Watch This Before You Buy An AI Blade (What Nobody Else Tells You)
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- My review of the new AI Blade saltwater aquarium LED strip light, after 2 months' use.
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0:00 Intro
0:25 What is the AI Blade?
0:58 Build quality and practicalities
2:45 AI Blade cons
5:08 AI Blade pros
7:40 Summary
To turn the green light off - devices > settings > advanced > LED Auto Dim
Thank you very much, those pesky little green glowing lights are now off in my two blades.
The last reefing CZcamsr that hasn’t sold out.
Before even watching. I trust this opinion as Reef Dork has had all 9999999 types of lights out there 😂😂
You ain't lyin'. Whatever this man says is gospel.
😁
😂
Great review, and really appreciated the transparency
I run a grow and glow only on my tank. My corals are doing terrific along with a BTA which has been doing wonderful since putting it in. Honestly having the lights right on the tank isn’t to big of a problem considering i only take it off twice a month(though is inconvenient). The AI app isn’t all that great and i use the mobius instead and that works great! It isn’t for everyone though. Love the video and honest opinions 🤙 happy reefing!!
Great honest review. Thanks sir! These are very rare these days.
Thanks for the review! I was just about to buy 4 of these for my mixed reef based on all the other reviews I've seen. xr15 blue here I come.
A legitimate thankyou. I am looking at picming one of these up as a supplemental light on half of my 90g and this answered most, if not all, of my questions.
If I can use the same app and [maybe] adapt the existing snake mount, Im sold.
I use a 12in Glow bar as a supplemental light in between my 2 XR15's Gen 5 & 6 in a 4foot 80gal tank and it works out great! I forgot what company makes the mount that I used but I have a video on that. It is pretty cool. I will have to look as to how to turn off that green light how you did. Thanks for the info!
Fits lovely in the fluval stock lid I’m told.
i switched from a maxspect jump blue to 1x grow and 1x glow on my IM40 AIO (nano), this review was excellent as always. the jump was a great light at 65w and the SPS love it. however there were far too many shaded ares due to the close puck arrangement. debated a prime 32 but pucks create a lot of heat and have that shadow problem, this chap at treasure corals run blade arrays only and the acros in his DT look amazing. PAR and watts are great but coverage gets the photons where they need to be and the blades are excellent at that. I also love the new reef factory reef pro which it looks like you had a reef pro S on one tank.
Thanks for the honest review.
Love the 2 I bought to compliment my radion gen 6 blue
Thank you Excellent review on the blade
That's the best mount for the AI Blade I've seen yet, exactly what I'm trying to find for my tank
Very nice review! Ive had alot of questions about this light. Ill send everyone here for the info.
Thanks for the additional thoughts! Your contributions to a more balanced discussion are always appreciated!
From what I have seen online I agree completely
I do think we have been doing our lighting wrong and blue fill light should be the main light on the tank and the main lights should be supplementary.
I do have an issue with ridiculous pricing and the choice of diodes - having 450nm with cool white (which is also mostly 450nm) is ridiculous I think. Would have loved to see an option with 4 violet - blue diodes... I thought 450+470 gives the best pop and every main light has heaps of 450nm so I don't get their choices. I would have chosen warm white, 420, 450 and 470 and then a broad blue version if I was AI - very weird and strange there are not great mounting options still
One other thing is mounted at an angle means they make great light shades.
I think you may have missed out on the latest app and HMS + clips mounting options. I’ve just added them to my rank combination of grow and glow and tank look awesome and par. Missing red definitely is true.. and I also agree one single fixture is not enough for full spectrum. Nice video 💯
The clips only come with the larger lights. I just discovered that and now have a light I can't mount. I asked AI if I Could just buy a clip but they said it'd be $80 USD shipping!!😢
@@lukebrown3528 I had to get clips separately for the 30” ones I have they not very expensive to add and make mounting and removing them super easy
Dmitry (Treasure Coral) has a nice SPS tank running 3 grows. Athough I agree with you, I'm fussy about spectrum and no red is a deal breaker for a non fill light.
After watching this video I am glad I purchased 3 AI Prime HD's, my latest light will go on my 15" cube AIO tank.
Man you need to do an update on your main tank. That new scape piece on the right is looking amazing!
Another awesome review !
This light made me want to cry. I put the 12” grow on my Fluval evo and it fitted perfectly. However. When placed in the existing hood the right hand side was yellow with no blue in it. It turns out that the end puck should have been rotated for better colour blending but AI seem to have missed this in their quality control. Hopefully they will fix this in their next review. AI were really good tho and I was refunded. I think one would only notice this where the light is fitted close to the water line. Apparently it only affects the 12” version.
Finally someone agree with me one the price of these units thank you reef dork
Love your channel mate. You always get down to the Nitty Gritty
ive been waiting on you to make this video!
The hair or fiiber on the light drove me crazy LMAO
Thanks for the honest review. Please remove that one strand of hair from your light. My ocd may kill me in the night if you don't.
Nice review..., but I have to disagree with much of this. My single 48" grow is giving me 200 PAR at 75% power six inches under the surface. The lowest par in the tank is in the corners where I'm measuring between 55 and 75 PAR. lighting a 75gallon tank with a single low profile strip is pretty awesome. I grow corals in this tank to supply my students with frags. Most of the corals that I'm growing are SPS. The tank has been up for about two months now and I am seeing nice growth on my Montipora capricornis. My LPS all seem to be growing and my other SPS are all polyping out nicely. This includes several Acropora frags. I plan on increasing the power to the Grow and I want to add a Freshwater Blade for increased white light and possibly a glow in the future. The cost of each 48" Blade here in America is; Grow = $400, Fresh Water =$400, and Glow $570. For a total of $1370. If I were to use two Radions at $950 each It would cost $1900. Arguably the Radions would give me "better" light but the mounting would not look anywhere near as nice as my blades do. I used the threaded inserts to add little end blocks that hang over the edge of the tank. The light sits right on top of the tank and the added end blocks keep it from moving side to side. This provides a super slick look which is basically unknown to the reefing hobby.
Cheers,
Chris
Teaching kids about global warming and ocean acidification with corals in the classroom.
Good review.
I know for me, I was waiting on the Hybrid Mount to release before I get a set of my own. I have a set of XR15's that need fill light, which these seem perfectly suited for.
Though your points about the app and the spectral choices were well taken. I do think the limited spectrum options are a benefit to a new hobbyist who can easily mess up lighting, but the double edge is that it does limit options for intermediate and advanced reefers.
I honestly don't know if I would ever run these stand-alone? I do appreciate that they are powerful enough, in the correct photospectrum, where stand-alone is an option. And they're well labeled to do what they say: Glow or Grow. But, they are certainly lacking some features if you wanted these as your only fixture long-term.
Sell the radions buy skys....you won't need "fill lights" .....the fact you need fill lights on radions should be enough to admit your were scammed
@@Sammy31Dee What a nice assumption, without even knowing the tank dimensions. Or knowing the corals I keep... Ya, you seem totally well informed...
There is no scam. The sky is a 9x12 inch array that cost twice twice one of my XR15, which is an array only 3x5 inch. It's basic geometry. As my Acropora grow out, they shade lower portions. With an LED array only 3" wide, I need to offset it with additional points of light from the edges.
This upgrade to fill lighting was planned. The Blades just came out recently and offered a nice option for it. None of this was hidden or a scam. I knew this when I purchased my current fixtures. But the fact you think it's a scam, is quite telling on it's own.
Thanks for another great video!
Mounting limitations are causing me issues like you said. My plan was to have a Glow and a Grow either side of my primes but have not found a mounting solution. I have the Grow but will not be buying the Glow until I have a way of mounting them.
Reefbrite end brackets fit...
@@ReefDork I’ll look into that thanks!
I have a single 21” grow on my 120l LPS tank.
Love it! Many because of the spread a single light is more economical for a 2.5 foot light than 2 x primes.
Can you share your schedule please?
Will do - I'll make sure I'm happy with it then I'll upload it to the Reef Dork Xtra channel.
Thinking about putting the 12” grow on a IM 15 gallon I think it would be fine for lps
Have a look to the ati straton flex. Nothing better than those lights
Cool review. I don't think it would ever be a consideration to get that light any time soon.
Watts is not a sensible measure of light performance, par for coral and lumens for people. Coral doesn't care how much power you use, just the quality/intensity of the light... On a cost per par basis the blades are better value . I replaced every light bulb in my house for led and it now uses the same watts as one of the original bulb yet I have more light output .
Yep, watts isn't a great measure but it gives a very rough idea and it's good a good enough measure for the point I'm making 🙂
Hmmm thanks for sharing
In the US the blade is much cheaper at 140 US dollars or 116 pounds for the smallest model.
People have this light so wrong. Trying to use a lightbar the same way they'd use a pendant light is just setting it up for failure. Ai blades are very good standalone lights that'll provide more than enough light to grow anything and provide light everywhere in the tank with no shadowing. IF you use them properly. Hang them at the right height with multiples and treat them like t5 bulbs. Yeah, it's expensive but worth it for the results imo
Great video! Did you remove the flappy hair on the underside yet?😂
😂
I have the 6' Blade for freshwater and it gets so hot it warp-melted the hard plastic braces for the glass top on my 186g bowfront. The heat is so hot you can't touch it and I'm scared to put it under my wooden hood that's on top of glass. Any ideas? Btw PAR reading of this at 21" deep is only 50-70. So at $700 each, you'll need two. And it only covers the area right under it, not 12" in width as advertised. So it looks like I'll only be planting the back of my tank unless I want to buy several of these. I'm very upset about the amount of heat, any ideas of how to safely place it under a hood? With a fan?
What stand is that for your fluval? It looks great
Can't find where I got it now, but I did a load of Googling and found it on an online store...
The red leds point got my attention. What light do you recommend for a nana such as yours ?
Honestly, the Blade is the best light for a tank like the Evo and it's much cheaper than the AI Prime. My Clownfish still look really bright with the Blade too. The only other light I'd consider is the Kessil a360x, which gives the best colour and shimmer of any light.... but it's expensive!
@ReefDork just looking at starting up a marine obsession and finding your videos really helpful so thank you. For a beginner would this light be enough for a RedSea Reefer 170? (34g display tank)
I don't think one would be enough - they're better used as fill light in my opinion so if I were you, I'd go for something like a Kessil a360x, Radion XR-15 etc
@@ReefDork thats great, thank you
@reefdork How many ai blades would you recommend on a waterbox 25g peninsula?
1 21” grow (add 1 21” glow); 1 12” grow & 1 12” glow (add 1 more grow)?
Or kessil with a grow, or a Radion xr15?
1x 21 inch grow would be more than enough for that tank
By moving to the Grow, you lost quite a bit of PUR (BRS' 410-484nm Biology Band). Thoughts on that?
Good to see that they've addressed the damaged wire jacket/strain relief. The two early-release Blades I have here were not so lucky.
As for cost per PAR, in real-world applications, the Blades can be significantly more expensive and must be mounted lower. If comparing similar spectrum bars, the much older Orphek OR2 Blue Plus, with its more PUR complete spectrum, puts down an average PAR of 46 over my standard 20" grid. It does so using 28W. For comparison's sake, the OR3 in the same spectrum is $160US. The comparable 41W measured Blade Glow, at $270US, offers an average PAR of 43. An insignificant 6% less light for nearly 1.5X the electricity. Cost per PAR should consider fixture price and electricity use.
Probably another reason they're better as supplemental lighting. Although I'm not fussed for this tank - I'm sure a broader spectrum would be 'better' but I'd expect this to grow coral just fine. Re price per PAR. These aren't the best value light by any stretch and I think it's odd to present them as great value given most people (I think anyway) will mount them at least 6 inches high. I see them more as a premium light with some premium features. Well, with good spread anyway!
@@ReefDork Once the corals acclimate, they’ll grow. The spectrum you’re getting from the Grow is similar to that of the Red Sea/PopBloom LEDs.
Have you ever had any experience with the fluval marine 3.0?
I have an evo and I’m going to change the light and just trying to decide between the AI Blade Grow or the Fluval Marine 3.0
No, but I'd bet my house on the Blade being vastly superior
Thanks for the review.
Where did you buy yours from?
There seem to be some early version in circulation that have light uniformity issues, wirh one side being a different colour from the other, but doesnt look like yours does.
I'd like to buy one from the same place you did :-)
The end opposite to the cable has a slightly odd looking pattern on it, but you wouldn't notice it. I got mine from Reefkeeper Moss End
@ReefDork Thanks. Thank for making all the videos, I've learnt a lot, and set up my first marine tank off the back of following your channel. Thanks again! :-)
Would the blade fit the thread of the existing mounts ie gooseneck or normal arm?
I had to make an adapter to fit it to the normal L bracket. Don't know about the gooseneck but I'd guess it'll be too heavy
Just curious, do you have the file you used for printing the 3D mount? While it does sag, I have been thinking about replacing my Prime with one the new AI Blade lights. Thanks!
Yep, it's on Printables. Link in the description 🙂
I have a BioCube 12 that I am setting up for a reef tank. I was considering the Blade Coral Grow. Would you have any other suggestions? I was looking at retrofitting it into the original hood
The Tunze marine eco chic is OK and much cheaper. It's a bit basic though.
@@ReefDork Thank you. Looking for something sub $200 for such a small tank.
Can you share the light setting you have on the fluval evo? i just bought the blade and i am unsure what to rub it at
I've made a video showing my schedule - it'll go live on the Reef Dork Xtra channel this Friday...
nice lamp, but on the plug side the lamp is whiter than on the other
I would agree that it is the best supplemental light out there. Definitely would use them if I didn't already have some other lights.
Changing giant gear set
Need advice:
50x33x18cm tank.
AI blade grow or Prime 16HD?
I'd go for the 12 inch blade - cheaper and better spread
How did it compare to when you had the or3s considering you can get almost 3 of those for the same price?
The OR3s are fine, but the Blade gives vastly superior spread. They're the best fill lights in my opinion, but it's not like Orpheks don't grow coral...
@@ReefDork thanks for that I've used AI sols, hydra 26s in the past and want to try something different when I my smaller tank and try to stick to a better budget lol
So I have a 50 gallon LPS tank and need a new lighting solution. Its 48 inches long but only 13 inches wide. Also has a center brace. What would you recommend to light my tank? LPS, soft coral, anemones.
One of the 4 foot Grows will probably do the job. Evergrow IT5012 is also worth a look.
@@ReefDork Thanks!
I'm gonna say it. Alex, I'm afraid to know what your nitrates are for your 100 gal display...
Great review though, can you/have you done a review for the red sea reefLED's, I use them on my (cycling) LPS dominant and would like to hear your thoughts before the first corals go in.
Over the last 6 months, they've been between about 3 and 12. I had a ReefLED 90 on my Waterbox at first but I didn't like the colour (or the app).
@Reef Dork with that many fish? Wow. To me, the colour works well, but they're not for everyone
Don’t you have it mounted higher than it’s recommended? There is a lot of light spill on the wall behind your tank.
Don't know what the recommendation is, but I don't like mounting lights low - makes access a faff
Wow I notice dual wavepumps on this nano. Are you trying to maximize your flow?
I found one wasn't enough - I got detritus settling. 2 is fine for this and the corals certainly aren't getting too much flow
somehow you missed the biggest con with the grow blades. the problem with white light. all AI-Grows are much whiter on the power cord side. like all AiBlade reviews, one side of your floor is white and the other is blue, if you use theme as standalone lights.
There was another comment about that - have to say I haven't noticed, but I ran the white relatively low
that just means you say what you feel no matter who it offens
When I use that title in my reviews, it's because there's something I think is worth sharing that I haven't seen in other reviews 🙂
Can I get a reef dork recommendation on a good light for a biocube
Depends what size but if it's similar to the Fluval Evo, the Blade would be great.
@@ReefDork that’s what I was thinking about getting. Do you think 2 grows and 1 glow would be overkill?
@@Khris_1013 yes, massively!
I appreciate the fact that you don't have hair on your tongue
Weirdest comment of the week 👏
the stl link doesnt seem to be working anymore?
I made the STL private recently as I've just started selling my prints...
@@ReefDork darn it just when I’m getting the ai blade too. I’m not in uk so can’t purchase it
ooo does that mean the reef flare bars survive another day on the peninsula.
I have Reefbrites on the Peninsula. They're safe (for now) 😅
oh reef brites my bad.
Whats the par on 100%?
Don't know but in my settings I get between 120 and 180
I have the 30” with elevated mounts, par is 250 6” under water at 65% intensity. Way more powerful than my radion xr15 g6 at 85% awesome light and can definitely be main lights.
@@stevenicoloff6775 cheers👍
@@ReefDork do u no wot the intensity is at?
I wanted this for my nano. How are the shadows with this light ? I have a 6.5 gallon with a kessil a360x but the shadows are preety hard under the corals
I mention the shading towards the end and show a clip of a favia growing towards an overhang - that part was completely shaded before. It's very impressive (and actually quite surprising)
No violet is a deal breaker for me. Thanks for the review bro.
The glow has the violet and Uv spectrum 😊
@@jackkelly5860 Despite what the sliders say, none of the Blades include UV diodes. The Glow's lowest is 405nm to the Grow's 450nm.
Dude, not again...
Update by 1.2K subs. :-)
😅 Did the PAR test quite early 😁
how does a 48" light compare to an xr15? lol thats just nonsense
I wish they would have used different names than "grow" and "glow"
Agreed
Buy more expensive lighting to supplement the already expensive lighting !!!! Oh yeah, and then there are several mounting options, for extra of course lol. Fools are so easily parted with their money.
Fowler tank light....priced higher than a radion...lmfao...dude AI and Ecotech are becoming a joke....like an apple product....new shiny object every 6 months....still never add features the users been begging for....gotta wait for gen 32 ....duhhhh
Well brs have radion g6 for 499. Which will cover a 24x24 in tank nicely.
Blades are 189bfir the 21 in model. So you can get 2.5 blades for the price on one radion.
Brs has a great video testing the par one nearly every light option. 3 blades , 2 grows and 1 glow is a tremendous amount of par and fits the optimal spectrum of light needed by the coral and the mounting sweet spot is 5 to 8 inches with less than 30 percent spillage
Do not buy! It produce much more white light in the other end and more blue in other end. You can clearly see it also in this video. Just a terrible fixture.. there is no quality at all on this one
Honestly, these really don't sound like great lights; and especially not for the price.
How on earth you live with that wallpaper in your house is beyond me. Even worse is that you use it as a backdrop to completely ruin all the effort you put into this channel and your aquarium.
I have two of these in parallel 5 inches over water line on an innovative marine 14g peninsula (just about the same footprint at the evo 13.5). I get a fantastic spread, lots of light consistency, and a good shimmer (if you're into that). The ONLY thing I don't like, is that I can't set two or so of the zones brighter than the rest for a higher small spot of light. I am someone who wants a clam, which may desire sps levels of light, but at the same time I don't want to do SPS corals in the tank as it's smaller and it's my first tank, so I will be keeping soft and LPS corals. CLam level lighting may be too intense down the line for LPS and softies. SO far, this is the only downside I've experienced and wish i had a remedy for.
You could set up a 2nd aquarium in Mobius and allocate one of the Blades to that tank, then you could set both Blades to different intensities. Pain in the backside mind!
@Reef Dork very much so. I don't have space for a qt tank bigger than maybe 5 gallons. Would probly get a fluval evo 5 for it. But if I do I've considered using one I temporarily if I do a coral and invert QT. My fish now are pre-qt from dr. Reefs so no worries there. But I'm looking to get trochus snails local because they ship well. A small QT would be good for that.
@@Nick-co9pf no, I mean you can tell Mobius you have a 2nd tank (even though you don't), then assign one of your Blades to that profile and one to your actual tank profile. That will let you set the intensities on both Blades individually...
@@ReefDork OOOOOH!, that's a great idea! I gotcha now. I don't know why i didn't think of that. I might be able to do a clam after all. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of a way to have a Crocea clam without PAR nuking LPS corals. Thanks for the tip!
is that two nero 3's in a fluval evo 13.5? how!? without turning it into a snowglobe! what % do you keep them on?
One is a Jecod SLW-10 actually! That's at 100%, the Nero is at 50% (gets loud above that). Definitely not too much flow...
would you consider this a worth it upgrade if youre using the fluval stock light for the 13.5 ive upgraded everything but my light in my tank @reef dork
Yeah I would - it's still quite expensive given the Evo is a budget tank, but it's a big improvement in my opinion. Even being able to switch between blue and white automatically is worth it, plus it'll give better spread and will look better than the stock light.
@@ReefDork thanks that’s all I needed to hear 🙏🏻 great upload dude love your vids
hey reef dork, i'm a new fan(less than 1m ago) and i'm also a bit new to this hobby. do you guys have a discord server to where i can get help on anything that i need? if so can i get the link? if you dont have one i think you should consider having one! it would be so cool and nice to talk about the hobby with others
Afraid not - I have a Facebook page called The Prestige Reef Dork Show which I pull questions from and answer on the Sunday night livestream. I've looked into discord but I don't have the time for it at the moment - hopefully in the future though...
Hey Alex, any idea what the PAR is like with the blade at 100%? I’m trying to get an idea what I might be getting around 18” below the light. Thanks
Don't know I'm afraid - BRS have probably done full PAR tests though