Two AI Prime HDs on a 65g (36 inch)?

[Jay Duke]

Hello all,

I'm currently slowly a build with items I can pick up either used, on sale, or that are otherwise affordable. I've been planning on a 65, 75, or 90 gallon and to start with softy/LPS with an eye to be able to upgrade and move to more difficult corals eventually.

A 65g used tank became available in my area, and I like the footprint as space in the house is an issue, so the 36" tank width means it'll fit better and probably cost less for things like lighting.

With that in mind, I like a lot of the features of the AI Prime HD, especially that they're really quite affordable.

With that said, do you think two AI Prime HDs would do the trick on a 36" tank?

What about on a 4' tank like a 75 or 90 gallon? Would that be pushing it too much?

I love the low profile look, so I'd consider going with something like a Current USA LED fixture, or even looking for a used Hydra 52 or something similar, but would be okay buying new if it's affordable.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hello all,

I'm currently slowly a build with items I can pick up either used, on sale, or that are otherwise affordable. I've been planning on a 65, 75, or 90 gallon and to start with softy/LPS with an eye to be able to upgrade and move to more difficult corals eventually.

A 65g used tank became available in my area, and I like the footprint as space in the house is an issue, so the 36" tank width means it'll fit better and probably cost less for things like lighting.

With that in mind, I like a lot of the features of the AI Prime HD, especially that they're really quite affordable.

With that said, do you think two AI Prime HDs would do the trick on a 36" tank?

What about on a 4' tank like a 75 or 90 gallon? Would that be pushing it too much?

I love the low profile look, so I'd consider going with something like a Current USA LED fixture, or even looking for a used Hydra 52 or something similar, but would be okay buying new if it's affordable.

On a 36" tank they'd work, I do believe it'd be stretching it on a 4 foot tank if you wanted to get into SPS corals I'd go for the Hydra 26 or 52 at that point.

 

[pluikens]

I have two AI Prime HDs on my 36" 40 breeder tank. I believe they produce just enough PAR at the top but I am noticing quite a bit of shadowing so I plan to add them to an AquaticLife T5 hybrid fixture this fall.

 

[Dystinction]

I run two Prime HD's on my 36" tank, and feel like I have good coverage. I don't have PAR numbers to back anything up, and my tank is only 12" deep. Both lights are on the metal mounts (not flex arms), and pushed up to the highest level.

I agree with @Crabs Mcjones , two Prime HDs on a 4 foot tank would really be pushing it, unless it was shallow, and the lights were moved higher. This would also probably only be good for LPS and softies.

The only concern that I would have with the Prime HDs in your system would be power (PAR) at depth. This may be an unwarranted concern, however, I haven't been able to measure PAR on mine, but a 36" 65g is gonna be deeper than 12".

 

[HairyGary]

I had 2 Prime HDs on 2 foot tank with SPS and that was fine. I think you would be fine with LPS and softies on 36" tank but depth is the issue. Better yet with a T5 hybrid added to them.

 

[Jay Duke]

Thanks everyone for the replies so quick!

The hydra 26 would probably still need 2 for a 3 foot tank, no?

I’m trying to avoid shelling out 1000 bucks (Canadian) for lighting for now. I’d almost rather just go with the current USA setup now, and in a year or so if/when I want to move to a mixed or SPS tank, upgrade to higher end lights then. So much changes in the LED world it seems!

 

[pluikens]

I wanted to work my way up in lighting too as my coral keeping progressed. Until I got comfortable keeping softies and LPS, I ran just one Prime HD over my 36". Then When I wanted to keep higher light corals, I added another Prime HD. Now that I want to fill more areas of my tank that are in shadows, I'm going to be supplementing with T5s on the front and back of the Primes. I think even if I had two Hydra26 I would want to supplement to get better coverage vs. more PAR. Even a Hydra52 is less than a foot long so relative to a 36" or 48" tank it's still fairly single point source of light. That may matter quite a bit depending on your aquascape and where you're planning to keep corals.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I also have a 36” tank running aqua illumination lights.

I have 3 ai primes. I went with primes over their other lights because of the customization in where you can place pucks. Allowing better coverage area. I have primarily stony corals, i didnt want any areas that were no go zones.

 

[Sawyer Breslow]

I also have a 36” tank running aqua illumination lights.

I have 3 ai primes. I went with primes over their other lights because of the customization in where you can place pucks. Allowing better coverage area. I have primarily stony corals, i didnt want any areas that were no go zones.

Hello, I know this is an old post but I’m curious as to what your spacing was for your 3 AI primes?

 

[Idech]

I have 2 AI Prime 16 HD on my 75 gallons but I plan on adding 2 more when I have enough corals.

Unlike you I don’t find them affordable though. They’re now 325$ CAD a piece.