Which Ai unit will work for my tank?

[ice fish]

Looking at getting a AI prime or 26 for my 75 gal. I'll be upgrading it later on to a 4' 120 but wanna get some good LED's i can start growing some corals and have the lights ready to go. I like the primes in that there reasonably priced and have the built in WIFI. But would they work on my tank? Or would i have to go with the 26 which at that point i might as well go radion. Thanks guys

 

[ca2or]

I spoke with AI regarding my 56 which is 24 inches deep and they assured me 2 primes would do the trick. Any SPS I will have will be at the top of my rock work so it shouldn't be a problem. Depends on what you plan on housing I guess. But I also have a 150w mh and plan on replacing that with something good..... Just don't know what yet. I would need 2 twenty sixes if I went that route.... Might as well just do 4 primes and keep control on my phone

 

[ice fish]

For me though the cost of 4 primes you could afford 2 26 models and the controller. Im not sure. My tank will be more LPS and NPS corals. I dont plan on getting very many if any sps

 

[Tek]

The AI primes are under powered and will not adequately cover 24" wide or deep per unit. I would recommend going with 2 26s.

 

[Bones]

I was running 1 AI Prime over my 29g SPS BC and it did a pretty good job as long as the SPS were half way up or higher. I just added a 2nd Prime for more par and coverage. I am very pleased with 2 primes. With this being said for a larger tank your going to need multiple prime units especially if doing SPS. I think it really boils down to preference you can either have multiple Primes or just a couple of Hydra 26s. The Hydra 26 is basically just 2 prime pucks in one fixture. The only downside of the hydras is having to also purchase the director.

 

[Khh27]

I would recommend 2 26's why would you consider radions if you were going to do 26's that would be almost twice as much for same 2 lights. 26's are more than enough for a 75 or 120g

 

[GlassMunky]

The AI primes are under powered and will not adequately cover 24" wide or deep per unit. I would recommend going with 2 26s.

I second this 200%
I have a buddy with 2 26's over his 75G and everything loves it

 

[BryanS4]

Agree with the last comment. These lights would be lacking big time in a 24" deep/wide tank.

I would have to disagree with the above statement that says SPS would be fine if located at the top of the rock work. Maybe some birdsnest or monti, but no acros ect.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

26s.

 

[ca2or]

For me though the cost of 4 primes you could afford 2 26 models and the controller. Im not sure. My tank will be more LPS and NPS corals. I dont plan on getting very many if any sps

Yes. If I were to actually pursue 4 Primes I would probably entertain something else. My issue though is there is something to be said about having the ability to control your lights from your phone. If they built the same functionality into the 26 and 52's I would be all over them.

 

[ice fish]

Yes. If I were to actually pursue 4 Primes I would probably entertain something else. My issue though is there is something to be said about having the ability to control your lights from your phone. If they built the same functionality into the 26 and 52's I would be all over them.

Thats why i was more interested in the primes. But i dont want my tank to suffer because of convenience. So i'll probably end up with the 26's

 

[ca2or]

Thats why i was more interested in the primes. But i dont want my tank to suffer because of convenience. So i'll probably end up with the 26's

I would tend to agree with this logic. Again though....depends on what you are housing.

 

[Tek]

Yes. If I were to actually pursue 4 Primes I would probably entertain something else. My issue though is there is something to be said about having the ability to control your lights from your phone. If they built the same functionality into the 26 and 52's I would be all over them.

That is what the AI director is for. Maybe in the future it may be built in but most users with larger tanks and multiple lights would rather be able to choose which type of control.

The majority of Prime users are single systems so it makes sense to not need an extra device.

 

[ice fish]

Yeah ill probably end up with the 26's. does the director send messages to your phone as well to control it? Or is it just when your at home you can mess with the settings?

 

[ca2or]

I am really starting to love this prime though

 

[Tek]

Yeah ill probably end up with the 26's. does the director send messages to your phone as well to control it? Or is it just when your at home you can mess with the settings?

AI's website says control from anywhere in the world. The Prime I had used the same cloud based service as the director and could be controlled remotely from anywhere.

 

[Bones]

I would have to disagree with the above statement that says SPS would be fine if located at the top of the rock work. Maybe some birdsnest or monti, but no acros ect.

Acros growing fine under 1 AI Prime at top and mid way down in my tank. Excuse the crappy cell phone pic but you get the idea.

However I did add a 2nd Prime this week to increase coverage and par.

 

[ca2or]

How's the master slave thing working?

 

[Bones]

Worked perfectly. Just have to assign one of the units as the "parent" as they label it and they sync automatically. I'm loving having the second unit. I'm excited to see what they can do once I get them cranked up.

 

[ca2or]

I am jealous. Will be there soon though