Kessil A500X Deep Dive: Possibly the Best Reef Tank Light for Hobbyists with SPS Corals, Deep Tanks, and Deep Pockets

The A500X is an all-new, purpose-built pendant light brought to us by the brainy biologists and enterprising engineers over at Kessil.

What is under the hood of this bad boy? Don’t be shy! Take a look for yourself:

Technical Specifications

The A500X is the latest addition to Kessil's growing Aquarium Series which made its industry debut back in 2009 with the A160.

Fast-forward to right... about... NOW. Wow, 12 years just flew by at light speed!

I remember feeling excited about Kessil's future in the hobby after testing their original smaller-than-a-soda-can A160 light that shone so bright thanks to Kessil's patented Dense Matrix Technology.

That little light lit the industry on fire. The build quality was outstanding. The spectrum was optimal. The control was easy. And it was affordable. Can we say the same about the A500X?

Let's recap the entire A-Series just to refresh your memory of their all-star roster of popular products. Although most of the A-Series shares the cylindrical look of the A500X, Kessil does offer a couple of panel lights. The highly rated AP9X is Kessil’s other most recent light release. It debuted last year and came to market just before the Philips CoralCare. Both were widely praised and earned positive feedback from industry influencers and the general reefkeeping community.

Coverage Specifications

A Performance-Built Light for Deep Tanks with SPS Corals

The aquarium hobby has many layers and dimensions to it. Like other hobbies, the deeper you get into it, the more sophisticated it becomes. Keeping live corals definitely belongs in that upper echelon of the fi and this is especially true in the case of SPS corals. One of the most important requirements in this regard happens to be the lighting. While there is almost an unlimited number of options when it comes to beginner and intermediate setups, the choices start to dwindle quite considerably as far as lighting for an advanced setup is concerned such as one with SPS corals. One brand that has been delivering quality products in this segment happens to be Kessil and their latest A500X Tuna Blue has upped the ante even more.

The Benefits Of Led With The Power Of Halides

For a very long time, the only real feasible lighting option for demanding SPS corals and other corals with similarly high light requirements has been halides. Even though they are great when it comes to the light output and color spectrum required, they tend to be bulky while also consuming a lot of power and generating a lot of heat. LEDs might seem like the perfect solution for all these issues, but they too had their limitations, that is up until now. Mostly, they weren't able to supply the high-intensity light needed for SPS corals in a form factor that was practical. Halides thus remained the only viable option. However, the Kessil A500X is a game-changer that provides the best of both worlds while keeping most of the cons of each at bay.

Despite its diminutive form-factor, the A500X is plenty powerful at 185 Watts. This is achieved using Dense Matrix LED technology. In simple terms, this technology allows a hundred LEDs to be packed into a small area. Normally, such a dense placement of LEDs would generate a lot of heat necessitating the need for heavy and huge heatsinks, but the LEDs used in the A500X are high-efficiency ones that produce a minimal amount of heat. Each of the diodes can be driven at less than 2 watts which not only makes it a very practical light but one that is also easy on the pocket in the long term as it can make a marked difference to the power consumption of a high-end aquarium setup.

This further means that the heatsink can stay within a manageable form factor without affecting the light's durability. Kessel has taken things up a notch by repurposing most of the rear of this light itself into a heatsink. An intelligently designed fan with metal fins keeps the noise levels low without affecting the cooling efficiency. All of this together keeps its dimensions within manageable limits. As a result, the A500X LED spotlight is as powerful as any standard halide light meant for aquariums while being quite reasonably sized.

Versatility Is The Name Of The Game

One of the beauties of this hobby is that it allows each hobbyist to express themselves in their own unique way. However, there are certain situations when the hobbyist has to limit themselves because of the inflexible nature of the equipment they are forced to use. Tradition spotlights used to create such problems as they did not offer a lot of leeway when it came to their placement or adjustment. LEDs, on the other hand, are highly customizable and this property is fully exploited in the A500X.

The native beam angle of this light is 110° which is quite wide and is great for most general applications and for tanks that are not too deep (less than 2 feet). However, if you want a deeper penetration then you can use the bundled 55° magnetic reflector which provides a more focused beam of light that is sufficient for tanks that are up to 3 feet deep.

If even that does not cut it for your aquarium, then you can pair this light with a 35° reflector that is good enough for tanks that are 4 feet deep. You can also use this reflector if you want to place the light high up for a truly hindrance-free aquarium top. The only caveat is that this 55° conical reflector must be bought separately.

This versatility also extends to the mounting possibilities of the Kessil A500X. It weighs in at 780 grams or less than two pounds and that is well within the load-bearing capabilities of most gooseneck mounts. This weight does not include the Wi-Fi dongle or the full-angle adapter though. A rigid mounting arm is hence the best option as it is the most secure way of fixing this light along with these attachments.

As alluded to earlier, depending on the use of reflectors and the height at which it is mounted, it can serve a wide array of lighting needs making it a true jack of all trades, which contrary to the norm is actually good at every task it is designed for.

Customizability At Your Fingertips

LEDs by their very nature are a lot easier to control using digital circuits and this gives rise to many interesting possibilities as exhibited by this light from Kessil. The A500X features multicolor and multichannel control. This gives you the ability to control the blue and white channels without having to use any other device in conjunction with this light. This customizability can be expanded upon by connecting the A500X to either the Spectral Controller or the Wi-Fi Dongle.

Either of these devices will allow control over three more channels. These include a deep red channel, a rich green channel, and a violet channel that controls both the violet and indigo emitters. As you would have probably guessed by now, these channels will allow you to dial in the exact color temperature that your corals need to thrive in. This coupled with the beam angle adjustments and the flexibility in mounting heights allows for near-infinite customization possibilities.

Kessil Resources

That raises the question of how all these features can be controlled? The answer is elegantly simple - a smartphone.

You can use any Android or iOS phone to connect directly to the Wi-Fi dongle without needing any additional cables or other hardware. Kessil has designed a very intuitive app. Usually, apps bundled with aquarium equipment tend to be nothing more than a gimmick but the A500X’s app is a happy exception to this rule.

The app features a friendly interface that will allow you to shape the light as precisely as you want. You can program this light to automatically change various parameters depending on the time of the day. You can also create breathtaking lighting effects including a mesmerizing shimmer as and when needed.

SPS Corals and The Kessil A500X - A Match Made in Heaven

There is a reason only the seasoned veterans of the reef aquarium hobby even consider keeping SPS corals. These corals need high-intensity light that is uniformly distributed over a considerably large surface area, with adequate depth penetration, and covering a wide frequency range of the spectrum.

Designing a lighting system that meets all these criteria is a tall order and usually involves using multiple light fixtures of different types working in tandem. Even then, these lighting systems can come up short. The A500X however manages to meet and exceed all these requirements with ease. It can provide uniform high-intensity lighting over an area that is 36" in diameter and with adequate depth penetration of 2 feet in its standard fixture.

Let’s Talk Value. Are You Going to Get Your Money’s Worth? 

Usually, products with this many positives tend to cost an arm and a leg which means they become highly exclusive products serving a very niche market. The A500X is not cheap by any means, but it is among the more affordable options that will allow you to keep SPS corals and other light-demanding corals with relative ease in a deeper-than-average reef aquarium.

The standard price of this light is $739. In addition to the light, you also get the power supply, an AC adapter cable, one hanging ring, two hanging brackets, and the 55° magnetic reflector in the box. It offers even more bang for the buck in the long run because of its superior efficiency and relatively lower power consumption.

It has been suggested that the A500X could be an option for public aquarium installations. From a performance perspective, I agree this Kessil model could be a candidate for commercial applications. But from a safety standpoint, I would be hesitant to use a light that doesn't have at least an IP65-rating and a UL Listing, like the Philips CoralCare Gen2, which our own Yuliya Ivanova recently wrote about here on Reef Hacks.

What’s the Verdict? Is This a Light Reef Hacks Would Recommend?

Absolutely. The Kessel A500X is one of those rare products that lives up to the hype. It will make reef-keepers with deep tanks full of SPS Corals easier to care for, no doubt about it. Kessil Logic makes the more demanding corals accessible to the common reefer. I think for the right hobbyist this light is a worthwhile investment into your future success growing SPS corals.

Things I love about the Kessil A500X:

• High power output and photon volume density
• Exceptional light spread and depth penetration
• Flexibility in terms of spread and depth penetration
• Relatively small form factor
• Lightweight and does not get too hot
• Covers a wide gamut of the color spectrum
• Highly customizable thanks to smart communication
• The app is useful and makes controlling the light a lot easier

Specifications

• Dimensions: 3.7" x 5.2" / 9.4cm x 13.3cm
• Unit Weight: 1.72lb / 0.78kg
• Spectrum: Tuna Blue (White and Blue) + Red + Green + Purple (also includes Indigo)
• Power Consumption: AC 185 Watts Maximum
• Cooling: Active Cooling

I have to give credit where credit is due. My fellow Californians in Richmond working at Kessil did an exceptional job with the A500X. Illuminating the bottom of a deep reef aquarium can be a challenge. You practically need to be a certified diver just to reach the bottom of the tank to take a proper PAR measurement.

The A500X has no problem delivering the light energy young frags need to grow up and be fat and colorful like the mother colony they were plucked from. Honestly, you will be hard-pressed to find another consumer-grade light that can penetrate depths like this light can. The color mixing and shimmer are exactly what you would expect from Kessil. They are a leader in reef lighting for a reason!

Transmitting light energy down the dynamic depths of a tall reef aquarium is a tall order to ask of any light manufacturer. The Kessil team accepted this challenge and has provided the most essential features and functionality a modern reefer needs to succeed.

We’ll be revisiting the Kessil A500X soon with a hands-on review, and hopefully, some quotes from the manufacturer. We reached out to the company twice but did not hear back in time for publication. We asked thought-provoking questions and look forward to sharing answers from company representatives soon. Keep your eyes open for a companion article to this introduction, where we hope to fill in a few blanks, take more hands-on photos, and put the light through its paces for an official product review. See you next time!