how many ai hydras

[Dbondaruk]

how many ai hydras would i need for a 190g tank. 60 by 27 by 27 thnks

 

[nikon187]

3-4 depending on coral selection

 

[Dbondaruk]

3-4 depending on coral selection

Thanks...

 

[psychocoralchopper]

I have 3 Hydras for my 150G peninsula... 60" x 24" x 24". It's been up and running for about a week and I'm very happy with them. Coverage is very good, so I think 3 would work fine for your tank as well.

have a friend's Vega in the middle for comparison: I like the deeper blue LED's on the Hydra.

 

[kb3777]

I would go with 4 depending on SPS and/or where your overflows are.

 

[Dbondaruk]

Overflow is in the center, plus I have a center brace that's. about 2 inches . It is plastic not glass. Would putting a light in the middle be pointless? Would love to get away with 3 lights

 

[jeff_a]

I have 3 Hydras for my 150G peninsula... 60" x 24" x 24". It's been up and running for about a week and I'm very happy with them. Coverage is very good, so I think 3 would work fine for your tank as well.

have a friend's Vega in the middle for comparison: I like the deeper blue LED's on the Hydra.

Hey, nice rack :lolspin: How did you make the side brackets that are holding up the AI classic mount? Thanks in advance.

Jeff

 

[ksr.aaron]

I have 2 on my frag tank 48x24x13 and it is Awesome!!! have to turn them down a bit but they do great, I would say 3 would be prob right?

 

[jeff_a]

I just put a 3rd on my 60x27x27 tank and are using the classic rails. The only issue I have is that I have a center brace in the tank and it blocks a little bit of the light but it's not that bad.

 

[Itsmbmp]

I've got a 125. Which is 6 ft long. I was thinking of only using two hydra 52. Because I have corner overflows and a center brace. Was planning on mounting them the long ways over the tank. Thoughts.

 

[jeff_a]

I think for a 6' tank you will need the 3rd hydra just for the coverage. how big is that center brace? Long way mount might be a good idea too.

 

[Itsmbmp]

Center brace is 3 inches. Corner overflows are 8 inch

 

[Itsmbmp]

I was thinking if I did 2 hydra 52 and they weren't enough I could always add a prime or two when they are released

 

[ReefCowboy]

Wow. I have three in a 36" tank with a mix of corals. Had 2 for a while and even though ran blues at 90%, still had corals that looked brown due to lack of light in some spots. I even added 2xT5 because I felt the tank was still a bit dark.
Not its been running for a year with growth everywhere.
Call me crazy but on a tank that long, with three units(hydra 28 or old style ones)you will have to compensate with higher % of the LEDs . If I had a tank that big would go with 3x52's which equal 6x 28 hydras

 

[jeff_a]

Wow. I have three in a 36" tank with a mix of corals. Had 2 for a while and even though ran blues at 90%, still had corals that looked brown due to lack of light in some spots. I even added 2xT5 because I felt the tank was still a bit dark.
Not its been running for a year with growth everywhere.
Call me crazy but on a tank that long, with three units(hydra 28 or old style ones)you will have to compensate with higher % of the LEDs . If I had a tank that big would go with 3x52's which equal 6x 28 hydras

You're making me want to go out and buy a 4th LED like a hydra 52 and upgrade my other 3 Hydras to 52's.

 

[newe70]

You're making me want to go out and buy a 4th LED like a hydra 52 and upgrade my other 3 Hydras to 52's.

You will not be disappointed with the 52. I upgraded all three hydras to hydra 52s for my 100g Cadlights tank.

 

[jeff_a]

Next question... How do you place your lights? Hanging or classic mount or something else? I'm using the classic mount for my 3 hydras and they are mounted vertically on my 60". Was thinking about hanging them on the ext rails.

 

[newe70]

I'm using three AI ext rail systems.

 

[ReefCowboy]

You're making me want to go out and buy a 4th LED like a hydra 52 and upgrade my other 3 Hydras to 52's.

The Hydra 52 is an excellent light. I have in my tank two of the old style and a newer 28. Hydras newer led clusters are definitely really nice.
I truly believe the guidance LED companies give for coverage in most LEDs is the reason many fail out there. I find very hard to keep corals in a 2x2' area doing well with proper coverage like they claim under only one fixture.
Led lights don't wrap around corals as well as t5's, since the diodes are a very direct, down type of light source. That's why corals can lack some color(sps bases with no color).
If you get more modules and better coverage, LEDs CAN give you great results(my opinion!).

 

[jeff_a]

The Hydra 52 is an excellent light. I have in my tank two of the old style and a newer 28. Hydras newer led clusters are definitely really nice.

I truly believe the guidance LED companies give for coverage in most LEDs is the reason many fail out there. I find very hard to keep corals in a 2x2' area doing well with proper coverage like they claim under only one fixture.

Led lights don't wrap around corals as well as t5's, since the diodes are a very direct, down type of light source. That's why corals can lack some color(sps bases with no color).

If you get more modules and better coverage, LEDs CAN give you great results(my opinion!).

Already decided to buy a 4th LED, a hydra 52, and then slowly upgrade my hydras to hydra 52 over time. I'll have the coverage for sure.