Need light suggestion for my 48G 3ft reef tank

[Jonathan.T]

Hi reefers,

I'm looking to upgrade my aquarium lights to AI Primes looking at getting either 2 x units of 16HD model or just 1 unit of the 64HD.
Looking at LPS and softies dominated tank but with a few SPS here and there.

 

[gideon2086]

I read this as "483G 3ft reef tank" and got very confused/excited. I don't have experience with the primes, but in your scenario I would recommend the 2x option for better spread.

 

[BrandonS]

+1 for two lights. not sure the 64 would cover the whole 36 well without large drop off in par at the edges. Unless you mount it way high.

 

[Jonathan.T]

+1 for two lights. not sure the 64 would cover the whole 36 well without large drop off in par at the edges. Unless you mount it way high.

Planning to use the AI Tank mounting so hopefully that will be a good option

 

[BrandonS]

Planning to use the AI Tank mounting so hopefully that will be a good option

with two light shouldn't be a problem.

 

[92Miata]

The 64 is a weird unit - that's a ton of power for only a 12" long fixture. But you'd need to hang it really high to get enough spread. And if you're just planning on softies/lps, its probably a poor choice.


Anyways - you can get 3 primes for the price of a 64, so there's some room to upgrade pricewise if you decide 2 doesnt get you enough (2 will probably be fine)

its weird to me that manufacturers haven't built anything that fits the 36x18 footprint well - because its an incredibly common tank size.

 

[BrandonS]

The 64 is a weird unit - that's a ton of power for only a 12" long fixture. But you'd need to hang it really high to get enough spread. And if you're just planning on softies/lps, its probably a poor choice.


Anyways - you can get 3 primes for the price of a 64, so there's some room to upgrade pricewise if you decide 2 doesnt get you enough (2 will probably be fine)

its weird to me that manufacturers haven't built anything that fits the 36x18 footprint well - because its an incredibly common tank size.

closest I ever got to a good fit was a 300watt black box fixture.

 

[Jonathan.T]

The 64 is a weird unit - that's a ton of power for only a 12" long fixture. But you'd need to hang it really high to get enough spread. And if you're just planning on softies/lps, its probably a poor choice.


Anyways - you can get 3 primes for the price of a 64, so there's some room to upgrade pricewise if you decide 2 doesnt get you enough (2 will probably be fine)

its weird to me that manufacturers haven't built anything that fits the 36x18 footprint well - because its an incredibly common tank size.

Thanks for your recommendations, appreciate it i'll definitely go with your recommendation.