Will this work?

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Will two AI Prime 16hds be enough to light my tank? The dimensions of the aquarium are 36x20x22 inches (90x50x55 cm). I see some conflicting information when I look this up. Some people say that the coverage is 24"x24" (enough), but some put it at 16"x16" (not enough). If this won't work, what lights would work best? I'm hoping to keep the total cost below 700$. Thanks!

 

[Garf]

Will two AI Prime 16hds be enough to light my tank? The dimensions of the aquarium are 36x20x22 inches (90x50x55 cm). I see some conflicting information when I look this up. Some people say that the coverage is 24"x24" (enough), but some put it at 16"x16" (not enough). If this won't work, what lights would work best? I'm hoping to keep the total cost below 700$. Thanks!

You’ll be ok for softies and LPS but you’ll have to crank up the wattage for SPS which can melt the lenses. I’ve got 2 on a 24 inch cube with supplemental strips front and back. One of the lenses is like new, the other looks like it’s been too close to the sun.

 

[Bpb]

It will work depending on what your expectations are. Illuminating for fish? Sure. Soft corals or other low light specimens? Sure. End to end sps and clams? Probably not, or less than ideal. No such thing as bad lights or just mismanaged expectations.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Thank you. The tank will be mainly soft corals and anemones, with a few LPS. Sounds like it should work fine.

 

[Bpb]

Thank you. The tank will be mainly soft corals and anemones, with a few LPS. Sounds like it should work fine.

Agreed!