Kessil a160we settings

[LogicalReefs]

I’m running a Kessil a160we and want to see what people’s settings are on their Kessil a160we. I’m looking for:

 

1. How long do you run the lights for?

2. What lighting schedule do you use for the controller if you have one?

3. What corals do you have in your tank?

4. How has your coral growth been?

 

 

Post pictures of your tank if you want!

 

My setting are

 

9am - 0% color, 5% intensity 

12pm - 15% color, 50% intensity

6pm - 15% color, 50% intensity

9pm - 0% color, 0% intensity

 

I have yumas, zoas and acans in my tank.

 

Hope this helps out anyone with the Kessil a160we.

[FlytheWMark]

Curious to this as well.  I have an A80 and have been tinkering with my settings a bit lately.  Setting up a 2nd tank with this exact light so I'll be curious what people are doing.  On my A80 over my 10 gallon, I bring my intensity up to about 85% for a short period of time.  I used to have it at 100% but had to dial it back because of the heat.

[Brandonmw]

I run an a160 on my 10g 

controller set to 

10am - 0 colour, 5 intensity

12pm - 15 colour, 50 intensity 

2 pm - 60 colour, 65 intensity

4 pm - 50 colour, 50 intensity 

6 pm - 30 colour, 35 intensity 

10 pm - 0 colour, 0 intensity 

 

corals are candy canes, Duncan’s, rfa , ricordea Yuma, misc polps, everything seems happy with these settings 

[LogicalReefs]

13 minutes ago, Brandonmw said:

I run an a160 on my 10g 

controller set to 

10am - 0 colour, 5 intensity

12pm - 15 colour, 50 intensity 

2 pm - 60 colour, 65 intensity

4 pm - 50 colour, 50 intensity 

6 pm - 30 colour, 35 intensity 

10 pm - 0 colour, 0 intensity 

 

corals are candy canes, Duncan’s, rfa , ricordea Yuma, misc polps, everything seems happy with these settings 

Do you expiernce algae outbreaks with the color set to 60%? I’ve heard a more white channel could contribute to that. I’ve been wanting to get my tank to that color. 

[FlytheWMark]

31 minutes ago, LogicalReefs said:

Do you expiernce algae outbreaks with the color set to 60%? I’ve heard a more white channel could contribute to that. I’ve been wanting to get my tank to that color. 

I never take my color above 40 now as I did see an increase in my algae when I went to 60-70 @Brandonmw may have had better luck than me though.

[LogicalReefs]

18 minutes ago, Mark L. said:

I never take my color above 40 now as I did see an increase in my algae when I went to 60-70 @Brandonmw may have had better luck than me though.

I like the 15% - 20% range for color. It kind of looks like the AB+ profile on the radions to me. I wonder if matters of shallow water corals get just blue lights and vice versa. 

[A Little Blue]

I got it all the way up to 100 percent intensity but only for short period of time. I can take a screen shot of my settings or go to last page of my journal thread. 

[LogicalReefs]

3 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

I got it all the way up to 100 percent intensity but only for short period of time. I can take a screen shot of my settings or go to last page of my journal thread. 

How far suspended do you have your light? Did you grow sps or lps and softies? 100% sounds like a lot.

 

I have my light at 50% at about 12 inches from the water. 

[A Little Blue]

3 minutes ago, LogicalReefs said:

How far suspended do you have your light? Did you grow sps or lps and softies? 100% sounds like a lot.

 

I have my light at 50% at about 12 inches from the water. 

11.5 inches above water line. I grow just about any kind of corals but mostly SPS species. 

[LogicalReefs]

1 hour ago, A Little Blue said:

11.5 inches above water line. I grow just about any kind of corals but mostly SPS species. 

Cool. I figured. That’s a lot of watts for lps lol. 

[Brandonmw]

2 hours ago, Mark L. said:

I never take my color above 40 now as I did see an increase in my algae when I went to 60-70 @Brandonmw may have had better luck than me though.

Knock on wood so far so good. 60 has seemed to work well so far. I’ve been running this light for about a year now. I sit about 11-12 “ off the water. I recently just added my first sps. (Birds nest) 

[A Little Blue]

2 hours ago, LogicalReefs said:

Cool. I figured. That’s a lot of watts for lps lol. 

Yes and not really. It took a while to get Kessils to this level of intensity. You will probably smoke your corals if it crossed your mind to try it out without extended acclimation period. We are talking months not weeks. 

[LogicalReefs]

58 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Yes and not really. It took a while to get Kessils to this level of intensity. You will probably smoke your corals if it crossed your mind to try it out without extended acclimation period. We are talking months not weeks. 

Months is crazy. Is there a benefit of 100% over 50% intensity for lps, if acclimated correctly? Like better growth, color, or polyp extension?

[A Little Blue]

27 minutes ago, LogicalReefs said:

Months is crazy. Is there a benefit of 100% over 50% intensity for lps, if acclimated correctly? Like better growth, better color, or polyp extension?

I started with about %30-35 intensity and a single Kessil in April. My last light adjustment was few weeks ago up to a %100 with 2 kessils. Can this be done in few weeks? Maybe, just let me know how it went. I haven’t lost a coral due to light intensity increasement tho. Another important part of raising light intensity over that period of time was flow and nutrient adjustment/increasement. Adjust those three simultaneously. They interact with each other to a greater degree than you might think. 

 

That depends on the species. Most of my LPS corals are places between the bottom and middle of the tank. Some will crap out under more intense light some with get more vivid and florescent coloration. 

 

 

[LogicalReefs]

31 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

I started with about %30-35 intensity and a single Kessil in April. My last light adjustment was few weeks ago up to a %100 with 2 kessils. Can this be done in few weeks? Maybe, just let me know how it went. I haven’t lost a coral due to light intensity increasement tho. Another important part of raising light intensity over that period of time was flow and nutrient adjustment/increasement. Adjust those three simultaneously. They interact with each other to a greater degree than you might think. 

 

That depends on the species. Most of my LPS corals are places between the bottom and middle of the tank. Some will crap out under more intense light some with get more vivid and florescent coloration. 

 

 

Nono wasn’t saying anything bad about the month acclimation period. I was like woah that’s a long time. Like I would hate to wait that long cause I’m impatient lol. But I agree a long acclimation period would be recommended for something that strong. 

 

I just would hate to have to always reacclimate corals cause I buy one every few weeks or so and I’d hate to have to restart. So I keep my lights at 50% and don’t ever acclimate cause hopefully my LFS has intense lighting. Most places I shop almost always use radions. 

[A Little Blue]

4 minutes ago, LogicalReefs said:

Nono wasn’t saying anything bad about the month acclimation period. I was like woah that’s a long time. Like I would hate to wait that long cause I’m impatient lol. But I agree a long acclimation period would be recommended for something that strong. 

 

I just would hate to have to always reacclimate corals cause I buy one every few weeks or so and I’d hate to have to restart. So I keep my lights at 50% and don’t ever acclimate cause hopefully my LFS has intense lighting. Most places I shop almost always use radions. 

Keep in mind that I started with LPS dominated tank and moved on to SPS dominated tank. You don’t need to max out your Kessil to keep LPS corals. Do what you’re comfortable with and intensity that suits your corals. 

[58Ltr]

I am fairly new to reefing but some of the settins here seem to go against what I have learnt ( not a crtisism just asking) common theory says blue and associated actinic colours good for coral. Whites red greens ect not so good for coral but good for algae. So why such low blues (colour as I understand it) am seeing here? What am I missing please?

[mcarroll]

On 11/6/2020 at 4:47 AM, 58Ltr said:

I am fairly new to reefing but some of the settins here seem to go against what I have learnt ( not a crtisism just asking) common theory says blue and associated actinic colours good for coral. Whites red greens ect not so good for coral but good for algae. So why such low blues (colour as I understand it) am seeing here? What am I missing please?

I'm not precisely sure which post you're referring to, but "colors" on a Kessil might refer to the green, red and violet emitters only, which have their own individual controls.  I mostly don't use these at all.  I would recommend that for you as well.

 

The blue/white balance has it's own setting and can be controlled for aesthetic difference, but not to the extent that the balance goes "out of range" for corals, which they address briefly on their website FAQ:

What is Kessil Logic?

Kessil Logic locks in the ideal spectrum for coral and plant growth, meaning your tank will thrive regardless of the colors you choose.