AI prime 16HD vs radion xr15 pro

[Jlmiller173]

New to the hobby and am getting a water box peninsula mini 25. I am trying to figure out what light to go with for my tank and am torn between the AI or the radion. Can someone explain to me the difference between these two lights and why the radion is 2x as much. Just trying to find out if the radion is really worth the extra cost over the AI.

 

[Dcole12]

I think the biggest question is what are you trying to stock in the tank? If you are doing simpler more hardy corals.. You will have no problem with the AI prime and are able to save the money. If you are looking to do SPS than I would do more research! The AI Primeis going to grow corals and everything great for my what I want

 

[Jlmiller173]

I think the biggest question is what are you trying to stock in the tank? If you are doing simpler more hardy corals.. You will have no problem with the AI prime and are able to save the money. If you are looking to do SPS than I would do more research! The AI Primeis going to grow corals and everything great for my what I want

So I was gonna to do a mixed reef tank I think so I might try some sps corals but not a ton of them pry just one or two honestly. Pry a hammer, torch, zoas, and other lps corals. So would you say to stick with the ai prime then and save the money?

 

[virtual reality]

I would. The choice is yours.

 

[Jlmiller173]

I would. The choice is yours.

You would go with the AI?

 

[Aclman88]

I think a single AI Prime should be fine to start... you will be maxing out the spread on the 20" display, though. I have a 20 tall mixed reef that is 24" long, and I am running 2 Ai primes on it each about 9inches off the surface of the water. You may end up wanting two down the road, and in that case I would get the AI since you can get two of those for the price of the radion.

 

[virtual reality]

Yes, the AI. I like mine.

 

[92Miata]

The XR15 is 105 watts and has 52 LEDs.

The Prime is 55 watts and has 16 LEDs.


The XR15 is more comparable to the Hydra32, but is probably a better light.

 

[virtual reality]

Plus it looks cool wrapped in carbon fiber. lol.

 

[Jlmiller173]

I think a single AI Prime should be fine to start... you will be maxing out the spread on the 20" display, though. I have a 20 tall mixed reef that is 24" long, and I am running 2 Ai primes on it each about 9inches off the surface of the water. You may end up wanting two down the road, and in that case I would get the AI since you can get two of those for the price of the radion.

So if the peninsula mini is 24 long by 16.5 wide would it make more sense to get the radion for the long spread it provides?

 

[jspuck25]

If you decide to go with the prime you can always just get another if you want to give sps a serious go.

 

[92Miata]

So if the peninsula mini is 24 long by 16.5 wide would it make more sense to get the radion for the long spread it provides?

I had an AI prime over one of our Nuvo 40s (before it went swimming - their mounts are awful) - the Nuvo40's display section is about 24x15x20.

Shadowing was definitely a problem. You may be okay with the fact that your tank is so much shallower - so you can keep it higher and not worry about PAR - but I think with LEDs you're almost always better off with lights that have better spread, or multiple lights.

Frankly, I think a single AI prime is a good solution for something like a Nuvo10 (12x15x13) but not much more if you're planning on anything that needs light on multiple sides. I think AI's claim of 24" of coverage is very optimistic.



I've got Gen3 and Gen4 XR30s over the Nuvo40s now - and I still think shadowing is an issue (and they've got 2 pucks about 7" apart). The Gen5s are much better - and a Gen5 XR15 is pretty close to a gen4 XR30 with a diffuser.


TLDR: I'd tell you two XR15s. But you're probably not looking to spend $1000 after lights and mounts - so probably 2 Primes. Just don't buy the AI mounts - or be really really careful with them. The rubber-footed single screw design is AWFUL and incredibly prone to coming loose if you knock the light sideways.

 

[Dcole12]

So I was gonna to do a mixed reef tank I think so I might try some sps corals but not a ton of them pry just one or two honestly. Pry a hammer, torch, zoas, and other lps corals. So would you say to stick with the ai prime then and save the money?

Hi, sorry just got back on, but after reading your post! I would definitely suggest the AI prime they have great results for the type of coral you need. Honestly, it is worth saving the money and putting into a better protein skimmer/Wave maker.

 

[vinnyvidivici92]

I had an AI prime over one of our Nuvo 40s (before it went swimming - their mounts are awful) - the Nuvo40's display section is about 24x15x20.

Shadowing was definitely a problem. You may be okay with the fact that your tank is so much shallower - so you can keep it higher and not worry about PAR - but I think with LEDs you're almost always better off with lights that have better spread, or multiple lights.

Frankly, I think a single AI prime is a good solution for something like a Nuvo10 (12x15x13) but not much more if you're planning on anything that needs light on multiple sides. I think AI's claim of 24" of coverage is very optimistic.



I've got Gen3 and Gen4 XR30s over the Nuvo40s now - and I still think shadowing is an issue (and they've got 2 pucks about 7" apart). The Gen5s are much better - and a Gen5 XR15 is pretty close to a gen4 XR30 with a diffuser.


TLDR: I'd tell you two XR15s. But you're probably not looking to spend $1000 after lights and mounts - so probably 2 Primes. Just don't buy the AI mounts - or be really really careful with them. The rubber-footed single screw design is AWFUL and incredibly prone to coming loose if you knock the light sideways.

Try some locktite? Blue for removal red for permanent if im not mistaken

 

[Tonycass12]

Xr 15 pro owner here. I think for what your looking at doing and for that tank size you will be much better off with 2 AI prime. It just makes more sense for your tank size and the cost of the fixtures. The xr15 will blast the center of that tank with light and be slightly lacking on the ends. Check out my build thread. Ive got 2xr15s over a 24"x24" tank thats 16"tall sps dominant.

 

[Sven57]

I run 2 16hds on my 20g nano cube all sps. These lights have been an excellent choice. So much so that I replaced my halide lit 45g frag tank with 3 of them.
I have another system that I put a xr15 gen 5 blue up a few days ago and the 16's give better color.
The metal mounts suck as I have them on the nano. I used the 12' rod mounts on the frag tank and the are 10 fold better imo.
My 3 month old nano cube and frag system for reference.

 

[coraldreams]

Plus it looks cool wrapped in carbon fiber. lol.

I'm so doing this

 

[92Miata]

Try some locktite? Blue for removal red for permanent if im not mistaken

The problem is that the rubber screw mount is at the bottom of a 15+" arm - its a big torque multiplier. Arm moves, rubber is still stuck to glass, screw loosens slightly and is no longer applying enough clamping pressure - dunk.

I can't think of another light mount that only has that single screw round rubber foot - all the other ones have a pad that's designed to lock into a channel in the mount and not be able to rotate - which entirely prevents the problem.

 

[MONTANTK]

I’ve had both and I like them both. The prime is great for the price and would be excellent for a mixed reef. I LOVE my XR15 but it is probably a little overkill for my tank now. If I were you I’d probably go with the prime

 

[Tamberav]

Two primes would be better then one radion on that tank and price point is similar.

I would probably start with 1 prime and add another if you get more into acropora or when the tank is more densely packed with coral.

Over a peninsula for two lights, a hanging bar would look a lot cleaner.

Pulled from google of what I mean

That is just what I would do personally. You may never need a second prime... it just depends how your interests and the tank evolves and what you keep but it will always be an option.