Lighting help

[NeilG]

Hey guys,
So I currently have 230ltr (50 gallon) tropical setup, and want to convert this into a reef tank.
I am abit stuck on what lights to get, I went to my LFS and they recommended,
tmc ilumenair
Reef factory reef flare
Ai hydra and Ai prime.

Is there any of these you guys would recommend or have any other suggestions you recommend.

Not sure if it matters or where the majority of you guys are from, but I'm from England if it makes any difference.

Thanks

 

[DanyL]

I wouldn't touch AI products, poor quality, mediocre products and inflated prices. It's no more than a popular brand taking advantage of their customers - look it up.
Reef Flare is nice, although it turns out the advertised spectrum doesn't match the actual spec.
I have no experience or information to share about the TMC.

I highly recommend you to look for telegraham's lightning tests over at humble fish forum, he has great and unbiased reviews of a lot of fixtures, both known and less known.

Personally I would recommend you to check ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pro, it's one of the best lights in the market today and is priced very reasonably compared to the others while also delivering much more.

Good Luck!

 

[Uncle99]

Chinese black boxes if cost is a factor.
Viparspectra 165w or Nicrew 150w, I use both, 5 years now.
Grow anything.
But there’s just white and blue channel so no Wifi App stuff with tons of control.
Corals don’t care which really, provided, it is constant and unchanging, day in day out.

 

[NeilG]

Thanks guys, I will take a look at these.
I wouldn't say cost is a factor but if I don't need to spend alot then I'd rather not,

How do you control the white and blue with WiFi/Bluetooth, do you just change it manual at a certain time

 

[Dom]

Hey guys,
So I currently have 230ltr (50 gallon) tropical setup, and want to convert this into a reef tank.
I am abit stuck on what lights to get, I went to my LFS and they recommended,
tmc ilumenair
Reef factory reef flare
Ai hydra and Ai prime.

Is there any of these you guys would recommend or have any other suggestions you recommend.

Not sure if it matters or where the majority of you guys are from, but I'm from England if it makes any difference.

Thanks

What are the dimensions (LxWxH) of your tank and what kind of corals would you like to keep?

 

[NeilG]

What are the dimensions (LxWxH) of your tank and what kind of corals would you like to keep?

48" x 15" x 20”​

not sure about what corals at the moment, I. Just looking at the equipment side of what I need, then was going to look at fish and corals

 

[Dom]

48" x 15" x 20”​

not sure about what corals at the moment, I. Just looking at the equipment side of what I need, then was going to look at fish and corals

The lighting demands of a Reef Tank are far greater than that of a Fish Only With Live Rock setup. So when choosing a light for your reef tank, consider the following:

• Light Spread. When we speak of light spread, we are speaking of the area which a light covers.

An easy way to demonstrate light spread would be to take a flashlight, turn it on and stand it on end with the light facing down on a table. Now, slowly pick it straight up, moving away from the table. Notice that as you move the flashlight further from the table, the area of the table covered by light increases. The growing and shrinking of the area covered by light on the table based on the distance from the table is the spread.

So when selecting a light, the spread must cover the footprint of the tank. And much in the same way you adjusted the spread of light on the table top by changing the distance of the light from the table, you can adjust the spread of your light by changing the height at which the light hangs over the aquarium. But there is more…

• Light Intensity. It isn’t enough that your light spread covers the entire footprint of your tank. It must do so with the proper light intensity as well.

When speaking of light and it’s intensity in aquariums, people will reference light measurements in “lumen” or “PAR”. What is the difference between PAR and Lumen? Generally, lumen are used to measure the brightness of light as perceived by the human eye.

PAR is the amount of light that is actually available to be used during the photosynthesis process. So when speaking in terms of PAR, it is my understanding that references the portions of the light spectrum usable by the inhabitants in the tank.

 

[Dom]

I wouldn't touch AI products, poor quality, mediocre products and inflated prices. It's no more than a popular brand taking advantage of their customers - look it up.
Reef Flare is nice, although it turns out the advertised spectrum doesn't match the actual spec.
I have no experience or information to share about the TMC.

I highly recommend you to look for telegraham's lightning tests over at humble fish forum, he has great and unbiased reviews of a lot of fixtures, both known and less known.

Personally I would recommend you to check ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pro, it's one of the best lights in the market today and is priced very reasonably compared to the others while also delivering much more.

Good Luck!

Funny, I have an AI Hydra 32 and the only problem I have is the lack of documentation for the software interface.

 

[DanyL]

Funny, I have an AI Hydra 32 and the only problem I have is the lack of documentation for the software interface.

It's natural to defend a brand when you own their products, and maybe yours is just fine.
But you can't ignore their track record, they have a long history of misinformation, quality control issues and they are over priced for what they're worth.

I can go on into details for the exact reasons I wouldn't recommend their products, but let's keep it clean.
If anyone is willing to know more about it, they'll be able to look it up for themselves.

 

[Dom]

It's natural to defend a brand when you own their products, and maybe yours is just fine.
But you can't ignore their track record, they have a long history of misinformation, quality control issues and they are over priced for what they're worth.

I can go on into details for the exact reasons I wouldn't recommend their products, but let's keep it clean.
If anyone is willing to know more about it, they'll be able to look it up for themselves.

I'm not loyal to the AI brand. I don't get paid to endorse their product. My comments are based on my experience, as are yours.