What light do you guys recommend for a 32 biocube?

BRS

terraincognita

Valuable Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
Jul 13, 2020
Messages
1,839
Reaction score
2,233
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
Los Angeles
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Was thinking of going with a radion xr15, just don’t know whether to do blue or pro as well if I go with that light.

Thank you for any help in advance!

That lights perfect. You will want for not on the biocube 32 lighting wise with an XR15 Pro that's for sure.

an AI Prime or Hydra 32 will do it as well.

I think with a biocube you can even get away with a Kessil
 
Top Shelf Aquatics

Rigel

New Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
Dec 5, 2021
Messages
14
Reaction score
15
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
Phoenix
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just got the XR15 pro with mounting arm and diffusing cover. I was worried about the "too much blue" look, I am happy with the purchase it is a very nice light. I followed the BRS recommended settings in their video of the light I have it over a 34 gallon (20"x 20"x 20") cube aquarium, no corals yet.

 

MaxTremors

2500 Club Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2021
Messages
3,592
Reaction score
6,141
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
Boise
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The XR15 would be excellent. A cheaper option would be an AI prime 16HD. Cheaper still would be the Noopsyche V3 K7. All great lights and all of them would be able to grow with you should you upgrade the tank.
 
CLICK TO VIEW
OP
OP
xtravism

xtravism

Community Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
Oct 31, 2021
Messages
93
Reaction score
43
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
eustis
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The XR15 would be excellent. A cheaper option would be an AI prime 16HD. Cheaper still would be the Noopsyche V3 K7. All great lights and all of them would be able to grow with you should you upgrade the Tank
Is the noopsyche annoying to program cause I want something that’s easy I can do straight from an app or a good controller.
 

Tamberav

7500 Club Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
Jul 4, 2014
Messages
9,546
Reaction score
14,555
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
Wauwatosa, WI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is the noopsyche annoying to program cause I want something that’s easy I can do straight from an app or a good controller.

Not sure but with lights you should only program them once or twice and never again. Constant tinkering with light settings is a no no.

Any of the options listed will work.
 
BRS

Woodyman

Valuable Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
May 25, 2021
Messages
2,406
Reaction score
3,126
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I like the Red Sea Reef LEDs. Just another option to check out. If I were in the market now for a light I'd get another I've been very pleased with the setup, use, color, and growth I get with them. You could go with either the 50 or 90, just depends on what your lighting demands will be. Personally I oversized my lights for that next tank upgrade. ;)

Everyone has their own lighting preference and color temp preference, for me the Red Seas do the job and I'm happy.
 

BAMatter

Well-Known Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
Oct 30, 2020
Messages
734
Reaction score
416
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
Merrimack
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had a single AI Prime over mine and felt it just wasn’t enough so I added a second one. There’s a plastic part of the Biocube lid that puts a bit of a damper on some of the mounting arms and it will be offset to the left or right, which is why I wasn’t terribly upset with the 2 of them. I also like the features of the Prime, the yellow moonlight is a nice touch too. Plenty of umph with the pair.

That said, a Hydra 32, or XR15 would be great as well.

F10A608C-A621-4988-9436-F61B0C8056DB.jpeg D3744B19-C793-4BA9-9AFB-B3F61CD995E4.jpeg 8EFA4DA4-9E36-4ACA-A660-E5E543A8EEC3.jpeg
 
Last edited:

MaxTremors

2500 Club Member
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
View Badges
Joined
Mar 20, 2021
Messages
3,592
Reaction score
6,141
Review score
+0 /0 /-0
Location
Boise
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is the noopsyche annoying to program cause I want something that’s easy I can do straight from an app or a good controller.
It’s not the most user-friendly, but it’s easy enough. Compared to an app controlled light like the AI Prime or Radion, it’s definitely less intuitive, but it’s not too difficult to program it. As mentioned, you really should set your lights and then leave it (the only exception being an acclimation period). I went from the stock lights to an AI Prime, so the acclimation automated. Going from the Prime to the Noopsyche, I really liked the LPS preset, but I’ve had to adjust it slightly lower as it was just a bit too much. I think if you were going from stock biocube lighting to the Noopsyche, you’d need to manually set-up an acclimation period (plan it out on paper and bump up the intensities on a schedule), which is definitely more difficult than just using the acclimation mode on the Prime (I’m sure other higher end lights have a similar mode, but I’ve never owned a Radion, and the Kessil I owned I never had the controller for). But again, once you get past the acclimation, you really don’t want to be messing with it.

I guess it just depends on your budget and what features you value. The Noopsyche is a high quality light, it’s more than twice as powerful as 2 AI Prime 16HDs (its more comparable to the Hydra 32, but it’s more powerful than that, the Noopsyche is 140watts), and costs less than a prime 16hd, if you catch one of the frequent sales. It’s a no frills high quality LED light that lacks some features to be able to sell it for a lower price.

Personally, I found that one AI Prime 16hd was on the lower end of what I needed for my tank (28g Nanocube), it just didn’t have quite enough PAR without really pushing the whites and over driving the blue channels, since it’s a single light source I also got a lot of shadowing. If I were ever to go back to the prime, I’d add a second one (or go with the Hydra 32). Don’t get me wrong, the AI’s are great lights and the app is super user-friendly, but I think for a 32g biocube one 16hd is borderline inadequate (especially if you want to keep sps or clams).
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
BRS

Polyp polynomial: How many heads do you start with when buying zoas?

  • One head is enough to get started.

    Votes: 27 10.6%
  • 2 to 4 heads.

    Votes: 145 57.1%
  • 5 heads or more.

    Votes: 65 25.6%
  • Full colony.

    Votes: 10 3.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 7 2.8%

New Posts

Back
Top