What light do you guys recommend for a 32 biocube?

[xtravism]

Was thinking of going with a radion xr15, just don’t know whether to do blue or pro as well if I go with that light.

Thank you for any help in advance!

 

[terraincognita]

Was thinking of going with a radion xr15, just don’t know whether to do blue or pro as well if I go with that light.

Thank you for any help in advance!

That lights perfect. You will want for not on the biocube 32 lighting wise with an XR15 Pro that's for sure.

an AI Prime or Hydra 32 will do it as well.

I think with a biocube you can even get away with a Kessil

 

[xtravism]

That lights perfect. You will want for not on the biocube 32 lighting wise with an XR15 Pro that's for sure.

an AI Prime or Hydra 32 will do it as well.

I think with a biocube you can even get away with a Kessil

?

 

[Rigel]

I just got the XR15 pro with mounting arm and diffusing cover. I was worried about the "too much blue" look, I am happy with the purchase it is a very nice light. I followed the BRS recommended settings in their video of the light I have it over a 34 gallon (20"x 20"x 20") cube aquarium, no corals yet.

 

[MaxTremors]

The XR15 would be excellent. A cheaper option would be an AI prime 16HD. Cheaper still would be the Noopsyche V3 K7. All great lights and all of them would be able to grow with you should you upgrade the tank.

 

[Intense37754]

What do you plan in keeping in the 32?

Either G5 xr15 would be perfect you should also check out a reefi uno.
My tank loved the G5 but loves the reefi even more

 

[xtravism]

The XR15 would be excellent. A cheaper option would be an AI prime 16HD. Cheaper still would be the Noopsyche V3 K7. All great lights and all of them would be able to grow with you should you upgrade the Tank

Is the noopsyche annoying to program cause I want something that’s easy I can do straight from an app or a good controller.

 

[Yates273]

Look at the Prime Hd I had one over my 32 cube and it did the job. Corals looked great and the app is super easy to use. There are people here selling them and you can expect to spend 125-150 for a light that does not disappoint.

 

[Tamberav]

Is the noopsyche annoying to program cause I want something that’s easy I can do straight from an app or a good controller.

Not sure but with lights you should only program them once or twice and never again. Constant tinkering with light settings is a no no.

Any of the options listed will work.

 

[Woodyman]

I like the Red Sea Reef LEDs. Just another option to check out. If I were in the market now for a light I'd get another I've been very pleased with the setup, use, color, and growth I get with them. You could go with either the 50 or 90, just depends on what your lighting demands will be. Personally I oversized my lights for that next tank upgrade.

Everyone has their own lighting preference and color temp preference, for me the Red Seas do the job and I'm happy.

 

[BAMatter]

I had a single AI Prime over mine and felt it just wasn’t enough so I added a second one. There’s a plastic part of the Biocube lid that puts a bit of a damper on some of the mounting arms and it will be offset to the left or right, which is why I wasn’t terribly upset with the 2 of them. I also like the features of the Prime, the yellow moonlight is a nice touch too. Plenty of umph with the pair.

That said, a Hydra 32, or XR15 would be great as well.

 

[MaxTremors]

Is the noopsyche annoying to program cause I want something that’s easy I can do straight from an app or a good controller.

It’s not the most user-friendly, but it’s easy enough. Compared to an app controlled light like the AI Prime or Radion, it’s definitely less intuitive, but it’s not too difficult to program it. As mentioned, you really should set your lights and then leave it (the only exception being an acclimation period). I went from the stock lights to an AI Prime, so the acclimation automated. Going from the Prime to the Noopsyche, I really liked the LPS preset, but I’ve had to adjust it slightly lower as it was just a bit too much. I think if you were going from stock biocube lighting to the Noopsyche, you’d need to manually set-up an acclimation period (plan it out on paper and bump up the intensities on a schedule), which is definitely more difficult than just using the acclimation mode on the Prime (I’m sure other higher end lights have a similar mode, but I’ve never owned a Radion, and the Kessil I owned I never had the controller for). But again, once you get past the acclimation, you really don’t want to be messing with it.

I guess it just depends on your budget and what features you value. The Noopsyche is a high quality light, it’s more than twice as powerful as 2 AI Prime 16HDs (its more comparable to the Hydra 32, but it’s more powerful than that, the Noopsyche is 140watts), and costs less than a prime 16hd, if you catch one of the frequent sales. It’s a no frills high quality LED light that lacks some features to be able to sell it for a lower price.

Personally, I found that one AI Prime 16hd was on the lower end of what I needed for my tank (28g Nanocube), it just didn’t have quite enough PAR without really pushing the whites and over driving the blue channels, since it’s a single light source I also got a lot of shadowing. If I were ever to go back to the prime, I’d add a second one (or go with the Hydra 32). Don’t get me wrong, the AI’s are great lights and the app is super user-friendly, but I think for a 32g biocube one 16hd is borderline inadequate (especially if you want to keep sps or clams).