Kessil AP700's

So I've had my ATI LED Hybrid for two years and it is a beast of a light, but finding a good bulb combo and changing bulbs was a pain in the as while I was running it inside an open canopy. I haven't done SPS in years, and I doubt I will any time soon with graduate school. I could never close the canopy because of the heat and it required me to run loud computer fans to keep the light cool. So once it was time to change the bulbs, I decided to go a different direction and give Kessil a try. I've always liked the concept of multichip LEDs as the disco effect is highly minimized and color blending is far superior. The AP 700 appears to have improved spectrum from the 360's and the extra controllability was nice.

I bit the bullet (and it was a big bullet) and went with two AP 700's which I got a decent deal on. I wanted to mount the lights perpendicular, but due to my open canopy design, that didn't work. So I mounted them parallel. I was afraid not to cover the 30" width of the tank, but it illuminated it pretty well. I hung the light at about 12".

As for color, certain settings remind me of a 20k radium look on a magnetic ballast; white light, with a hint of blue. As far as how corals look, I'll let you know when I get more! I just have a few anemones a green hammer and frogspawn. They looked pretty similar under the Kessils as they did on the T5's. The light is definitely not as bright/intense as my 8 bulb T5 and is a little more subdued, but still acceptable. As far as PAR is concerned, I have no idea. Nor will I without a PAR meter. Hopefully, I can stock the tank with some LPS in the upcoming weeks.

Overall, so far so good, but it's way too early to tell. I know I will have an uphill battle with programming the lights as the software is pretty terrible.

Below are some pictures...

I used the ap700 at max, and I liked it a lot.

I have two over my 6 foot tank and I love it, aside from the software issue its an awesome light.

I'm digging it so far. Will have more feedback when I add more corals.

Can you link two Kessils together and control them at the same time? I'm dreading programming them. lol

Yes, I have them link together so they can be control the same time. I've heard people having issue with two or more linking them but I have not had that issue. the programming are not that difficult but can be annoying at times. my biggest complaint is that you'll need a windows base computer to do the update. Although I was a Mac version will be coming out soon.

I take it you're referring to the firmware update on their website?

correct

you can link both at the same time. go to their Facebook page and get on their beta software...

Thanks. I got into the beta iPhone app. I was able to link the two, but only by connecting directly to them.

I connect to them via router. Not direct connection. Try the router wifi option.

I did, but it just wouldn't find the fixtures for some reason.

make sure you are on the correct network. you have to be on router wife and not cellular network...

if it doesn't work... delete both fixture and start again...

if it doesn't work, then give kessil a call. they are very helpful.

I have two also, and have never been able to set bye WIFI. I always have to link up directly, your WIFI has to be on the kessil network light on your device, or will never link up .. I've tried multiple times and have given up just link up directly and save yourself hours of frustration. To link them together just link one bye one (directly) not wifi !! And then group both lights together using the number on left hand upper corner of individual light, make both under group #1 and then use the "find me " button to verify there linked together.. I'm not using the Beta app yet , maybee this weekend....

This is how I link both together it's much easier. I'm also not using the beta app.

So it's been almost a month since using the AP 700 and I wanted to give a bit of an update. I like the look of the light and it reminds me of metal halide. I bought the two diffusion lenses and the shimmer is a lot more natural and reserved. While the predefined blue/white settings are pretty good, the control knob on the 360's are a lot more precise in finding the exact color you want because it is controlled by a knob. The left side of the color wheel it split into sections and is not a true color wheel like the right side is. But all that aside, the addition of red and green give the light more vibrance and make the reds in the tank look good. I'm still looking to find some red corals in the tank, but my earl's, flames, and rose banded wrasse glow in the tank. I wish I had a PAR meter so I could report PAR values, but alas, I don't have one. The light is dimmer than my 8 bulb T5's, but that was expected. The software still needs a lot of work, but it is manageable and tolerable. More updates as I get more coral in.

Here's a link, brs did PAR test on a few popular led light and AP700 is one of them.. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V7XLgLiA0PM