AI Prime Light

[BudgetR33f]

Is it worth upgrading a 100w amazon nicrew led light for a used ai prime? If so, why and what are the benefits of ai primes?

 

[disaster999]

It depends on a lot of factors. What size tank are you running this on, what are the wattage you are running currently, do you need to buy mounting hardware?

Here is the Nicrew VS Ai Prime comparison:

100W vs 59W
Basic Controls vs Full control of individual LED channel
China LED vs Known high quality ones
Unknown optics vs well designed lens

You are almost halving the output and reducing the coverage going from the Nicrew to the Ai Prime. Sure you will be getting a fancy name brand LED light with wireless app control and individual LED channel control, but is all these fancy features really worth the reduction? If you are running this on a small cube tank probably wouldnt make a difference, any long tank probably have a high hot spot in the middle and very dim on the edges.

 

[BudgetR33f]

It depends on a lot of factors. What size tank are you running this on, what are the wattage you are running currently, do you need to buy mounting hardware?

Here is the Nicrew VS Ai Prime comparison:

100W vs 59W
Basic Controls vs Full control of individual LED channel
China LED vs Known high quality ones
Unknown optics vs well designed lens

You are almost halving the output and reducing the coverage going from the Nicrew to the Ai Prime. Sure you will be getting a fancy name brand LED light with wireless app control and individual LED channel control, but is all these fancy features really worth the reduction? If you are running this on a small cube tank probably wouldnt make a difference, any long tank probably have a high hot spot in the middle and very dim on the edges.

Tank is 20g and 25(24.5?)x13 inches. As far as I know Ai Prime reaches 24x24 inches. So i assume it’s not worth it. Is there any other light that would still offer the same benefits and not be absurdly expensive used that you know of?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Tank is 20g and 25(24.5?)x13 inches. As far as I know Ai Prime reaches 24x24 inches. So i assume it’s not worth it. Is there any other light that would still offer the same benefits and not be absurdly expensive used that you know of?

If you're talking the Prime 16HD, it does 24 x 24" in perfect marketing materials.
Real life is pretty much different.

 

[disaster999]

Tank is 20g and 25(24.5?)x13 inches. As far as I know Ai Prime reaches 24x24 inches. So i assume it’s not worth it. Is there any other light that would still offer the same benefits and not be absurdly expensive used that you know of?

What are the reasons you want to go with a different lighting solution? Hard to recommend without knowing your needs

That being said, Noopsyche K7 v3 should fit your bill perfectly. well known track record here, lots of success stories, inexpensive. The controls will need some time to get used to but once you figure it out it should be easy to set and forget.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

If you want SPS the prime will do it more directly under the light. It won't do it extremely fast. But it will do it. I thought it to be a bit under powered on a IM 15 gallon cube 15 x15x15 so I added an AI blade to help. Most corals grew towards the light source. But that was ugly so I shut the tank down.

I don't know anything about the other light.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

going from Nicrew 100w to AI Prime 16 will be a downgrade, not an upgrade IMO. The Prime is a nano light that maxes out at 20-25 gallons IMO, the nicrew 100w can easily light up 30-35-40 gallons.

The nicrew 100w is a stronger light, but the Prime gives you fancy bluetooth control that lets you program it any way you want.