Today on BRStv we are going to do something fun and do an in-depth review of the Kessil
LED lights.
Hi, I'm Ryan host of BRStv where each week we discuss a new topic related to reefing.
This week we are going to review the Kessil LED lights.
While they have a variety of models we are going to focus on the 360's . We will touch
on Kessil as a company first, then we will hit on external appeal, internal appeal, controllability,
cost per led, build quality, warranty support and finally finish we'll finish with a few
details on how many you would need for your tank and which model to get.
Kessil is actually a brand produced by Dicon industries which is not your typical aquarium
company.
These guys have been in lighting and optics for over 27 years and their facility in the
San Francisco area is absolutely state of the art.
They are the only company in our industry capable of designing and producing their own
LED's based on their actual use rather than just purchasing them from larger vendors like
Cree and assembling them.
The ability to control the technology from beginning to end with a specific purpose in
mind is what really sets them apart from everyone else in our industry and I think you will
see this in the results with their product.
The single small source of light, uniform spread, uniform color blending and small form
factor results in something a typical reefer can get excited about.
We have been so happy with their aquarium lights we actually ventured out and purchased
their studio lights under the Felix brand for our photo machine that produces the 360
degree images on our site as well in a ton of our videos.
They are absolutely better than any other studio lighting we have used here at BRS.
Ok so what about Kessil and reefing?
First thing we will hit on is external appeal.
People often overlook this but honestly who cares what the inside of the tank looks like
if the outside is an eyesore?
Anyone who has seen one of these knows they look absolutely stunning on the smaller cube
and rectangular tanks like the Nuvos from Innovative Marine.
Honestly the Kessil is on a very short list of lights I would consider for tanks like
this and they have become super popular for everyone here at the office.
I honestly wasn't sure if they would be as stunning on larger tanks but after putting
two on my office tank I think I would be comfortable using them on basically any size tank.
The things that make them look sharp on smaller tanks seem to apply on basically any size.
For mounting them you have two options.
You can hang them from the supplied hardware or you can use the more popular option which
is the Gooseneck.
These things are ideal for the person who doesn't want to spend all day trying to drill
holes in their ceiling and mounting their light.
This thing just screws right on to the side of the tank.
The bracket works on rimmed and rimless tanks as well as even mounted sideways for acrylic
tanks with euro bracing.
They also just came out with a unique little accessory which makes the goose neck even
more low profile.
It does raise the lights a bit but rather than have the gooseneck arch down you can
have it go straight out, something I think a lot of people will appreciate.
My only complaint would be the lack of a really good cord management option which is something
I think a lot of people would pay for if it existed.
Over all I think the Kessil 360 comes in really high in external aesthetic appeal.
Ok so most of you care more about what it looks like inside the tank.
If you have seen any of the other videos we have done on these you already know we are
in love with the shimmer.
I have never been able to achieve natural-looking shimmer lines like these with any other light
source, including metal halides.
I will say getting lines like that is a mix of using a single source of light combined
with low agitation on the surface of the tank but even if you can't achieve that the shimmer
is always very natural looking and nothing like the disco ball effect found on most wide
array LED light sources.
The color blending is what I'd call perfect as well.
With many LED's you end up seeing red and green specs of light floating all over or
the back of the tank looks like it is on fire.
With the 360 you don't see that because all of the LED's are all packed so tightly together
under a single lens.
I have to say I am also impressed with the color in a way I didn't think I would be.
so it is obvious that the color spectrum is much wider when we put the Kessils over the
tank .
In fact if you look at the edge of where the light lands you can see some of the different
colors within the light which have been separated out in a prism like effect.
I can see red, deep violets, yellow and purple.
One of the things I also really like to look at is price per LED and at $450 with 45 LED's
these come out to just over $10 per diode which is less than half some of the more expensive
options.
In fact the Kessil 360 comes in amongst the lowest cost retail options out there when
cost per LED is considered.
Moving on I think controllability is going to be one of those things that either makes
or breaks this light for you.
There is pretty limited controllability.
Basically two knobs on top.
One controls the intensity and other controls the color spectrum from white to blue.
I will say that there is something pretty satisfying about turning a knob and finding
the color you like in seconds.
This of course doesn't allow you to plot fancy graphs and control each individual spectrum
like you can with some of their competitors and while that is cool not everyone wants
that level of control or has the desire to hook up their computer to the light to program
it.
There is absolutely something to be said for simplicity and the ease of use these two knobs
provide.
Normally I am a gear junky and naturally like all the fancy programing options but I have
to be honest I really like the simplicity here and I know a lot of people I would recommend
this light to based on this alone.
I know this is going to be attractive to a lot of you who don't want to spend hours programing.
That's not to say that it doesn't have any fancy programing options because you can hook
it up to controllers like the Neptune to change the intensity of the light throughout the
day as well as the color spectrum.
If you own a controller like this and a Kessil it is almost certainly something you will
end up doing at some point.
When I am looking at a LED fixture's build quality I am really looking at the fixtures
ability to cool the LED's properly.
The Kessil comes in a really compact form factor with a fan and heat sink mounted directly
to the LED's . We took this one apart so you could get a better view of how it functions.
You can see the large volume of thin fins on the heat sink which do get warm to the
touch but I wouldn't call them hot.
The base plate does get warm up a bit if left on long enough.
The fan is dead silent and while it doesn't move an enormous amount of air it does seem
well optimized for the heat sink because the fins are only warm even after being left on
for a long period of time.
I know low profile absolutely silent operation is critical for many reefers.
Overall I think the cooling system and overall build quality for such a small form factor
present an excellent value, especially at this price point.
To back that up they do come with a one year warranty and since they are located here in
the US getting parts or service should be pretty easy.
The 360 comes on two sizes narrow and wide.
I think most people will be best served with the wide version which spreads light out 140
degrees and covers a two foot area down to 30".
The wider angle also allows you to place them closer to the water in tight environments
like a lower profile hood.
The narrow version has a reflector on the pendent which focuses the light to a much
sharper 60 degrees spread and covers a 18" area.
The focused light increases the PAR and ideal for tanks over 30" deep.
If you are looking to have a SPS dominant tank you may also appreciate the higher overall
PAR numbers by selecting the narrow version and spacing them 18 inches apart.
However for the most common tanks which is generally a mixed tank less than 24" deep
we suggest one 360 wide for every two feet of tank space.
Only time I would suggest going against that is if euro bracing or cross bracing get in
the way like it would on a 5 foot tank.
Three foot tanks or odd ball sizes like this 40" one here will likely need two as well.
One last think to note if you are thinking about picking two of these don't forget to
get the data link cable which allows you to link multiple units together that all operate
off the master units controls so they all match intensity and spectrum perfectly.
If you have any other questions or comments other reefers might find helpful checkout
the comments area below.
If this is your first time with us don't forget to subscribe, see you all next week with another
episode of BRStv.