Ai Prime 16 hd settings for a nano reef

Asian Hurricane · Jan 5, 2020

Hi all,
I have a newly set up I'm nuvo fusion 20g peninsula with two clowns in it. I have 2 ai prime 16 hds coming in and I was wondering about the light settings for them. I plan to mount them 8 inches above the tank and copy the settings that BRS used in their investigates video. My question is will these settings fry corals? The tank itself is only about 13 inches tall. I am very new at all of this so I am rather overwhelmed at all the slider options in the app haha. Thanks all.

SDK · Jan 5, 2020

What sort of corals are you planning to keep?

Asian Hurricane · Jan 5, 2020

SDK said:
What sort of corals are you planning to keep?

Looking at lps and some sps down the line. Maybe a couple of softies but I hear alot of them grow very quickly which I want to shy away from. I'm not sure what monticaps are considered but they looked nice as well.

SDK · Jan 5, 2020

If you run the BRS setting at 50% intensity you are going to be in mixed reef territory in areas where coverage overlaps and able to keep mushrooms, softies, etc where they don’t.

If you want Acropora, then placing them in overlapped areas at around 70% of BRS settings should be in the zone.

Here is my Nuvo 20 growing everything short of SPS under a single Prime at full strength BRS A+B.

Asian Hurricane · Jan 7, 2020

SDK said:
If you run the BRS setting at 50% intensity you are going to be in mixed reef territory in areas where coverage overlaps and able to keep mushrooms, softies, etc where they don’t.

If you want Acropora, then placing them in overlapped areas at around 70% of BRS settings should be in the zone.

Here is my Nuvo 20 growing everything short of SPS under a single Prime at full strength BRS A+B.

Oh that's a nice clear answer! So for a mixed reef I should set the two lights at around 70% of the brs settings you think?

SDK · Jan 7, 2020

I would start at 50% AB, then work them up to 70% over 6 or 8 weeks. Watch for any bleaching or bad reactions.

You should be a bit more careful in a new tank. Get the lights to a point where the corals are good and get through the new tank phases before you crank them up. Two Primes at 70% will grow both coral and a beautiful lawn of GHA in a new tank...