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Fish room build “this is the way”

I have 3 kessil 360x from my last tank.
but those lights are not strong enough to penetrate a 30”deep tank. So they will move to the frag tank and I will looking into buying a new kessil AP9x and set that up in the middle with two 360x on the side.
I have a seneye as a par meter and that works really good for me. If you could find a used seneye I would recommend it.

I could also get 3 used AP700 and that should also reach the bottom and give me the spread I need.
Love everything you guys are writing. Read it all twice. But you just lost me with the Kessil 360X not penetrating 30”. Could you clarify that for me. I am presently running four of them on a 24” deep tank and have to run them at 30 percent to accommodate the variety of corals. I have mushrooms and Zoas and other low light liking animals on the sand reading 45 to 65 par. And montipora and others SPS at the top getting between 260 and 300. Par Granted I have a couple of supplemental T5s. But still i have not tested 100 percent with the Kessil. But I hit around 450 par at 60 percent. My question is.... What PAR do you run that the kessil isint enough? Am I running to low of a PAR? Little help and education please. To add I am getting what I believe to be fair growth across the board. Fairly even growth with softies, LPS, and SPS. I Have no clams. But would love to add one. What kind of PAR do you think I will need for them.
 

amado

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that looks like a cool little device and the price isn't bad either. it has mixed reviews on Amazon though. how long have you been using it?

I got my seneye used from a member on the forum. I knew I was going to move and I had to setup a new tank at the new home.
being able to monitor ammonia without having to test every day is great.
it also does PH and temp so I haven’t needed to setup my apex yet.
it also works as a water level monitor.
it will send an email if your water is low.

after I am done with the cycle I will use it as a par meter. Or maybe set it up on a qt system.
 

amado

Dal
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Love everything you guys are writing. Read it all twice. But you just lost me with the Kessil 360X not penetrating 30”. Could you clarify that for me. I am presently running four of them on a 24” deep tank and have to run them at 30 percent to accommodate the variety of corals. I have mushrooms and Zoas and other low light liking animals on the sand reading 45 to 65 par. And montipora and others SPS at the top getting between 260 and 300. Par Granted I have a couple of supplemental T5s. But still i have not tested 100 percent with the Kessil. But I hit around 450 par at 60 percent. My question is.... What PAR do you run that the kessil isint enough? Am I running to low of a PAR? Little help and education please. To add I am getting what I believe to be fair growth across the board. Fairly even growth with softies, LPS, and SPS. I Have no clams. But would love to add one. What kind of PAR do you think I will need for them.
I had them in my old tank 125 6’ x 18 x24 tall
I was getting 80-120 on the floor And around 200-240 in the middle. I ran all lights at 100% I would like more light.
So for this tank I think I will either get the new kessil AP9x

if your tank is happy you should keep it at that intensity. If you want to crank upyour lights Go ahead I think 30% is low.I use to run my lights at 100%

I don’t use T5’s only LED

I had a cooper band in my last tank so I couldn’t have a clam

I will test the par on the new tank once I get everything settled.
 
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The percentage dosent really means anything to me or bother me. My concern is what PAR I “should” be running. I believe I have found a sweet spot were the majority of stuff Is happy. Mixed reef is tuff to make everything happy and I believe I am close. But when I read you ran your kessils at 100 percent when I am sooooo much lower it made me question if I couldn’t slowly raise it some. But the question is when will to much PAR be hit. 300. 400. 500. I’m not sure. To be honest I’m a little nervous to play with it as like I said. Seems most things are happy right now.
 

amado

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The percentage dosent really means anything to me or bother me. My concern is what PAR I “should” be running. I believe I have found a sweet spot were the majority of stuff Is happy. Mixed reef is tuff to make everything happy and I believe I am close. But when I read you ran your kessils at 100 percent when I am sooooo much lower it made me question if I couldn’t slowly raise it some. But the question is when will to much PAR be hit. 300. 400. 500. I’m not sure. To be honest I’m a little nervous to play with it as like I said. Seems most things are happy right now.

if your tank is doing good I wouldn't touch it.
but the reason why you raise the intensity is to get a better spread. Look at the BRS video on the kessil. They test it in a 24 inch tank and they have their lights at 100%
 

amado

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So the carbon is clearing up the water. now you can see the fish.
No we have to wait 90 day no lights.
 

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amado

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Looks good, are you gonna paint the back? Or see through

I use to paint the back of all my tanks but this time I think I will leave it see through. That way I can enjoy the tank from both sides. This will also help me clean the back glass. If I change my mind the paint I use is a water base vinyl paint that is safe so I can paint while the tank has water.
 
I use to paint the back of all my tanks but this time I think I will leave it see through. That way I can enjoy the tank from both sides. This will also help me clean the back glass. If I change my mind the paint I use is a water base vinyl paint that is safe so I can paint while the tank has water.

plasti-dip is cool cause you can just peel it off when you decide to change colors or don't want it anymore
 

Hockeynut

NJRC Member
I use to paint the back of all my tanks but this time I think I will leave it see through. That way I can enjoy the tank from both sides. This will also help me clean the back glass. If I change my mind the paint I use is a water base vinyl paint that is safe so I can paint while the tank has water.
Yea I like being able to see the back if your in a fish room why not.
 

amado

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Yea I like being able to see the back if your in a fish room why not.

yeah this tank is in the basement so I am the only one that’s going to see this tank. I can put some low light corals in the back of the tank and enjoy them from the other side.
Like a sun coral maybe ?
 

amado

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plasti-dip is cool cause you can just peel it off when you decide to change colors or don't want it anymore
Yeah I get it at hobby lobby and it’s like $8 a tube. One tube can do a 6ft tank. I used that paint to paint my frag tanks and I had to take it off and I was able just to scrape it right off.
 

amado

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The tank is almost reading zero ammonia.
The seneye does parts per million. So on any normal ammonia test I would already be at zero. The cycle has moved forward and the bacteria is working.

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Tanks looking good man, do you use the seneye for par and if so how reliable is it? I've read tons of mixed reviews about seneyes. They seem cool but the bad reviews deter me from it
 

amado

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Stop reading reviews people are not smart.
Look at BRS video they actually compared it to a high end par meter.

This is the only par meter I ever owned but the numbers are close to BRS numbers at the same distance. If you can find one used that is the best.
 

amado

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Today since I have time. I think I will tackle another project. Setup a water change station in my furnace room.
I already have the RODI setup here. So it should be easy to set it up.

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