Luxdium AI LED "Upgrades"

[dank.reefer]

Hello out there fellow reefers. I was wondering how many people are running the Luxdium AI HD upgrades. Also want to know if you feel they are worth the cost. Also what spectrum are you running and how does the color compare to the original AI.

I have a few old AI lights and was considering trying some of these out. The only issue I have is that they cost enough that I could go get more AI HD lights used in fairly good shape for the same price.

Any and all input is welcome as I am very interested to hear the good and bad.

 

[JaaxReef]

Hello out there fellow reefers. I was wondering how many people are running the Luxdium AI HD upgrades. Also want to know if you feel they are worth the cost. Also what spectrum are you running and how does the color compare to the original AI.

I have a few old AI lights and was considering trying some of these out. The only issue I have is that they cost enough that I could go get more AI HD lights used in fairly good shape for the same price.

Any and all input is welcome as I am very interested to hear the good and bad.

I love mine. I just upgraded two 26HDs to the gold pucks and the spectrum is much more complete and allows me to run them at the full 90 watts without going too white. Would recommend. Gave me about a 20% par boost over the stock LEDs too, and they run cooler.

If your goal is more spread, it won’t add that, so you may be better off buying more used lights. If you want more output and better colors, I would say it’s a great way to extend the life of the lights and accomplish just that.

 

[Hooz]

New lenses are coming from Luxdium on 12/10 that increase spread, improve blending and, most importantly, DO NOT MELT! :D

I've been running Luxdium pucks over all my tanks since the beta test started 5+ years ago (running both "Gold" and "Cyan" pucks on different tanks). I absolutely love them, and the lens is the "last piece of the puzzle".
At this point, I've upgraded 7 Prime HDs and 4 Hydra 26HDs. with 2 more stock 26HDs waiting for the new products to drop. IMO, they are 110% worth the upgrade.

 

[Jari]

Hello out there fellow reefers. I was wondering how many people are running the Luxdium AI HD upgrades. Also want to know if you feel they are worth the cost. Also what spectrum are you running and how does the color compare to the original AI.

I have a few old AI lights and was considering trying some of these out. The only issue I have is that they cost enough that I could go get more AI HD lights used in fairly good shape for the same price.

Any and all input is welcome as I am very interested to hear the good and bad.

I also love mine (Gold engines in 26HD), I have some pictures in my tank thread. Was considering ordering pucks to my old non-HD Primes as well (even though not being optimal in to those). i just love the versatility & pop.

 

[Create New]

New lenses are coming from Luxdium on 12/10 that increase spread, improve blending and, most importantly, DO NOT MELT! :D

I've been running Luxdium pucks over all my tanks since the beta test started 5+ years ago (running both "Gold" and "Cyan" pucks on different tanks). I absolutely love them, and the lens is the "last piece of the puzzle".
At this point, I've upgraded 7 Prime HDs and 4 Hydra 26HDs. with 2 more stock 26HDs waiting for the new products to drop. IMO, they are 110% worth the upgrade.

I'm so excited for the new LUX 32s!!! do you know when in 2025 they will drop?

 

[Hooz]

I'm so excited for the new LUX 32s!!! do you know when in 2025 they will drop?

He said lenses in "Spring", not sure on the actual LED upgrades. There is more involved in that.

 

[Salty2021]

So if I'm correct. Yall don't offer led +lens for the ai prime16hd? But there in works?

 

[JTP424]

So if I'm correct. Yall don't offer led +lens for the ai prime16hd? But there in works?

I believe the lens are in work for the 16HD, I don't think the LED is swappable on the HD 16

 

[Salty2021]

Ya I was read the thread and got . Thanks. I want to say this spring

 

[luxdium]

I believe the lens are in work for the 16HD, I don't think the LED is swappable on the HD 16

Yes, this is correct. We should have an update later in the spring.

 

[JaaxReef]

I have the gold pucks, and Just picked up the lenses and installed with the wider configuration to take the stock 80 degree spread and go to 90 degrees.

@luxdium do you have any par reading data that shows changes in intensity from stock AI lens or at recommended mounting heights? Trying not to freak my coral out too much. Just curious before I pay to rent a par meter.

They look fantastic! It did seem like I had to lower the lights by about 3” (had them at 12” off the water before) to keep the light in the tank with the new lenses, but I am seeing less shadowing and light in places around the sides and between acros that is now illuminated.

 

[luxdium]

I have the gold pucks, and Just picked up the lenses and installed with the wider configuration to take the stock 80 degree spread and go to 90 degrees.

@luxdium do you have any par reading data that shows changes in intensity from stock AI lens or at recommended mounting heights? Trying not to freak my coral out too much. Just curious before I pay to rent a par meter.

They look fantastic! It did seem like I had to lower the lights by about 3” (had them at 12” off the water before) to keep the light in the tank with the new lenses, but I am seeing less shadowing and light in places around the sides and between acros that is now illuminated.

With our LUX Engine clusters and LUX Lens set to our wide, 90-95º spread. Conservatively, you can expect a peak PAR value of around 200 µmols at a distance of approximately 61cm or 2ft from the lens emission surface to the light field (tested dry). LUX lenses deliver more even spread than the ones that shipped with AIs.

It's a little tricky to call AI's 80º, as in actual photometric lab tests, they measured around 60-70º, not the 80º that's advertised. With this in mind, that strong hotspot which spans roughly 4 inches might be anywhere from 230-300 µmols at its peak. Although the picture below shows AI pucks with their lenses and our new clusters (with more LEDs) with our lenses, the basic performance should be similar.

If you feel you need that strong punch and less spread (and a similar mounting height), the spread of our lenses can be adjusted by rotating the lenses clockwise for more spread and counterclockwise for punch. The recommended mounting height for our wide-angle lenses would be around 5.5-12 inches, though this depends a lot on your tank. The distribution pattern of the new lenses allows for some light to reflect off of the glass to reduce shading and increase PAR at the corners.

There's more info in the spread guide that shipped with your lenses.

Have fun with your lenses!

 

[JaaxReef]

With our LUX Engine clusters and LUX Lens set to our wide, 90-95º spread. Conservatively, you can expect a peak PAR value of around 200 µmols at a distance of approximately 61cm or 2ft from the lens emission surface to the light field (tested dry). LUX lenses deliver more even spread than the ones that shipped with AIs.

It's a little tricky to call AI's 80º, as in actual photometric lab tests, they measured around 60-70º, not the 80º that's advertised. With this in mind, that strong hotspot which spans roughly 4 inches might be anywhere from 230-300 µmols at its peak. Although the picture below shows AI pucks with their lenses and our new clusters (with more LEDs) with our lenses, the basic performance should be similar.

If you feel you need that strong punch and less spread (and a similar mounting height), the spread of our lenses can be adjusted by rotating the lenses clockwise for more spread and counterclockwise for punch. The recommended mounting height for our wide-angle lenses would be around 5.5-12 inches, though this depends a lot on your tank. The distribution pattern of the new lenses allows for some light to reflect off of the glass to reduce shading and increase PAR at the corners.

There's more info in the spread guide that shipped with your lenses.

Have fun with your lenses!

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like it is still smart to get a PAR meter to know how high to mount them to avoid a huge variance in par, but overall, I noticed a big difference in coverage cross over with my two fixtures and did lower them a few inches already.

 

[JaaxReef]

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like it is still smart to get a PAR meter to know how high to mount them to avoid a huge variance in par, but overall, I noticed a big difference in coverage cross over with my two fixtures and did lower them a few inches already.

I used a PAR meter and found that levels were about the same when I lowered the lights by 3”, but spread greatly improved and more even par throughout the tank. Could probably lower the lights another inch. Also, disco ball with the 90 degree lenses is much less apparent. Awesome upgrade.