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BC29 - DIY or Prime HD


kf4zht

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After about 6 years of running the hood is falling apart on my BC29. Pieces of plastic are literally falling off. I am also having a harder and harder time finding the bulbs local and spending $50-60 ever 6-9 months is getting old. It is time to go LED

 

Typically I am a big DIY guy, I even grabbed a massive heatsink a while back for this project. Looking at most builds I based it off 12 cool white and 12 royal blue. Pricing from RapidLED I can get the LEDs, drivers, controllers, lenses, etc for around $250. I would need to fab up a mount arm

 

Talking to the LFS they presented the AI Prime HD as an option. Around $225 + mount, wifi compatible. Told it would be plenty of power

 

Curiously since the AI used a wider range of LEDs I repriced the rapid LEDs order with the same mix and the price went to around $300

 

Normally I like DIY, but it is really hard to go in knowing that it will cost more to take longer and do more work. Since I don't have any real experience on this side I wanted to hear what y'all experiences and thoughts are.

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I am not trying to Knock RapidLed, but, for me, I am not a DIYer.

I bought and use the AI Prime (Non HD). Got it before the HD came out.

I like it very much. Plug and Play. It was a little tricky for me to

use the WIFI connection to my Desktop computer.

Like I said, I am not much of DIY. Some, like yourself, enjoy that stuff

and I get understand

A)The Challenge

B ) Maybe cost effective as in more economical to do.

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Every since the Prime hit the market,its been a major hit with its wireless control and some what vast spectrul coverage especually for nano guys who want control when drivers and controllers are readily available but once you get everything you could pretty much buy 2 primes lol.

 

That being said,I think a Prime would be suffice,honestly.

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I had a BC29 with a 12 cool white/12 royal blue retro back in the day when it was the thing to do. It worked and looked okay. MAJOR disco effect.

 

I now have 2 Primes over a 36" long tank and they are great. Controllable from anywhere, great spectrum (could be touch better with warm white instead of cool and ditch the red). Very happy with the growth and my tank is filling in nicely. I don't have them turned up to the intensity of what I had in the BC29, but I also don't have the algae problems I did have with 24 LEDs an inch from the water and lack of air circulation/exchange.

 

I would go with one Prime. You'll have to run it high to match a retro, but your plastic hood is falling apart anyways. I would go ahead and de-rim the BioCube, too. With a Prime it would look great.

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I have the Ai Prime over my 15g which is 24" long.

 

I really like the light. I'm not a diy person either, the Primes a decent price.

 

I know others have used 1 over the 29g bc.

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I like the prime a lot - but depending on what corals you have may be pushing it... It will work but won't be a PAR monster... DIY on the other hand you can scale it some.

 

I'm not sure where you get $300 for a DIY - maybe you're going overkill? IMO a good DIY for a biocube would be picking up like 4 3-ups NW/RB combos and then add few each blue/cyan, a few violet if you're into them, and maybe some lime. If you already have the heatsink you'll just need a power supply, 4 LDD drivers, and a controller - like the Storm. Seems like $60-70 for LEDs, $40 for PSU, $30 for LDD drivers, $65 for Storm controller is more like $200... I guess you would also need some extra stuff like solder paste, wire, screws, solder, etc...

 

I dunno... I just like DIY stuff. But it's hard to beat the Prime... The app is pretty sweet - the mounting solution is pretty sweet, and the light itself is also pretty sweet.

 

But DIY!

 

Good luck.

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I like the prime a lot - but depending on what corals you have may be pushing it... It will work but won't be a PAR monster... DIY on the other hand you can scale it some.

 

I'm not sure where you get $300 for a DIY - maybe you're going overkill? IMO a good DIY for a biocube would be picking up like 4 3-ups NW/RB combos and then add few each blue/cyan, a few violet if you're into them, and maybe some lime. If you already have the heatsink you'll just need a power supply, 4 LDD drivers, and a controller - like the Storm. Seems like $60-70 for LEDs, $40 for PSU, $30 for LDD drivers, $65 for Storm controller is more like $200... I guess you would also need some extra stuff like solder paste, wire, screws, solder, etc...

 

I dunno... I just like DIY stuff. But it's hard to beat the Prime... The app is pretty sweet - the mounting solution is pretty sweet, and the light itself is also pretty sweet.

 

But DIY!

 

Good luck.

 

The $300 was for the exact mix and qty of LEDs that the Prime has. The drivers really make it add up, even if you have 1 LED of a color its $10+ by the time you have the LED and driver.

 

It sounds like the prime is a good option. While I like DIY, i'm not going to go out of my way to do more work and spend more money. Got too much going on.

 

As I see it, if the prime is enough (I don't have clams or other high light requirements) then it makes the most sense. If you told me one wasn't enough and I would need 2, then the DIY way makes more sense, you can easily up the LED count without adding significant driver expense.

 

I do need to get a top cut. Not sure if I want to try cutting the glass myself or having a shop do it. Need to call around and see who is in the area. Can't go topless due to a cat that likes to play go fish.

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The $300 was for the exact mix and qty of LEDs that the Prime has. The drivers really make it add up, even if you have 1 LED of a color its $10+ by the time you have the LED and driver.

 

It sounds like the prime is a good option. While I like DIY, i'm not going to go out of my way to do more work and spend more money. Got too much going on.

 

As I see it, if the prime is enough (I don't have clams or other high light requirements) then it makes the most sense. If you told me one wasn't enough and I would need 2, then the DIY way makes more sense, you can easily up the LED count without adding significant driver expense.

 

I do need to get a top cut. Not sure if I want to try cutting the glass myself or having a shop do it. Need to call around and see who is in the area. Can't go topless due to a cat that likes to play go fish.

 

 

 

Hey go in the middle. NanoBox retro, keep the lid and have some DIY while an awesome light.

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The $300 was for the exact mix and qty of LEDs that the Prime has. The drivers really make it add up, even if you have 1 LED of a color its $10+ by the time you have the LED and driver.

 

It sounds like the prime is a good option. While I like DIY, i'm not going to go out of my way to do more work and spend more money. Got too much going on.

 

As I see it, if the prime is enough (I don't have clams or other high light requirements) then it makes the most sense. If you told me one wasn't enough and I would need 2, then the DIY way makes more sense, you can easily up the LED count without adding significant driver expense.

 

I do need to get a top cut. Not sure if I want to try cutting the glass myself or having a shop do it. Need to call around and see who is in the area. Can't go topless due to a cat that likes to play go fish.

 

IMO you'll be fine with a prime - but note that with a DIY you don't need to follow their LED choices exactly... Also, were you using Meanwell LDD drivers? Those are only about $7-8 each so $28 or so for 4 drivers and then just snag a power supply for another $30.

 

I've done a glass cover before and at least in my case I had a bunch of condensation form under it - which could reduce light intensity some. Just something to consider - I've thought about doing a hybrid approach too...

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Hey go in the middle. NanoBox retro, keep the lid and have some DIY while an awesome light.

 

I have to fish bits of the lid out of the water as it crumbles, so keeping the lid is out on either option

 

 

 

IMO you'll be fine with a prime - but note that with a DIY you don't need to follow their LED choices exactly... Also, were you using Meanwell LDD drivers? Those are only about $7-8 each so $28 or so for 4 drivers and then just snag a power supply for another $30.

 

I've done a glass cover before and at least in my case I had a bunch of condensation form under it - which could reduce light intensity some. Just something to consider - I've thought about doing a hybrid approach too...

 

That was with LDD drivers. $7 driver + $3 LED. I did spring for the LDD boards to make wiring easier.

 

I plan on using a glass rectangle for the majority of the cover but cutting some markalon sheet I have for the front and back flip ups Easier to match the curve with plastic than glass. I was going to mill some vent slots in the ends, hopefully that will help with condensation.

 

 

I prefer DIY so i can choose the exact LEDs I want.

 

I don't know what LEDs I need, so I've just looked at what others have done.

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I have to fish bits of the lid out of the water as it crumbles, so keeping the lid is out on either option

 

 

 

That was with LDD drivers. $7 driver + $3 LED. I did spring for the LDD boards to make wiring easier.

 

I plan on using a glass rectangle for the majority of the cover but cutting some markalon sheet I have for the front and back flip ups Easier to match the curve with plastic than glass. I was going to mill some vent slots in the ends, hopefully that will help with condensation.

 

 

 

I don't know what LEDs I need, so I've just looked at what others have done.

 

Yea surprisingly just royal blues/Actinics and cool white warm white color mix is about the best it gets. I go 10% 420, 60% 460, 20% cool white 6500 and 10% warm white 3500. Excellent for growth and coverage. Thats the perfect blend IMO. I use wide angle lenses or one large reflector and its essential the same as a 12k metal halide with far less heat and electricity.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had the HD over my 29 biocube. It is a very good light. Ive had successful sps growth without dosing so i give credit to the light. Sleek and modern looking. Lots of features as well for all you tech guys/girls

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  • 1 month later...

Ended up with the Prime HD and happy with it. Took longer to get the old stuff off than to install. The phone app is a little annoying if you like the numbers to be nice round ones, so I used the web app to setup.

 

If anyone needs some oceanic bc29 ballasts I have 4 now, figured I would pass them on to someone who could use them rather than chucking them

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