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Kessil A150w over 10 gallon?


ThatNewGuyReefing

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ThatNewGuyReefing

Ok so I'm very new to saltwater, and I am starting my first tank. I ended up getting a nuvo 10 because for the price of $100 with reactor, pumps and heater I couldn't pass it up. Now I was posting on the Albuquerque reef group on FB looking for a kessil (heard so much about them and thought I'd get one for my ten gallon). I ended up finding a guy selling his a150w for $90 and hopped on it. But after reading more I found very mixed reviews on this model, everything from it doesn't grow any corals to it grows corals amazingly. So my questions are, have any of you guys had experience with this model? Do I need to get a different light if I want to grow corals? Again I'm very new, my equipment so far is the nuvo 10 with filter sock, pumps, heater, AquaC Remora HOB protein skimmer with 280gph pump, 2 wavemakers with controller, and the kessil a150w. I'm sorry if this question has already been answered, this is my first time on this group.

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That light should be good for most softies, a few LPS if you're willing to do more frequent water changes. Might struggle with sps. Your setup sounds good so far tho. Welcome to reefing! 😀 Learn as much as you can and have fun!

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ThatNewGuyReefing
1 hour ago, matth6761 said:

That light should be good for most softies, a few LPS if you're willing to do more frequent water changes. Might struggle with sps. Your setup sounds good so far tho. Welcome to reefing! 😀 Learn as much as you can and have fun!

Thank you!!! My girlfriend convinced me to finally take the plunge into reefing. I also got a 20 tall with a odyssea t5-ho light with fan and timer, 2 wave makers and dryrock. The skimmer can also fit on that tank, would that be a better option to grow corals in than the nuvo with the kessil?

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MainelyReefer

Kessil a150 tuna blue 15k was my first light years ago when I started and is still in use daily on my 40.   I wouldn’t buy that light for $90 as ~3 years ago I got mine for $150 new and I wouldn’t buy that again either.  I DO love Kessil but this model has its quirks like the squealing fan that is relieving when your lights shut off for the day.  Aim for a Kessil a160 as that has a quieter fan and adjustability.  Or an ai Prime but to repeat I wouldn’t buy the A150 as it is old and loud.  However the spectrum and intensity are proper for growing corals, my frogspawn which was directly beneath the a150 grew from 2-3 heads to 30+ heads in 2 years time.  I am having a moral dilemma replacing mine as I don’t want to sell it to some sucker but I also don’t want to listen to it anymore.  I also don’t want it to sit there unused.  

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ThatNewGuyReefing
5 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

Kessil a150 tuna blue 15k was my first light years ago when I started and is still in use daily on my 40.   I wouldn’t buy that light for $90 as ~3 years ago I got mine for $150 new and I wouldn’t buy that again either.  I DO love Kessil but this model has its quirks like the squealing fan that is relieving when your lights shut off for the day.  Aim for a Kessil a160 as that has a quieter fan and adjustability.  Or an ai Prime but to repeat I wouldn’t buy the A150 as it is old and loud.  However the spectrum and intensity are proper for growing corals, my frogspawn which was directly beneath the a150 grew from 2-3 heads to 30+ heads in 2 years time.  I am having a moral dilemma replacing mine as I don’t want to sell it to some sucker but I also don’t want to listen to it anymore.  I also don’t want it to sit there unused.  

Yeah kinda feel like a sucker for buying it, after asking the guy lots of questions I was pretty comfortable buying it off him. Does using it limit the corals I can grow? I tend to lean towards used items rather than new, so I'll see if I can find a used AI prime or nanobox. The new ones are a bit too high priced for me at the moment.

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MainelyReefer
2 hours ago, ThatNewGuyReefing said:

Yeah kinda feel like a sucker for buying it, after asking the guy lots of questions I was pretty comfortable buying it off him. Does using it limit the corals I can grow? I tend to lean towards used items rather than new, so I'll see if I can find a used AI prime or nanobox. The new ones are a bit too high priced for me at the moment.

It’s ok, for a beginner light I actually liked it because it gave me a set spectrum and when I got the AI Prime the settings for all the channels was a bit overwhelming and involved significant research.  Since it was used if it came with the gooseneck it was a decent deal anyways.  If your running it on an IM10 it will definitely grow LPS as it will be about 3.4 watts per gallon, probably a bit more as the rear chambers account for some of the 10g and we are only illuminating the display portion.  Can you confirm what spectrum you got because they had a 10k(sky blue),15k(ocean blue), and 20k(deep ocean blue) version.  I know the ocean blue 15k version grows corals as for the others I have no experience.  Atleast this light will easily get you started off, euphyllia grew well under this light as do mushrooms, trumpets, acans, I even keep a rainbow monti under mine now.

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ThatNewGuyReefing
4 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

It’s ok, for a beginner light I actually liked it because it gave me a set spectrum and when I got the AI Prime the settings for all the channels was a bit overwhelming and involved significant research.  Since it was used if it came with the gooseneck it was a decent deal anyways.  If your running it on an IM10 it will definitely grow LPS as it will be about 3.4 watts per gallon, probably a bit more as the rear chambers account for some of the 10g and we are only illuminating the display portion.  Can you confirm what spectrum you got because they had a 10k(sky blue),15k(ocean blue), and 20k(deep ocean blue) version.  I know the ocean blue 15k version grows corals as for the others I have no experience.  Atleast this light will easily get you started off, euphyllia grew well under this light as do mushrooms, trumpets, acans, I even keep a rainbow monti under mine now.

The light is the a150w ocean blue. Are there corals I should avoid growing under the light? And how high should I have it above my tank? Thank you guys so much for your help!!!

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Just me but if I was going to spend $100 or more with the mount plus the cost of a controller, I would just get an AI Prime for $199 plus the cost of a $25 mount and call it good.  One of the reasons I have never been able to get behind kessil is the fact that I have to spend the extra money on the controller if I want even some of the most basic control features (ie ramp up and ramp down).  That and the fact that the AI Prime would grow pretty much any coral that would work in a 10 gallon tank (and then some). 

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ThatNewGuyReefing
8 hours ago, Jesterrace said:

Just me but if I was going to spend $100 or more with the mount plus the cost of a controller, I would just get an AI Prime for $199 plus the cost of a $25 mount and call it good.  One of the reasons I have never been able to get behind kessil is the fact that I have to spend the extra money on the controller if I want even some of the most basic control features (ie ramp up and ramp down).  That and the fact that the AI Prime would grow pretty much any coral that would work in a 10 gallon tank (and then some). 

Honestly I'm probably going to throw it on my 20 tall (already have 4 t5-HO on it) for the shimmer and get a prime for my 10. I saw some amazingly priced ones on the market side of this forum and on ebay. I guess we all have to start somewhere. Thank you!

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