Newbie help - Tideline 62 AIO

beej210 · May 18, 2026

Only had freshwater tanks as a kid and never ventured into the reef world, but always wanted to. Was at a local show and was able to pickup a brand new Tideline 62 AIO for 20% off so decided to jump into the hobby. Having a bit of analysis paralysis on lights..... Especially at first not looking to get into SPS, just some leathers and cool softies that move. Don't want to buy lights a bunch of times, but also don't know how much I'm going to enjoy the hobby so not trying to go crazy. If I'm looking at this correctly I can get a pair of noopsyche k7 v3 new for $288 on their site. There's also a guy on FB selling Hydra 32 HD's for $250 each, though I would have to buy the arms for them. $288 all in vs about $660 for the Hydra's (including arms) is a considerable difference. Open to others as well. Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!

Beachbilly · May 18, 2026

I don't have them, my friend doe and swears by them also my lfs uses them in their main display. For that price if in good condition I'd get them. Oh BTW my friend said the used one he got was 150 needed to be cleaned, the cooling fins do collect alot of dust and cause the lenses to overheat and I think he had to get new ones. Reasearch.... good luck.

Justfebreezeit · May 18, 2026

Nicrew hyperreef gen 2s are great lights as well. That's what I'm currently using.

They have a really good spectrum

ForumlyGuestUser · May 18, 2026

beej210 said:
Only had freshwater tanks as a kid and never ventured into the reef world, but always wanted to. Was at a local show and was able to pickup a brand new Tideline 62 AIO for 20% off so decided to jump into the hobby. Having a bit of analysis paralysis on lights..... Especially at first not looking to get into SPS, just some leathers and cool softies that move. Don't want to buy lights a bunch of times, but also don't know how much I'm going to enjoy the hobby so not trying to go crazy. If I'm looking at this correctly I can get a pair of noopsyche k7 v3 new for $288 on their site. There's also a guy on FB selling Hydra 32 HD's for $250 each, though I would have to buy the arms for them. $288 all in vs about $660 for the Hydra's (including arms) is a considerable difference. Open to others as well. Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!

Noops are good lights… u til you have to operate the app, or need customer service. If I could, I would travel back in time and convince myself not to buy them lol.

BTW, I had a tideline 62 AIO at one point..: great tank! Depending on what you want to grow, you can get away with a couple AI primes.

beej210 · May 18, 2026

Ok so did a bit more research.....

Wife really likes the AI blade look, she likes how the light sits right on top instead of a gooseneck style hanging over the tank. AI Blade Grow 48" is $450 (seems reasonable)

I could get 2 Nicrew 150 gen 2 hyper reef plus controller for $550

There's a guy selling 2 Nicrew 200's gen 2 for $250 total but I'd have to buy the mounts so $370

The Noops are the cheapest but seem to get mixed reviews.

As much as I'd do the AI prime or Hydra's, just seems very expensive for my beginner tank.

What would you go with?

Justfebreezeit · May 18, 2026

I had blades for the exact same reason.

The mounting and no light spill was a huge plus in my original decision.

However there are only 3 different led colors in the blade. This kind of washed out and blended everything together.

I then switched to nicrew after doing some research. It's only been a few months but my corals are coloring up and there is alot of more contrast in the tank. And the fish being more colorful was something I was not expecting.

Not to say the blade isn't a good light, it just depends what you value more.

ThisIsTheWay · May 18, 2026

I run a noop k7 over my waterbox 25 peninsula. The app is not the most user friendly, but for a light you just want to set and forget it works quite well.
@BeanAnimal made a qr code generator for them so you can do your tinkering on a computer and then just upload the profile to the app via qr code.
https://beananimal.com/tools/noo-psyche-k7-profile-generator/
I have not had to deal with their customer service so I can't speak to that area. I have been running both a k7 and mini for at least 2 years now without issue.

EDIT: added link to the qr generator.