AI Blade Grow Questions

[benkirsch07]

Hey guys. Looking for some guidance on a couple of questions. Me and my dad got into reefing about 8 years ago. We have a 160 gallon bowfront that we setup together at his office that has morphed into a giant BTA tank. It has been absolutely taken over and there are probably between 50-75 BTAs. We both love taking care of it and the clients love it. Welllllll, as many people know we've got the itch to setup a handful of tanks back at the house together so we can enjoy them with the family.

We wanted to keep it easy so we've looked at just getting the HelloReef 15 gallon AIO cube set from BRS and swapping out a handful of the items included in the kit (mostly the heaters and powerheads) but I was curious that it includes the 12 inch AI Blade Grow with the setup. The one thing that I can't seem to find any really good information on is mounting heights or basic PAR readings at different mounting heights (utilizing a mounting arm or directly on tank). My concern is that the space where I want to put the tank is in a small shelf/cabinet area where I will probably only have 7-8 inches of overhead clearance from the surface of the water to the shelf above. I've never used a blade light before so I'm not sure what to expect here. I have a leftover AI Hydra 32 from an old 60 gallon cube that I had before I went to college, but that tank got torn down before I moved away and I certainly wouldnt have the overhead to use such an overkill light on such a small tank.

I guess my questions would be: Who has experience with the Blade Grows? Are they any good? What would you recommend for mounting heights to avoid hotspots? Any recommended settings for the lights once installed? I plan to do a mix of softies (zoas, toadstools, and a couple bounce mushrooms from the BTA tank) and LPS (probably some favias, acans, blastos, or potentially some Euphyllias after the tank matures). Not exactly sure on which corals here, but it will definitely be softies and LPS.

I know some of these may seem like silly questions from someone who has experience in reefing, but I've never used a Blade before and have zero clue how powerful these lights are. If anyone has any good information about them or specifically the mounting heights please let me know! I'll still probably rent a par meter from our LFS to double check once installed, but would just like a baseline to see if I need to change the location of the tank so I have the proper overhead. And if you're in the Tampa, FL area and want some BTAs, also let me know. They split like weeds and we normally just give them to our LFS for trades and whatnot. Thanks everyone!

 

[Shang]

I have my blade grows resting right on top without being raised any. Tank is 18 inches in height and have softies and LPS without any issues. Not sure on the exact par, but I don’t think you’ll have an issue.

 

[Shang]

I have my blade grows resting right on top without being raised any. Tank is 18 inches in height and have softies and LPS without any issues. Not sure on the exact par, but I don’t think you’ll have an issue.

Correction: 22 inches
Lights are around 65% intensity.

 

[slingfox]

I used to have three of the 5ft AI Blades over my 5 ft tank. They provide a pleasing spectrum with great spread. I had them mounted a few inches above the water. There is no light out there that you can mount as close to the water as AI Blades if that is what you want to do. Very good ape output relative to the watts which run the light.

There are a bunch of reviews of the AI Blade on YouTube so you should check those out.

 

[Freenow54]

Hey guys. Looking for some guidance on a couple of questions. Me and my dad got into reefing about 8 years ago. We have a 160 gallon bowfront that we setup together at his office that has morphed into a giant BTA tank. It has been absolutely taken over and there are probably between 50-75 BTAs. We both love taking care of it and the clients love it. Welllllll, as many people know we've got the itch to setup a handful of tanks back at the house together so we can enjoy them with the family.

We wanted to keep it easy so we've looked at just getting the HelloReef 15 gallon AIO cube set from BRS and swapping out a handful of the items included in the kit (mostly the heaters and powerheads) but I was curious that it includes the 12 inch AI Blade Grow with the setup. The one thing that I can't seem to find any really good information on is mounting heights or basic PAR readings at different mounting heights (utilizing a mounting arm or directly on tank). My concern is that the space where I want to put the tank is in a small shelf/cabinet area where I will probably only have 7-8 inches of overhead clearance from the surface of the water to the shelf above. I've never used a blade light before so I'm not sure what to expect here. I have a leftover AI Hydra 32 from an old 60 gallon cube that I had before I went to college, but that tank got torn down before I moved away and I certainly wouldnt have the overhead to use such an overkill light on such a small tank.

I guess my questions would be: Who has experience with the Blade Grows? Are they any good? What would you recommend for mounting heights to avoid hotspots? Any recommended settings for the lights once installed? I plan to do a mix of softies (zoas, toadstools, and a couple bounce mushrooms from the BTA tank) and LPS (probably some favias, acans, blastos, or potentially some Euphyllias after the tank matures). Not exactly sure on which corals here, but it will definitely be softies and LPS.

I know some of these may seem like silly questions from someone who has experience in reefing, but I've never used a Blade before and have zero clue how powerful these lights are. If anyone has any good information about them or specifically the mounting heights please let me know! I'll still probably rent a par meter from our LFS to double check once installed, but would just like a baseline to see if I need to change the location of the tank so I have the proper overhead. And if you're in the Tampa, FL area and want some BTAs, also let me know. They split like weeds and we normally just give them to our LFS for trades and whatnot. Thanks everyone!

I added a 12 inch grow , and glow to my 100 which is 24 inches deep. The Par is very low they only put out 24 watts each . I am using them as a filler between my two AI primes . At the moment they are an experiment , and I am playing with the settings. They are having a positive effect on some of the swallow Coral. I think they would be excellent on Nano Tanks as a functional addition. Even large ones just for looks with the blue spectrum . I would add a Glow as well . No absolute recommendation yet , as I have only had them for a month. Plus I made my own mount with 25 mm extruded aluminum , and fittings off Amazon . They are mounted about 8 inches off the top