Chinese Black Box or AI prime

[Ramon Estevez]

I have 3 black boxes about 9” off my tank DIY mounted to the canopy. I’d say they give off good light but I was wondering would 3 AI primes be adequate to mount over a 125 gallon tank? For a 100$ more I think the AI Prime is one of the best options out there. My other thought was 2 bulb T5 to make up where the black box is lacking.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

What's your budget? I don't think 3x AI Prime HD will be enough for 125g. You'd probably need 6 of them. You may want to look into 3x AI Prime HD and the Corallife T5 Fixtures.

 

[MaiReef]

3x Primes and the Aquatic Life Hybrid that will hold the primes for a 5 foot tank. If it is the six foot I really don't know

 

[Ramon Estevez]

It’s 6 foot, would T5’s be a better route I am not looking to throw huge amounts of money at lights. Or instead of running 3 LED black boxes maybe run 5 places close together to handle SPS corals?

 

[MaiReef]

black boxes are very concentrated light. Consider maybe an AP700 and two SB back boxes for the ends. For $1200 you could cover 6ft well. Cheap black boxes are really not the way to go. If you want inexpensive($600), go with the Aquatic life XS-UV 48" and one 16" and you will have it covered with quality, but discontinued lights that you can get new and are completely programmable. Will work with SPS.