Kessil

Light height.

TurboReef

TurboReef

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How high above the tank are you mounting your lights? Kessil recommended to me 14-16 inches to cover a 48” tank. So I tried this and a lot light bleed over the tank onto the floor.

The other thing I don’t like is the higher the light is the taller the canopy needs to be. It means that I have to use a ladder to open the panel .

just looking for some real world numbers I can start messing around with.
 
i mounted my AP9X 10" above water level per BRS testing recommendations but my tank is only 36"x22"x22" so it needs less spread than yours
 
I have a Kessil AP9x. I am testing the height with a rope. the Tank is 48L x 24W x 22H

I am currently at 13 inches above the tank. evaluating how it looks. Basically I want to get the custom canopy I am building shorter.

I currently am testing with my smaller 55 gallon tank which is the same 48" Length. I think length is going to be probably the most important thing for coverage.
 
I think the AP9X is not enough for your 48" tank does not matter how you hang, unless you keep fish only. You will need another light, perharp add one A360X.
 
kinda what nyl04 mention, it can cover 48", but the light will be high and the par will be low at the bottom...depends on your livestock. get another AP9x..problem solved.
 
I have a tank with the size of 48L x 24W and i uses ap9x and i have to say it's not enough byusing just 1 light, i had to supplement with 2 light bars in front and back .
 
I just happen to have a 50/50 light bar laying around. Here are the specs

5736829B-2FA2-473B-9BC3-810A57EE4644.jpeg


Think with that and a150 kessil
It would be enough ?
 
I've never used an Apex 9x, but I have used around 15 other lights from Kessil over the years, and the one constant is the stated "up to X"" coverage is a sales "tactic" more than a realistic measure for aquariums with anything more than fish and softies. Kessil 360's also used to indicate 24" coverage, but after using them for years, and countless times with a PAR meter properly adjusted for Kessil (and after a number of hours talking with Kessil designers) it was apparent that 16" was maximum coverage for a mixed reef with SPS, and even then growth was slower than some other lights on the market (but damn they look great.) They are great at penetrating deep, but their focus is fairly narrow.

As to what would be enough it depends on what you're planning on keeping in the tank. An a150 won't support SPS or a lot of LPS at all long term so I suspect that bandaid isn't even worthwhile. You could run lightbars, but even the best lightbars usually only add 70-100 PAR. That would mean you'd probably have to keep lower light corals on the sides, and higher light corals clustered more to center.

I don't know what your budget is, but I see used Kessils on the "used" market fairly cheap most of the time. AP700s for around $450 are common.
 
Bruce Spiegelman said:
I've never used an Apex 9x, but I have used around 15 other lights from Kessil over the years, and the one constant is the stated "up to X"" coverage is a sales "tactic" more than a realistic measure for aquariums with anything more than fish and softies. Kessil 360's also used to indicate 24" coverage, but after using them for years, and countless times with a PAR meter properly adjusted for Kessil (and after a number of hours talking with Kessil designers) it was apparent that 16" was maximum coverage for a mixed reef with SPS, and even then growth was slower than some other lights on the market (but damn they look great.) They are great at penetrating deep, but their focus is fairly narrow.

As to what would be enough it depends on what you're planning on keeping in the tank. An a150 won't support SPS or a lot of LPS at all long term so I suspect that bandaid isn't even worthwhile. You could run lightbars, but even the best lightbars usually only add 70-100 PAR. That would mean you'd probably have to keep lower light corals on the sides, and higher light corals clustered more to center.

I don't know what your budget is, but I see used Kessils on the "used" market fairly cheap most of the time. AP700s for around $450 are common.
Click to expand...
New ap700s are 550, not may retailers still have them but they can be found online.
 
Mt AP700's are 10" above the water and I think that is a good place for them. For aesthetics, I would recommend 2x of the same light like I did. I also ran only 1 ap700 for a year, then added the second one on after I wanted more light coverage as the tank matured.
 
I have an AP9X 7” above a 36” long tank. Both ends get lower par so I put low light coral there. I mounted it so low in order to avoid light spill and just set the intensity accordingly.
 
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