AI Prime 16HD Intensity Help

[Angelo Fatica]

Hello all,

I am setting up a 3ft wide by 1 ft deep by 2 feet tall reef tank and I am planning on lighting it with AI Prime 16HDs. I have 3 at the moment and I am trying to get a read on how 3 primes can be used to achieve a mixed reef with such a deep tank? Any help and experience is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[KC's CNC Creations]

a PAR meter is going to be your best determination with the spectrum/preset of your liking. you can use the same spacing as a 40 breeder (one in the center, the other two 10" in from each edge), adjust the height off the water to give best coverage vs least spill over and then adjust intensity according to the PAR readings.

 

[Angelo Fatica]

a PAR meter is going to be your best determination with the spectrum/preset of your liking. you can use the same spacing as a 40 breeder (one in the center, the other two 10" in from each edge), adjust the height off the water to give best coverage vs least spill over and then adjust intensity according to the PAR readings.

I agree with that. I planned on 10 inches above water level and one in middle and the others 8 inches from sides. But if I need to move them closer to water level to give more par because of the depth of the tank, then I may try to borrow one. I was planning on the general idea just in case there aren't any near me to borrow.

 

[KC's CNC Creations]

I agree with that. I planned on 10 inches above water level and one in middle and the others 8 inches from sides. But if I need to move them closer to water level to give more par because of the depth of the tank, then I may try to borrow one. I was planning on the general idea just in case there aren't any near me to borrow.

with 24" depth, the narrow front to back is the biggest issue , it's going to cause a lot of bounce inside the tank off the glass, a painted back glass is going to cut that as well as your aquascape...... you can still 'rent' a PAR meter from BRS, they just don't call it a rental anymore, it's a buy a used meter and return it when you're done, and pay the rental fee as a restocking fee. or look around the classifieds here or marketplace on FB for a SenEye.

 

[Hooz]

I agree... 10" off the water and 8" in from each end for the outside lights. I have the same configuration, although my tank is only 14" deep.

One trick I learned is to run the outside lights as a master/child setup, but run the middle light on its own. You can run the same schedule on both "tanks" in the app, but you can set the middle light's intensity separately and get better, more even spread with less hotspots from light overlap.

I use 3DReefing diffusers for less spill and better color blending, but they do steal about 5-7% of your PAR output. But, on my 14" deep LPS/softie tank, I only run the outside lights at about 55% of the peak potential for the schedule and the center runs at about 35%, so there is quite a bit of headroom there.

My only worry is that a 24" deep tank is going to be tough. To get enough PAR at the bottom to grow even low light loving softies, your PAR at the top is probably going to be pretty high. I guess it might work for a true "mixed reef" if you plan to do SPS at the top. It might even be too much for SPS, though, depending on your rockwork.