A160WE Controllable LED Aquarium Light, Tuna Blue

Fantastic LED aquarium light! I really can't say how great the Kessil A160WE really is, as you have got to see it for yourself. I have had aquariums for well over 35 years, both freshwater and saltwater. I have used just about every type of aquarium light out there at one time or another. This is the very best, by far. I started using LED's about 6 years ago and was quickly sold on the benefits - good plant growth, cool operation, low energy consumption, etc. The LED strip lights from Marineland were just about as good as it gets until I started watching Jacob's Aquarium on YouTube. Great channel if you haven't discovered it yet, BTW - thanks Jacob. Jacob reviews the Kessil line and I was impressed enough to order one of these bad boys for my 30 gallon (30LX12WX18D) planted freshwater tank. Normally the price would have given me pause, but it was one of my crazy moments and I ordered it. I also ordered the gooseneck mounting arm and the Kessil Spectral Controller. I had it all set up in about 30 minutes - not bad for an old guy like me having to figure out the electronic controller programming. I have mine installed 5 inches above the waterline - about 19 inches above the substrate level. Coverage in my tank is great, though they say it is only good for a 24" spread. There is some lessening of the intensity at the edges of the 30 inch length, but that isn't a problem really. You can manually control the spectrum and intensity by the knobs on the top of the unit, but using the controller is fantastic as you can set it up so the light mimics the natural day long intensity and spectrum pattern and turn on and off the system automatically. Both plants and fish have responded to this greatly. Fish behavior is now based on the "time of day" this light creates and plant growth has been super. As others have said, the shimmer created enhances the natural sun light effect and is just cool to see. Yep this is on the expensive side but worth it. Your plants and fish will thank you.

First off, I love the shimmer in the water. I haven't had that shimmer since leaving MH. It is just great. Another thing is that these lights don't light up the water column but instead hit directly on objects in the water. This makes plants and fish pop out as well as any debris in the water. The best LED fixtures produce less useless yellow/green spectrum light than traditional lights, as these new technology LED emitters can be selected for the exact wavelength of light, thus almost no or little useless yellow or green light is emitted. So, although the LED may seem less bright than some HO lights with the naked eye (such as T5s or MH) the actual output of light energy in spectrums we cannot see (CRI) is much higher, this is why gauging a light by what you see is highly inaccurate. So even those these lights don't look as 'bright' to the naked eye as my old T5's, they are putting out way more usable light for the plants and boy does it show! My plants have exploded with growth. I have 2 of these units and I am using a combined 2 watts more than the old T5's. The ROI is a bit long but the fact is that I don't have to buy T5 bulbs any more - which saves me time and money. You like money too? We should hang out (Idiocracy reference). LEDs put out very specific spectrums of light, which are defined by the manufacturer. LED manufacturers can fine tune emmiters to put out exactly the spectrum specified by the client. Since PAR meters measure light between 400-700nm, an LED array putting out less par than a broad spectrum flourescent fixture may actually be putting out more photosynthetically usable radiation (PUR). So don't judge these lights by PAR value alone. Be aware though that due to the nature of LED lighting the color shift is mainly for the human eye and not that much for the plants. Great stuff!

I have this running on a tank on the opposite side of the room from a pair of AI Nano Super Blues. The Kessil has better depth of color, but I expect the considering it is three years newer. One slight downside compared to the AI, is that the Kessil can't go quite as dim. When it transitions from its lowest setting to off, it's a stark change, always catching my attention fairly dramatically, especially when compared to the AIs, which barely catch my attention when they turn off from their lowest settings. (I am using the Kessil Spectral Controller with this.) That aside, this is an incredible light, and well worth the expensive over that of the Kessil A150, which I replaced with this. The A150 had a VERY loud fan, which other reviewers of it have mentioned. While still audible, the fan on the Kessil A160WE is quite enough that it doesn't bother me at all. This unit is running on a 5 gallon pico tank. It's way more power and dispersion than the tank needs, but my LPS and softies are thriving equally as well as similar ones under my AI Nano lights. This is a great little unit, and I highly recommend it.

Nice and bright for Planted aquarium plants, will grow dwarf hair grass and dwarf baby tears. The intensity adjustment is what makes this product a standout, along with the color adjustment capability. Pricey for a seemingly small product but very bright. The water shimmers from surface movement that is a nice penetrating effect. I have two over my 48 inch long tank by 21 in deep. The plants have responded nicely to the new lighting. They were not getting enough light with. a (1) T4 6500 double bulb fixture compact fluorescent, a (2) Beamswork 48"-52" single bright LED fixture 800 and an (3) Aquatic Life LED Aquarium Light Fixture 48". These new Kessils will enable me to grow anything thing I want. The spacing is 24" apart which according to their website will give ample coverage. I will see the results and add my results at a later date. These lights are nicely housed in a rigid body with a cooling fan which is nearly silent. The housing gets warm only, not hot at all. I bought the Tuna Sun model and the goose neck to mount on my 72 gallon bowfront which fits perfectly. The gooseneck is very good quality not moving at all when positioned where you want it. All the mounting hardware is included in the light fixture packaging including brass hooks, metal triangles the gooseneck screw receptacle and the screws. The product is complete and well made. The light housing has some weight to it feeling like it's a well built fixture, the adjusting knobs (pots) are very good quality and have a retention in them which will make them stay where they are adjusted to. This has been a quality purchase for me which I hope will last the 50,000 hours of predicted use per the website.

Best lights I've ever had. I have done all the other variants, first led lights I've had. I also, have the kessil controller, which I'd also recommend. I'm using 2 of them on a 55g with a 5in sandbed. My corals are loving them! This is also the first time I have tried keeping sps, some montiporas. Everything is doing really well and the dim feature is awesome. I was debating between these and the 360's but, I'm definitely not regretting my purchase. I have a 210 waiting to upgrade to and was thinking about using these on the ends and some 360's in the middle, but not sure If I should get the 360's maybe just 2 more of these. I've only had one death a monti, that I think bleached from being placed to high in the rock work. I've since put it on the sand bed and there is color coming back so maybe not dead. As another reviewer mentioned, no need to purchase the kessil link cable, just a regular double ended headphone jack.

Really wanted to like this light, but it is overpowered (not in a good way) and under delivers. The shimmer effect is nice, but even at its lowest setting, the light is ridiculously bright. Too bright for most freshwater fish. After 2+ years of observation, my plants have never responded well to this lighting, and I have tried various different settings and used the spectral controller as well. I could see how Kessil lighting would be great for saltwater setups, but the Tuna Sun is really leaving something to be desired for freshwater...

I have a 32g BioCube and with the stock LED lighting and I thought (according to the claims made by Coralife) that it would be sufficient for growing a reef. Wrong. My corals just never seemed happy. Corals would live about 3-4 months, get sad, and then die. I just didn't understand. I switched to this light and it's like everything, even the fish, just came alive. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but I have two clown fish, and they have completely ignored the anemones in my tank ever since I got the anemones several months ago. Literally the next morning after I installed this light, one of the clowns started hosting one of the anemones. I couldn't believe it. Don't know if the light had anything to do with it, but this development seems correlated. Anyway, I will write an update after I've had it for a few months, but I love it so far. Beautiful color, vast variable adjustments can be made to color and intensity, and the shimmer is lovely.

I bought these for my 75 gallon mixed reef marine aquarium. I grow coral and keep several types of fish and invertebrates. I've been in the reef aquarium hobby for over 10 years and have had coral for 10. I always used MH and T5 combo's, but I decided to make the switch d/t look, electricity cost, and heat production. These Kessil's were easy to assemble, easy to hang, and easy to program with the spectral controller (purcheased separately). All of the coral I had in my tank when I made the switch is still going strong. The lights look beautiful, and I am very happy with that.I have however added several corals since purchasing these lights and only a few are doing well after 2 months. I acclimated my coral when I made the switch, but I didn't acclimate the new corals, and I am wondering if this could be the reason rather than the actual lights themselves. The LFS I bought the new coral from had all T5 lighting, and maybe the LED's were just too strong. Since all of my original coral is alive and doing well after 4 months, I must assume the new coral's death is d/t lack of acclimation. I am now starting a new acclimation cycle, and will update this review if I see results. I will still give these lights 5 stars since I am still highly satisfied with them.

lamp quality was good. Tested working. Can't wait to install on my tank to try its effect.