[malfist]

Hey all!

I've been out of the game for a while, messing around with saltwater. I want to get my 220 back up and running but I've not touched plants or freshwater in years.

I have a 220 gallon (72"x24"x30") aquarium and a bunch of equipment for it, it's not drilled so no sumps, just a Fluval FX4 and Eheim 600 Pro4. I have a CO2 setup with an inline diffuser for the eheim.

Currently over the tank I have a AI Hydra 26 HD and two AI Prime HD and I hate them. They're unreliable to control, and the hydra 26 in the middle with the primes at the edge makes for some crazy algae growth thanks to the uneven PAR (center 1/3 of the tank is twice the par of the two outer edges). And since there's only four points (two in the hydra, one each in the primes) of light I get a lot of shadows.

I've considered a couple of options for lighting and would love some input.

I could buy two more AI Hydras 26s from ebay. It looks like they run about $200 each when you can find them. But they're so old who know how long of a life they have left. This will marginally improve the number of light sources so it might help with shadows. It will make the lighting even across the tank. It will not solve the unreliable wifi modules.

I could buy the new AI Blade, the longest one will span most of the tank (I think it's a 66"). If I replace the hydras/primes I will technically be a step down in wattage (not seen good par reports yet) and I'm not sure about spread. I don't know if they'll light a 24" wide tank. Buying more than one is way expensive since they're $600 each.

I could buy the new AI Blade and supplement the existing lighting. The new blade might be more reliable about controlling if I make it the parent device of the 4. It'll reduce the uneven PAR, but not fix it completely, but it might make it immaterial. More points of light with the primes and hydra mean that I'll have less shadows. Mounting will be interesting.

I could buy a bunch of the finnex fluval or chrrios lights, but they won't run the full length of the tank so I'm not sure how that'd work out. And it'd take a lot of them to reach the wattage for high light in a 30" deep tank. I like the color channel control that the AI gives me, when it works, I think I'd lose that with the finnex. I like having very red sunsets and sunrises in the tank, makes everything pop.

Would love advice!

 

[niget2002]

My first thought when I started reading this is one of the options you proposed...

I'd try supplementing the existing light with a single strip. I'd place the strip closer to the front of the tank and then adjust the spots so they were spaced evenly across the back 1/3 of the tank. The strip across the front would help cast the shadows towards the back of the tank and make them less noticeable.

You could use any of the strips you listed to do this. If you can match your existing light curves with the AI blade, then I think I'd go with that.

 

[malfist]

I didn't think about that, that's a great idea

 

[minorhero]

Getting two bar lights each 90cm long will light a 6 foot tank if they are powerful enough. You of course must hang them in the middle of the tank, but their are light stands to do just that out of the box as well as ceiling mounts if you prefer.

What light is recommended will depend on how much par you want at substrate, and if you want things like app control or if you are happy with the light just being a light.

 

[jeffkrol]

Hey all!

I've been out of the game for a while, messing around with saltwater. I want to get my 220 back up and running but I've not touched plants or freshwater in years.

I have a 220 gallon (72"x24"x30") aquarium and a bunch of equipment for it, it's not drilled so no sumps, just a Fluval FX4 and Eheim 600 Pro4. I have a CO2 setup with an inline diffuser for the eheim.

Currently over the tank I have a AI Hydra 26 HD and two AI Prime HD and I hate them. They're unreliable to control, and the hydra 26 in the middle with the primes at the edge makes for some crazy algae growth thanks to the uneven PAR (center 1/3 of the tank is twice the par of the two outer edges). And since there's only four points (two in the hydra, one each in the primes) of light I get a lot of shadows.

I've considered a couple of options for lighting and would love some input.

I could buy two more AI Hydras 26s from ebay. It looks like they run about $200 each when you can find them. But they're so old who know how long of a life they have left. This will marginally improve the number of light sources so it might help with shadows. It will make the lighting even across the tank. It will not solve the unreliable wifi modules.

I could buy the new AI Blade, the longest one will span most of the tank (I think it's a 66"). If I replace the hydras/primes I will technically be a step down in wattage (not seen good par reports yet) and I'm not sure about spread. I don't know if they'll light a 24" wide tank. Buying more than one is way expensive since they're $600 each.

I could buy the new AI Blade and supplement the existing lighting. The new blade might be more reliable about controlling if I make it the parent device of the 4. It'll reduce the uneven PAR, but not fix it completely, but it might make it immaterial. More points of light with the primes and hydra mean that I'll have less shadows. Mounting will be interesting.

I could buy a bunch of the finnex fluval or chrrios lights, but they won't run the full length of the tank so I'm not sure how that'd work out. And it'd take a lot of them to reach the wattage for high light in a 30" deep tank. I like the color channel control that the AI gives me, when it works, I think I'd lose that with the finnex. I like having very red sunsets and sunrises in the tank, makes everything pop.

Would love advice!

There are 72" bar lights out there like the Beamswork.
$150 and approx. 91 "system" watts.
They do apparently bow a bit at that length.
There is a timer/dimmer available for them and DIY isn't difficult.
https://www.amazon.com/BeamsWork-FS...locphy=1028224&hvtargid=pla-569992401522&th=1

My "flavor of the day" is this brand now that they do freshwater.

LED aquarium light, LED lights, Nano reef aquarium, Reef Builders, Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog, Aqua mini, Aqua Pro, LED nano, micmol

LED aquarium light, LED lights, Nano reef aquarium, Reef Builders, Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog, Aqua mini, Aqua Pro, LED nano, micmol

www.micmol.com

 

[CoveBeach]

Here is another option, they are not one of the big names, however they are long enough, they will easily reach the bottom of your 220, they come in full spectrum and 10k only, are controllable, good customer service and i have had them over my 245 for two years. 21LED USA
My tank is 72”x 30”x 27”. The lights are 12” off the water for ease of maintenance. i am running 3 strips due to the distance front to back.