About to take the plunge - somebody stop me - LED

[Greg Hiller]

No, not for my 8 ft SPS tank...not ready for that yet. A 37 tall Oceanic I'm converting from seahorse/octopus/cuttlefish/mantis shrimp tank. Looking at the AquaIllumination Hydra 26 HD. Thoughts? Time for the Disneyland look?

 

[dz6t]

Stop right there. Go with 6 bulb ATI 24 inch fixture instead.
Or a 250w pendant.
One hydra 26 won't cut it on this tank.



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[Greg Hiller]

Really? I was thinking it was too much from all the talk about how powerful the LED's are. I'm not looking to grow SPS in this tank, just zoanthids, LPS, gorgonians, and a rose anemone or two. Maybe it's back to MH?

 

[Greg Hiller]

Holy $#@%. ATI 24 inch is $1,000!

 

[reefstarter]

i think the 26 would be fine , the 52 is better of course . I've seen tanks that size with just 1 prime over them and do fine . halides do look great , but man are they hot and on a small tank whoa !!!!

 

[dz6t]

Holy $#@%. ATI 24 inch is $1,000!

ATI 24inch 6 bulb fixture is $449
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...LU1LYWY7ZwcyVn1lsTCg2MYByY2SgvOhMVhoCDPzw_wcB

 

[dz6t]

Don't get the ATI LED-t5 hybride, it is not worth the money.
LED is less powerful than those manufactures' claims.
Hydra 26 HD is at 90w, it is about as bright as a 150w DE metal halide, at the center.

 

[dz6t]

But if you go with Hydra 52HD, that is more suitable for your tank.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Dong, I appreciate your input on this. With respect to the ATI 24inch 6 bulb fixture. This seems like a lot of money, plus the T-5 bulbs will need to be replaced I imagine at least once every 1-2 years. I was kind of looking forward to the ability to control the color output (Disneyland here I come), also looking forward to running at lower temp, with a lightweight fixture. I'm probably going to be going for a somewhat deep water look to this tank. I'm thinking about getting several species of shrimp and pairs of several small fish (gobies and the like), moving in some LPS, softies, gorgonians, Xenia, zoathids, probably a rose anemone. Water movement will be comparatively gentle. I have a single 250 W double ended Phoenix MH over a 90 gallon corner tank at work. I have a number of LPS at the front of this tank (pretty far away from the light and on the sand) doing well.

 

[this is me]

I got a Hydra 26HD which I'm hoping to get into my MH/T5 fixture. I removed the MH components and try to come up with a way to mount the Hydra in the MH slot. Will keep the T5s.

 

[dz6t]

Greg, you are welcome.
If you like to give led a try, I will suggest a maxspect razor 120w. It has more power than a hydra 26HD and also has the controller build in. It also will give you better coverage.
If you want to try it out, I have one you can borrow and see if you like the look and coverage.

I use many maxspect razor led now because I find that they grow coral better than hydra.
Also maxspect razor don't waste power on red and green led which is mainly responsible for disco ball effect and basically useless (only for marketing purposes, where the red and green spectrum already covered by white led).



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[dz6t]

I still run AI hydra led but I am phasing them out slowly.
I found the customer service (now handle by another company) is unacceptable recently.


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[Bagdis831]

Greg,

If you do go with the AI Hydra's and are planning on using their rail system, I cannot say enough good things about the new HMS mounting system. It lets you get the lights high off the water, which improves the shimmer and reducing spot lighting.

Also allows you to position the light any way that you want. Definitely worth check out.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Dong, thanks for the offer, I might take you up on it. However, after looking at the specs. on the Razor 120w I'm not sure about it for this tank. This tank is a 37 high and has a corner overflow that is quite large. With a 20" fixture I'm worried a significant amount of the light will be going into the overflow.

>also has the controller build in<

Is this a problem with the AI Hydra? I thought you just download the app to your smart phone and can control it that way? After you've done that I'm assuming it holds the settings? Also, do you need a timer with these lights, or do they have their own internal timers?

 

[this is me]

I thought controlling the AI would be a problem since you can only do it via an App. But for the 5minutes I spent downloading and messing with the app, I didn't think it would be a problem.
This will be an experiment for me as well since it'll be over my auxiliary tank where I plan to keep just anemones and LPS.

 

[dz6t]

AI hydra 26HD has build in controller that you can access via phone. It can be hair pulling if your house has a lot of wifi devices. I like the maxspect because it has all the control build in and with led display as well.


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[reefstarter]

37 inches high huh , yeah you want something with a bit more punch than a 26

 

[dilligaf29]

AI hydra 26HD has build in controller that you can access via phone. It can be hair pulling if your house has a lot of wifi devices. I like the maxspect because it has all the control build in and with led display as well.


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i pulled my hair out for a few days trying to sync my 26hd pair when i first got them.

 

[dz6t]

i pulled my hair out for a few days trying to sync my 26hd pair when i first got them.

Been there and done that.
It can be an issue if your wifi signal is weak.

 

[Greg Hiller]

>37 inches high huh <

No, 37 gallon tank, Oceanic design. I forget exact height, but it's no where near 37" high. My SPS system is 30" high and I cannot quite reach the bottom. I've got a lot of sand in this 37 gallon system so it's not super deep.

Regarding the controlling app. You only need to access this thing one time, right? Once it's set up it will run for years without fiddling with, no?