Solaris Led lighting systems

[BeanAnimal]

Re: LOOK AT THE ANIMALS

Re: LOOK AT THE ANIMALS

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8862995#post8862995 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmchzn
My 48' solaris is 4 months old and my lps,sps,LMNOP'S and clams (on the bottom 24") are all doing great with no heat,less algae and a lower electric bill. So all the bull ,hype and aremchair bio chemical engineers around here can calm down. So far the animals are telling the story about this old technology w/ a new application. Here is something to consider Pat at PFO is trying to lead the industry here. He sells both MH and LED and yes he is using the consumer as a beta group just like every high tech industry does with every new product release. So far he has shipped me a new light at his expense and has stood behind Solaris 100% and then some. He takes my calls personally and my tank looks freakin great so energy smenergy par shmare look at the animals!!!!!!period end of story!!! AND WHO SAYS CORALS NEED 10 MILLION WATTS OF POWER ANYWAY?

Each of you happy owners has about the same thing to say. It is the "numbers" that are in dispute, not the fact that your corals are happy.

You even go as far as admiting the corals do not need "10 million watts" which is in effect saying that less light is ok. But that also means less MH light would be OK as well.

I have not (nor have reason to) questioned PAT or PFOs motives or quality. I am simply pointing out that before anybody drinks the koolaid, they need to see the real facts, not the sales pitch.

Bean

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8863265#post8863265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by owsi
Same here, 23" lens to sand Acro's in sand bed doing great. Come summer here in Arizona this might be my first year running a heater in July. Pat always takes my call if he is there, great to talk to him, especially when you consider how busy he must be. I have a slight problem with my unit, as said before my replacement Fixture should be here Tuesday. No deposit, no hassle, he told how to fix it, sounded simple but I felt uncomfortable, so Pat said he'd send the unit out the next day.

That has NOTHING to do with my comments and does nothing to prove them wrong. I am glad that PAT and PFO are providing great customer support, R&D and attention to detail.

Now when it goes to watt in=watt out, yes true, but watt out is not necessarily same amount of radiated heat energy.

Yes, but it was stated that the ROOM and the TANK were overheating. The room is sealed invironment with regards to heat and energy. If it is not, the math plays in favor of the MH costing even less to run. Do you not see I gave WORST CASE!

In reality OF COURSE heat leaks from the system into the outside world and does not heat the tank. I offered math to show what would happen if ALL Of the heat from the MH/ballast combo was trapped. We do not even have to talk about the PFO setup, as the savings can not be realized by turning off the MH unit. This is going in circles.

E=MC2 allows for change of form. If I my HQI Mag ballast with 2X150wattDE's in a confined area and do the same with the PFO 60" and run for 12 hours, I feel the PFO is more efficient and gives off less heat.

I am sure it does put less heat into the tank. I have agreed with that premise.

Now with regards to the "insulated room" if they both use 300W then they both contribute 300W of heat to the room. There is no way around this.

The lights both give off (by skin feel) about the same but the ballast gives off way more radiant heat the all 3 PFO power supplies.

Watts consumed are still watts consumed. The heat goes someplace, it has to.

Not scientific, but my living room is staying cooler since switching.

Yes it should the PFO unit consumes less power than the unit it replaced.

The most important point and the reason I purchased this unit is what can be done with the controls of this light. Today I brought up the whites after allowing an adjustment/acclimation...

Yes that is a VERY nice feature. Like I said, I would not mind having a setup myself to play with.

 

[ReefWraith]

Well said Amphibious...

Bean, my post wasn't meant to put you on the defensive. You simply left out delivery and other add on charges that could change the scenario significantly (even based upon your given 'skewed' numbers). Just as you said you 'couldn't stand' the reports of what you considered to be erroneous numbers regarding energy savings, I'm opposed to people immediately saying things are 'impossible' and then backing it up with an incomplete story. No need to argue or bicker... I only wanted to add something you omitted. I did in fact check out your posted website... thus my stated fact that kWh only represents part of the picture (generation charge). In reality it would be very difficult to determine true energy savings given the variability in tank setups (pumps and the like), ambient temp, room environments and so forth. I guess I'm a bit surprised to see someone so adamant in disproving something. It certainly leaves me wondering why. Regardless, to each their own ... Happy New Year and happy reefing. :rollface:

 

[jmchzn]

drink the cool aid! no ! I'm rich and love technology. If solaris doesn't work I'll throw it in the garbage and go back to MH! HAHAHAH!!! I can afford this hobby! money ain't S*** to me.
Solaris works. Pat stands behind it. I'm happy as my clam. I find mostly in this life the best is most expensive and usually works best. I like to have the newest stuff and it too usually works best. Anyone worried about cents per kilowatt and a few grand here or there is in the wrong hobby/habit addiction. IMHO! HAHAHAHA!

 

[dibblm]

OK. Since there were 22 pages of this post I didn't read them all. However let me tell you this much as I have now owned a 72 " Solaris.

I have been through 2 sets of power supplies and now on the 3rd hood..! Why?! Ill tell you.

first there was a wiring problem and this was in one of the first released hoods. Thats was imediately corrected with a new hood.

2nd was a programming issue where the light was drawing too much energy from the power supplies and shutting down the power supplies.

Im by far not and expert. As a matter of fact im the least expert here as Im a newbie and to that at being new it was just a simple reason for me to save from buying a chiller and constantly replacing bulbs.

3500.00 is what I paid for my light. Was it worth it? Yes.. I have had great customer support and Pat from PFO who is the lead person with the Solaris project has done nothing but help me make sure that everything was corrected each time.

Now I keep a couple clams and some soft corals and they all seem to do just fine.

Would I do it again ? Not at this point. This light is still being developed and Im sure as its getting better more changes will be coming.

Im happy with it. As it finally works. It took some time and patience but i bought into the patience part when i knew it was a new product and prepared myself ahead of time for problems.

I have yet to meet another Company that stands behind there equipment as well as they do.

and for previous posts. I am not a salesman for PFO but honor any Company thats stands behind there product and with no questions asked takes care of there customers. Granted at first with bad lights I asked myself what i got myself into but everytime I called. They knew the problem and said Ill ship this and/or that and it was here.

Pat, and or anyone else from PFO.. I love your Company, product, and the support you offer and would still buy other products from you!

 

[skydancer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8864546#post8864546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmchzn
drink the cool aid! no ! I'm rich and love technology. If solaris doesn't work I'll throw it in the garbage and go back to MH! HAHAHAH!!! I can afford this hobby! money ain't S*** to me.
Solaris works. Pat stands behind it. I'm happy as my clam. I find mostly in this life the best is most expensive and usually works best. I like to have the newest stuff and it too usually works best. Anyone worried about cents per kilowatt and a few grand here or there is in the wrong hobby/habit addiction. IMHO! HAHAHAHA!

Pardon me jumping in "rich" guy. This is not the thread to brag about how much money you have. There are threads in the open forum to popinjay about your wealth embellishment. Let's keep this thread a constructive discussion about the Solaris technology.

...and by the way, with all your "few grand here and there that you throw in the garbage" you couldn't find $20 bucks to support RC and buy a membership? wow!!!

 

[dibblm]

To be honest I dont have a lot of money. I didn't come here to rant on what I spent and shouldnt have added that.

I should have added that my electric bill hasnt gone up due to the light. And I also was not aware that I needed to buy into a membership here.

I can tell you though That besides you.. I come here for help which I thought was the purpose of this place to begin with!!

I simply wanted to express the fact that I did buy one. And the one I bought being the 6ft model wasnt one of the ones that most people were buying. It had more issues that the 4Ft models.

As far as throwing it in the garbage. Yeah... Maybe I should have returned it and went with standard (yesterday) technology. But as the cavemen went extinct so will standard lighting some day and with the energy savings and not needing a chiller where most likely you do I still save.

PS.. Gimme a call when your changing your bulbs and Ill send a picture of my LED's still shining bright. As a matter of fact.. Send me a picture each time you do that for say the next 5, 8 or 10 years.. Now add up what you spent on those bulbs, New ballasts and what not. Oh how about that chiller that died while you were on vacation and cooked all your fish and corals. Now start adding up the savings..

PSS. If you would have taken the time to look. I have only made 3 or 4 posts here.............Not quite where I abuse the site as much as you with over 150 posts of what seems to be you acting like you know it all and have nothing better to do with your life than to harrass NEW members that don't feel a need to support a site just to get harrassed. If I wanted that I would start a free argument with my wife.. I already paid for that one!!

 

[owsi]

One thing you didn't catch, my HQI MH rated 300 watts, the 60" Solaris is rated at 375 watts. So why is it cooler in the room and brighter in the Reef now? Unlike jmchzn I am not rich, so I do my research before I buy. Once in a while I make a mistake, but not often. Aside from having some great features I wanted, the Solaris came with something more important, Pat and Carla and the PFO organization. There are companies in this hobby I can't stand and will warn people about them, customer service comes first to me. You can have the greatest product out there, if your CS is not up to a reasonable level I'll pass on your product.

 

[skydancer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8864974#post8864974 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dibblm
To be honest I dont have a lot of money. I didn't come here to rant on what I spent and shouldnt have added that.

I should have added that my electric bill hasnt gone up due to the light. And I also was not aware that I needed to buy into a membership here.

I can tell you though That besides you.. I come here for help which I thought was the purpose of this place to begin with!!

I simply wanted to express the fact that I did buy one. And the one I bought being the 6ft model wasnt one of the ones that most people were buying. It had more issues that the 4Ft models.

As far as throwing it in the garbage. Yeah... Maybe I should have returned it and went with standard (yesterday) technology. But as the cavemen went extinct so will standard lighting some day and with the energy savings and not needing a chiller where most likely you do I still save.

PS.. Gimme a call when your changing your bulbs and Ill send a picture of my LED's still shining bright. As a matter of fact.. Send me a picture each time you do that for say the next 5, 8 or 10 years.. Now add up what you spent on those bulbs, New ballasts and what not. Oh how about that chiller that died while you were on vacation and cooked all your fish and corals. Now start adding up the savings..

PSS. If you would have taken the time to look. I have only made 3 or 4 posts here.............Not quite where I abuse the site as much as you with over 150 posts of what seems to be you acting like you know it all and have nothing better to do with your life than to harrass NEW members that don't feel a need to support a site just to get harrassed. If I wanted that I would start a free argument with my wife.. I already paid for that one!!

Judging from the number of posts you have (only 3) I can understand your confusion. My comments were directed to "jmchzn" and not to you. Did you miss the quote right above my post???

I enjoyed your comments as am sure everybody else did too. Thank you for posting.

BTW, you should buy a membership too. Support the hobby if you can.
Thank you.

 

[dibblm]

Im certainly not rich. It was a hard chunk of change to come up with. I did my homework about what it would cost for a good chiller, bulb changes over the next 5 years plus and alternative lighting system and basically came up with the same numbers.

Only thing is. I dont have to change bulbs now and I dont have to worry about a chiller going bad and have that added cost as well.

With the new replacement lights. THEY WORK! Bottom line!

 

[skydancer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8861451#post8861451 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skydancer
Does anyone know if the power supplies that come with the solaris units are electronic or magnetic? If magnetic, do you know if and when they're coming out with electronic? Or can we use a third party electronic power supplies that would be considerably smaller? The equivalent electronic PS would probably be half of the 7X7X4 size that the current power supply is..

Could somebody comment on the question above?

Amphibious, do you happen to know what the answer is? I have limited space and the current power supplies are too big!!! Can I substitute them for the equivalent ARO's? Like a 250W electronic MH equivalent?

 

[dibblm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8864865#post8864865 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skydancer
Pardon me jumping in "rich" guy. This is not the thread to brag about how much money you have. There are threads in the open forum to popinjay about your wealth embellishment. Let's keep this thread a constructive discussion about the Solaris technology.

...and by the way, with all your "few grand here and there that you throw in the garbage" you couldn't find $20 bucks to support RC and buy a membership? wow!!!

My aplogize.. No I did not see that post and I was thinking it was directed to me..


Sorry again..

 

[dibblm]

I cannot. I can tell you that Pat, working with and overseas company tried there units and they all burned out if I remember correctly and he had went back to the older units.

I cant tell you either way if there electronic or magnetic. However from opening one. I would surely say electronic. How would you identify the diffrence?

 

[skydancer]

Just looking at it, a magnetic PS has a huge tranformer in it and really not of "electronics" in it.

 

[pjf]

Pulse Width Modulation

Pulse Width Modulation

Here is the reply from Pat Ormiston of PFO Lighting regarding my query:

“The LEDs are dimmed using Pulse Width Modulation. It looks at the
current time and then sets the LEDs to the brightness the LEDs are
suppose to be per either the default or adjusted variables. I.e.
sunrise time, cloud cover, moon lights, ect. The control module resets
the LED brightness every second.”

Pulse Width Modulation is the same attenuation technique used by the Sfiligoi Advanced Control Lighting System. Electrical pulses are sent the LED and the width of the pulses determines the light output level. Electrical savings are realized when the LED output is attenuated.

In other fixtures, a rheostat may be used that simply diverts current through a resistor. The resistor produces heat instead of light and no electrical savings are realized.

You have an excellent power saving design, Mr. Ormiston!

 

[skydancer]

That's not what I'm asking for. The PWM would be controlled by the micro in the fixture at the DC level. What I would like to know is if the power supply to the unit (fixture) is electronic or magnetic.

 

[Amphibious]

Well said Amphibious...

Thank you, ReefWraith.

 

[Anemone]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8863793#post8863793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amphibious
Greg,

I appreciate you stepping in here and issuing the warning. I felt justified in responding to what I felt was a personal attack despite what BeanAnimal claimed was not personal. I kept as low key as possible. The issue is done with as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks.

So, you felt justified in ignoring the warning issued by a Staff member here?

Let me make this a little more clear for those of you who don't quite get it -

The next post attacking another member here will result in this thread being closed and the poster being given a time out.

I hate to sound like your parents, but I don't care who started it. There is a lot of good information in this thread and it would be a shame to lose it, but people need to voluntarily step away from their computers and think before they post, or they will be forcefully given said opportunity.

Kevin
Anemone
RC Staff

 

[pjf]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8865386#post8865386 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skydancer
That's not what I'm asking for. The PWM would be controlled by the micro in the fixture at the DC level. What I would like to know is if the power supply to the unit (fixture) is electronic or magnetic.

I guess there are too many subjects being discussed at once. Sorry, skydancer. I was trying to provide supporting information for those in this thread that believe that the Solaris fixture saves electricity. I believe that Mr. Ormiston's statement does help to explain this earlier issue.

 

[pjf]

No UV Makes Up for Questionable Spectra?

No UV Makes Up for Questionable Spectra?

How much of the successful coral growth under LED lighting is due to the fact that the Solaris does not produce ultraviolet radiation (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review2)?

In contrast, metal halide lighting does emit ultraviolet radiation at levels potentially harmful to corals. Per Dana Riddle, the outer borosilicate glass envelops of single-ended (SE) bulbs transmit most of the UVA and UVB radiation produced. (http://www.masla.com/reef/uvlighting.html).

Per Dr. Joshi, the glass shields of double-ended (DE) fixtures also transmit most of the UV produced. His comparison of shielded and unshielded DE fixtures shows that a shield blocks only a third of the UV radiation (Figure 2, http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2004/feature1.htm) and transmits a significant UVA peak at the 360nm wavelength.

If we were to successfully block UV from MH lamps, will their spectra be even better than LED spectra for corals?