Solaris Led lighting systems

[Amphibious]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8433016#post8433016 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swb
Will these work in 30" deep tanks?

My recommnedation would be to wait for the 400W version around the first of the year.

 

[jnb]

will these 400 watters have more powerful bulbs or just more of them

do you know much about them offering the units without the controllers for 1000 or so less in the future - if so would they still provide dimming capability or other attributes like enough power config to allow moon at night, etc?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8434324#post8434324 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amphibious
My recommnedation would be to wait for the 400W version around the first of the year.

 

[Amphibious]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8436511#post8436511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnb
will these 400 watters have more powerful bulbs or just more of them

do you know much about them offering the units without the controllers for 1000 or so less in the future - if so would they still provide dimming capability or other attributes like enough power config to allow moon at night, etc?

More powerful bulbs and possibly more of them.

The units with out the controllers are still on the drawing boards and Pat has not released that information to me.

 

[ccoral]

Is there any information on how long these bulbs will operate at 100 % of there potential? How fast or does light spectrum change, intensity. If there is failure or a replacements are needed what is the cost? The fixtures are expensive. What about parts in the future?
any help would be appreciated trying to way my options on lighting

 

[RGibson]

Hear is something to think about ,thay have sold 200 Solaris led lighting systems.

 

[joelsaxton]

are these new systems going to use the higher efficiency LED's?

 

[mako56]

I just want to thank all of you that are tring these out. I don't have the guts to put out that much cash to see if they will grow my SPS's or not. It is great stuff and I am pretty sure down the road I will be doing this too. I believe all lights will be led's in the not to distant future.

 

[Amphibious]

Hear is something to think about ,thay have sold 200 Solaris led lighting systems.

Actually, they have sold many more than that. The first production run was sold out, about 200 units. The second production, due to ship this week is totally sold out. The third production run due to ship in late November is going to sell out, too. I just got off the phone moments ago with Pat the owner of PFO. He confirmed that fact, not the actual numbers.

Regardless of how much the nay sayers would like you to believe the current model of solaris doesn't cut it, the people that bought one and are actually using it, feel differently. They can spout theory and opinion all they want, that doesn't make their rhetoric correct. If you want to seporate fact from fiction ask someone that owns one. Stay away from Monday morning quarterbacks.

I own a 72" 250W 20K and have posted my results on previous pages of this thread. If you are interested in some facts, e-mail or PM me. I'll share them with you.

 

[Amphibious]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8443774#post8443774 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by joelsaxton
are these new systems going to use the higher efficiency LED's?

The current model uses 3W LEDs the 400W will be using 4.25W LEDs.

The 400W model is not expected until after the first of the year. Perhaps not until later in the year.

For all you DIY'rs that think you will simply, well, do it yourself, good luck. Several have already tried and have given up in frustration. There is more to hooking up these LEDS than meets the eye. Pat and I have talked about the speed bumps he's had to overcome and we both just laugh at the DIY people. I say, "good luck" and more power to you if you figure it out. Several manufacturers are working on it, too. Eventually, someone will get it worked out but, right now PFO has the unit. Pat has done the work, two years in the making.

 

[joelsaxton]

Ok, but do the new higher wattage LEDs have a higher lumens/watt ratio than the 3w ones?

 

[Amphibious]

Oh man, I wish I could answer that for you. I'll see if I can find out and get back to you.

 

[joelsaxton]

The reason I ask is because I have seen a marked increase in the lab for LED efficiency (Cree got 131 lumens/watt I believe), but it has taken quite some time to reach the actual market. I think we are still looking at well under 100 lumens/watt for all LED applications in the real world.

 

[Hella]

Well my 72in unit showed up today and to say that im not happy with it would be a under statement. After hearing some of the people talk of loose screws in there units I looked in my before plugging it and it was a good thing I did. There was one of the small screws that hold the heat sink to the housing that was inside the unit and when I found where it was missing from it would not go back in as the hole was striped out.

Now if it was only that I could deal with that and probably would not have even posted anything other then how happy I was when I turned the light on and my whole living room looked like the sun was in it lol.

But alas as you can see from the pics that after I started to turn the day white and blue LEDs down that the lunar whites and blues in two of the banks do not work, so after sliding of the plexi cover again to see if there was a loose plug or something simple, it was not as you can see in the pics.

Now im a electrician at Carver Yachts and work with Molex and deutsch plugs almost ever day and I can say that the two plugs that I can see are way over crimped to the extent that it severed one wire all of the way and there is other wires in that plug that are almost severed. Two of the other plugs are wrapped in black tape so only god knows how bad they look under there.

Ill be looking forward to talking with them when I get home from work to see how they planing on taking care or this. I hope it goes easy ......... Boy I hope it goes easy.

 

[Amphibious]

Call PFO's toll free number, Pat will make it right.

 

[Hella]

I have no doubt that they will make it right. I just erks me to spend this kind of money on something that has obviously not been tested right and not been givin a once over by someone with a pair of eyes.

At some point someone had that wire in there hands to make that crimp and then someone had that plug in there hands to plug it in and no one steped up and said that there was a problem.

And after using the LCD interface on the front of the unit three of them work like a normal push and you hear the "click" and one of the buttons you just have to barely touch and it works. Very minor problem on its own but with everything else it ranks higher on the errrrrr scale.

 

[Amphibious]

I hear you and understand what you are saying. Pat is going to China again soon to work on these issues. Call PFO tomorrow.

 

[RGibson]

Pat needs to chech each light before it leaves the PFO factory.

 

[Hella]

If he did that they would never get anything new done. You just have to get the right people to build these, people that care. And that’s a hard thing because either people care or they don’t and if they don’t no amount of money is going to make them.

 

[cindyolson]

And, they are not being built in 'His' factory, he has paid a third party for the assembly. The third party needs a better QA processes, but the quality is being judged based on the people who have posed here and that's what 4. Not a big enough sample size to be a good statistic.

 

[jnb]

hi - I went to your web to see if you had posted anymore Solaris lighting - and saw your orange mushrooms - are these orange recorida? is that their true color - awesome

I have nothing new to report as far as how my reef likes the lighting -

I encountered this with my previous MH 250 times 2 XM 20k - I needed a 11+ light on to keep my purple tipped acro's purple tips nice - don't know if purple tips are indication of happiness - I wanted to lengthen the day 11+ hrs with the Solaris but keep the auto solar mode going - so I increased the shortest day which then, the lights came on like 5am instead of my wanting to come up with sunrise program - (just wanted to lengthen the day which also gave me more time at night to see full daylight - any ideas? or experiences?

as far as the build quality - I've had many manufacturing faults/tweaks with my hardware and have come to expect it unfortunately - quality named controller, skimmer, MH fixture, etc

doesn't pfo make similar looking fixtures for their MH? any problems? they will get it right, in the meantime I really hope that anyone who buys this fixture and has problems gets them fixed asap - so the true nature/goal of this system can be tested, tweaked, and further evolved. So far, I still like mine.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8449193#post8449193 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cindyolson
And, they are not being built in 'His' factory, he has paid a third party for the assembly. The third party needs a better QA processes, but the quality is being judged based on the people who have posed here and that's what 4. Not a big enough sample size to be a good statistic.