AI Prime Hd vs 16HD?

[aclman88]

I am unsure of the major differences and if it’s worth getting the new one or buying a used Hd. 
 

I have found a used AI Prime HD for 140/150 including tank mount. Not sure if that’s reasonable now that the newer prime 16HD is out. 
 

thoughts?

[mitten_reef]

You get 3 more blue led’s with the 16 on the new chip board layout. The original HD has  13 leds, vs new 16 leds. Everything else pretty much the same. 

[Stanboy]

This might be old, but maybe this will help some people out. 
 

The objective difference is HD has 13 leds and 16 has 16 LEDs. HD (older model) uses WiFi so you can control it over cloud. While 16 (newer) is Bluetooth. 
 

Subjectively speaking,

 

I enjoy the UI for HD a lot better. It was made more user friendly and the options were place in spots that kinda made sense. The new 16 I have to spend time looking for things since the main menu is kinda useless to me. Also I enjoyed that things were on WiFi only because it can be accessed from my computer so downloading and uploading settings was easier. You lose that ability now with Bluetooth since you have to exclusively use the app. But connecting to it is a lot easier than WiFi. The only other thing you lose is the cloud. Which is control the light from anywhere. Honestly it’s more like a novelty, because once you set the light you rarely ever set it again. 
 

Now the important part is LED and colors. As for light I can get better par with the 16 that’s for sure. I don’t have the exact numbers, but if some one really wants it I can test it for them. 
 
I have them running side by side in my tank. Using the same BRS eco tech AB+ settings. Subjectively speaking, the 16 colors are a lot better than the HD, this maybe because of the more blue channels. But from what I can tell the corals just look nicer with brighter colors on the 16 side of my tank. 

 

 

[DowntownJosh]

On 2/26/2021 at 8:56 PM, Stanboy said:

This might be old, but maybe this will help some people out. 
 

The objective difference is HD has 13 leds and 16 has 16 LEDs. HD (older model) uses WiFi so you can control it over cloud. While 16 (newer) is Bluetooth. 
 

Subjectively speaking,

 

I enjoy the UI for HD a lot better. It was made more user friendly and the options were place in spots that kinda made sense. The new 16 I have to spend time looking for things since the main menu is kinda useless to me. Also I enjoyed that things were on WiFi only because it can be accessed from my computer so downloading and uploading settings was easier. You lose that ability now with Bluetooth since you have to exclusively use the app. But connecting to it is a lot easier than WiFi. The only other thing you lose is the cloud. Which is control the light from anywhere. Honestly it’s more like a novelty, because once you set the light you rarely ever set it again. 
 

Now the important part is LED and colors. As for light I can get better par with the 16 that’s for sure. I don’t have the exact numbers, but if some one really wants it I can test it for them. 
 
I have them running side by side in my tank. Using the same BRS eco tech AB+ settings. Subjectively speaking, the 16 colors are a lot better than the HD, this maybe because of the more blue channels. But from what I can tell the corals just look nicer with brighter colors on the 16 side of my tank. 

 

 

Do you think I could run 1 regular HD and 1 HD16 in a red sea reefer 250? I just bought a used red sea 250, and it came with just 1 AI Prime HD, and I can only find the new HD16s for sale..