Solaris Led lighting systems
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
I will be getting a 96" x 30" x 30" tank. There will be 6" overflows on each side so it will be really 84". Would it be better to buy a 72" or two 36" fixtures? My lfs says that it might be better with the 36" incase one breaks. How will the moon and other funtions work with two lights fixtures?
Amphibious
New member
lovefish2,
What do you intend on keeping in the 150? Are you doing a DSB? Depending on your answers, you might want to upgrade to the 400W. The 250 will do fine with SPSs up high, LPSs any where in the tank and the same with softies and clams, in my experience.
iansilv,
No one can say for sure what the 400s will do compared to the 250s because they are not out yet but, I think you are correct about the 400s taking things up a notch or two.
LarryW,
Thank you!
blkdrgn,
It's really a toss up choosing a 72" or 2 36". Once you set the time and date on both 36" the computer takes over and the timers would act in unison as long as you timed them the same. Any adjusting you do on one you'd have to do to the other such as dimming your Day Blues or Lunar settings. Other than that they would function fine.
Dick
What do you intend on keeping in the 150? Are you doing a DSB? Depending on your answers, you might want to upgrade to the 400W. The 250 will do fine with SPSs up high, LPSs any where in the tank and the same with softies and clams, in my experience.
iansilv,
No one can say for sure what the 400s will do compared to the 250s because they are not out yet but, I think you are correct about the 400s taking things up a notch or two.
LarryW,
Thank you!
blkdrgn,
It's really a toss up choosing a 72" or 2 36". Once you set the time and date on both 36" the computer takes over and the timers would act in unison as long as you timed them the same. Any adjusting you do on one you'd have to do to the other such as dimming your Day Blues or Lunar settings. Other than that they would function fine.
Dick
no problem.Soooooolaris!
Soooooolaris!
you know I have been on the road for a few months and have NOT checked this post. Its amazing the same crap from some about how bad these lights are. In the beginning, and I was one of the first folks to get a 48'", all the nay sayers said "sounds good but it is too expensive,unproven and is not as good as MH yet" pur/par schmare 6-7 months in and ELECTRIC BILLS ARE DOWN,ALGAE GROWTH DOWN,CHILLERS NOT CHILLIN AND LIVE STOCK OF EVERY CONCEIVABLE FORM IS GROWING HEALTHY. Now we're arguing about the validity of a photograph. I love you guys and missed you ALL sooooo much.
Just for the record my tank is soooo kickin I can't even imagine or remember what and why I would or did or will EVER use MH AGAIN!! Stick that in your photo and smoke it!!!
LOVE THAT LIGHT!!!
Soooooolaris!
you know I have been on the road for a few months and have NOT checked this post. Its amazing the same crap from some about how bad these lights are. In the beginning, and I was one of the first folks to get a 48'", all the nay sayers said "sounds good but it is too expensive,unproven and is not as good as MH yet" pur/par schmare 6-7 months in and ELECTRIC BILLS ARE DOWN,ALGAE GROWTH DOWN,CHILLERS NOT CHILLIN AND LIVE STOCK OF EVERY CONCEIVABLE FORM IS GROWING HEALTHY. Now we're arguing about the validity of a photograph. I love you guys and missed you ALL sooooo much.
Just for the record my tank is soooo kickin I can't even imagine or remember what and why I would or did or will EVER use MH AGAIN!! Stick that in your photo and smoke it!!!
LOVE THAT LIGHT!!!
So sorry about the delay(Amphibious) I intend on keeping clams, lps,as well as sps.. I am trying something new me and my mentor (mmotown and fishtomorow)are putting together w/my money a tahiti moon sand tank that will be a reef not fish only tank.. I took the blue paint off the back and used this new (water colours) tint which looks great.. it is such a better alternative than paint it took me a min of 4hrs to scrape all that paint off. It was just me so I had to do it that way rather that using some type of paint remover and ruining my carpet.. The tank look so much better with the black sand and I dont even have water in it yet... Got a great deal on the Solaris of 2,700 rather than 3,700 at everything4saltwater.com. I spoke to many people at pfo and they stated that it would be sufficient for the tank I have and that it is so powerfull that I may have a problem w/bleaching at first so the 400w may be overkill.. I have placed the order on hold so that I may do a little more reserch. As soon as I get a chance I am going to buy a camera so I can post the pics of my progress..
ThomasinKind
New member
Love this thread (now). Anyone have links to other threads w/more suggestions/play with the actual light?
Oh and how much $$ will I save by switching to this? J/K
Oh and how much $$ will I save by switching to this? J/K
ThomasinKind, Go to SouthWest S/W they will put it through the changes for you. I've had mine since Nov. and its great. House is cooler, Electric bill down, zero temp gain from light( a slight 1+ degree gain due to 2xTunze 6000's and AquBee on DelTec ). The computer is great, set it and forget it, or use it to dim lights for acclimation. I have it on a 60x18x23 and had to dim it because of bleaching on SPS that was under 300watts MH. It gives off way less heat then the 300(2x150DE's) watt MH and mag ballast I had. In my oppinion it gives off a lot more and more even light also. I didn't get it to save money on electric but it looks like thats what is happening (in spite of beananimals calculations, lol) and as you might know TEP is going for a 28% rate increase in 2008 and will get it, bless their hearts.
jnb
Premium Member
hundreds of dollars every month - sorry thread joke - the varying parameters (AC efficiency and it's electric draw, ventilation, tank setup, how often you would otherwise change bulbs in an alternative fixture, unknowns about how long the Solaris bulbs really last, the draw of alternative fixture, climate temps in your area, etc) - makes it too difficult to determine but it will be very noticeable on your electric bill, and/or house temp, noise and overall happiness surrounding your tank
Oh and how much $$ will I save by switching to this? J/K [/B][/QUOTE]
Oh and how much $$ will I save by switching to this? J/K
[/B][/QUOTE]BeanAnimal
Premium Member
I didn't get it to save money on electric but it looks like thats what is happening (in spite of beananimals calculations, lol)
Why is it that with almost EVERY post you have take a shot at me? We are not friends and have not had a cordial dialog, therefore your comments are surely not friendly in nature.
Post after post you take shots like that. Am I still correct in figuring that if I do respond, you will complain to the mods that the thread is being polluted with arguements and nonsense... that you baited? Would that not follow the pattern from before? Please stop.
Do you really want to talk about electricity again? I will gladly speak to the subject but fear that you will resort to personal attacks instead of having a dialog about the facts.
FWIW, Nobody said that you would not save money. It was the amount of money that was debated. It was the amount of energy usage and the amount of light per that usage. You did not get it then, and you do not get it now. Yet, you keep bringing it up as if you did get. You do so in a mocking way, as if I was wrong.
Your either looking for trouble by bringing my name up over and over, or you think that you can talk about people and do so with immunity from a response. In either case, the comments are wholly unheeded.
Thanks for your time.
Why is it that with almost EVERY post you have take a shot at me? We are not friends and have not had a cordial dialog, therefore your comments are surely not friendly in nature.
Post after post you take shots like that. Am I still correct in figuring that if I do respond, you will complain to the mods that the thread is being polluted with arguements and nonsense... that you baited? Would that not follow the pattern from before? Please stop.
Do you really want to talk about electricity again? I will gladly speak to the subject but fear that you will resort to personal attacks instead of having a dialog about the facts.
FWIW, Nobody said that you would not save money. It was the amount of money that was debated. It was the amount of energy usage and the amount of light per that usage. You did not get it then, and you do not get it now. Yet, you keep bringing it up as if you did get. You do so in a mocking way, as if I was wrong.
Your either looking for trouble by bringing my name up over and over, or you think that you can talk about people and do so with immunity from a response. In either case, the comments are wholly unheeded.
Thanks for your time.
Last edited:
steve the plumb
In Memoriam
Bean why do you even bother.it upsets me to see someone like you waste your time posting stupid answers(you will never see eye to eye).I have read your posts in the past and you are a very knowledgable person.Do you care that much as to his comments.Why waste your fingers typing a response.Let him say whatever he wants and be the better person.Put him on your ignore list and you won't even have to read anything he says.It will waist alot less of your time.Why lower yourself to his level by trying to argue with him.You can't get along with everyone and everyone has there own opinon.
Bean,
I'm seriously considering this for my 215. Here are my calculations:
My bulbs are over $100 each (400w DE), plus the $60-70 for VHOs. My electric bill to run them is $40 a month (simple math calculation). Then I need to add the cooling costs for the heat they add. That's probably another $40 a month for the warm months - and my A/C is on NOW... (we live in South Texas)
That's $5-600 a year +/- for electricity (realizing that the LEDs DO use electricity...), putting me at nearly $1000 per year total (including bulbs).
I need a chiller - with plumbing that's $800. And, I should be able to get $6-800 for my existing lighting and AquaController - won't need it anymore. With a discount, I think I can get the lights for about $3700:
$3700 LED lights
-800 Current lighting
-800 Chiller
$2100
That puts me at 2 years to pay for it. Anyone see holes in this?
I have to say, Mamma is encouraging me on this. The tank is between our Master Bedroom and the dining room. With fans & all, it's a bit humid in there!
I'm seriously considering this for my 215. Here are my calculations:
My bulbs are over $100 each (400w DE), plus the $60-70 for VHOs. My electric bill to run them is $40 a month (simple math calculation). Then I need to add the cooling costs for the heat they add. That's probably another $40 a month for the warm months - and my A/C is on NOW... (we live in South Texas)
That's $5-600 a year +/- for electricity (realizing that the LEDs DO use electricity...), putting me at nearly $1000 per year total (including bulbs).
I need a chiller - with plumbing that's $800. And, I should be able to get $6-800 for my existing lighting and AquaController - won't need it anymore. With a discount, I think I can get the lights for about $3700:
$3700 LED lights
-800 Current lighting
-800 Chiller
$2100
That puts me at 2 years to pay for it. Anyone see holes in this?
I have to say, Mamma is encouraging me on this. The tank is between our Master Bedroom and the dining room. With fans & all, it's a bit humid in there!
Thats another point I forgot, used to use a fan on the sump to supplement the cooling. This added to the humidity the AC had to pull out. Living room was always uncomfortable, and hallway was a heat channel.
Electric bill for 4-26-06 Ave. Temp =63degrees 154 KWH=$131.31
Electric Bill for 4-24-07 Ave. Temp =63degrees 131KWH=$115.61
Tucson Electric Power, AZ.
Electric bill for 4-26-06 Ave. Temp =63degrees 154 KWH=$131.31
Electric Bill for 4-24-07 Ave. Temp =63degrees 131KWH=$115.61
Tucson Electric Power, AZ.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Here is the "flaw" in the math that a lot of people do not get their heads wraped around. It takes far less than 1 watt of A/C to remove 1 watt of heat from your home. So if the LIGHTS contribute $40 worth of electrical usage into the home, then the A/C can not spend $40 to remove it. 
That is the magic of phase change systems. The HEAT is moved via phase change to a different zone (outside your house).
The same concept holds true with evaporation from your tank. A 10 watt fan can produce much more than 10 watts of cooling by assisting PHASE CHANGE. You can battle a 100 watt heater with a 10 watt fan. Not only that but the central A/C can then move that moisture out of the house and you still come out ahead of the head load (in this case 100W). Remember we are MOVING heat, not changing it.
So, back to your problem. Yes the A/C may cost you $40 a month to run, but not all $40 can be attributed to the lights on your tank. You have a chiller that IS contributing to the heat load of hte house, but it is also a phase change device and therefore not watt for watt in stride with the heat load either.
Lets take this a step further if we can. You did not list the TOTAL wattage of the old setup or the proposed setup. If you are using central A/C we can look at the lights first. BOTH setups will contribute their TOTAL wattage to the house. So if you replace 800W of MH with 650W of LED, your net savings in USAGE is 150W. Remember heat IS energy, so that is ALL you save in heat load to the home, save the chiller. (read on...)
Now here is where things get a bit more fuzzy... The LEDS do not heat the tank as directly as the MH. That means that the Central A/C will do a lot of the work in keeping the tank cool by removing the heat generated by the LEDS before it gets absorbed into the tank. Note that it [the A/C unit] still has to remove the heat! The difference is that you save the energy usage of the chiller, plus a few percent that the central A/C would have had to remove due to the chillers own heat load on the house). In other words if you KNEW how many hours a day the chiller ran, you could work backwards and pretty much determine HOW MUCH you will save.
I hope that makes sense.
As for your savings plan... Sure it looks like a rough estimate that will work. You will save some electricity every month. Bulb replacement should save you money (if the LEDs do last as long as they hope in this system). Your sale of your current equipment will offset much of the purchase price and you do not have to invest in a chiller.
We could certainly talk about some of those numbers (is a chiller realy needed or would evaporation handle hte heat load). We could talk about the money LOST in the purchase and sale of equipment (it has to be considered when you calculate "savings")
But all in all I think you should come out ahead quickly enough (it may be a bit further out than 2 years...)
Each situation is different and these are the things that need to be looked at if COST is the driving factor.
Bean
That is the magic of phase change systems. The HEAT is moved via phase change to a different zone (outside your house). The same concept holds true with evaporation from your tank. A 10 watt fan can produce much more than 10 watts of cooling by assisting PHASE CHANGE. You can battle a 100 watt heater with a 10 watt fan. Not only that but the central A/C can then move that moisture out of the house and you still come out ahead of the head load (in this case 100W). Remember we are MOVING heat, not changing it.
So, back to your problem. Yes the A/C may cost you $40 a month to run, but not all $40 can be attributed to the lights on your tank. You have a chiller that IS contributing to the heat load of hte house, but it is also a phase change device and therefore not watt for watt in stride with the heat load either.
Lets take this a step further if we can. You did not list the TOTAL wattage of the old setup or the proposed setup. If you are using central A/C we can look at the lights first. BOTH setups will contribute their TOTAL wattage to the house. So if you replace 800W of MH with 650W of LED, your net savings in USAGE is 150W. Remember heat IS energy, so that is ALL you save in heat load to the home, save the chiller. (read on...)
Now here is where things get a bit more fuzzy... The LEDS do not heat the tank as directly as the MH. That means that the Central A/C will do a lot of the work in keeping the tank cool by removing the heat generated by the LEDS before it gets absorbed into the tank. Note that it [the A/C unit] still has to remove the heat! The difference is that you save the energy usage of the chiller, plus a few percent that the central A/C would have had to remove due to the chillers own heat load on the house). In other words if you KNEW how many hours a day the chiller ran, you could work backwards and pretty much determine HOW MUCH you will save.
I hope that makes sense.
As for your savings plan... Sure it looks like a rough estimate that will work. You will save some electricity every month. Bulb replacement should save you money (if the LEDs do last as long as they hope in this system). Your sale of your current equipment will offset much of the purchase price and you do not have to invest in a chiller.
We could certainly talk about some of those numbers (is a chiller realy needed or would evaporation handle hte heat load). We could talk about the money LOST in the purchase and sale of equipment (it has to be considered when you calculate "savings")
But all in all I think you should come out ahead quickly enough (it may be a bit further out than 2 years...)
Each situation is different and these are the things that need to be looked at if COST is the driving factor.
Bean
Thanks, Bean for the info AND the thoughtful analysis. Here's a bit more:
My tank gets up to 83 during the day sometimes - I try and keep it to less. Especially when the A/C is off. I have several fans that run when the temp hits 79.5 (79 is my base temp). Evaporation is about 5 gallons a day, typically. That's 5 gallons of water that has to be removed from the house either thru air movement (the windows open) or A/C. The GOOD part is that this bedroom and my office - upstairs right above it - are kind of on their own 1.5 ton unit (the other 3.5 ton unit and it also cool our living/dining/family rooms together). So, I'm not having to cool all 2900 square feet of house when it kicks on! But, my problem is that I'm running A/C instead of having the house open, like we would typically do this time of year and in the fall. So, I'm cooling the entire house now, instead of opening it up.
My total lighting system now is 400w x 3 plus 400w VHO = 1600w. Oh yeah, our electricty is cheap - less than $0.06 a kwh.
We must also NOT forget the intangible - Mamma would be happier with a cooler, less humid bedroom...
My tank gets up to 83 during the day sometimes - I try and keep it to less. Especially when the A/C is off. I have several fans that run when the temp hits 79.5 (79 is my base temp). Evaporation is about 5 gallons a day, typically. That's 5 gallons of water that has to be removed from the house either thru air movement (the windows open) or A/C. The GOOD part is that this bedroom and my office - upstairs right above it - are kind of on their own 1.5 ton unit (the other 3.5 ton unit and it also cool our living/dining/family rooms together). So, I'm not having to cool all 2900 square feet of house when it kicks on! But, my problem is that I'm running A/C instead of having the house open, like we would typically do this time of year and in the fall. So, I'm cooling the entire house now, instead of opening it up.
My total lighting system now is 400w x 3 plus 400w VHO = 1600w. Oh yeah, our electricty is cheap - less than $0.06 a kwh.
We must also NOT forget the intangible - Mamma would be happier with a cooler, less humid bedroom...
ThomasinKind
New member
I will never again make a joke on these forums...
I plan to check out SWS sometime this weekend.
All users still happy with their purchases?
I plan to check out SWS sometime this weekend.
All users still happy with their purchases?
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