Should I get Current USA orbit or ai prime?

[Nanoclowndave]

hello all!

I have the fluval spec 5 gallon and I want to upgrade my lighting fixture. I want to get something that I will be able to use again if (when) I decide to get a bigger tank. I’ve been looking at the current USA orbit marine loop setup and the ai prime hd. I would be turning down the intensity on both seeing as it’s only a 5 gallon, but my overall goal is good coral growth and happy inhabitants. I’m really unsure which one to go with as the prime has more of the color spectrum but I’m worried about the spotlight effect and the current USA only has blue, green, red, and white. I was wondering if you guys had any input or suggestions for me. Thank you guys and happy reefing!! ;Spiderman

 

[AshwinRavi]

I have current USA IC Pro and they grow corals, but if I get a bigger tank (which inevitably almost all of us do), my transition is going to be hard. I would go with Ai Prime if you can afford it up front, will make future expansion much easier.

 

[Nanoclowndave]

I have current USA IC Pro and they grow corals, but if I get a bigger tank (which inevitably almost all of us do), my transition is going to be hard. I would go with Ai Prime if you can afford it up front, will make future expansion much easier.

You don’t think I’ll have too much spotlight effect

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

I currently run 2 - 24" ICs on my 36 Bow and I love them. Its 24in deep, and my softies and LPS on the sand have no issues at all. In fact, I have them turned down at the present time because my Duncan likes low light. Now if you plan on running an SPS tank, you may have an issue with them if its deep. But I have a friend who has a few SPS in his tank, his is 18in deep I think, and they are thriving. Personal preference as far as the ICs or the Pros go, you will have a lot of people say they suck. However, from personal experience, I think they are just fine.

 

[Nanoclowndave]

I currently run 2 - 24" ICs on my 36 Bow and I love them. Its 24in deep, and my softies and LPS on the sand have no issues at all. In fact, I have them turned down at the present time because my Duncan likes low light. Now if you plan on running an SPS tank, you may have an issue with them if its deep. But I have a friend who has a few SPS in his tank, his is 18in deep I think, and they are thriving. Personal preference as far as the ICs or the Pros go, you will have a lot of people say they suck. However, from personal experience, I think they are just fine.

I appreciate the feedback. I’m leaning towards the ic loop cause it’s $100 less lol and I have softies but as a 5 gallon I’m only about 11 inches to the sand so I would turn them down. I’m thinking I can always sell the current when I upgrade tanks and then upgrade to prime then. Thanks again!!

 

[NS Mike D]

here is a repost from another thread from @Dana Riddle that I found invaluable in comparing lights that deals with spectrum. I eventually went with the RapidLED Coronas which I understand are modeled after the AI Primes. As for LED spotlight, the trend is to use diffusers (ironically this requires upping the intensity and thus negating the cost savings) however most LEDS will generate more than enough light for a nano and thus raising them a foot or two above the tank will created a more balance blend of light

dana wrote:
Here are some numbers (for good coloration, shoot for PAR of at least 100 and up to 350.) Spectrum should look like this for perhaps 8 hours, with full spectrum (not to exceed ~25% on any channel, but see PAR values) for about 2-3 hours.
UV-A 1.20%
Violet (400-430 nm) 9.90%
Blue (431 - 480 nm) 64.60%
Green-Blue (481 - 490 nm) 10.30%
Blue-Green (491 - 510 nm) 7.60%
Green (511 - 530 nm) 2.20%
Yellow-Green (531 - 570 nm) 2.30%
Yellow (571 - 580 nm)
0.40%
Orange (581 - 600 nm) 0.60%
Red (601 - 700 nm) 0.80%

 

[AshwinRavi]

You don’t think I’ll have too much spotlight effect

It all depends like answered up here, you can always raise the light up higher to reduce spotlight effect. In my case, I am very happy with my Current USA lights, I have a couple of SPS frags that are actually happy, I can, in theory, crank up my intensity and grow SPS on the sand bed, mine is 18" deep and my eagle's nest grows just fine. It also depends on how much SPS you are planning to have, and some SPS demand more light than others.

My only issue is, in the near future, when I upgrade to 180 or 220 G, I will have to buy different lights and wait for my current USA to sell. I know its doable, but personally, if i had AI Prime, I would just have to add more lights to my existing lights.