Cubish 5G - Nanobox vs. AI prime

[Kentech5]

Currently my tank has an Aqua Knight 30W LED on it which works pretty well but the fan is noisy, touch controls are annoying, and I’d like something I can program. 
 

After some research I think I’m narrowed down to the AI Prime HD and the Nanobox Mini. I see a ton of good reviews for the Nanobox lights on here and the AI Prime seems like overkill but the Prime is cheaper. Money isnt everything though plus Id have to buy a mount for the prime. 
 

So which light would you suggest? Is there another good option I am not considering?

[Clown79]

I love my ai, awesome light.

 

Have you considered the kessil a80?

[smirkis]

Have you looked at the aquaknight v2? I have it and it has been great so far. If I do upgrade I want the nanobox but that’s just me. 

[Kentech5]

18 hours ago, smirkis said:

Have you looked at the aquaknight v2? I have it and it has been great so far. If I do upgrade I want the nanobox but that’s just me. 

Didn’t know that was a thing. Might be a backup plan. 

[Chaozu]

Ai prime if you want a better controller and customer service. 

[Kentech5]

Ended up getting the new model of AI Prime for a killer deal. Now I have to figure out these settings. Not used to all these options. 

[travoose]

I think you made the right decision. I had a Nano Mini for about three years and I just got the AI Prime on Friday, while it did the job very well, the AI Prime is a much better experience overall.

[mcarroll]

On 1/4/2020 at 10:38 PM, Kentech5 said:

Now I have to figure out these settings. Not used to all these options. 

Customization seems like a feature that's half dangerous and half pointless.....but REALLY POPULAR!!!

 

An awful lot of folks get these customizable lights with no apparent reason in mind for the customizations. 

 

Folks that actually mess around with the customizations seem to end up with problems.

 

In the end it seems like everyone who uses these lights ends up downloading someone else's canned configuration.....more or less defeating the customization option and making it "someone elses's setup" just like every other light on the market.

 

I don't get it, but good luck anyway!  😎

 

I would recommend getting a light meter to use in your setup, BTW.  It'll at least give you some information to base your setup on vs just guessing.  A basic lux meter is cheap and will work well....plus, at $7-$20 or so it's a no-brainer.

[smirkis]

3 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Customization seems like a feature that's half dangerous and half pointless.....but REALLY POPULAR!!!

 

An awful lot of folks get these customizable lights with no apparent reason in mind for the customizations. 

 

Folks that actually mess around with the customizations seem to end up with problems.

 

In the end it seems like everyone who uses these lights ends up downloading someone else's canned configuration.....more or less defeating the customization option and making it "someone elses's setup" just like every other light on the market.

 

I don't get it, but good luck anyway!  😎

 

I would recommend getting a light meter to use in your setup, BTW.  It'll at least give you some information to base your setup on vs just guessing.  A basic lux meter is cheap and will work well....plus, at $7-$20 or so it's a no-brainer.

why do people add t5s to halides? why do people use different t5 bulb options instead of all the same color? the reason is viewing pleasure. i wouldn't go around saying people buy lights with useless fetures or useless customizations. they have these lights for a reason, but AI doesn't make it very easy to customize the settings. loading someone elses "featured" light settings is a fast track around the guessing game. no idea why you'd say "someone else's setup". Ai's signature section features user tanks, lights, and settings to help people that don't want to play the guessing game. 

[mcarroll]

7 minutes ago, smirkis said:

why do people add t5s to halides?

8 minutes ago, smirkis said:

why do people use different t5 bulb options instead of all the same color?

 

I'm not sure if you intended these as rhetorical questions since they have pretty hardcore historical answers.

 

The first halide bulbs were around 5500 Kelvin.   Phillips Actinic '03 bulbs were added for looks.   

 

So happened those '03 bulbs were even better for coral health than they were for good looks.

 

T12 '03 tubes + daylight halides was the first real reef light setup.

 

It wasn't too long before halides had all the color that those T12's provided and then some.

 

This obviated the florescent tubes from the setup.

 

So 10K, 15K and 20K halide bulbs were the first discreet reef lights.

 

There was a real reason to combine them at one time.

 

But since that time there has been no real reason to combine halides with florescents.

 

T5HO came around eventually with the same trick....all the color in one tube.  (Same trick other florescent tubes like the Triton T8 had been doing for years.  And which Interpet apparently still makes under a different brand name: Bulbs & Fittings  (see manual download for spectrum)

 

Eventually folks who apparently weren't "merely interested in growing awesome looking corals" started buying and heavily promoting funny-looking purple and red bulbs....what I called "the Crayola look".

 

Why folks played with T5 color bulbs (e.g. red or purple) is anyone's guess....personal preference is the only reason that I was ever aware of...nothing to do with coral health or the tank per se. 

 

It was a simple matter at that time (just as it is now:  http://www.uvlco.com/AquariumT5.html) to set up a T5HO system of either one bulb type or a combo of blues and whites that looked excellent and performed just as well.  

 

Adding colored bulbs (or LED emitters) is still unnatural looking to me at least, and even clownish looking in many instances, but whatever floats the proverbial boat as long as corals are happy too! 

 

 

13 minutes ago, smirkis said:

no idea why you'd say "someone else's setup".

...as in literally "Not your setup.  A setup you did not come up with.  A setup received from someone else."

 

Judging from the light's popularity, config threads should be happening all the time....I'd think at least at a rate similar to the old halide and T5 threads. 

 

 

[Kentech5]

12 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Customization seems like a feature that's half dangerous and half pointless.....but REALLY POPULAR!!!

 

An awful lot of folks get these customizable lights with no apparent reason in mind for the customizations. 

 

Folks that actually mess around with the customizations seem to end up with problems.

 

In the end it seems like everyone who uses these lights ends up downloading someone else's canned configuration.....more or less defeating the customization option and making it "someone elses's setup" just like every other light on the market.

 

I don't get it, but good luck anyway!  😎

 

I would recommend getting a light meter to use in your setup, BTW.  It'll at least give you some information to base your setup on vs just guessing.  A basic lux meter is cheap and will work well....plus, at $7-$20 or so it's a no-brainer.

I mainly wanted a light that wasn’t so difficult to turn down or up in intensity as the Aqua Knight. I’ve since figured out a program that seems to work for me. My old 90 was programmable but only two channels so I am used to some basic programming for lights. I actually do have a PAR and lux meter and did end up needing to turn my settings down as they were too intense at first.