AI Prime HD

[Crooked Reef]

I’m not sure if this is the best forum for this, but I’m considering putting an AI Prime HD on an old Oceanic Biocube 29 with the hopes of being able to keep sps. The dimensions of the part of the tank that’s will be covered by the light are 16”x19.5”x14.5” from the sand to the top of the tank. Will this light be powerful enough for sps in this tank? How high should it be mounted above the waterline?

I’m currently running Gen 4 radion Xr15 pros over my 90 gallon reef which are on a reeflink for control which I could also use for a radion on the biocube, but the prime he is half the price and would be covering a smaller area. The built in controller is a reason I am considering the prime over a Kessil 160. I don’t want to spend $230 on a light only to have to spend another $100 for the spectral controller.

[Alex Costa]

I use a Hydra26 HD over a 20" x 26" frag tank. My fixture is 12" above the water line.
I think that the Prime will be a little weak on your tank.
Of course that will depend on scape and sps distribution on the scape.

[Tek]

The prime is very weak. I would go with a Hydra 26 HD. The dual pucks will also give better coverage.


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[mndfreeze]

Seems to be a lot of conflicting information depending on which forum (and which section) you ask about this light. I posted on NR the same dilemma as OP between the same lights and everyone said the AI would handle SPS just fine for a 29G cube (also my tank). Other sections on here as well said it was a good affordable choice.

I literally just placed an order for the AI prime for the same reason as OP. I can't justify anothe 100 bucks for a controller and the AI seems to be a lot more powerful on the user side of things even if the light is less.

You guys REALLY think an AI prime isn't enough for sps in a mixed reef setup for a 29 cube? Even in the upper half of the tank on rockwork? I can still cancel my order but blech.

[reefmutt]

I think you will be good with the prime on a 29g tank.
I think it’ll be strong enough.

[swhobbie1]

For reference ... I have a AI-26 (not HD... older) 10" above the water on a 10g Nuvo which is 12" H. With the AI-26 set to 100% all channels PAR on the 1" sandbed is 296-321 PAR. And 2" below the water line is 500-850 PAR.

[Crooked Reef]

Just for reference, the biocube 29 does not actually hold 29 gallons. The display dimensions I gave hold just over 19 gallons, and probably a little less due to the front being slightly curved. It does hold some in the back chambers, as it is an all in one tank, but maybe 3 gallons tops, not another 10.

[mndfreeze]

The 29G biocube is roughly 26ish gallons empty. Once you put in rock, sand, etc you lose quite a bit. Even with a lot of rock and a 3 inch sand bed I still manged to get about 18 gallons into mine.

[Krzydmnd]

I think the biggest issue you'll have is shadowing. I have Steve's led upgrade in mine (hood on) and it runs the width of the tank and I still get some shadowing on corals.

Since the prime is focused in a small circle you're not going to get full coverage across the entire tank.

I have one prime as I was considering going topless and I wasn't as happy with the coverage so I am holding off until I can get a second one.

Two primes would probably be a better choice if you can upgrade to a second one at some point.

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[Crooked Reef]

I am looking towards two primes now or one hydra 26. It appears that the hydra 26 is two of the same pucks that are in the prime but the par readings are a lot higher. Will two light pucks putting out the same power actually penetrate the water deeper with more par? I know it will definitely look like it will, but our eyes don’t see the par so I’m not sure. If they are the same pucks and I will get the same par with two primes vs a hydra I will spend the extra $50 so that I can adjust the distance between them to fight shadowing. I have some time because I am building a new stand with a hood attached to supports on the stand and that will take a while.

[swhobbie1]

if that tank is 19.5" H I think the AI-26 would def give better PAR

[Crooked Reef]

No, I may have those in the wrong order. 19.5” side to side, 16” front to back and 14.5”from the top of the sand to the top of the tank rim. If I only place corals on the rockwork the furthest they would be under water would be13”. The 26 HD has two pucks that from their website appear to be the same as the prime HD pucks driven at the same watts per puck.

[mndfreeze]

Pretty sure you are correct that the hydra is just 2 prime pucks. IMO if flexibility is important to you then spend the extra 50 bucks for 2 primes so you can adjust them. Thats my plan if one ends up not being enough for me.

[murphreef]

I dont like the Prime HD had one on my Lagoon 25 for a bit and now have a Radion Xr15 G4 Pro which is 100% better looking and coverage than the Prime HD.

[Fylerb]

I get great results with 2 prime hds. But they are only 6 inches apart

[NaturalReef]

Prime hd WILL grow and color sps. I used them on a 50 gallon lagoon. I started with two non hd and ended up with three for coverage. I had all types of high end sps all over the tank high and low and they colored them up with no issues. Bottom line imo is coverage. The beauty of the prime is the ability to angle them. I upgraded to g4’s and the growth is the same. I almost think the g4’s are too strong for shallow tanks. As it has been said before, I think light is one factor to overall sps success.

I downgraded to a Red Sea Max Nano and the prime hd lights up the whole space. As frags you won’t have any issue, once they grow into colonies is when shadowing will become an issue. Hth’s

[Crooked Reef]

Thanks again everyone.