AI Blades

[Freenow54]

As I posted a few days ago I bought two AI blades intended to fill the gap between my two HD Primes . I had to decide how to install them . Some time ago I bought everything and much more to make my own. I finally put my attention to it so here you are. I was intending to use swivel joints , and I may

still but quite a bit more work and faith since I may have had to hang the lights directly over the water and may create a hazard that is not necessary. I will see how this works , and also stated I may be chasing an impossible dream with them . One a Glow , and one a Grow. They will sit flat on the bracket with no angle

 

[tharbin]

As I posted a few days ago I bought two AI blades intended to fill the gap between my two HD Primes . I had to decide how to install them . Some time ago I bought everything and much more to make my own. I finally put my attention to it so here you are. I was intending to use swivel joints , and I may

still but quite a bit more work and faith since I may have had to hang the lights directly over the water and may create a hazard that is not necessary. I will see how this works , and also stated I may be chasing an impossible dream with them . One a Glow , and one a Grow. They will sit flat on the bracket with no angle

@Freenow54,

I had a very similar light setup over my 48' long 100 gallon tank. I had three AI Prime 16 HDs and two AI Blade 39" Grows over the tank. Here is a shot of how it was set up. When my stand (T-Slot) was designed there is a crossbar added to the rear of the stand to serve as the lower anchor point for the light mount uprights. The upper anchor is the top rear extrusion. To make it easy to work with, I placed a crossbeam between the two outrigger bars to mount all of the lights. I 3d printed Prime mounts that were listed on Thingaverse and I designed mounts for the Blades that attached to the Blade Clip Mounts.

Here is how the uprights attach to my stand.

Here is one of the Blades mounted with the 3d printed arms. I originally printed these in regular PETG but they sagged a little bit over time, just a couple of degrees but they did sag. I re-printed them in PET-CF and they are totally rigid.

And here is how they looked all in place (the black cylinder at the rear is a Sicce UV-Clarifier)

I liked the setup a lot but I would have liked to have one Grow and One Glow or added a Glow because, while the corals did well, there wasn't much pop.

I won a big discount on a Meridian and also was offered a very good deal on another Meridian so I swapped out the lights for Meridians but I still own the Primes and Blades and would not hesitate to use them again.

 

[Freenow54]

@Freenow54,

I had a very similar light setup over my 48' long 100 gallon tank. I had three AI Prime 16 HDs and two AI Blade 39" Grows over the tank. Here is a shot of how it was set up. When my stand (T-Slot) was designed there is a crossbar added to the rear of the stand to serve as the lower anchor point for the light mount uprights. The upper anchor is the top rear extrusion. To make it easy to work with, I placed a crossbeam between the two outrigger bars to mount all of the lights. I 3d printed Prime mounts that were listed on Thingaverse and I designed mounts for the Blades that attached to the Blade Clip Mounts.

Here is how the uprights attach to my stand.

Here is one of the Blades mounted with the 3d printed arms. I originally printed these in regular PETG but they sagged a little bit over time, just a couple of degrees but they did sag. I re-printed them in PET-CF and they are totally rigid.

And here is how they looked all in place (the black cylinder at the rear is a Sicce UV-Clarifier)

I liked the setup a lot but I would have liked to have one Grow and One Glow or added a Glow because, while the corals did well, there wasn't much pop.

I won a big discount on a Meridian and also was offered a very good deal on another Meridian so I swapped out the lights for Meridians but I still own the Primes and Blades and would not hesitate to use them again.

That s well thought out . My primes were already mounted so I worked around them . I found the grow and glow on sale and thought they were just what I wanted to fill the gap . Yours is an approach fromnew which is cleaner than mine for sure. Between us though I don't like the look I have now. With the fans on the Primes to keep them cool it looks really Industrial . > Not wanting to knock yours but I don't like the UV sticking up either . On my new tank I have two similar lights already on mounts but can change it over to look like yours easily enough. I am not sure if the longer ones would make a difference as I assume the wattage rating goes up just because they are longer. So if the lights work on this tank ( # 2 ) I am going to make a canopy just surrounding the front and sides to hide it all . I have perfect molding to start from tearing apart a seapora tank to use the glass for my sump for #3 Tank . I would not mind seeing your Meridian set up , as I am thinking about going big on lights for #3

 

[tharbin]

That s well thought out . My primes were already mounted so I worked around them . I found the grow and glow on sale and thought they were just what I wanted to fill the gap . Yours is an approach fromnew which is cleaner than mine for sure. Between us though I don't like the look I have now. With the fans on the Primes to keep them cool it looks really Industrial . > Not wanting to knock yours but I don't like the UV sticking up either . On my new tank I have two similar lights already on mounts but can change it over to look like yours easily enough. I am not sure if the longer ones would make a difference as I assume the wattage rating goes up just because they are longer. So if the lights work on this tank ( # 2 ) I am going to make a canopy just surrounding the front and sides to hide it all . I have perfect molding to start from tearing apart a seapora tank to use the glass for my sump for #3 Tank . I would not mind seeing your Meridian set up , as I am thinking about going big on lights for #3

The UV was an afterthought and since my tank is an AIO, there weren't many mounting options available. I have covers over the AIO sections as the tank sits in our foyer so I like to keep inquisitive hands out of it. The UV feeds through the center cutout from the skimmer section and back through the center cutout to the refugium section. Not ideal but better than nothing.

Yes the wattage goes up with length but each panel is the same so the PAR is the same but the coverage is expanded. I found the 39" was just what I wanted on the 48". Good coverage end to end but just a little less PAR at the ends for lower light corals. The Blades are really good fill lights and I was very happy with the setup, but not the number of cords and power supply bricks.

Here is the Meridian setup. It is a Meridian 35" and two Edge 35" mounted directly to the T-Slot outriggers with 3d printed brackets. Please disregard the rather significant Aiptasia outbreak and the series of frag tiles on the sand. Most of the corals are moved to a 40 Breeder with two Prime 16 HDs and a Meridian 11" over it while the five Peppermint Shrimp and Klein Butterflyfish attempt to tackle the AIptasia monster.

 

[Freenow54]

The UV was an afterthought and since my tank is an AIO, there weren't many mounting options available. I have covers over the AIO sections as the tank sits in our foyer so I like to keep inquisitive hans out of it. The UV feeds through the center cutout from the skimmer section and back through the center cutout to the refugium section. Not ideal but better than nothing.

Yes the wattage goes up with length but each panel is the same so the PAR is the same but the coverage is expanded. I found the 39" was just what I wanted on the 48". Good coverage end to end but just a little less PAR at the ends for lower light corals. The Blades are really good fill lights and I was very happy with the setup, but not the number of cords and power supply bricks.

Here is the Meridian setup. It is a Meridian 35" and two Edge 35" mounted directly to the T-Slot outriggers with 3d printed brackets. Please disregard the rather significant Aiptasia outbreak and the series of frag tiles on the sand. Most of the corals are moved to a 40 Breeder with two Prime 16 HDs and a Meridian 11" over it while the five Peppermint Shrimp and Klein Butterflyfish attempt to tackle the AIptasia monster.

Way cleaner Looking

 

[tharbin]

Way cleaner Looking

Also just one power supply, you can see most of it in the photo above. It is the large power brick mounted to the back of my controller board with a 3d printed holder. The power supply has one cable to the Meridian and then the two Edges are connected to the Meridian with a daisy chain cable.

 

[Freenow54]

Also just one power supply, you can see most of it in the photo above. It is the large power brick mounted to the back of my controller board with a 3d printed holder. The power supply has one cable to the Meridian and then the two Edges are connected to the Meridian with a daisy chain cable.

Some time in the future I would like to talk more about 3D Printing if its ok .

 

[tharbin]

Some time in the future I would like to talk more about 3D Printing if its ok .

Of course it is. Anytime.

 

[Freenow54]

Thanks watching world cup now . I have a lot of work to do yet to get this third tank going along with normal life so a few months yet