Hydra 26Hd vs prime 16hd

[Abzdot]

Hi, I am overdue a light upgrade and can afford it now. The hydra 26 gd is going for £210(second hand With mount) or the prime 16 hd for £260 brand new with mount. I have the fluval evo 13.5 gal tank with mixed corals.

 

which one is better as I can’t come to a conclusion.

thanks 🙂

[mitten_reef]

1 hour ago, Abzdot said:

which one is better as I can’t come to a conclusion.

 

what are the advantage and disadvantage that you've come up with for each light? 

 

lighting choice is mostly subjective these days, when use correctly (or properly?), all lights from reputable brands will grow corals just fine.   I don't think you could go wrong with either one.  Given the same scenario, I'd go with 26HD if it's in nice condition. 

[Clown79]

26hd on a 13.5 you will need to run low settings unless the tank is full of high light sps.

 

If you plan on upgrading soon the 26 makes sense.

[SaltyGallon]

I run an AI prime at 23w (maybe 50% power?) over my 7 gallon mixed reef and would feel fine running it over a 13.5 at a higher wattage - I'd think a 26hd over a 13.5 would be overkill! Depends on condition of the unit and cost, of course 🙂

[Matteo]

26hd so you can use it on an upgrade later on like mentioned above. 

 

More light is never an issue. Just have it at like 15% ez pz

[Clown79]

More light can be an issue. Unlesd you are talking high light demanding SPS.

 

Not all corals need high light, corals only use a certain amount and the rest is wasted.

 

It can damage/kill corals.

 

Less light is actually safer than too much.

 

I have 2 primes over a 25g. I have had to drop both lights significantly becase of the damage done. Even my sps look better.

 

My corals in my 20g are growing far better and in excellent shape under 1 prime hd and not even at 100% capacity.

[Cannedfish]

26hd is the better choice IMO:

 

1. you can always run it low

2. The two pucks will give you better spread (Especially with a longer tank)

3. It gives you more flexibility if you do want to run high light corals (Get some acros and turn that unit on blast)

4. It’s better suited if you do upgrade

 

I don’t see a situation (assuming the 26hd is in great condition) where the 16hd would be the better choice, unless it was for aesthetic reasons. 

[Matteo]

42 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

More light can be an issue. Unlesd you are talking high light demanding SPS.

 

Not all corals need high light, corals only use a certain amount and the rest is wasted.

 

It can damage/kill corals.

 

Less light is actually safer than too much.

 

I have 2 primes over a 25g. I have had to drop both lights significantly becase of the damage done. Even my sps look better.

 

My corals in my 20g are growing far better and in excellent shape under 1 prime hd and not even at 100% capacity.

I meant more light in the sense of the fixture not so much the output. 

[Abzdot]

Thanks all for your input! I was thinking of the 26 hs because it has more flexibility and I am considering to get some acroporas, it is also cheaper and comes with double the double the amount of pucks, and if it is too powerful then I can turn its output down which would also allow longer life out of the leds and cause the fan to be quieter wheras the 16 hd has almost half the amount of wattage so I may need max it out for acropora which would cause loud fans which a lot of people complain about. 
 

i believe that the 26 hd is the best choice, plus it’s cheaper and works

[Matteo]

2 minutes ago, Abzdot said:

Thanks all for your input! I was thinking of the 26 hs because it has more flexibility and I am considering to get some acroporas, it is also cheaper and comes with double the double the amount of pucks, and if it is too powerful then I can turn its output down which would also allow longer life out of the leds and cause the fan to be quieter wheras the 16 hd has almost half the amount of wattage so I may need max it out for acropora which would cause loud fans which a lot of people complain about. 
 

i believe that the 26 hd is the best choice, plus it’s cheaper and works

good choice! you can always buy those cool difusers for your hydra too that help with color distribution. 🙂 

[Kurant]

I ran a Prime HD over my 13.5, very please with how it performed, growth of corals.. etc.. 

But, I ran the light attached to the filtration end, I did notice was shadows on the end of the 13.5, and I had pretty minimal rock work.  Bought a G5 for my Lagoon.. 

Hydra is a solid choice.

[debbeach13]

That seems like a great light.

[Abzdot]

Update: it was delivered 2 days ago and it is all good! Except one thing, the button to turn the light on and off fell out but that doesn’t matter as you only need it to connect your phone. Besides that it is great!

 

pls ignore my cable management xD

[alfredt]

I currently have a 7 Gallon tank ( w/ 15G Sump). Currently running AI Hydra 26 HD. Tanks a year old and every growing well, mixed reef.

I now have two Tridacna Croceas and wondering if I can supplement it with a AI Prime 16. My clams are off to the side of the tank and cant place it high in the middle due to space issues. So instead of increasing my 26HDs to 100% and risk of burning my other corals, I thought maybe a Ai Prime right over the clams will give me that extra PAR to keep them happy. I thought about getting a 2nd 26HD that way it looks visually more uniform, and can run both lights at a lower %.... Also If i do upgrade to a larger tank, I'll be set.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

UPDATE: Just Purchased a AI Hydra 32 HD to supplement my Hydra 26 HD. Overkill for my tank but i think my Clams will be happy 🙂