Anyone have experience with Hydra 26s?

NeveSSL · Jun 1, 2015

I've discussed this with a few of you already, but thought I'd ask here, too.

Debating between these and Kessils for my 180g.

Brandon

Joeganja · Jun 5, 2015

hydra 26s

Joeganja · Jun 5, 2015

actually hydra 52s for a 180

loumaggs · Jun 5, 2015

You would need the hydra 52's, unbelievable lights, I love the spread and how easy they are to customize, would recommend them to everyone.

They have a few gimmicks on them, cloud, lunar and lightning mode but i have them all turned down to 1% so they rarely happen with the lightning mode turned off.

Here is a video of when I was testing lightning mode

Lee Haynes · Jun 5, 2015

loumaggs said:
You would need the hydra 52's, unbelievable lights, I love the spread and how easy they are to customize, would recommend them to everyone.

They have a few gimmicks on them, cloud, lunar and lightning mode but i have them all turned down to 1% so they rarely happen with the lightning mode turned off.

Here is a video of when I was testing lightning mode

That is a function that is so unnecessary but so cool

NeveSSL · Jun 5, 2015

Thanks for the replies, all.

Can someone tell me what PAR you get at the bottom of a 180 with either 26s or 52s? Actual measured PAR, that is.

Brandon

zibba · Jun 5, 2015

I have a mix of 52s & 26s over my 450g. Very happy with the lights. They run cool, have a million+ options for tweaking, look good with the AI EXT bars, and I've had great growth and colors. I have the fixtures about 12" off the water and I'm growing SPS at the bottom of my 30" tank.

Older tank shot but you can get an idea for coverage of (front) 26--52--26 and (back) 26--52--26 over my 6'x3.5'x2.5' aquascape:

I measured the par of the 52s over my previous, shallower tank but it's not going to be useful and I wouldn't rely on someone else's par numbers anyway. Don't get me wrong, knowing what par you're getting over your own tank is helpful but even if you're planning to use the exact same settings as someone else, there are too many factors that affect par values. What you need to know is that these fixtures will provide more then enough light to grow whatever you want, wherever you want in your tank.

NeveSSL · Jun 5, 2015

Thank you for the reply! Love that white tail, too... one of my favorite tangs.

I agree it wouldn't add TOO much value to know other people's par (water clarity alone will have a huge effect), I'm hoping to get an idea of how it would compare to what AI has on their website for the 26, which is literally too good to believe, so I'm wondering how it compares to real-world numbers.

Thanks for the informative post! I'm thinking I'll start with three 26s and upgrade if I don't like them. I really believe I'll be perfectly happy with three 26s and some 80w T5s, though. I see so many people say "YOU HAVE TO USE 52s ON A 180!" and then they talk about how they have to ramp them down to 50% to keep from bleaching everything, which makes zero sense to me.

Brandon

zibba · Jun 5, 2015

NeveSSL said:
Thank you for the reply! Love that white tail, too... one of my favorite tangs.

I agree it wouldn't add TOO much value to know other people's par (water clarity alone will have a huge effect), I'm hoping to get an idea of how it would compare to what AI has on their website for the 26, which is literally too good to believe, so I'm wondering how it compares to real-world numbers.

Thanks for the informative post! I'm thinking I'll start with three 26s and upgrade if I don't like them. I really believe I'll be perfectly happy with three 26s and some 80w T5s, though. I see so many people say "YOU HAVE TO USE 52s ON A 180!" and then they talk about how they have to ramp them down to 50% to keep from bleaching everything, which makes zero sense to me.

Brandon

Thanks for the compliment on the tang! Very beautiful fish, we get a kick out of watching it cruise around all day.

Going with 26s vs. 52s or a combination depends on how you're planning to aquascape your tank. If you're looking to keep the sides free of rock/corals, which I'd recommend for cleaning purposes, you can definitely get by with 26--52--26 like we did. I agree that 52--52--52 is overkill and I think 52---52 is insufficient. The other option is 4x26 with the pucks running front to back, but that's more expensive.

I had thought about adding some T5s or ReefBrite strips between for additional coverage but I just raised the lights up and increased the intensity a little and it provided the extra coverage that I wanted. So, you're right, the fact that these lights are so intense allows for a lot of wiggle room. At 12" above water level, I run my blues at 95% of max (only for a few hours after ramping) and whites at 55% of max (after ramping for a few hours).

One more thing that I think is nice about the AIs is the AI Director allows you to import other people's light settings. For example, if you're ever interested, I can give you a link to download and you can upload my same settings to run over your tank and you can tweak it however you see fit.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Bowin · Jun 13, 2015

This caught my eye Brandon because I'm researching lights now too. Zibba's idea of 4x26 is interesting and with the price drop on BRS there's only a $50 difference in that and the 26-52-26 option. Do either of you see any other downsides besides the 50bucks in doing 4x26?

joshbbert · Jun 13, 2015

Im using 2 kessil a160 tuna blues on one tank and a hydra 26 on another and they both grow anything. The shimmer and the blues on the kessils are amazing! But in the end I cant get enough of the hydras custom options and my tank just looks better under them such pretty colors only down side is its a PIA to take pictures and like i said the shimmer from a kessil is un matched. In the end i don't see how you could go wrong with any of these options t-5 combos are amazing also

hart24601 · Jun 13, 2015

Here is my PAR map for the 120 gallon I have with 5 hydra 26s. I prefer having 26s over the 52s so I can spread the clusters out for less shading. I would only go with a 52 if the tank was 30" deep or so. AI told me that 2 hydra 26's are more powerful than 1 52 as they can run at a higher level. I didn't ask why, but I would guess they cool better. Imo most people are better served with the 26s at the moment unless they can't swing the $50 more.