Aquatic Dreams
Member
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2016
- Location
- London, ON
Well about a week ago it FINALLY arrived!! 
Apparently the older model was discontinued and I've been waiting for the new one to ship .... FOREVER!! I must say this light is amazing and almost lights up my entire 46 gallon bowfront. It actually works fine for what I have now but I will eventually need another for proper coverage.
I do have the original AI Prime over my biocube for comparison. The HD version has a bit more power which shows and it also seems a bit more purple. The original had 4 cool white LEDs and 2 Dark Blue LEDs. The HD has 3 cool white LEDs and 3 Royal Blue LEDs. I believe the remaining LEDs are the same for both. The combination of LEDs in the HD is definitely an improvement to my untrained eyes.
So I finally cleaned the coralline off the front glass, cleaned the canister filter and sponges and added some filter floss and Chemi-Pure Blue. I must say that the tank now looks absolutely incredible! The pics that follow likely won't do it justice. I really need a better camera than my cell phone. LOL And I will be reworking the live rock at some point and likely taking a bit out. It just seemed like too large of a task to take on last weekend. Anyways ... here are some pics!
Light ramping up at dawn ...
Light at mid day ...
All LEDs on 100% ...
I'm still acclimating all the corals so I don't have the lights anywhere near 100%. And it doesn't really show in the pics but the FULL 100% lighting is a fair bit brighter than my mid-day setting. As you can see this light almost fills my 46 bowfront with shadowing only at the sides and under the middle brace. To be honest I wasn't expecting the coverage to be this good. But I'm still planning on getting another in the near future.
Oh ... and here's a crappy pic of the Prime HD with the Flex Mount. The light looks the same as the older version except for the LED differences. The little black piece taped to the front is so that the light doesn't shine in my eyes when I'm sitting on the couch looking at the tank.
The Flex Arm actually seems very well made ... EXCEPT for the plastic bolt part that goes through the base. It's the same as the screw that came with the original tank mount except that it doesn't have a slot in it forcing you to use pliers or vice grips to turn it. I don't understand why they can't shape the end like a wingnut or something so you could turn it by hand. But the REALLY annoying part was getting the plastic bolt to thread. I even sent AI an email saying that there was an issue and my bolt wouldn't fit in the base. After spending about 45 mins or so just pushing and turning and trying to keep it straight I finally got it threaded. By all appearances and initial feel it seems to be the wrong size/threading. Other than that annoying part the rest of the Flex Arm seems very sturdy and well made.
So now that it's installed I'm extremely happy with the mount and especially the light. Hopefully I'll get a better camera at some point so you can see what the tank/light really looks like.
Apparently the older model was discontinued and I've been waiting for the new one to ship .... FOREVER!! I must say this light is amazing and almost lights up my entire 46 gallon bowfront. It actually works fine for what I have now but I will eventually need another for proper coverage.I do have the original AI Prime over my biocube for comparison. The HD version has a bit more power which shows and it also seems a bit more purple. The original had 4 cool white LEDs and 2 Dark Blue LEDs. The HD has 3 cool white LEDs and 3 Royal Blue LEDs. I believe the remaining LEDs are the same for both. The combination of LEDs in the HD is definitely an improvement to my untrained eyes.
So I finally cleaned the coralline off the front glass, cleaned the canister filter and sponges and added some filter floss and Chemi-Pure Blue. I must say that the tank now looks absolutely incredible! The pics that follow likely won't do it justice. I really need a better camera than my cell phone. LOL And I will be reworking the live rock at some point and likely taking a bit out. It just seemed like too large of a task to take on last weekend. Anyways ... here are some pics!
Light ramping up at dawn ...
Light at mid day ...
All LEDs on 100% ...
I'm still acclimating all the corals so I don't have the lights anywhere near 100%. And it doesn't really show in the pics but the FULL 100% lighting is a fair bit brighter than my mid-day setting. As you can see this light almost fills my 46 bowfront with shadowing only at the sides and under the middle brace. To be honest I wasn't expecting the coverage to be this good. But I'm still planning on getting another in the near future.
Oh ... and here's a crappy pic of the Prime HD with the Flex Mount. The light looks the same as the older version except for the LED differences. The little black piece taped to the front is so that the light doesn't shine in my eyes when I'm sitting on the couch looking at the tank.
The Flex Arm actually seems very well made ... EXCEPT for the plastic bolt part that goes through the base. It's the same as the screw that came with the original tank mount except that it doesn't have a slot in it forcing you to use pliers or vice grips to turn it. I don't understand why they can't shape the end like a wingnut or something so you could turn it by hand. But the REALLY annoying part was getting the plastic bolt to thread. I even sent AI an email saying that there was an issue and my bolt wouldn't fit in the base. After spending about 45 mins or so just pushing and turning and trying to keep it straight I finally got it threaded. By all appearances and initial feel it seems to be the wrong size/threading. Other than that annoying part the rest of the Flex Arm seems very sturdy and well made.
So now that it's installed I'm extremely happy with the mount and especially the light. Hopefully I'll get a better camera at some point so you can see what the tank/light really looks like.
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