AI Prime

[Max1]

Hi, I have setup a small 500mm long 700mm wide 250mm tall (20x28x10 inches) small tank next to my main tank running from common water from main tank sump. I need to get lighting for this small tank and I am thinking about using a single AI prime light on the hard mount hang on the back. The tank will have some mixed frags and small colonies, mainly soft and lps. Is this single light sufficient?
Also my main display uses Red Sea 170s, which people say are quiet, but I find them noisy as they are in a very quiet room so I am wanting to change them. I know that the Ai primes are fan cooled, but because of the smaller size compared to the Red Sea 170s I am assuming that they should be quieter? If anyone has had both I would apreciate the input, and if anyone knows if a single Ai prime is enough for that tank size. Thanks

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

There is a slight noise, a slight whirl, when the fan is working. I guess it depends how sensitive your hearing is.

If the tank is 10" deep then AI Prime will work for depth, but you might have some shading on the edges of the tank though. I have prime on my 15 gallon rectangle tank is 18" wide and the mushrooms in the corners are all stretching up. So if your tank is 28" wide you might need 2.

 

[Max1]

Picked it up today and all set up. It is way louder than the red sea 170s i have next to it lol. Coverage seems good, I used the easy setup to choose the spectrum and timing, and just make it look pretty blue as I like it. Is the quick setup options good? Does anyone have something better for getting corals to look bright?

 

[Max1]

Also, there is a slider for the uv, should I be running this at 100%?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If you go to the AI Prime website, they have several pre-made programs created by their experts, these are very popular and easy to use.

 

[EricR]

If you go to the AI Prime website, they have several pre-made programs created by their experts, these are very popular and easy to use.

Agreed -- just remember you'll likely want to scale down the percentages since your tank is only 10" tall.
*there's an easy way to scale up/down all LEDs by same percentage quickly in myAI app but I haven't done that in a long time so you'll have to look that up

Here's a page with a bunch of user settings -- pick one that looks good and each user's page has "Download Settings" button:

AI Prime User Settings

 

[Freenow54]

There is a slight noise, a slight whirl, when the fan is working. I guess it depends how sensitive your hearing is.

If the tank is 10" deep then AI Prime will work for depth, but you might have some shading on the edges of the tank though. I have prime on my 15 gallon rectangle tank is 18" wide and the mushrooms in the corners are all stretching up. So if your tank is 28" wide you might need 2.

I cleaned my primes and are dead silent . To me your on the edge for 2 . After reading and asking a lot of questions about lighting I added fans to cool my primes as when I increased output they cycled on thermal. I got two fans for $60 Cnd . work well. also use the " easy set up as setting a schedule requires the hand of a surgeon and it will control both lights simultaneously . I was playing with lighting after reading reading reading finally lowered UV and cool white and increased blue to 90 % now a coral that looked dead yesterday is happy and playing with the others again . Amazing how a small change will work

 

[Freenow54]

I cleaned my primes and are dead silent . To me your on the edge for 2 . After reading and asking a lot of questions about lighting I added fans to cool my primes as when I increased output they cycled on thermal. I got two fans for $60 Cnd . work well. also use the " easy set up as setting a schedule requires the hand of a surgeon and it will control both lights simultaneously . I was playing with lighting after reading reading reading finally lowered UV and cool white and increased blue to 90 % now a coral that looked dead yesterday is happy and playing with the others again . Amazing how a small change will work

Another choice would be aqua illumination combo glow and grow . Perfect for your depth and come in 12 24 36 48 inches look at them . They are passive cooling and I have made a bracket for mine ( 12 inch ) but have yet to install them and set them . Now that I have finally had success with my primes thanks to the advice I have seen I am again excited to use them.

 

[Freenow54]

As I said No Offence but no need to download anything just use " easy lighting " and you can very quickly change any setting . Look at the suggested settings in those links that Erick R gave you but find your own sweet spot. I am very happy that I did . The Coral responded immediately

 

[Gone Reefin’]

I’m late to this party but I find my primes obnoxiously loud. They are not nearly as loud when 50% or less, but when I started to push them they became quite loud. They are all approaching 2-3 years old so it could be fan wear also.

 

[Freenow54]

I’m late to this party but I find my primes obnoxiously loud. They are not nearly as loud when 50% or less, but when I started to push them they became quite loud. They are all approaching 2-3 years old so it could be fan wear also.

Mine are older . Take a good look at the fan input on the top. The screen is VERY fine I with a lot of work cleaded them but also bout two cooling fans which sure keep them cool but dont know if I needed them . I thought they were clean after blasting them with canned air which now I wished I had not as you get pressurized water out of the can but got awaay with it but the screens were still completely cloged until I used a paint brush. I have to hold my hand around them to check if they are running WHAT !!!