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

 

[benkirsch07]

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.

Okay, good to know. I'll check out some of the reviews on Youtube. I think I may eventually switch the tank over to a single Prime 16 or something but I think I'll probably roll with the Grow for a while and see how the corals respond. Thanks!

 

[benkirsch07]

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

I was thinking that I would add a Glow if I enjoyed the performance of the Grow. I think (as I stated above) that I may switch the tank over to a single Prime 16 in the future, but utilize the Grow in the meantime to see how the corals respond. Either way, I think I'll roll with the Grow for right now based off what I've read and watched.

 

[overhead]

I have a grow mounted on my IM15, which I think is the same tank as the Hello Reef. I use the mount that is raised slightly, maybe thee or four inches. At 50% power on the standard LPS setting I showed 75-85 par on the sand. Most rocks are centered in the tank, and therefor under the light. About 5 inches off the bottom on rocks PAR ranged from 85-100. Halfway up the tank PAR was 150. On 100% power sand was 140-160 PAR. Rocks a few inches off the sand were 165-195 PAR and rock half way up the tank was 300 PAR, that was directly under the light. Not sure if that helps or not.

 

[benkirsch07]

I have a grow mounted on my IM15, which I think is the same tank as the Hello Reef. I use the mount that is raised slightly, maybe thee or four inches. At 50% power on the standard LPS setting I showed 75-85 par on the sand. Most rocks are centered in the tank, and therefor under the light. About 5 inches off the bottom on rocks PAR ranged from 85-100. Halfway up the tank PAR was 150. On 100% power sand was 140-160 PAR. Rocks a few inches off the sand were 165-195 PAR and rock half way up the tank was 300 PAR, that was directly under the light. Not sure if that helps or not.

Super helpful. I think I'll probably start off at about 40% and work my way up from there.

As I said in the OP, I figure that I'll probably rent the PAR meter from my LFS just to double check my values throughout the tank, but this still gives me a pretty good baseline to start with. Also good to know that there is a standard LPS setting on the app. I vaguely remember they used to have that in the old AI app (geez must have been 6-7 years ago) but something happened and I remembered the preset that tons of people were using got removed.

Thank you! I always like to try out new things in this hobby and I am a big AI fan so I think I'll give the Grow a shot and see how I like it!

 

[overhead]

I have a grow mounted on my IM15, which I think is the same tank as the Hello Reef. I use the mount that is raised slightly, maybe thee or four inches. At 50% power on the standard LPS setting I showed 75-85 par on the sand. Most rocks are centered in the tank, and therefor under the light. About 5 inches off the bottom on rocks PAR ranged from 85-100. Halfway up the tank PAR was 150. On 100% power sand was 140-160 PAR. Rocks a few inches off the sand were 165-195 PAR and rock half way up the tank was 300 PAR, that was directly under the light. Not sure if that helps or not.

Super helpful. I think I'll probably start off at about 40% and work my way up from there.

As I said in the OP, I figure that I'll probably rent the PAR meter from my LFS just to double check my values throughout the tank, but this still gives me a pretty good baseline to start with. Also good to know that there is a standard LPS setting on the app. I vaguely remember they used to have that in the old AI app (geez must have been 6-7 years ago) but something happened and I remembered the preset that tons of people were using got removed.

Thank you! I always like to try out new things in this hobby and I am a big AI fan so I think I'll give the Grow a shot and see how I like it!

You are welcome. The light also comes with a specific template for Hello Reef, but I believe that assumes one is planning on doing the clownfish/anemone thing they advertise. You did not ask, but, if I had it to do over again I would get something like the innovative marine 25 gallon lagoon or some other rectangular style tank instead of a cube. I have two cube style tanks and feel the same way about both of them.

 

[Freenow54]

Super helpful. I think I'll probably start off at about 40% and work my way up from there.

As I said in the OP, I figure that I'll probably rent the PAR meter from my LFS just to double check my values throughout the tank, but this still gives me a pretty good baseline to start with. Also good to know that there is a standard LPS setting on the app. I vaguely remember they used to have that in the old AI app (geez must have been 6-7 years ago) but something happened and I remembered the preset that tons of people were using got removed.

Thank you! I always like to try out new things in this hobby and I am a big AI fan so I think I'll give the Grow a shot and see how I like it!

Just food for thought and what ai mean by experimenting. I own an Apogee par meter . I originally mapped my tank to find dead spots due to rock overhang and placement. When I bought the grow and glow I was reading other members arguments against using a par meter . Hence I did not use it for these lights and am setting intensity at different levels and combinations. You might want to search out the threads before deciding

 

[benkirsch07]

Just food for thought and what ai mean by experimenting. I own an Apogee par meter . I originally mapped my tank to find dead spots due to rock overhang and placement. When I bought the grow and glow I was reading other members arguments against using a par meter . Hence I did not use it for these lights and am setting intensity at different levels and combinations. You might want to search out the threads before deciding

Okay good advice. If I was going SPS dominant like I have in the past I would be more concerned and definitely rent the PAR meter or go with a different light all together. After searching through some threads and doing some research this morning, I think I'll probably just go with mounting 3-4 inches above the water and run it between 40-50%. Just going to start with some soft corals post-cycle so I'll just feel it out with how those corals are looking. If I want to change things up or am really concerned with how some LPS are looking once they go in, I may rent the PAR meter then.

From what I can find online, these seem pretty straight forward and don't seem to have any really big hotspot problems because of the way the lights are spaced out on the strip and the fact that they don't have a high output. I don't think there is a big risk of torching any corals based on what I can find. Either way, I appreciate all of the great info from everyone.

 

[Freenow54]

Okay good advice. If I was going SPS dominant like I have in the past I would be more concerned and definitely rent the PAR meter or go with a different light all together. After searching through some threads and doing some research this morning, I think I'll probably just go with mounting 3-4 inches above the water and run it between 40-50%. Just going to start with some soft corals post-cycle so I'll just feel it out with how those corals are looking. If I want to change things up or am really concerned with how some LPS are looking once they go in, I may rent the PAR meter then.

From what I can find online, these seem pretty straight forward and don't seem to have any really big hotspot problems because of the way the lights are spaced out on the strip and the fact that they don't have a high output. I don't think there is a big risk of torching any corals based on what I can find. Either way, I appreciate all of the great info from everyone.

No I would not worry about any bad effects at all. However be cautious of how close to the water they are due to any water spray getting on them . That is why I chose 8 inches

 

[Freenow54]

For some reason blue is a big thing with some. I did cut the white down a fair bit

 

[benkirsch07]

No I would not worry about any bad effects at all. However be cautious of how close to the water they are due to any water spray getting on them . That is why I chose 8 inches

Ahhhhh good advice. I think I may make something custom to keep them 4-5 inches above then. Maybe I'll post a photo of the cabinet space on here and someone could help me out with making one. I saw on their website that the ends are pre-threaded for custom mounting options? I think that might be a good way to keep the water spray minimal if they are not directly mounted to the tank.

I figure I'll just run a basic preset to begin with and tweak it based on what looks good to the eye and will keep the corals happy. I'm actually a bigger fan of whites than I am blues (looks closer to what I'm used to in Florida which I like), but I do typically run the whites lower.

 

[Freenow54]

Ahhhhh good advice. I think I may make something custom to keep them 4-5 inches above then. Maybe I'll post a photo of the cabinet space on here and someone could help me out with making one. I saw on their website that the ends are pre-threaded for custom mounting options? I think that might be a good way to keep the water spray minimal if they are not directly mounted to the tank.

I figure I'll just run a basic preset to begin with and tweak it based on what looks good to the eye and will keep the corals happy. I'm actually a bigger fan of whites than I am blues (looks closer to what I'm used to in Florida which I like), but I do typically run the whites lower.

Just an idea all off Amazon

 

[benkirsch07]

Just an idea all off Amazon

Really helpful. Think I may go with something like this. Looks cleaner over the tank and makes it easier to get my hands in and work in the tank when necessary. I have a feeling I would get annoyed having to constantly shift the light to get into the tank. Thank you for such great advice and help!