Aqua illuminations SOL Blue 12" - Black Case

[jeff1974]

what do u guys think of the Aqua illuminations SOL Blue 12" - Black Case
i just orderd two for my 90 gallon i do have a mix of sps lps and soffties and i really like the 20k look on a tank i know u need around a foot of your tank so you can get a good spread im runing 2x250 watt metal haides 4 power compact blues and two t5s blue i really like it blue i just hope im doign the right thing and im going to be happy with them i know ill drop the heat the chiller can go and ill save money on my electric bill will i be happy with leds thay are not cheap and i dont want to kill of my tank with them some say start them out at 10-15 percents them run around 60 percent i dont like that i wont get the shimmer some say i will any info you guys can give will be great thanks so much

 

[SkullV]

You are going to be putting WAY less light into your tank than what you are currently using. You really need 4 AI Sol fixtures for a 4' tank.

 

[jeff1974]

i was told 2 lights buy reefgeeks im a foot off the water 4 would be over kill my buddie haorderd 3 for his 125

 

[addicted2Nitrox]

I have a six foot tank with 5 modules, which is slightly shady in areas. Id say you need about 1 module per foot when using their rails with legs. If your a foot above the water surface, light spread will be greater. You may be just fine. I would suggest starting at 30%intensity and ramp up 5% every week to avoid bleaching SPS.

Addicted

 

[jeff1974]

yes i have a canopy thay are going to be 3 inches off top of cancopy to leave room for the fans and one foot on the tank i sure hope two will do it if not ill order one more i do mostley zoozs

 

[addicted2Nitrox]

As they are in a canopy, you can always turn them, and run them longways parrellel to front/back of tank.

 

[jeff1974]

does that give you better spread? whats reason for that thanks

 

[addicted2Nitrox]

Same spread. Optics didn't change, just location of unit in comparison to position of tank. Most rockscapes are ledged against the back wall, youll see when you start playing with them. Turning will give you better left to right coverage (tank length). The height off water will give you coverage (front to back).

 

[jeff1974]

i hope thes are as good as metalhaides or i just wasted a lot of money

 

[Donkeykong]

I am doing almost the same exact thing but it is on a 75 not 90. I already got one of the units and am waiting for my next Overtime check to pick up the next one. I will be eager to see how you like them on your tank. I saw a 180 with 4 on it at one of the lfs, it looked real good. So I am hoping 2 will do the trick on my 75 if not I know a third one will put me over the top.

 

[jeff1974]

i hope i dont need 3 that will put me over budget but when has any one doing a nice set up not went over budget lol

 

[chadfarmer]

i would run a few t5s

 

[SkullV]

This is the reason so many people end up complaining about their LED setups. Not because they are inferior to T5/MH but because they REFUSE to believe that they need to purchase enough fixtures to properly light their tank.

Good luck!

 

[dadnjesse]

This is the reason so many people end up complaining about their LED setups. Not because they are inferior to T5/MH but because they REFUSE to believe that they need to purchase enough fixtures to properly light their tank.

Good luck!

I agree with this you need one per foot if your going to keep SPS

 

[jeff1974]

reefgeeks told me two will do the tank at 12 inches off the water ill start with that and order more if need to be

 

[pardalis]

After using the SOL's on a similar tank I am going to agree and say you'll need 3. I started with two as well and was running them at 85% - 90%. Once I got a third I dropped that to 70%

 

[bvoss]

You are going to have a really huge drop in the amount of light going into the tank. Looking at your current lighting, even 4 would not provide anywhere near the amount of light you have now.

Sorry to say it, but your best move might be to leave the box sealed and ship it back. Writing off 50 bucks in shipping is nothing compared to the livestock you are about to loose. I lost about $1,000 in livestock trying to transition from an ATI PM, and that was with 1 AI Sol per foot.

 

[Geeray]

Put in 70 deg optics and crank them you will be fine. IMO the biggest mistake is to turn them down too low to start.

 

[Sidwayz]

3 minimum for the 90. Start with 2 and add the third when you can. Until then supplement with t5.

 

[bvoss]

I am a little more negative. Not because I am an AI hater (which I am), but because you are not running a generic 90 gallon tank. You are running 500 watts of MH and probably another 300 watts of T5 and PCs. You corals have adapted to far more light than even 4 AI Sols could provide. Very few people run tanks with that much light anymore. General advice does not apply to you.

You have to turn AI Sols down and transition them gradually not because they are bright, but because corals transition to the light badly. When you try this with 2 AIs you will end up with 2 islands of coral bleached and the rest brown and light-starved.

I wish you the best of luck, I just have a feeling this will be very ugly and very expensive.