Oceanic 215 with Solaris Build

Thanks Marcye. I do have to replace a led strip, two were out when the unit was first plugged in. Carla is shipping them right away and said that by removing the faceplate to remove the splash guard might set the fan right but it sounds more electronic to me. I don't have a hood so any noise comes out into the room. If that or running full for a week doesn't do it I will replace the fan.
 
I have not been able to go through all the posts here, but here is the question: I see that the Solaris I series 72" fixtures put out about 600 watts??? or is it that they use that much...???

On a 210, now I have 3 x 250 watt MH bulbs with about 8 HO T5s... a bit more than 5 watts per gallon... I am wondering what the relationship is in terms of wattage... for example, for an SPS 300 gallon tank, or even for the standard 210 (6' x 2') would the LEDs give xxxx watts per gallon, so to speak?

I realize this must sound like a dumb question, but I cant come up with a conversion ratio, and would be very curious to know...

Thanks in advance for your wonderfully informative thread (from the some 9 pages I read so far!
 
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I see that Marcy uses the white LEDs at about 30%, in a 30" deep tank... so I figure this would be fine in my 210 or 300, so this sounds good...

(and to learn... )

Still trying to figure out some sort of conversion ratio... anyone?:rollface:

Can anyone report the electrical savings yet? Just curious, as prices go up, my pockets weigh less...

hmmm...

I too thought I had heard tell of a tunable (meaning adjustable in degrees Kelvin so that I could set the fixture for 10K or 15 K or what have you... ) But not a Solaris, apparently... as I don't see such a thing on their website...

Anyway... I'll keep reading pages... :cool:
 
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Hi Paul:

It does get a little confusing with all of the posts. Solaris states that their 24" fixture is "equivalent" to a 400 watt MH in light output but only uses 200 watts of electricity. So, using that info a 72" at 100% day whites and day blues should be "equivalent" to 3 400 watt MHs and use only 600 watts of electricity. Another thread on this site just split (over 40 pages) debating mostly on whether or not this "equivalency" really exists so I won't go into that, just know that I and many others who actually own the system are experiencing good results. I just got my 48" and am currently at 60% whites and blues. I won't really know about the savings for a couple of months yet but I expect there will be some since at the very least my chiller does not cycle on as much or really at all. Regarding the color balance, you can achieve anything between 6.5k and 20K by adjusting the balance between the separate LEDs (which they do say on their website). Make sense?

Matt
 
Matt... Makes excellent sense... Thanks...

I assume that adjusting the color balance is a controlled feature with knobs or some such...

Sounds good to me... I just want to make sure before laying out over $3K for new lighting with what could be an untested product... but so far, it seems all o fthe users feel good about the results they are getting...

I too think that saving more than half the wattage in consumption, plus the lack of the chiller running as much as it does will indeed save a lot in electric bills, which are quite hight with new rates that were approved here not long ago...

Do you folks order these fixtures direct from the manufacturer, or do you find dealers and order them through the dealer?
 
Hi Paul:

Good, I was a little confused at first too. The percentages are controlled by a very nifty touch pad with a backlit lcd screen on the front. You scroll through various menus to adjust the leds as well as things like cloud cover (dims to 50% of the current setting) duration and frequency, set the clock, auto functions, manual functions, all kinds of functions. It's easy if you read the instructions twice. It is revolutionary if you're coming from powerbars with timers and extra cords and such. You can order direct from Solaris (next shipment is July) or Google it and find the resellers (often with a small discount). I don't think I'm supposed to say who I bought it from due to forum rules. But if you pm me I'll tell you.


Hey Marcye, how's the tank?
 
PM Sent Matt

Sorry, Marcy, for hijacking the thread... it was not my intention...

Great help for me, though... this is a great thread... keep us posted on progress with your system...

I was just down in Orlando with family (Disney, etc.) and now wish I had found this thread sooner, so I could have found some reef lovers to visit as well.

Oh well... next time, perhaps.
 
I notice you don't have a calcium reactor in the pictures you've provided, but I did notice dosing pumps. Is this what you use to regulate your Cal and Alk? If so, why did you choose this route as opposed to a calcium reactor? Right now I'm debating between the 2. Thanks
Mike
 
Hi Pau...no problem at all. I"m just as interested in some concrete numbers as everyone else. I can just go by what I'm experiencing right now. I'll try to sit down soon and figure out what my electric bill looks like now compared to a year ago. Marcye
 
Thanks for the tolerance Marcye... and I hope that the comments add rather than detract... You have a beautiful system... Keep us posted...
 
Gorgeous setup!

I've read the whole thread in the past and skimming again today don't see an answer to this question:

What is the front-to-back depth/width of your tank and how good is the Solaris coverage of that area at the bottom of the tank? And maybe a foot below the water line?

I guess I'd have to know the height of the tank too to help determine the spread... I know this is a common Solaris question. I really want to go that route...
 
Thanks for the link. I've seen the chart, but like to believe other users instead of the mfr who wants to sell me something. Not that we average users are bias-free either...
 
My tank is 24 deep and I have full coverage on the bottom with the legs provided with the setup. There are some small areas near the top that aren't as bright, but my corals still do well there.
 
Beautiful tank. I have a question that may be a little stupid but, how do you keep you sand so clean and white? What kind a clean up crew do you have.
Thanks,
Jeff
 
Hi Jeff, thanks! Well, I have really good flow in the tank. I highly recommend the Vortex pumps. I don't have a really fancy setup...just a Reeflo Dart pump and the Vortex. I also really recommend the Flow Accelerators from Pacific Coast Importers. They use an eductor setup and the amount of flow they push is great! I have the very top of my sand at an almost imperceivable roll. My cleanup crew is also a big part of the white sand. I have the following: 2 Atlantic cucumbers (these guys do an awesome job of sand cleaning), 3 Tongan Conchs, 10 Large Tongan Nassarius snails (much better than Vibex, IMO), 20 Cortez Mexican Red Leg Hermits, 2 Mexican Turbos, 20 Cerith snails and 10 Red Banded Trochus snails. I'm very partial to these inverts over many of the others as they seem to be the perfect compliment to each other in regards to what they clean. HTH, Marcye
 
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