Ai Prime 16

[BlackiceClowns]

Hello everyone
I'm just wondering if One AI Prime 16 would be enough for a 20 by 20 by 17-inch tank will be enough. I plan on keeping soft corals lps and some simple sps further down the road.

 

[FernFish]

Hello everyone
I'm just wondering if One AI Prime 16 would be enough for a 20 by 20 by 17-inch tank will be enough. I plan on keeping soft corals lps and some simple sps further down the road.

I wouldn’t get it their unreliable , would either get a smart farm, nicrew hyper reef, or the NooPsyche K7 PRO III, Red Sea leds

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello everyone
I'm just wondering if One AI Prime 16 would be enough for a 20 by 20 by 17-inch tank will be enough. I plan on keeping soft corals lps and some simple sps further down the road.

While it will work, Ideal would be one Ai Hydra 26 or 32hd

 

[BlackiceClowns]

While it will work, Ideal would be one Ai Hydra 26 or 32hd

The AI Hydras are a bit above my budget of around 300 dollars. I might look into the Hyper Reef and Noopshyce. I've heard they do well for reef tanks my only query is are they strong enough for certain SPS and anemones?

 

[FernFish]

The AI Hydras are a bit above my budget of around 300 dollars. I might look into the Hyper Reef and Noopshyce. I've heard they do well for reef tanks my only query is are they strong enough for certain SPS and anemones?

I keep a bubble tip with my hyper reef I kinda went over kill and have a 100w

 

[Scritch]

Brs did a really good review on the prime. Great light. I’ve had mine for 6 years.

 

[Hats_]

I wouldn’t get it their unreliable , would either get a smart farm, nicrew hyper reef, or the NooPsyche K7 PRO III, Red Sea leds

Unreliable? Have 5 here on different tanks, never had a single one fail. Kinda curious where u got that from

 

[vetteguy53081]

The AI Hydras are a bit above my budget of around 300 dollars. I might look into the Hyper Reef and Noopshyce. I've heard they do well for reef tanks my only query is are they strong enough for certain SPS and anemones?

Actually, noopsyche K7 pro would be good and Hydra 26 often in R2R marketplace used for around $160 -$170 shipped

 

[BlackiceClowns]

I think i might get either the Noopshcye K7 or the Hyper reef 100 watt.

 

[FernFish]

Unreliable? Have 5 here on different tanks, never had a single one fail. Kinda curious where u got that from

You should see the reviews both on Amazon and brs, the lenses get cooked , a lot of the same issues, also a lot people saying that their customer service dodge rma’s

 

[MrGisonni]

1 16 hd will be fine. They are good lights. Why some aquariusts go overkill with LEDs only to tune them down makes no sense to me. If you are concerned about spread ok but otherwise, with your budget and coral requirements the 16 hd is a solid choice.

 

[Mav88]

You should see the reviews both on Amazon and brs, the lenses get cooked , a lot of the same issues, also a lot people saying that their customer service dodge rma’s

My first AI prime died prematurely and AI sent me a new one the day I contacted them with the return postage for the bad one. I’m at 3 years of usage with 2.
But to OP question if you were focusing SPS within a tight area under the prime you would be fine I don’t believe there is enough spread for a 20 x 20 area. My 2 don’t reach the ends of my 48 in tank and the is a visibly cone of light in ramp up ramp down times. but they are only 6 inches above the water and the t5s cover all during the day. If I was starting over I would use Noopscythe lights.

 

[CoralB]

Hello everyone
I'm just wondering if One AI Prime 16 would be enough for a 20 by 20 by 17-inch tank will be enough. I plan on keeping soft corals lps and some simple sps further down the road.

I kept a similar sized tank with using a ai prime 16hd light and it was pretty good for the price . I think for softies and lps its great and for sps as long as you keep them directly under the light and near the mid to top area of the tank can get the job done . Just make sure the settings and par are appropriate for each type of coral you keep .

 

[X-37B]

These are the lights that got me into leds and replace all my halide systems.

I run 8 on 3 different systems. Had 2 lens burn in uv v @140%. Replaced both at $5 a piece.

1 will work to start. 2 would be ideal down the road.
I run first 4 100% the rest 50%.
This is my 30g 20x24 running 2.
8 month growth.
First pic is one 16 and ran for 3 months.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I used a prime 3 years and Hydra 4 years and trouble free and a manufacturer you can contact should something go wrong.

 

[Stomatopods17]

There isn't enough spread for 20 by 20 with 1 prime.

Prime's biggest flaw is the shadowing, I have 2 on a 29gallon standard and there's absolutely no light spill on the floor from the sides of the tank, they just cover it.

I do recommend prime lights I just hate the app you need to operate them... they disconnect from my phone while tuning them way too frequently, there's presets online but I could never get any of them to work, and a ton of screenshots/settings either don't give you exact numbers to work off of or are outdated and not how the app works now.

You definitely need to know someone with a par meter cause tuning them is a lot of guess work that I still ain't confident enough to give anyone my drunk looking presets to copy lol.

 

[BlackiceClowns]

Thanks to everyone who responded. Very helpful responses. I think I'm going to go with the hyper reef 100 watts. It's a bit more in my budget and I've seen that the light is a bit wider with two pucks. It isn't as controllable but I think it is enough for some more simple Sps, Lps, and Softies. Also, its probably the one that is best in my price range. More money for corals

 

[FernFish]

Thanks to everyone who responded. Very helpful responses. I think I'm going to go with the hyper reef 100 watts. It's a bit more in my budget and I've seen that the light is a bit wider with two pucks. It isn't as controllable but I think it is enough for some more simple Sps, Lps, and Softies. Also, its probably the one that is best in my price range. More money for corals

You can get the controller later down the line I just got it today, it works great

 

[BlackiceClowns]

You can get the controller later down the line I just got it today, it works great

Which controller did you get? I'm pretty sure there's like 4 of them.

 

[FernFish]

Which controller did you get? I'm pretty sure there's like 4 of them.

This one

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09QPPJYXL?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title