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

[metro6775]

I have been very excited about this light and thought I would venture over to nano-reef.com to see this discussion even though common sense told me it will just be filled with a bunch of 12 year old know-it-alls.

 

Why did I do it?

 

We got one guy that is trying to justify the premium he paid for a light that dims by a controller and states that it helps coral growth. Thanks buddy, but I don't want a freaking dimming light. You don't know crap about the Kessil so shut up already. I came here to read about the Kessil, not your crappy dimming LED you paid a premium for to see lightning storms and light shows.

 

Funny how people have been growing coral for decades with lights that don't dim.

 

Also take your crony that is defending you back to the hell from which you came.

 

Steely - you are awesome and actually OWN A KESSIL! as I do with the A150w.

 

So if you don't like the Kessil because you bought some other more expensive LED, go play somewhere else. I don't care.

 

If you own one of the new Kessils, then please post your thoughts.

 

Thanks and have a nice day

 

Too add - I do not believe the A350 is designed for nano reefs. Why buy a light you have to tune way down when you can buy a A150? Sure the "tunability" is nice, but I am happy with my Ocean Blue A150w.

 

Here is a blog from one Kessil A350 owner - Rem's Reef. The light looks a wee bit strong for a nano, unless your nano is very deep.

[specificplan]

We got one guy that is trying to justify the premium he paid for a light that dims by a controller and states that it helps coral growth. Thanks buddy, but I don't want a freaking dimming light. You don't know crap about the Kessil so shut up already. I came here to read about the Kessil, not your crappy dimming LED you paid a premium for to see lightning storms and light shows.

 

odd that you log in just to make that claim, since anyone that can bother to read can see that it's not what he said at all. last i checked, an AI nano with a controller was about $20 less than this new Kessil, so i'm not sure exactly why you would call that a premium, unless you are just biased.

 

Funny how people have been growing coral for decades with lights that don't dim.

 

again, the comment was related to being able to control separate channels, not just dimming the light. i'd urge you to go back and actually read the thread before just coming online and bashing people for no reason.

 

Also take your crony that is defending you back to the hell from which you came.

 

i guess that's me! :-)

 

anyway, I actually own a Kessil A350, the reason i came back to the board yesterday was to post my thoughts after i set it up and talked to the Kessil rep for 2 hours. i guess i got distracted by all the hate and venom i saw flying around. anyway, if you had actually wanted to hear someone's thoughts on the light, my guess is you would have started with that request instead of going on a personal attack against others.

[madfx]

last i checked, an AI nano with a controller was about $20 less than this new Kessil, so i'm not sure exactly why you would call that a premium, unless you are just biased.

 

$20 more for a 35 watt fixture instead of a 92 watt light. Yeah, he's totally biased.

 

Can we see some pictures of your 350? How do you like it?

[kleankord]

odd that you log in just to make that claim, since anyone that can bother to read can see that it's not what he said at all. last i checked, an AI nano with a controller was about $20 less than this new Kessil, so i'm not sure exactly why you would call that a premium, unless you are just biased.

 

I don't want to throw myself into the crossfire here and I'm not looking to get into a heated debate, I'm just a reefer that wanted to research the Kessil A350.

 

Why did you compare the A350 to the AI NANO? Wouldn't it make more sense to compare it to the AI SOL? If you were comparing model for model, would you not think to compare the A150 to the Nano?

 

A350 - $399 90 watts

A150 - $265 36watts

 

Sol - $399... $508 w/ controller 75 watts

Nano - $299... $379 w/ controller 35watts

 

I can't find info on light spread, can someone help me out? I'm interested in facts and relevant comparisons. I don't want to be drawn into the name calling, just useful product information. Also does anyone know where I can find long term data/opinions about growth in SPS tanks? Thanks.

 

 

Pricing and specs pulled from reefgeek, aquarium specialty, marine depot, AI site, kessil site.

[madfx]

I don't want to throw myself into the crossfire here and I'm not looking to get into a heated debate, I'm just a reefer that wanted to research the Kessil A350.

 

Why did you compare the A350 to the AI NANO? Wouldn't it make more sense to compare it to the AI SOL? If you were comparing model for model, would you not think to compare the A150 to the Nano?

 

.....

 

I can't find info on light spread, can someone help me out? I'm interested in facts and relevant comparisons. I don't want to be drawn into the name calling, just useful product information. Also does anyone know where I can find long term data/opinions about growth in SPS tanks? Thanks.

 

Agreed that the comparison was very odd.

 

There is some info on spread at the link (www.remsreef.com) that metro6775 posted. Spread info was under the post made Sunday, April 29, 2012 and is regarding the normal model, not the wide version. As for long term growth, doubt you will find much with the light being so new.

[steely185]

Here is what neptune aquatics was posting for some brief par numbers. Not very detailed par numbers so I would like to see more detailed par numbers from other sources. Also doesn't list what the settings were when the measurements were taken.

 

http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/supply/kess...color-tune-able

 

A350 PAR VALUES WITH LIGHT 6" ABOVE THE WATER AND MEASURED FROM LIGHT TO SENSOR:

 

12" from light to sensor: 475 (sensor 6" below water line)

18" from light to sensor: 250 (sensor 12" below water line)

24" from light to sensor: 225 (sensor 18" below water line)

[dallasprstn]

I also saw those par numbers, looking promising enough. also, I emailed kessil about the spread of the two lights and they said the A350 would have a spread of about three feet, and the A350W would be about four. they said those depend on how high you raise the light though.

[specificplan]

Why did you compare the A350 to the AI NANO? Wouldn't it make more sense to compare it to the AI SOL? If you were comparing model for model, would you not think to compare the A150 to the Nano?

 

A350 - $399 90 watts

A150 - $265 36watts

 

Sol - $399... $508 w/ controller 75 watts

Nano - $299... $379 w/ controller 35watts

 

i compared the Kessil A350 to the AI Nano because i assumed people were looking for a light fixture for a nano tank, and that fixture is the most appropriate from AI's line for most people. it's also what i have, so i knew the prices. If you want an "apples to apples" comparison (or as close as we can get), yours above is probably more accurate. to be fair, the extra 15 watts on the Kessil doesn't exactly balance out the digital controls of the AI Sol/controller combo, IMO.

 

having had the Kessil for a few days, maybe a week, on my 28 gallon tank, i'd say, IMO, that it's not really appropriate for nano tanks. it's not really visually too bright, but it's clearly got power. I can crank the blue to 100% and it looks much darker than my old AI Nano on the same setting (hence the reason i researched their light diagrams). i've got it set on about 20% right now (again, and imprecise measurement because the controls are on the top, not easy to be viewed, and they don't have any tactile response like a click, so there's no way to really know precisely where it's set). my corals are starting to bleach even at 20%, so i think most people will have a hard time getting the light levels right if they put this atop a small tank. frying every last one of your corals is a real danger even with tiny changes in the setting of the little rotary adjustment dial.

 

i'm still not really clear on the led's in it, and Kessil is taking their time to answer my email. when you look in the fixture it appears to have multiple colors, but it sounds like there are only a single type of blue LED and a white LED with different colored lenses on them. i think this probably adjusts the look of the light, but doesn't provide a range of light wavelengths as i don't think you can create new wavelengths with filters, you can just filter out wavelengths that you don't want. again, i'm not sure on this, the info isn't on the Kessil website, and i haven't gotten a definitive response. anyone actually know what's in this thing? (i admit i purchased on a whim)

 

appreciate everyone keeping it civil this am. i really do have to do some work though.

[madfx]

i'm still not really clear on the led's in it, and Kessil is taking their time to answer my email.

 

Interested to hear what they respond with. This was the info that was released on ReefBuilders awhile back for the a150 light:

 

The A150w LED spotlights from Kessil use at least four LED colors including blue (470nm), royal blue (450nm), neutral white (6500K) and a violet/UVA LED with a peak of 395 nm.

[kevin_f]

I have an radion over my 50g.

I saw the Kessil over some new tanks over at the LFS by me. I really really liked the color & sure small size of it!

[specificplan]

Kessil is being coy about the LED's. when i asked for specifics they said:

 

"Yes, there is more than one color in our array. There is[sic] actually 5 different colored chips that range from UV to white."

 

I guess I can understand as they don't want to provide the specifics of their array to competitors, but that "UV" bit scares me and i think they should share more information with the hobby. is the UV on the white dimmer or the blue dimmer? i'd suspect the former, but no way to be sure. how much UV are we talking about? UV is in the range of 100-395, but their graph essentially starts at 400. I'm hoping she mis-understood although i specifically mentioned the A350 Tuna Blue. twice.

[kleankord]

From my understanding, it's not the traditional sense of an LED but a multichip array here are a couple of links with more information.

 

http://reefbuilders.com/2011/03/29/dense-m...-multichip-led/

http://www.kessil.com/about/dense_matrix_led.php

 

IMHO, I don't think they're being coy, they seem like a very technical company that has developed a product that cannot be directly compared to other products on the market and are protecting the patent on their 30 million dollars in investments and five years" of research (quote can be found int he second link). From the research I've done on kessil, not just as a fixture, but as a company, and not just as a company but looking at their parent company DiCon, I'm pretty impressed. While I might not directly understand their technology, I get the idea that these are people who are into research and development. People who are inventing, as opposed to competitors who look like they are only producing a product for consumers. Long story short, I don't think there is an apples to apples comparison here.

 

I do want to add, that I agree with you on one point. I would like to control it with my Apex. I'm a geek and I love that AI paired up with Neptune to offer remote control options. I really wish that Kessil had incorporated that into their design. I forgive this though, because I believe Kessil is innovative; expending resources in research and development, but I do expect their products to evolve in the future.

 

I sound like a fan boy, but really, I haven't pulled the trigger yet because I can't make $400 decisions on a whim. I do a lot of reading, and granted I may not understand everything I read, but I have to do a lot of reading. $400 on a light is a big commitment for me especially when I truly believe Kessil will only keep refining their product.

 

http://www.kessil.com/about/kessil_story.php

http://www.kessil.com/about/product_history.php

http://www.diconlighting.com/

[randythefishdude]

if some has this light can they post a pic pls

[Neptune Aquatics]

Kessil is by far a much better designed LED compared to AI or even Radion. If you approach the comparison from a true engineering perspective, you'll probably appreciates it better.

 

Kessil is the ONLY company that truly can select the proper wavelengths required by corals and designed the actual LED diodes for the application without cutting corners. As most people are aware of this, virtually every "off the shelf" BIN LED diodes have one peak wavelength and very narrow side bands. Therefore, multiple diodes must be used in order to achieve decent total spectral output between the 400nm-700nm range. That's the PAR range and this is where many of the other brands fall shorts on.

 

I don't want to go into more details beyond this but in a nutshell, the more diodes they try to cramp into a fixture in order to get a fuller spectral output, the more expensive it gets. Take for example...AI Super Blue has three peak wavelengths (450, 460, and White), Ecotech's Radion has at least five (I think...450, 460, white, red, and green) although I think the red and green serves more as aesthetic thing rather than for the coral's health.

 

As you can see, if you exclude the almost useless red and green, both AI and Radion have only three usable PEAK wavelengths within the PAR range...450, 460, and white! I believe all of Kessil's aquarium LED products have at least five usable PEAK wavelengths...395, 450, 460, 470, and white designed into their multi-chip platform. That alone is a considerably big plus over AI or EcoTech.

[specificplan]

response from Kessil regarding the LED colors and UV:

 

"There is only a bit of UV coming from the unit, it is in the UVA range above 350nm (closer to 390) and is not considered dangerous enough to have to filter. Like any bright light we would still recommend against looking into the light while it is on. We've noticed that the corals look and do better with this. It helps to bring out the fluorescents colors in the corals.

 

I would like to point out that there is also UV being admitted by metal halides.

 

We very much appreciate your interest in wanting to know more about our LEDs, but the information that you are seeking we cannot share because the ratio and the color spectrums of the chips is proprietary. It's the secret that makes us so awesome."

[Jacob042426]

I really want a kessil for my next tank. i love the color.

[Tinola]

Here's my FTS. I have a 2 cup tap water tank. I know it's a little overkill... But YOLO

Let me know if you want me to take other pictures

 

100% Blue: It's bluer in person

100% White: It's less blue in person

100% Both: Very similar

[Jacob042426]

Here's my FTS. I have a 2 cup tap water tank. I know it's a little overkill... But YOLO

Let me know if you want me to take other pictures

 

100% Blue: It's bluer in person

100% White: It's less blue in person

100% Both: Very similar

want!!!!!

[madfx]

I like the minimalist scape. A yellow tang would probably look good as well. Thanks for sharing!

[Tinola]

I assure you that it has purple on it. It casts an incomplete rainbow outside of the "tank" it shows warm white, cool white, blue, royal blue, purple (Probably UV or TV)

 

Here's a picture of the light once again

[supernip]

too blue at full power for me bro

[Tinola]

too blue at full power for me bro

 

Yeah, I would say it's in between a 10000k and 15000k Kessil a150w. I'd say it's worth it despite the overkill. Got from Chris, mr. picoaquariums. He's awesome!

[supernip]

yeah i got pico's first one. I think most reefers will be thrilled by the 15k look. it's just me personally, I really really like their 10k spectrum and would have preferred a dimming 10k as opposed to the 2 channels.

 

I still have a a350 so they still have my endorsement though.

 

but the best color is both of them at minimum output. that spectrum is just damn sexy

[Jacob042426]

yeah i got pico's first one. I think most reefers will be thrilled by the 15k look. it's just me personally, I really really like their 10k spectrum and would have preferred a dimming 10k as opposed to the 2 channels.

 

I still have a a350 so they still have my endorsement though.

 

but the best color is both of them at minimum output. that spectrum is just damn sexy

you dont like? ill buy it from you for a supernip price.

[supernip]

sure 400+shipping and paypal fees