# A kessil over an aquastyle 9 tank?



## glassguppy (Nov 2, 2012)

Hey guys, I have a planted eheim aquastyle 9 that I've been enjying since 2012. I was wondering, if I chose to upgrade the pendant with a kessil tuna sun will that be overkill? I'm assuming it's brighter than what the eheim comes stocked with. I know the kessil has a wider spectral range. - What I'm wanting is more control over the color of the light "would like the light to be nicer, warmer" but I knw that switching t a light one isn't prepared for could lead to massive blooms of algae and such. Plus the pendant that came with the tank is now flickering and becoming unreliable. I could either replace it or upgrade and I don't mind the kessil price point. ...if it's actually going to be nicer. But I've never seen one in person, I just hear alot of positive feedback. 

Below is my' tank - guppytopia I would like to think lol


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

you want to put 90W of LED's over a 9gal tank???? 
Second Kessil goes from 6000k to 9000k none of that is "warmer". 
More like crisp white to crisp blue-white..
Better off w/ a HALO...
https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Deluxe-Freshwater-Fixture/dp/B012SXHMES

MUCH larger color range................
About the same price and power as the Kessil.....
Both are overkill for 9gal but dimmable.


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## glassguppy (Nov 2, 2012)

jeffkrol said:


> you want to put 90W of LED's over a 9gal tank????
> Second Kessil goes from 6000k to 9000k none of that is "warmer".
> More like crisp white to crisp blue-white..
> Better off w/ a HALO...
> ...



Well the kessil I remember seeing it was actually 40 watt for the tuna sun, and my' eheim pendant I think starts at 65 00 k whereas the kessil begins at 6000 if I have that correct, which would probably mean it's at least as warm as my eheim if not able to go a little warmer if even slightly, which would be enough. Plus I like the small prfofile of the kessil and it would look good over my' tank. I'm kinda picky about the overall presentation. - yes I'm talking about the A160WE


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

glassguppy said:


> Well the kessil I remember seeing it was actually 40 watt for the tuna sun, and my' eheim pendant I think starts at 65 00 k whereas the kessil begins at 6000 if I have that correct, which would probably mean it's at least as warm as my eheim if not able to go a little warmer if even slightly, which would be enough. Plus I like the small prfofile of the kessil and it would look good over my' tank. I'm kinda picky about the overall presentation. - yes I'm talking about the A160WE


I'm surprised you are asking a question.. you seem to have already decided..
you asked a question about function but you picked form...
my mistake was w/ this:
Kessil A360W-E Tuna Sun LED Aquarium Light - Wide Angle - Bulk Reef Supply
Tuna Sun..
*



Kessil A360W-E Tuna Sun LED Aquarium Light - Wide Angle

Click to expand...

*

Diff. between 6000k and 6500k would be almost impossible to tell...That is IF the diodes are binned correctly..



> What I'm wanting is more control over the color of the light "would like the light to be nicer, warmer"


no mention that you like tin cans over your tank... 
If you want a proper answer ask a proper question............


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## RyRob (May 30, 2015)

If you want to wait, possibly till November (or longer, you know how these things go), Kessil is coming out with a new model designed specifically for nano tanks. The A80 Tuna Sun. Same manual color and intensity knobs as the A160. 15watts. First fanless Kessil. Has a mirrored reflector too. Thing looks pretty awesome! $129.99 for the fixture then $25 for a mini gooseneck (it comes with a canopy mount bracket). The tuna blue (reef model) is said to be released October sometime and the Tuna Sun shortly after that. You can pre-order both right now though. 

I think it's what a lot of us are looking for in a nano led. YouTube search for it, there's a few videos (all about the Tuna Blue though but you will get the idea of what it's capable of according to Kessil). The one I watched was from MACNA 2016 and they showcased the A80 and the A2000 (an led for commercial and very large marine tanks) The A2000 is monster!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

RyRob said:


> If you want to wait, possibly till November (or longer, you know how these things go), Kessil is coming out with a new model designed specifically for nano tanks. The A80 Tuna Sun. Same manual color and intensity knobs as the A160. 15watts. First fanless Kessil. Has a mirrored reflector too. Thing looks pretty awesome! $129.99 for the fixture then $25 for a mini gooseneck (it comes with a canopy mount bracket). The tuna blue (reef model) is said to be released October sometime and the Tuna Sun shortly after that. You can pre-order both right now though.
> 
> I think it's what a lot of us are looking for in a nano led. YouTube search for it, there's a few videos (all about the Tuna Blue though but you will get the idea of what it's capable of according to Kessil). The one I watched was from MACNA 2016 and they showcased the A80 and the A2000 (an led for commercial and very large marine tanks) The A2000 is monster!


Kessil needs to do better than this:
http://www.kessil.com/images/aquarium/product/Freshwater/Freshwater_A160_img01.gif
















Even their new salt water one goes more to full spectrum multi colored LED's ....
They aren't taking advantage of their tech AFAIAC....

small one does sound better for a nano though . That I give you..


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

A80 is a great idea. The can looks better than a puck though imo. And, it seems to suit OP's request.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Interesting..


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## glassguppy (Nov 2, 2012)

RyRob said:


> If you want to wait, possibly till November (or longer, you know how these things go), Kessil is coming out with a new model designed specifically for nano tanks. The A80 Tuna Sun. Same manual color and intensity knobs as the A160. 15watts. First fanless Kessil. Has a mirrored reflector too. Thing looks pretty awesome! $129.99 for the fixture then $25 for a mini gooseneck (it comes with a canopy mount bracket). The tuna blue (reef model) is said to be released October sometime and the Tuna Sun shortly after that. You can pre-order both right now though.
> 
> I think it's what a lot of us are looking for in a nano led. YouTube search for it, there's a few videos (all about the Tuna Blue though but you will get the idea of what it's capable of according to Kessil). The one I watched was from MACNA 2016 and they showcased the A80 and the A2000 (an led for commercial and very large marine tanks) The A2000 is monster!



Wow cool, my' eheim says it's a 7watt pendant, this one looks 14, but is it actually going to be any brighter or warmer? there isn't much info out there that I've yet found n it. But I'm guessing it's just a trimmed down version of the ther kessil pendants. All I'm really needing or wanting is at least a slightly better replacement fr my' eheim pendant that came with this aquastyle. The kessil will hopefully look better on my' plants and offer at least similar white light but i'd like a slight warmth t it if possible. Doesn't have to be amber just warmer than my' eheim. I really like the flat profile of this yet to be released A-80. My tank I think is abut 14 inches tall and 12x12.



etane said:


> A80 is a great idea. The can looks better than a puck though imo. And, it seems to suit OP's request.


The can does look nicer to me in that I really like a more high-end look but I'm trying to consider the pendant/puck once mounted. If I could make the 160 work for my' tank at it's lowest dimmed intensity, I would get it if it doesn't end up requiring me to buy a co2 system to stave off algae from super increased lighting... I think the puck has a closer resemblance to the eheim pendant that came with this tank which is sort of wide and has a certain coordination to it design-wise... if that makes sense... it makes the tank look a certain way. I don't really care for the sporty ribbed reefy look of the a80 though I hope they change it a little for the planted version. But otherwise its fine.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

glassguppy said:


> ... it makes the tank look a certain way. I don't really care for the sporty ribbed reefy look of the a80 though I hope they change it a little for the planted version. But otherwise its fine.


Picture is of the fw version.....

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/a...tm_source=bc&gclid=CKT5kKnIks8CFVc9gQodlXYBfA


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

glassguppy said:


> The can does look nicer to me in that I really like a more high-end look but I'm trying to consider the pendant/puck once mounted. If I could make the 160 work for my' tank at it's lowest dimmed intensity, I would get it if it doesn't end up requiring me to buy a co2 system to stave off algae from super increased lighting... I think the puck has a closer resemblance to the eheim pendant that came with this tank which is sort of wide and has a certain coordination to it design-wise... if that makes sense... it makes the tank look a certain way. I don't really care for the sporty ribbed reefy look of the a80 though I hope they change it a little for the planted version. But otherwise its fine.


just going to throw a few names out there which also might work for you.

aquailluminations hd prime
micmol aqua air or mini
nemolight nano

you can really tweak the color of the prime.


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

You'll find several people who are quite satisfied with Kessils over their planted tanks. My suggestion would be to get opinions from actual users and buy from a place with a good return policy in case you don't like it.


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## charlie 1 (Oct 22, 2006)

Jeff5614 said:


> *You'll find several people who are quite satisfied with Kessils over their planted tanks. My suggestion would be to get opinions from actual users *and buy from a place with a good return policy in case you don't like it.


Could not agree more!
I`m one such person who uses the A 160 WE over a 60P knock off & have nothing but good experience with it, it sure satisfies my need.
I will try to post a picture of the tank later.

Bump:


RyRob said:


> If you want to wait, possibly till November (or longer, you know how these things go), Kessil is coming out with a new model designed specifically for nano tanks. The A80 Tuna Sun. Same manual color and intensity knobs as the A160. 15watts. First fanless Kessil. Has a mirrored reflector too. Thing looks pretty awesome! $129.99 for the fixture then $25 for a mini gooseneck (it comes with a canopy mount bracket). The tuna blue (reef model) is said to be released October sometime and the Tuna Sun shortly after that. You can pre-order both right now though.
> 
> I think it's what a lot of us are looking for in a nano led. YouTube search for it, there's a few videos (all about the Tuna Blue though but you will get the idea of what it's capable of according to Kessil). The one I watched was from MACNA 2016 and they showcased the A80 and the A2000 (an led for commercial and very large marine tanks) The A2000 is monster!


Thanks for posting this, can`t wait to try one.

Here is a quick cell phone picture i snapped a few mins ago. The Ludwigia was trimmed yesterday morning.This is the A 160 Tuna sun over a 17 gallon at about 50% intensity.


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## glassguppy (Nov 2, 2012)

oh that's very pretty! I just wonder how much brigther though the a80 would be compared to my' eheim's pendant. All I know is watt-wise my' eheim is 7 and the a80 is going to be I think 15....so I guess that's going to allow me to go brighter? But definitely the light coming from that unit you have there....wow ehehe..very coolness indeed. Wish you'd do a video and show what the color temp range looks like. Jacob from jacob's aquarium did one but I didn't see much a difference.


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## RyRob (May 30, 2015)

The biggest difference between the Ehiem and Kessil led is going to be the quality of the light being emitted, regardless of wattage. Basically meaning that Ehiem produces led fixtures to provide viewable light for the tank owner and the light they create is beneficial towards plant growth because any amount of light is beneficial towards plant growth. So it becomes beneficial by default and then used as a marketing ploy to sell nano setups.

Kessil on the other hand, their sole purpose in this industry is to produce led light fixtures to grow all plant types (aquatic, terrestrial, horticulture [emersed aquatic plant farms, marijuana, vegetable gardens, etc.] and also all photosynthetic marine life (all coral, inverts). 

I bet a lot of people would be surprised of what a standard T8 florescent bulb could grow if given the opportunity and tank conditions (ferts, co2, etc.) that people think they need a 300 dollar led for to produce the same amount of plant health and stability.


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