buddythelion
New member
...kessil ftw!
A NCAA athlete's 26 bowfront slooow build
- Thread starter jmacc702
- Start date
jmacc702
Member
The thing I don't like about the kessil vs something like the fixture I posted above is that with the light above I can have the blues on in the morning, blue+whites in the afternoon, and then blues only at night again. Also I saw a kessil in person at my lfs and it didn't look that bright to me, although I'm not sure what color temp they were using. The kessil does look very sleek though.
buddythelion
New member
True that it's not dimmable with a controller, but the new kessil is. But that's besides the point. Being dimmable, from experience, has nothing to do with coral growth. Tanks with metal halides, T5, etc don't dim and they still grow coral fairly well.
As with all LEDs, you need to be careful. They are deceiving with their brightness and can easily burn your corals. The kessil is a great light, check my thread out for it. It'll be easier to resell as well vs that LED you're thinking of buying since they're reputable and branded.
jmacc702
Member
I didn't know the new kessil was dimmable. I kinda have this weird obsession with a sunrise/sunset/lunar cycle type of set up and not just light on/light off. So I could have the kessil slowly ramp up to the intensity I want? And even though there is a slight price difference, the kessil is a much much much more visually appealing unit. I'm glad you brought this to my attention before I bought a light.
buddythelion
New member
No, it's a manual dim. To get that blue and white color spectrum you want in your tank and to change intensity. The new kessil is completely overkill though, as 2 could easily light up a 70-90 gallon, and that's before the wide angle version will come out.
It's up to you in the end, but I love my kessil and in my eyes not many companies compete with a kessil for the price.
It's up to you in the end, but I love my kessil and in my eyes not many companies compete with a kessil for the price.
heranatomy
New member
I love your aquascape!! All your hard work was worth it 
I was debating going with LEDs too for my 29 gallon cube... the new dimmable kessil has my attention! I've heard great things about kessil.
I was also interested in a royal gramma but i heard that they could be bullies and should be added last.
Clowns are usually a good way to go Good all around fish! I like the skunk clowns! I think they're beautiful
Good job! I'm looking forward to more of your posts!
I was debating going with LEDs too for my 29 gallon cube... the new dimmable kessil has my attention! I've heard great things about kessil.
I was also interested in a royal gramma but i heard that they could be bullies and should be added last.
Clowns are usually a good way to go
Good all around fish! I like the skunk clowns! I think they're beautiful Good job! I'm looking forward to more of your posts!
buddythelion
New member
From what I've learned form reading things, get the clean up crew first (of course).
Then it's a toss between the royal gramma and occ, which ever one you prefer to have first doesn't matter. But the occ should be easier to feed if it's captive bred vs a wild gramma, so I'd go occ first. My advice though, if you have plans to pair an occ, which the temptation to do so is really high because you know you have the possibility to do so, save yourself the headache and massive hassle by pairing them up early. Only about a week's gap I'd say if you're new to this hobby. Get them young, like about 1" size and put them in together. Should be easy to pair them and you won't have to deal with a queen diva who thinks the tank is only for her. Lost a picasso this way, and took 3 weeks to introduce the newer fella before he was finally accepted.
Then gramma 2nd, just because.
Tailspot 3rd because from the tailspots I've had they take awhile to get used to aquarium conditions, so having an established tank with lots of algae definitely helps. Mine took 2+ weeks before it got the courage to swim around from its hole and try food. Same story with my tiger blenny. So having algae is a must.
Get the ornamental shrimp last. Inverts are more sensitive than all of the above. If you plan on keeping corals and feeding them stay away from cleaner shrimps. They're a PIA when it comes to feeding corals and will learn quickly to yank food from your corals to the point of even sticking their claws into the coral's mouth just to grab a few mysis. It's not worth the hassle. And careful with sexy shrimps as they go for weaker corals (say, a closed up zoa that's on the healing side or a newly fragged one). Periclemens is the shrimp I decided to go for, and it's been great.
Then it's a toss between the royal gramma and occ, which ever one you prefer to have first doesn't matter. But the occ should be easier to feed if it's captive bred vs a wild gramma, so I'd go occ first. My advice though, if you have plans to pair an occ, which the temptation to do so is really high because you know you have the possibility to do so, save yourself the headache and massive hassle by pairing them up early. Only about a week's gap I'd say if you're new to this hobby. Get them young, like about 1" size and put them in together. Should be easy to pair them and you won't have to deal with a queen diva who thinks the tank is only for her. Lost a picasso this way, and took 3 weeks to introduce the newer fella before he was finally accepted.
Then gramma 2nd, just because.
Tailspot 3rd because from the tailspots I've had they take awhile to get used to aquarium conditions, so having an established tank with lots of algae definitely helps. Mine took 2+ weeks before it got the courage to swim around from its hole and try food. Same story with my tiger blenny. So having algae is a must.
Get the ornamental shrimp last. Inverts are more sensitive than all of the above. If you plan on keeping corals and feeding them stay away from cleaner shrimps. They're a PIA when it comes to feeding corals and will learn quickly to yank food from your corals to the point of even sticking their claws into the coral's mouth just to grab a few mysis. It's not worth the hassle. And careful with sexy shrimps as they go for weaker corals (say, a closed up zoa that's on the healing side or a newly fragged one). Periclemens is the shrimp I decided to go for, and it's been great.
jmacc702
Member
hopefully this can get a few respoinses before my friend gets here to go to the LFS with me!!
1) Do clowns live better in pairs?
2) If they do, then I will get a pair, can I QT them together at the same time
3) If they are paired up and added to the tank first will they bully the Royal Gramma and Tail Spot Blenny I plan to add later??
1) Do clowns live better in pairs?
2) If they do, then I will get a pair, can I QT them together at the same time
3) If they are paired up and added to the tank first will they bully the Royal Gramma and Tail Spot Blenny I plan to add later??
jmacc702
Member
I love your aquascape!! All your hard work was worth it
I was debating going with LEDs too for my 29 gallon cube... the new dimmable kessil has my attention! I've heard great things about kessil.
I was also interested in a royal gramma but i heard that they could be bullies and should be added last.
Clowns are usually a good way to go
Good job! I'm looking forward to more of your posts!
Thank you for the compliment, I think I actually decided to go with aquariumleds.com 14k fixture.. I'm going to mount it with an adjustable bracket so I can raise and lower the light as needed to acclimate corals
Great information!! Thank you for the response
buddythelion
New member
No they don't live better as a pair, they're fine alone. But it is more fun to watch them as a pair. Either pair them up yourself (both have to be about 1" long max or it gets tricky to pair). Don't worry about aggression until they get big. For QT, aren't they your first fish? Be sure it's captive bred too. Wild caught is NOT worth the trouble for disease. Captive breds are almost bullet proof so make sure it's fapive bred. So captive bred or go home, because wild has too many potenials for problems.
jmacc702
Member
Yeah they are going to be my first fish, I want to quarantine them though to make sure they don't add any diseases to my aquarium. I would rather be safe than sorry!! I'll post pics later
heranatomy
New member
Thank you for the compliment, I think I actually decided to go with aquariumleds.com 14k fixture.. I'm going to mount it with an adjustable bracket so I can raise and lower the light as needed to acclimate corals
Cool! The adjustable bracket is a great idea! I use parchment paper to light acclimate coral. Your way sounds much better! But, i'm not a handy woman lol. I will follow and watch the growth and color of your coral before I finalize any decisons on LEDs. Are they dimable? :thumbsup:
jmacc702
Member
They aren't dimmable unfortunately which is really the only downside I see to them. I like the fact that it has the blue and whites on seperate cords so you can turn them on independently. That was one of my biggest gripes with the kessil is the fact that its only one color.
jmacc702
Member
Quarantine set-up.. Please ignore the clutter I was anxious to take a picture lol
Drip acclimating the new fish..
and the happy two swimming together...
I have not seen them fight at all, they seem healthy as can be right now. I fed them PE mysis about 15 minutes ago and they ate like pigs!! I waited about 24 hours to try feeding to give them a little time to adjust from the move
Drip acclimating the new fish..
and the happy two swimming together...
I have not seen them fight at all, they seem healthy as can be right now. I fed them PE mysis about 15 minutes ago and they ate like pigs!! I waited about 24 hours to try feeding to give them a little time to adjust from the move
