Solaris Led lighting systems

That's a great idea, Biggie. I know of a guy that does that with one of his MH pendants. His corals look great. Let us know how this works out.

Dick
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9874793#post9874793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amphibious
That's a great idea, Biggie. I know of a guy that does that with one of his MH pendants. His corals look great. Let us know how this works out.

Dick
Click to expand...
Its an idea thats been brewing for awhile. Every once in awhile I get a good one lol.

I just laid out the travel on my 96 long with a 6 ft track section and the 48 in. Solaris to see what would make the best placement for the track. Now my only question is if the track will have movable stops since I only need 48"'s of travel and the track only comes in 6 ft sections?

Suppose Ill have to rig up something if not but I believe it would almost have to be adjustable.

Amphibious, you were looking into some replacelment legs for me for my Solaris, Any luck on that? Im probably going to laser cut some new end caps out of #304 SS and match drill it and include a lifting loop on top for this light mover idea and be done with the whole thing if I cant get them otherwise.
Perks of my trade as it is. Another mod for the RC crowd as it looks lol...
 
Thanks, I am really excited about the build and can't wait to get it together. It will be unique in a number of ways, but I'm not here to highjack this thread. Thank you for the great feedback.

I am considering going with either 3 60" models or 4 48" models. I have done some 3d sketch work with both and think that the 4 48" seem to get more overall tank coverage. I don't think my budget would allow 4 60" but maybe... Anyways, I had a question regarding the intensity of light in areas where the lights overlap. For example, if I were to go with 4 48" models, there would be approximately 8 inches of overlap within the first 18 inches of water penetration. As the light is most effective at a depth up to 18 inces, will the overlap at this depth make the beams to intense for corals or will this only help the corals along. Please advise if possible.

Thank you and looking forward to a response.
 
If you acclimate slow it should work. My tank is 23", so sand is about 20' average and I had bleaching problems a mid tank and up, these lights are a lot more intense then they look. My SPS are doing great now, have Crocea's on order.
 
Been following this thread off and on for awhile. It seems pretty clear to me that you can get at least similar and perhaps better results with coral growth and color as you can with halides. The people who suggest you want to be as close to sunlight as possible need to go to the ocean and dive 20' down. It ain't white anymore down there. White stopped a lot higher. So as close as you can match the spectrum of light that grows coral, the better. That isn't pure white hot light. With Solaris you definitely will produce less heat. But, you'll definitely will pay more. So I think it comes down to cost doesn't it? If you got the cash, Solaris is a great option. If your more budget conscious, halides might be the best solution, at least in the short term.
 
I am looking in to buying a Solaris light. At the moment I am in the research phase. This thread is exactly what I need and was looking for. A little side note: I am kinda lazy and hate reading :). So if any of you nice reefers, would be willing to summarize this 46page thread for me I would be very very grateful. And I bet I am not the only one that would be grateful for a summery ;).

So if it is not to much to ask, a short (or detailed) summery would be amazing :). Also if anyone of you out there is willing to go above and beyond, and be my savior send me a PM summarizing it :D.
 
I have decided i am going to go with one of the Aqua Illumination LED lights for my 29gallon tank when they come out in a few weeks. I know AI light isn't out yet, but that gives me a few more weeks to save. I just like the fact i won't have to deal with heat issues during the day, bulb replacement, and the costs. I think AquaIlluminatinon uses different brand LEDs than Solaris, if i remember right too.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9885857#post9885857 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Str8baller
So if any of you nice reefers, would be willing to summarize this 46page thread for me I would be very very grateful. And I bet I am not the only one that would be grateful for a summery ;).
Click to expand...
Some folks think the new technology is not a good thing, some folks think bleeding edge technology is a great thing. IMO, I love my light and think that my major investment was well worth it. BTW, this thread was split, so there are bunches and bunches heated debate over this solution. ;) :mixed:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9884952#post9884952 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pirate@40
Been following this thread off and on for awhile. It seems pretty clear to me that you can get at least similar and perhaps better results with coral growth and color as you can with halides. The people who suggest you want to be as close to sunlight as possible need to go to the ocean and dive 20' down. It ain't white anymore down there. White stopped a lot higher. So as close as you can match the spectrum of light that grows coral, the better. That isn't pure white hot light. With Solaris you definitely will produce less heat. But, you'll definitely will pay more. So I think it comes down to cost doesn't it? If you got the cash, Solaris is a great option. If your more budget conscious, halides might be the best solution, at least in the short term.
Click to expand...

I think the reason that one would want all spectrums of light in one's tank is mainly visual. As I diver I can tell you that my photos look a whole lot more beautiful because I use an underwater strobe to supply full spectrum light. Red/yellow light doesn't penetrate very deeply at all. As a result, any object that is red or yellow appears to have little or no colour when viewed at depth using natural light only.

So while you might get good coral growth with limited wavelengths, you might not like how the tank looked.

I'm not, in anyway, trying to suggest that Solaris is lacking in any spectrum. I'm just making a personal observation as a diver and a photographer.
 
mcclandy,

When PFO came out with the Solaris LED light fixture, I saw the advantages immediately and hold the dubious distinction of having placed the first order with Pat at IMAC in April of last year. No one knew whether this new technology was going to do all that Pat was toting that it would. Saving 40% over MHs, no heat added to the tank, higher PAR readings and coral growth, etc. My trust in PFO as a company was already established. When I met Pat at IMAC his sincere attitude and personality convinced me to take a chance on this new LED light of his. In other words, I believed in him and that convinced me to buy into the LED light technology he engineered.

You are doing the same thing, in away. You have decided not to trust in a new technology, because PFO pioneered it, but a new company. In my opinion, you are taking a bit more risk than I did. PFO is an established company with a varifiable track record of great products and outstanding customer service. Personally, I wouldn't be so eager to go with a NEW company without a track record to look at, bringing out a copycat product. That's more risk than I care to take on. I'll let other people, like you, lead the way.

I know there will be other LED manufacturers eventually but I would hope that it would be a current lighting manufacturer not a totally new company. I also hope that AI hasn't plagiarized the PFO Solaris unit. That could lead to trouble.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the subject. I'm sure many of us are interested in your experience with AI. Keep us posted, please.

Dick
 
cindyolson,

I'm with you on this, Cindy. I love this light. I'm doing some frag farming and can't wait for the 400W version to come out. I've already ordered a 72" unit to see and test that unit. Got to get rid of the MHs and lower my energy cost.

Untamed12,

You are absolutely correct about reds and yellows not penetrating far into the depths that you dive. I'm not sure that a diver's perspective means much to us reefers because we deal with depths that divers would find difficult to explore, generally a couple of feet. We don't experience the light loss that you would find, "at depth".

Dick
 
I think that the suggestion was that since corals grow well at depths that red/yellow light don't reach, that these wavelengths aren't needed in order to grow coral in an aquarium.

My point was that this may be true, but you wouldn't like how the aquarium looked if you only supplied those wavelengths of light.
 
Dick,

I'm also on the list for Aquaillumination, for a 72" fixture. Am I uncertain about the company? Absolutely. But it's not his first business, either. In any case, there are a few things that weigh in favor of Aquaillumination:

A 2 year TRANSFERABLE warranty. The poor folks with the original Solaris fixtures that they've had for a few months, that they now want to upgrade to the 400w fixtures have to sell their fixtures that are nearly new, without a warranty. That single item will probably cost them 25% of the purchase price. I just think a non-transferable warranty on a new/changing technolgy item is nearly a deal-breaker.

Built in the USA, AND a 24 hour burn-in/test before shipping.

Price: It's 20% cheaper than your price.

Power: It should exceed the Solaris 400w fixture. Time will tell for sure.

As for copying/plagiarizing, I would guess that Aquaillumination is aware of the pending patents. It sure looks like they've gone out of the way to use entirely different components.
 
How accurate do we think that data is concerning the "equivalent" to Solaris lighting? The data on the site shows considerly more output compared to the Solaris models (both G and H series). Does anyone know now accurate this information might be?

They also have an interesting idea that takes upgrading into consideration. Is this a feature that might be possible with the solaris system? LED technology evolves quickly so it would be useful to do complete system upgrades in the future.

I am still sold on the Solaris system for the time being but the competition is getting intense quickly and I would like to see what the competitors come out with.
 
The more manufacturers who get into the LED game and try to "out-feature" each other, the better off we are :)

Looks to me like they are claiming more PAR than the Solaris models, one of us must be reading the charts wrong.
 
Gobie, I LOVE your signature!

I think you and thirschmann are drawing the same conclusion?

Like I've said before, the single best feature of the Aquaillumination is the TRANSFERABLE warranty.
 
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