AI Prime hd

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

You guys have finally talked me into it. I’m going to get a AI prime, but I need to know first if it will be enough for my 29 gallon tall. I can only afford one. 

[WV Reefer]

11 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

You guys have finally talked me into it. I’m going to get a AI prime, but I need to know first if it will be enough for my 29 gallon tall. I can only afford one. 

The spread is 24”x24” so I think you would be fine. You wouldn’t have great coverage on the ends but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  

[William]

Mounted high you should be fine, you will likely have some shadowing and may not have the best par numbers at the edges but it should be ok 

[Gtrain]

It will be plenty for lps softies and some sps. Get a nice long Flexi mount for it. Just be careful there powerful lights. Use the acclamation settings once you decide on a schedule. Get water prams set cause it will be great for your corals

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

I can’t keep all sps tho? Is it more powerful than what I have? The solar flare dx? I know that the AI prime is newer, but which one is more powerful?

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

I can’t seem to find much of anything on the solar flare dx, does anyone even know much about this light? I’m going to return it to buy the AI prime.

[JAJ]

I had what you have now. I have a 29gal cube and like the prime hd way better!! I have one and get a little shadowing on the edges but not bad

[Clown79]

I have the prime on my 25g 24x24

 

There is shadowing near the back but that's due to my aquascape design. My rock blocks the light, otherwise I have coverage side to side.

 

I'm happy to have the not so intense light on the sides because that's where my low/moderate light corals are like my rice, euphyllia, and plates.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

I’ll order it tonight, thank you. I’ll update once it comes in

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Is the kessil just as good as the AI prime? It’s cheaper, so I’m always considering the cheaper route😂. And what’s the difference from the kessil tuna flora and the kessil tuna blue?

[Clown79]

59 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Is the kessil just as good as the AI prime? It’s cheaper, so I’m always considering the cheaper route😂. And what’s the difference from the kessil tuna flora and the kessil tuna blue?

Not that one. The a80 is for a much smaller tank and the other light is for a refugium.

[Clown79]

If you want to save money, go with the viparspectra ot mars aqua.

 

Tons of hobbiest go this route. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dimmable-165W-LED-Aquarium/dp/B017GWDF7E

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00UMXAR5S/ref=psdcmw_2975458011_t1_B017GWDF7E

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

5 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

If you want to save money, go with the viparspectra ot mars aqua.

 

Tons of hobbiest go this route. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dimmable-165W-LED-Aquarium/dp/B017GWDF7E

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00UMXAR5S/ref=psdcmw_2975458011_t1_B017GWDF7E

Is it just as powerful? 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

Will it be good for my pocillopora frag? And what about other sps? Like a bird Nest?

[Clown79]

Its 165 watts, it most likely will need to be dimmed. The prime isn't 165 watts.

 

The prime has more controllability, has the name behind, 

 

If you want powerful with all the bells and whistles, you can't get that for cheap and Radion is still the top light. 

 

 

Do research on the various lights used by various hobbiests.

[Friendly]

regarding the Kessil...they're not as powerful and have a much smaller light spread than the AI Prime HD or the Nano Box Tide, so you'd need a couple.

[Clown79]

4 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Will it be good for my pocillopora frag? And what about other sps? Like a bird Nest?

Ya, its 165w.

 

Many hobbiests use them on sps tanks.

 

Do a Google search on those specific lights.

 

Even with the AI Prime, your sps will need to be up high in the tank and near the middle.

[Friendly]

how many colors do the AI Prime HD, Nano Box Tide (& Mini) and Kessill have vs these cheaper alternatives off of Amazon?

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

 

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Ya, its 165w.

 

Many hobbiests use them on sps tanks.

 

Do a Google search on those specific lights.

 

Even with the AI Prime, your sps will need to be up high in the tank and near the middle.

I might just get that instead, would one work? This would be the one that I would get. If I have to, I could get 2, but I would rather use what money I have left for a new wavemaker and a new sand bed.

[Friendly]

if you read the spec's, at 12" height, it has 24" x 24" of coverage, the same as the AI Prime HD.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

1 minute ago, Friendly said:

if you read the spec's, at 12" height, it has 24" x 24" of coverage, the same as the AI Prime HD.

Ok thank you. I also had a question about rodi units. How do you use one, and are there any that are affordable? Like below 100?

[Friendly]

don't buy a RODI that's too cheap...it'll lock you into expensive proprietary cartridges.

 

a RODI system usually has 3 to 6 stages, depending on your preferences, etc. I think you probably want to go with a 4 or 5 stage...the last stage is re-mineralization, which you don't want, but is needed if you use the water for drinking. minerals are the TDS (total dissolved solids) that you've read about, which you want at 0 for SW tanks.

 

first stage is a carbon pre-filter, then you have two mixed filters with teh fourth being another carbon filter...the fifth would be a UV light, if you want it, to ensure the water is as sterilze as possible.

 

my biggest complaint with a RODI system is you need a spot to set it up for pretty permanent placement. Marine Depot has a cool 4 stage that's portable, but what you might want to do is get a RODI system that you use for clean water in the house, but put in a bypass valve so you can get water for your tanks before it goes through the re-mineralizer.

[HeyJay]

I had 2 AI primes over a 48x24 tank (though only 16" tall).  I used the AI tank mounts which put them 9-10" over the water and the coverage was pretty good.

[Pezking182]

I use 1 AI Prime HD over the same 29 standard tank. With the long flex arm. Youll have some shadowing at the edges but that's were I put lower light stuff. Works great! 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

20 minutes ago, Friendly said:

don't buy a RODI that's too cheap...it'll lock you into expensive proprietary cartridges.

 

a RODI system usually has 3 to 6 stages, depending on your preferences, etc. I think you probably want to go with a 4 or 5 stage...the last stage is re-mineralization, which you don't want, but is needed if you use the water for drinking. minerals are the TDS (total dissolved solids) that you've read about, which you want at 0 for SW tanks.

 

first stage is a carbon pre-filter, then you have two mixed filters with teh fourth being another carbon filter...the fifth would be a UV light, if you want it, to ensure the water is as sterilze as possible.

 

my biggest complaint with a RODI system is you need a spot to set it up for pretty permanent placement. Marine Depot has a cool 4 stage that's portable, but what you might want to do is get a RODI system that you use for clean water in the house, but put in a bypass valve so you can get water for your tanks before it goes through the re-mineralizer.

I can’t pay 200 bucks for one right now, I’ll just stick to distilled water😂