AI Led versus 150 mh

I have two AI sol blues over my 60 cube and only run them at 70% and have good growth so far. I personally like them a lot and their customer service is top notch. the colors they can produce with corals is crazy. I did have a favia bleach a little bit at first so you do have to be careful because they can be very powerful. they can produce a lot of shimmer depending how you have the colors setup and surface agitation. its going to depend on how high you mount them and the demensions of your tank for how many units you'll need. I know J falcon has one used right now for 350 with a controller so you could snag a good deal on that right now. In the long run they can save you money on changing bulbs,electricity, heat..etc. I would start with two and see how much cover you get. just my two cents

 

Yep, Brandon basically covered it all for you. The bulbs on the AI's have a 10 year life, and even at full power they run at 75 watts, so half of your MH. I used to have MH and I traded in and bought 5 AI sol blues. The options for light combination, and so forth are amazing. Do you have an apex? I run mine of the apex, and it's wonderful. The best decision I've made for my tank, period. Good luck to ya!

 

3 would be ideal but if you mounted two high enough you could get proper coverage.

 

i think you would be fine with 2 over a 90 if you set them up the long ways we had only 3 over a 250 and was able to grow sps with out issues

 

anything you ever wanted to know about those lights can be found in this link i would say /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1841197&highlight=aquaillumination

 

The range of lighting adjustments that the AI's can do is amazing man. you can get full 24 hr sunrise to sunset, lightning...etc. If you put them over your tank and crank them up to 100% I guarantee you will end up with a lot of bleached coral. with that said they can do everything you could ever want and more besides do your water changes for you .

 

I don't think they are as good as MH's YET. Yes, they will grow coral but the spectrum cannot match that of a MH...yet :=0)

 

Phooey, I will NEVER go back to MH. Halides need to cool in the event of a power outage, or you run the risk of blowing the bulbs out. Not to mention you have to replace the bulbs once a year. They cost $$$, higher on electricity bill, and the list goes on.

I wish I would have went LEDs right from the get go, but now that I have em, I'm a believer. It's money we'll spent, and over a 90 gal, depending on how high you have em over a tank, 2 will be fine.

Let us know what you choose to go with!

 

I'm with MM.

 

you can't go wrong either way man. with the AI's you can adjust all the colors to look anyway you want whenever you want them to look that way. with halide you will have to buy new bulbs when you want to achieve a different look which means $. I think alot of people try LED's and give up on them too quickly without spending time messing with color options. I didn't like them the first day i had them but as time went on I friggin love em and will never switch back. In the end it's your choice and either way you will be happy.

 

you can't go wrong either way man. with the AI's you can adjust all the colors to look anyway you want whenever you want them to look that way. with halide you will have to buy new bulbs when you want to achieve a different look which means $. I think alot of people try LED's and give up on them too quickly without spending time messing with color options. I didn't like them the first day i had them but as time went on I friggin love em and will never switch back. In the end it's your choice and either way you will be happy.

 

2 AI over a 90

 

you can't go wrong either way man. with the AI's you can adjust all the colors to look anyway you want whenever you want them to look that way. with halide you will have to buy new bulbs when you want to achieve a different look which means $. I think alot of people try LED's and give up on them too quickly without spending time messing with color options. I didn't like them the first day i had them but as time went on I friggin love em and will never switch back. In the end it's your choice and either way you will be happy.

 

sorry for the tripple post didn't mean to over state it haha

 

I still can't get passed the up front cost on AI. I will not be buying AI for sure at 499 a pop each and then you need two for a 75 at lease plus the controler. I will go with DIY led kit. They LED crazy is on and prices will start to drop. I can't beleave the coral color under my 24 LED 3watt Beamworks (Marineland) knock off. The color is very impressive. I have seen some growth too. I have been taking before pictures of all my Frags I put under the LED lights. I will be buying a 36 LED two fixture in the near future. Its going to have 9 white and 9 blue on each 7.1"x11.9" Heat sink. I may add some Cree's too and UV maybe, but I am going with http://aquastyleonline.com/ because I think they will be more then enough light for corals and for under 300.00 for a complete kit for 75gal. I can do my 40 breeder witch I will do first for 150.00 complete.

Can't wait. For now I am keeping my MH on my 75gal for a while..

 

Problem solved buy used. I got two sol blues with a controller for 600$. If you keep looking on the classifieds of reef sites nano-reef, reef central etc.. you can find used one's but they usually go quick, like used vortechs. Plus AI is based in ames so your supporting our local economy and their customer service is top notch.