Kessil Amazon Sun for fuge - review and impressions

[sixpackgarage]

MY LFS had a killer deal on the older Kessils.. I was using an A160WE over my fuge as I had it laying around. I thought the Amazon Sun would be better for plants. So far so good. It's been a couple of weeks and there is a new Mangrove growing out of the sand and also seeing some grass and Caulerpa growth. I'll add pics as I go along. I picked up a PMK a couple of days ago and wanted to get a PAR reading. Here it is
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/25/53b9837bc77f9b20c1a5c2115f123d92.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/25/32eecb101e3dc7ab8bdd7ed1ccadbe57.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/25/5d40ec77eb7988f7189b2c2d2723828d.jpg

[saltwater sam]

It doesn't look like your mangroves are getting very much light?

[sixpackgarage]

It doesn't look like your mangroves are getting very much light?


I agree it does not look like it, but they seem happy and there is one baby. Once I get more babies with some foliage, I'll maybe trim the parents. raising the light would be futile because the mangroves have already grown enough where they are touching the bottom of the tank. I also only want to illuminate the fuge section, not the other areas.

[saltwater sam]

They look really unhealthy. Do you see the large spaces between the leaves? That's called the internode, and the internodes are supposed to be much shorter. The leaves aren't supposed to be that far apart. The reason that is happening is because the plants are stretching for light. Healthy plants have short internodes. Just letting you know the facts. If you aren't planning on giving them more light, mangroves might not be the best choice for this setup.

[sixpackgarage]

Noted. If the babies don't become healthy or if the parents start dying, I'll remove them. Time will tell

[saltwater sam]

Your macros and grass look good though. Do you have closer pics of those?

[sixpackgarage]

Your macros and grass look good though. Do you have closer pics of those?


Thanks. I'll get some Friday when I get back from Vegas. The grass is growing decently and the Caulerpa adds a few leaves per day. I still want a bunch more plants.

[carmelpi]

How close are the internodes supposed to be?

[saltwater sam]

This is what they look like when they have plenty of light
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/ecarlson_2010/Mobile%20Uploads/DF87C507-A7D3-436A-8E01-9FB656B456E3.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/ecarlson_2010/media/Mobile%20Uploads/DF87C507-A7D3-436A-8E01-9FB656B456E3.jpg.html)

[carmelpi]

Hrmmm... I just looked at my vacation pictures from Palau (amazing btw!) and the mangrove babies all over looked like yours, with the little close leaves. Looks like I need to up the light under my mantis tank :D

[adamwheel]

I have that light over my display Refugium. It's only been in use for about a week. I had a metal halide typically used for horticulture (2100k). The Kessil is so much more visually appealing. The shimmer is great and I'm already loving it with the assumption 6700k will do very well with macros.

[sixpackgarage]

Ok got a snapshot of the mangrove baby.. I assume that is what this is. It's growing about 1/4" per night
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/28/032f540b23813ce60aeaa7732cda4c4e.jpg

[saltwater sam]

No, I'm pretty sure that's a macro.

[sixpackgarage]

No, I'm pretty sure that's a macro.


Yep, you were correct. Here it is a couple of days later
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/31/933cb084a43e36e454d7023d7c06d887.jpg
Also another thing is coming out of the sand
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/31/f97fa1ef3740649fcc3ec94734ae4739.jpg
Thought this Caulerpa was dead meat, but new leaves are coming out
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/31/c0358872760bcaa2925bc80a4ce85ed8.jpg
Things are cooking
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/31/9f9a841c9f1f8d5a0481035ad3a78f70.jpg

[sixpackgarage]

The little nub looks to be Caulerpa?
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/03/49a712110665b11b349ce140ed5bf82d.jpg

[carmelpi]

Some species of halimeda i'd guess. It looks calciferous?

[sixpackgarage]

Some species of halimeda i'd guess. It looks calciferous?

what's weird is it doesn't look like the other macros that I have.. wondering where it came from..?

[sixpackgarage]

Growing growing
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/07/efdcec1d7c993506631f5c8250b4e167.jpg

[Michael Hoaster]

Cool looking halimeda! May have to add calcium to keep it happy.

I see some nuisance algae starting up. I'd nip that in the bud before it gets out of hand. Maybe add a caulerpa to suck up nutrients. And snails to help with clean up.

[sixpackgarage]

Thanks Michael. I keep my calcium pretty high. I've been pruning the hair algae about once per week. The main tank is looking pretty crisp, so I think the nutrient export is working so far.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/09/9c08367494973536662d1e9b6f86defb.jpg

[sixpackgarage]

Some more weird things growing
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/16/64b5c4805f8d5de02fb14aaaf95be60e.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/16/f0156238f657b5f03d63ec0a61710fe2.jpg
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/16/e70bad82ffcf2111b0e4918ad627b8ec.jpg

[Michael Hoaster]

Nice! Thanks for the pics!

[sixpackgarage]

Nice! Thanks for the pics!

Thanks again Michael, sorry my pics are blurry.. I'm really in need of a camera, or a phone upgrade, or maybe just a steady hand.

I just read most of your biotope thread.. good stuff in there! you have a sweet tank brother.

[Michael Hoaster]

Hey, I thought your pics were great! The more the better I say. Good for record-keeping too.

I'm honored you read my thread-it's gotten rather long. And thanks for the compliments!

[ReefWreak]

So many great threads in this sub-forum, but this is one too for sure.

Thanks for sharing your pics in this thread.

I think for some more IDs, that clear-reddish looking algae might be early growth of gracilaria, and not sure about the macro algae, but your other pics had a boatload of planaria flatworms in it. They're not usually a problem, but can become problematic if nutrients are out of control and they grow over and smother corals. I love the biodiversity in your fuge though.

Display tank looks interesting too. Is it a prop system, or you just like being organized? lol

One last observation, mangroves use up a LOT of magnesium, so while you may be supplementing calcium, depending on the product you're using, you might also be low on magnesium, and then you won't be able to easily balance your calcium and alkalinity anymore. Just a quick tip/FYI :)

[sixpackgarage]

So many great threads in this sub-forum, but this is one too for sure.

Thanks for sharing your pics in this thread.

I think for some more IDs, that clear-reddish looking algae might be early growth of gracilaria, and not sure about the macro algae, but your other pics had a boatload of planaria flatworms in it. They're not usually a problem, but can become problematic if nutrients are out of control and they grow over and smother corals. I love the biodiversity in your fuge though.

Display tank looks interesting too. Is it a prop system, or you just like being organized? lol

One last observation, mangroves use up a LOT of magnesium, so while you may be supplementing calcium, depending on the product you're using, you might also be low on magnesium, and then you won't be able to easily balance your calcium and alkalinity anymore. Just a quick tip/FYI :)

Thanks man. I'm leaning towards doing something about the flatworms, as they are definitely growing in population again.. they seem to diminish and come back, but yes.. definitely acknowledge that now that they are photobombing me. LOL.

About my display tank, it's certainly a love/hate for a lot of people, but I wanted to keep almost everything off the sand as my lawnmower blenny loves thrashing around. I've let a few things migrate to the sand in the last month, or so meaning that I'm not staying true to my initial goal.

I check my magnesium regularly. I run a kalkwasser reactor, but still need to supplement calcium, and use a product that has calcium, magnesium and strontium. Magnesium has been quite high (1500) the last few times I checked, including last night.