Max footprint for AI Prime HD

[ahud]

I'm upgrading to a rimless style tank with sump. What is the max size footprint that a single Prime HD would cover comfortable? I''m looking at nano rimless tanks from UNS, Aquamaxx, Mr Aqua and ADA. So tons of sizing options.

[Travis]

18” x 18”

[ahud]

Forgot to add LPS and Softies only. I do not want to deal with dosing Alk and Calc on such a small volume of water. Does that change anything?

[Travis]

Not really. Aesthetically speaking, you will get very dramatic shading on the edges of the tank. Some coral might do ok in those areas but it would not be optimal. 

[ahud]

Would I see those effects on at 18x18"

[Travis]

Should be quite even. 

[ahud]

Thank you Travis. That gives me something to work off of. 

 

 

 

 

[jeffthomas]

I keep LPS and softies in Nuvo 20 with single Prime HD mounted 12" above water. Spread is great, minimal shading and things are colored up and growing nicely. Actually max out at 70% Blues and 15% whites. 18x18 for SPS, but as long as tank is shallow and you hang your light high, you can easily get 24x24 IMO

 

This video covers it well 

 

[ahud]

Thanks Jeff. Very informative video. 

 

I'm looking at the UNS 60s which is roughly 24"x14"x7". I'm just trying to decide if 7" is too extreme. 

[Dreichler]

I used to cover my rimless 45 (26.5 inches long) with a single Prime and there was definitely some shading in the corners and sides.  But I soon upgraded to two, which was great.  But now I have 3 and there’s not a single inch of shade, except obvious places like back underside of rocks.  But ya a single prime would be fine on any LPS/softies cube up to I’d say 20” and cover a rectangular tank up to 24” long for solid coverage.  Check out my IG- @reef_45g to see what I’ve got under 3 Primes, some insane pieces!

[MrObscura]

According to BSRs testing 12x12 inch for sps tank, 18x18 for mixed, 24x24 for low light corals only. That's running their ab spectrum which loses about 30% par vs every color at 100%.

 

As for dosing, I don't see what difference tank size makes? It's all relative, so a lot of healthy growing stony corals in big tank equals just as much dosing based on volume as a tiny tank.

 

And a decent number Lps will require dosing as well. 

[ahud]

11 hours ago, MrObscura said:

According to BSRs testing 12x12 inch for sps tank, 18x18 for mixed, 24x24 for low light corals only. That's running their ab spectrum which loses about 30% par vs every color at 100%.

 

As for dosing, I don't see what difference tank size makes? It's all relative, so a lot of healthy growing stony corals in big tank equals just as much dosing based on volume as a tiny tank.

 

And a decent number Lps will require dosing as well. 

 

I could convert to SPS down the road. I would have to read more on the various dosing methods. If it was as simple as adding kalk into my ATO water then no problem. But I do not want to add more equipment to keep SPS in a little tank. The tank is not big enough to make it worth it in my opinion.

[MrObscura]

From what I've heard, kalk can often keep up for some time. 

 

Anyway, like I said, add enough Lps and you'll have to address the issue regardless. That's why I went full mixed reef in my nuvo 10. i wasn't going to stick to just softies and would have had a bunch of Lps anyway so figured wth? Might as well add sps as well. When weekly water changes no longer keep things stable then I'll cross that bridge. 

[Travis]

I have a 70g mixed reef and dose manually once per week with SeaChem Reef Fusion 1 and 2 in between water changes. Go for it 🙂

[ahud]

3 minutes ago, MrObscura said:

From what I've heard, kalk can often keep up for some time. 

 

Anyway, like I said, add enough Lps and you'll have to address the issue regardless. That's why I went full mixed reef in my nuvo 10. i wasn't going to stick to just softies and would have had a bunch of Lps anyway so figured wth? Might as well add sps as well. When weekly water changes no longer keep things stable then I'll cross that bridge. 

I'll keep that in mind. Especially if I keep adding LPS, I did not know they require dosing eventually. 

 

I'm obsessed with the whole Nature Aquarium/Aquascaping scene/movement on the freshwater planted side of things. So I'm already dosing tanks and plan to automate much of it. I still want my reef to be as simple as possible.

[MrObscura]

Yea, they're stony corals and build skeletons, requiring cal and Alk. In fact I belive softies consume these as well but they don't build skeletons so not nearly enough to require dosing. Unless perhaps you never did waterchanges, but then other trace elements would be lacking. But I digress. 

[ahud]

4 hours ago, MrObscura said:

Yea, they're stony corals and build skeletons, requiring cal and Alk. In fact I belive softies consume these as well but they don't build skeletons so not nearly enough to require dosing. Unless perhaps you never did waterchanges, but then other trace elements would be lacking. But I digress. 

I'm a weekly water change type. But I would assume the only way to know if the water changes would make up for the Alk and Calc used is to try and see? I hope to design a system that needs a 10-20% weekly water change. A small volume of water to make for easy mixing/changing. Even better if draining the sump itself would be enough. 

 

Sorry, this thread has become so off topic. But you keep bringing up good points and making me reconsider SPS. I do like SPS. I think they lend themselves to better aquascaping. 

[MrObscura]

Yea, you just have to test as you go.

 

And I agree about scraping. I have my tank set up for Zoas and shrooms low, lords and chalices, plus a hammer and Duncan, in the middle, then a little vertical wall for encrusting montis and a flat shelf up top for branching sps. 

[Jono]

I don't really understand the 24x24 for low light corals only. I think the wording is slightly misleading, just put the high light corals in the middle...

I have a 48x12x12 tank and currently have two primes over it. They are probably 12 inches above the water, maybe more, and everything is thriving. I'm adding one more just to help with a little of the shadowing, but I could probably get by with what I have. 

[MrObscura]

Bsr was talking full coverage with those numbers. Meaning you could place corals anywhere in the tank and not worry about coverage. 

[Clown79]

24x24.

 

18x18 has the highest par.

 

I use a regular prime on 24x20x12. No shadowing, full spread. Not even at 100%

 Sps, Lps tank 

 

Keep moderate to low light corals outside of the 18x18.

[ahud]

Thank you for all of the replies. It sounds like the AI Prime will be perfect as long as I stick to a 24x24 footprint or smaller and account for the decreased lighting levels along the edges. I am planning on a much smaller tank than 24x24 anyway. I think I like shading, from the videos and pictures I see the different light levels give a natural and interesting look.

 

Sorry to go totally off topic again. But I am trying to pull of a certain look on this tank. Which means I am considering using a canister filter for flow and mechanical filtration. Would a canister further complicate keeping SPS? Care to chime in @MrObscura ?

[MrObscura]

I appreciate you valuing my input, but keep in mind I'm no expert. I'm a noob who just set up my first reef a few months ago, but I try to research things thoroughly. 

 

Anyway, I wouldn't use a canister personally. It can work if you really want to run one but I think itll needlessly complicate things. 

 

Do you have the tank already or have one in mind? 

 

 

[ahud]

10 minutes ago, MrObscura said:

I appreciate you valuing my input, but keep in mind I'm no expert. I'm a noob who just set up my first reef a few months ago, but I try to research things thoroughly. 

 

Anyway, I wouldn't use a canister personally. It can work if you really want to run one but I think itll needlessly complicate things. 

 

Do you have the tank already or have one in mind? 

 

 

Will do. Two heads are better than one though! 

 

My front runner is the UNS 45U which is 18x11x11. For the price, the IM Nuvo black 20g has my eye as well which is 23.6x15x13. I am dead set on keeping things small and simple. I really prefer to drill the tanks and run a sump, but I can't find an overflow option that I am satisfied with aesthetically. So I am trying to further narrow down my goals.  If i really want to do SPS and need to look at dosing, then I agree the canister may be a pain. Sorry for the ramble, I have been thinking about this upgrade for a long while. I want to plan everything to a T. 

[MrObscura]

Personally, for nanos i like aoi tanks. So, I would go with the nuvo 20. That way you could run a strong return pump with a couple random flow generators attached to the outputs and be good for flow with no need for additional powerheads in the display. 

 

Then for filtration just your live rock and a couple intank media baskets stuffed with some filter floss and chemipure Blu, and that's that. 

 

20-25% weekly wc will take care of nutrient export. 

 

Nice and simple. I thought about a nuvo 20 before going with the 10.