank. I guess you could dial it way down.

 

For a newbi like me one of the draws to the kessil was plug and play. It allows me to focus on water quality only. With that much power one could bleach out thier corals. I get the impression dialing in a ramp up/acclimation schedule is another issue to worry about.

 

All that being said if I had a larger/deeper tank I would get a Radion.

 

I wish kessil would incorporate the 350 features into the 150. It would be nice to have a built in moonlight.

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randythefishdude

randythefishdude

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For nano tanks this thing might pack to much of a punch. 90 watts of LED, Kessil recommends it for tanks at least 24 inches deep and they say the light should be 1 to 2 feet above the tank. I guess you could dial it way down.

 

For a newbi like me one of the draws to the kessil was plug and play. It allows me to focus on water quality only. With that much power one could bleach out thier corals. I get the impression dialing in a ramp up/acclimation schedule is another issue to worry about.

 

All that being said if I had a larger/deeper tank I would get a Radion.

 

I wish kessil would incorporate the 350 features into the 150. It would be nice to have a built in moonlight.

yep iwould imagine u would need to dial it down....in the vido they have it appers to be a biocude 29 i think and i would also rather get the radion but if price is an issue the radion is 350$ more not inculding tax

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randythefishdude

randythefishdude

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i should email them about giving me a discount so I can make a supernips custom kessil for kicks

sounds like a good idea ill try it too :randy custom kessil: :D:)

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steely185

steely185

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kessil just posted this on their face book page.

 

Kessil posted this comparison shot of a the light hanging 8" above a 30" deep tank. It should give an idea on spread. No par numbers but spread comparison.

 

a350vsa350w.jpg

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randythefishdude

randythefishdude

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kessil just posted this on their face book page.

 

Kessil posted this comparison shot of a the light hanging 8" above a 30" deep tank. It should give an idea on spread. No par numbers but spread comparison.

 

a350vsa350w.jpg

350w looks alot better but i would think thats a really big tank

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jm82792

jm82792

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You could easily dim it with a microcontroller if it uses pots, by replacing the them with photocells and PWM dimming LEDs to control the photocell. Thus the more light the higher the resistance. (Or even a servo to manually turn the knobs lol!)

Yes it might not be accurate but it works with power drills, routers and other things that use potentiometers for speed control and such. That's what I am (hopefully) going to do, take my TRIAC speed controller, replace the knob with a photocell and led, then add a tachometer along with a PID sketch with arduino.

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