Kessil

Kessils and Coraline growth

goldielocke76

Supporting Member
Hey all,

As I am sitting here going back and forth between lighting options, I was wondering if there was anyone who had kessils on their display tanks and what they thought of their coraline growth. I have a Kessil on my big tank right now, just so there is some kind of light on it for the fish, but now that the lights are growing on me, I am seeking out answers.

Do you have decent coraline growth with the kessils? If so, what color are they on?
What's the growth like on your corals, specifically LPS and softies?

Any advice? Any thoughts? I'm seesawing between a Maxspec Razor and Kessils right now. Any thoughts are appreciated. :)

Brandie


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If you like the extreme shimmer provided by Kessil, it will be hard to replicate with any other brand. I actually don't care for it, but like all things, tastes vary.

You should have no problem with coral growth if you get the a350/a360. They are very bright, but can be dimmed. I've heard bad things about Kessil and SPS, because the light is so starkly directional (odd growth patterns, one side of branches bleaching/browning) but softies and LPS shouldn't have those issues.
 
If you hear of problems specifically with Coraline growth, it is not necessarily specific to Kessil.
Many people have issues with Coraline bleaching, dying, or not growing on LED setups.
I get very little growth except in partially shaded areas, on my DIY (non-Kessil) LED setup.
 
I don't think coraline growth is related to any specific type of LED or type of light for that matter and has a lot to do with the tank's chemistry, I've had MH for a while now and before that Compacts, hell I've even kept Coraline alive under CFL's

I can easily relate the Coraline growth to my Calcium levels, my Calcium has always hovered around 500 (with all other parameters in perfect range) and my tank has Coraline growing EVERYWHERE. If I stuck a rock in there today, in a month it will have coraline creeping onto it, in a few months it will be entirely encrusted.
 
I don't think coraline growth is related to any specific type of LED or type of light for that matter and has a lot to do with the tank's chemistry, I've had MH for a while now and before that Compacts, hell I've even kept Coraline alive under CFL's

I can easily relate the Coraline growth to my Calcium levels, my Calcium has always hovered around 500 (with all other parameters in perfect range) and my tank has Coraline growing EVERYWHERE. If I stuck a rock in there today, in a month it will have coraline creeping onto it, in a few months it will be entirely encrusted.

Pretty sure it is more than that.
I agree that LOW Calcium, and Alk, and it seems Iodine, can definitely affect growth.
But one of the first things many people try is boosting Calcium and other parameters.
From personal experience, I have tried, and it does not help.

I had decent Coraline growth before in my T5 setup, but not my current LED setup.
Different tank, but same rocks, and same strategy on water chemistry, dosing, and so on.
Another key is that it does grow in the shadows. Same water chemistry, just different lighting.

All that said - having less Coraline to clean off glass is a bonus.
 
I had an annoying amount of coraline growth running my 360w all the way blue. Cal 450 mag 1500 Alk 9.0.

It did not grow in the shadows
 
I get good coraline growth from the kessil's. Several different colors seem to be all over the rocks and back wall. The urchins strip the rocks clean, and it's back in a few weeks. I keep my Alk at 9, mag at 1350 and my calcium has been high lately, around 500. Was keeping it at 430ish before I turned on the calcium reactor. I will probably try to get it back down to 450 or less......still fine tuning a bit.
 
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