Can anything beat 3 AI primes for $750 or less?

[zpete3323]

New or used? If new, that’s a great deal, but used…I would avoid.

Used. They change over to new lights every generation so relatively short use cycle

 

[vetteguy53081]

2-3 @noopsyche Or 2-3 Orphek Or3-90 light bars (2 sky blue and one blue plus)

 

[Backreefing]

You could get a couple of metal halides used and rebulb them for almost pennies. Nothing is better!! Besides used LEDs almost always have damage to the blue LEDs.
Guys selling used LEDs be , like a guy selling a used car with 175K miles on it “ those are highway miles “ LOL

 

[spsick]

You could get a couple of metal halides used and rebulb them for almost pennies. Nothing is better!! Besides used LEDs almost always have damage to the blue LEDs.
Guys selling used LEDs be , like a guy selling a used car with 175K miles on it “ those are highway miles “ LOL

What wattage would you suggest for a 40g tank the OP posted about?

Unfortunately 150w DE and 175w SE are a dying breed as far as bulb availability.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Yes! The Maxspect Razor lights on clearance in the CoralVue Outlet Store. Higher quality, would never spend that kind of money on the plastic lens melting AI Prime.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Or even the Jump 65's that are on clearance at coralvue. 180ish per light. Really digging the sharable spectrums

Also build quality. Much better than Primes.

 

[Backreefing]

250s are fine if you get selectable wattage ballasts you could run your bulbs on anything you want . Example a 250 bulb can be ran at 250,175,150 ! Just fine. De bulbs are better and get Phoenix bulbs . Amazon eBay stores whatever. Phoenix bulbs are a white blue light you’ll like them . How ever single end bu

 

[Backreefing]

Single end bulbs have twin arc bulbs that go for years

 

[reefiniteasy]

Maxspect Razor X 200w LED Lighting Fixture (CLOSEOUT)

Limitless Spectral Combinations to Fit Your Tank’s Needs Effective Coverage: 48in x 22in | Maximum Coverage: 50in x 26inDimensions: 33in x 10.2in x 1.25in (LxWxH) | Suited for tanks: 32.5in - 47in

www.coralvue.com

This with the icv6 controller for $550 total free shipping. Can’t beat it.

 

[Gardnaaa]

Noo-Psyche all the way! And used the rest of the money for corals or fish!

 

[DIFish]

I was thinking about upgrading the lights on my 40b to something strong enough to grow sps and I think 3 AI primes would be probably the best way to do that for the best price. Do you guys know of anything better for around $750 dollars?

2-3 of these should do the trick. I just got one and the light output is very impressive.
You can have them customize the spectrum to fit your need. Under $200.

https://m.aliexpress.us/item/2251832657411052.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

 

[exnisstech]

Hate to sound like a broken record but noo psyche gets my vote too. I recently installed a K7 V3 wifi over the frag section of my sump. It puts out some serious par.

 

[InvaderJim]

Honestly you can't go wrong with and ATI sunpower fixture.

 

[Dkmoo]

1 orphek compact, or if you are willing to just up your budget a little more, 1 orphek icon.

Will make a world of difference and a lot better than any other "budget" choice out there.

Its not all about PAR: PUR, spectrum mix and spread are a lot more critical to growing SPS.