Luxdium Replacement LED Pucks for AI Prime & Hydra

[Hooz]

I've been running Lux Gold pucks in 4 lights (2 tanks) for 2 years now. I've grown anemones, softies and a TON of LPS under the lights. I'm setting up a third tank now that will have a hybrid Lux/ReefBrite setup and will be focused on SPS.

What do you want to know? What all would you like to see? Several of the pictures on the Luxdium website are of my tank(s).

I even have my own signature schedule in the LUX Engine Users Group on Facebook.

 

[adam87]

Do you guys know if they will ever make ones for the old Radions? That would be great if they did!!!

 

[chopper320]

Thanks guys! I may give them a shot soon. L

 

[Zoajohn]

I've been running Lux Gold pucks in 4 lights (2 tanks) for 2 years now. I've grown anemones, softies and a TON of LPS under the lights. I'm setting up a third tank now that will have a hybrid Lux/ReefBrite setup and will be focused on SPS.

What do you want to know? What all would you like to see? Several of the pictures on the Luxdium website are of my tank(s).

What was your reasoning for going with the golds?

And did you have any issues with coral switching from the stock pucks to luxdium?

 

[Hooz]

What was your reasoning for going with the golds?

And did you have any issues with coral switching from the stock pucks to luxdium?

Honestly, I got in the beta program early on and the "Gold" was the only option. If I was doing it again today, I probably would've gone with the "Blue" for my softie/LPS tank, but I would've stuck with the "Gold" for my anemone and SPS tanks. Reason being, I don't run a lot of white light for LPS and softies, but I do for anemones and SPS. If you don't run a lot of white, go with the "Blue" pucks so you can use more of the light (if that makes sense).

As for your second question... I think from the coral standpoint, PAR is PAR. As long as you match the PAR level when you make the switch, you should be good. Both my tanks were basically started with LUX, though.

 

[SPS2020]

I'm all acro and like the look of the gold puck. I have the whites dialed back a bit, but do not have or want a 'windex tank'.

 

[thedon986]

@luxdium I saw something posted in another forum about swapping to a fuge spectrum. Is that a near future possibility? I have one old prime lying around and will not be using it, but turning it into a fuge light would be great.

 

[Zoajohn]

Honestly, I got in the beta program early on and the "Gold" was the only option. If I was doing it again today, I probably would've gone with the "Blue" for my softie/LPS tank, but I would've stuck with the "Gold" for my anemone and SPS tanks. Reason being, I don't run a lot of white light for LPS and softies, but I do for anemones and SPS. If you don't run a lot of white, go with the "Blue" pucks so you can use more of the light (if that makes sense).

As for your second question... I think from the coral standpoint, PAR is PAR. As long as you match the PAR level when you make the switch, you should be good. Both my tanks were basically started with LUX, though.

Would the gold pucks have more total PAR output with the additional white lights vs blue? Or does it come out the same in the end since you would probably run the blue channels at near max w/ the blues, and presumably the whites on the gold not as high %wise?

I've got mostly acros, and prefer a bluer look (14k-15k) which is why i ask.

 

[Hooz]

Would the gold pucks have more total PAR output with the additional white lights vs blue? Or does it come out the same in the end since you would probably run the blue channels at near max w/ the blues, and presumably the whites on the gold not as high %wise?

I've got mostly acros, and prefer a bluer look (14k-15k) which is why i ask.

The Blue pucks still have a white LED, so if you only run a little white, that's probably the best option. I will say that the color rendering of the white channel of the Gold puck is AMAZING. If you like a whiter tank, you can't go wrong with the Gold puck.

The only difference in the pucks (Gold, Blue and Cyan) are the three LEDs on the white channel.

- The Gold version has a cool white and two warm white LEDs on that channel.
- The Blue has a cool white and two extra royal blue LEDs on that channel.
- The Cyan has two cool white and a cyan on that channel.

All the other LEDs on the puck are the same for all versions.

If you run a bluer tank then, yes, you would lose a bit of potential PAR by turning the whites down on the Gold puck. In my LPS/softie tank it didn't matter because I'm running the lights well under their max anyway. If I needed more power, then the Blue puck would've made more sense because I could still crank that channel (more PAR), but have less white light in the tank.

I hope all of that makes sense.

 

[luxdium]

i’m just crossing my fingers that they’re working on making an update for the 32hd’s

We have some news coming next month that may lay the foundation for those and some other developments!

Do you guys know if they will ever make ones for the old Radions? That would be great if they did!!!

Lights beyond the older AIs are a possibility. But for now, we'd rather not spread ourselves too thin.

@luxdium I saw something posted in another forum about swapping to a fuge spectrum. Is that a near future possibility? I have one old prime lying around and will not be using it, but turning it into a fuge light would be great.

The fuge spectrum cluster was an experiment, and while they grew fluffy chaeto fast enough to have a harvest every other week, you'd still have to be careful with the increased saltwater spray in a sump.

While we can make our clusters as water-resistant as possible (we waterproofed the connectors), there are other elements in AI lights that aren't so waterproof. Even with the existing fuge variants of the Primes, they aren't exactly water-resistant as they are more or less Freshwater Primes with added red LEDs.

A refugium is an especially harsh environment with room for mishaps (eg. accidentally pouring water on the lights, letting saltwater splatter inside/on the vents/lenses, or even having the light fall in the sump), and none of the Primes would stand up to this. Consequently, we don't have a fuge cluster for the Primes that left the beta.

Would the gold pucks have more total PAR output with the additional white lights vs blue? Or does it come out the same in the end since you would probably run the blue channels at near max w/ the blues, and presumably the whites on the gold not as high %wise?

I've got mostly acros, and prefer a bluer look (14k-15k) which is why i ask.

PAR output can be influenced by how much white you use. If you're running them super low, then you may want to look at Blue or maybe even Cyan. Keep in mind that others' definitions of "Windex" may mean more Blue or more Cyan. There doesn't appear to be a concrete definition of it. But of the three, Gold has the ability to render natural colors (eg. Clownfish orange/red) the best. Cyan is closer to the spectrum of a natural reef, as the underwater spectrum over a reef has more cyan. However, if you like more of a deep blue/actinic look, then Blue may be a better choice.

We have pictures of the various channels on each of the product pages for the clusters to give you an idea of the colors/controls. ( https://www.luxdium.com/collections/all )

But in the end, it's difficult to capture some of the nuanced differences on camera.

Hope I could clear some things up.

 

[SPS2020]

We have some news coming next month that may lay the foundation for those and some other developments!

 

[Tamberav]

@luxdium I am assuming I can use this on a AI Prime HD freshwater version to make it a nice saltwater light?

 

[Hooz]

@luxdium I am assuming I can use this on a AI Prime HD freshwater version to make it a nice saltwater light?

Unfortunately, I don't think the channel powers match on the HD Reef and HD Freshwater.

I have an HD Fuge light and asked about converting it, but it matches up with the FW version and wouldn't work with LUX.

 

[luxdium]

@luxdium I am assuming I can use this on a AI Prime HD freshwater version to make it a nice saltwater light?

In theory, you could, especially with the Cyan version, as it's electrically compatible but not all channels would light up as the Freshwater has two fewer channels. Here's a Prime Freshwater running LUX Engine Cyan.

 

[luxdium]

In case you're wondering, it's not a software limitation, but a hardware one. They use the same driverboard as the Reef, but don't populate the driver channels. The fuge is basically this FW one with different firmware (and LEDs).

 

[luxdium]

A little something we're working on.

A big part of what makes the LED clusters work is many small things whose effect is bigger than their sum. As much as we work on photobiology, there's a lot of material science involved. With this unassuming black powder, we've come closer to achieving a milestone that will enable expansion to new lines.

 

[reelredfisah]

Following along

Have 3 Hydra 52HD above a 180G and one of them has two pucks where the blue will not come on. So not sure if I can just replace the pucks for those two knowing it wont fully match. Or if I will need to replace all four pucks in all 3 lights. Anyone have two Hydra 52HD pucks laying around that are still good?

 

[luxdium]

Following along

Have 3 Hydra 52HD above a 180G and one of them has two pucks where the blue will not come on. So not sure if I can just replace the pucks for those two knowing it wont fully match. Or if I will need to replace all four pucks in all 3 lights. Anyone have two Hydra 52HD pucks laying around that are still good?

Our solution is not designed to be a spare part, but an overall upgrade to the platform. They pack a powerful spectral punch, broadening the violet-blue spectrum to be one of the widest on the market.

That said, there are a few who repaired their lights with our clusters...

 

[reelredfisah]

Our solution is not designed to be a spare part, but an overall upgrade to the platform. They pack a powerful spectral punch, broadening the violet-blue spectrum to be one of the widest on the market.

That said, there are a few who repaired their lights with our clusters...

That was understood however I am trying not to purchase 3 brand new lights when these 3 are still like new even if they no longer sale this model.

 

[Ste_J]

@luxdium Think I’m finally happy with the preset that I’m running on my 26hd’s

screen shot is set to show max channel usage. Given the amount of white what pucks would you suggest?

On another note I was looking on the site yesterday to see what postage would be to the UK. The site wouldn't let me add 2 x hydra 26 kits to the basket. I assume that ordering a 52 kit would give the same pucks as 2 x 26hd kits?