Solaris Lighting

[patrick214]

We have a 215g aquarium and recently we have been thinking of buying the new 72" I-series Solaris by PFO. We were curious as to whether anyone had bought any of the previous Solaris fixtures and how they have worked for you. It says it compares to a 400watt 14k MH fixture but how many 400watt fixtures? I assume it means three 400watt MH's for the 72" version....Do they really eliminate the need for a chiller? I was thinking maybe it would just mean we would need a smaller chiller...Will these things grow SPS the way MH's will and are they asthetically pleasing? since I have read they lose alot of the shimmer MH's will produce..any info would be appreciated, Thanks.

 

[fishybusiness]

I have one of the older G series (equivalent to a 250 watt) on my 140. I love mine and have had it for about 9 months now. I have sps as well as softies and have had clams (my tang eats them?). I have no chiller as I sold it to help cover the cost of the light. My BTA however has gotten all of its bubble tips back after having lost them about 9 years ago. I have also gotten solaris units for George and Tanner86. Both seem pleased with thier lights. I also have one on a 105 clients tank.
If I had it to do over again I would have gotten the 400 watt model but they didnt have those out until right after I bought mine. Over all I like them better than my old 250 halides and they even tested higher in par than my old 250's with much much less heat. At full power right now my lights are running 95 degrees inside of the fixture and my tank is a chilly 76

 

[patrick214]

Nice, does the fixture cycle through different kelvins for different times of day, or do you set kelvin at a fixed rate and it stays there?

 

[patrick214]

I know the fixture has sunrise and sunset and lunar cycles and is controllable between 6k to 22k but can the fixture actually cycle from lower kelvins during midday to higher kelvins in the morning and evening? also do they produce any shimmer....

 

[fishybusiness]

That Im aware of none of thier fixtures change kelvin automatically. My Kelvin stays at about 22000 (the blues have much higher par). Yes they produce shimmer since it is a directional light. Its not as much shimmer as a 400 watt halide however it is better than flourescant lighting. The shimmer at night time is much more impressive when its on its full moon cycle.

 

[patrick214]

I believe its cause they are all point source but with 25 point sources they diffuse some of the shimmer? I really just wanted to get some opinions on them before we go ahead and make such a large investement in it...How many 400watt fixtures would a 72" fixture be, I am assuming three but would like to clarify....also if any of you have seen systems with them any feedback or opinions would be awesome...

 

[fishybusiness]

A single power source controls 2 panels of lights. A 72" fixture has 3 power sources, 48" has 2 power sources and all others have a single power source.
Its rather hard to see but in my profile is a pic of my tank with the Solaris.

 

[purplegorilla]

Can you give me a quote on a 72" I -Series stephan? Possible group order...

 

[patrick214]

How many people would be needed for a group buy, we may not actually buy the lights for another couple weeks or maybe less were not entirely sure.....would it make it any cheaper?? also if you could quote a price you could do it for that would be cool...thanks, Patrick.

 

[purplegorilla]

Well, PFO sold all the 72" I-series. They only have 1 left and using that for parts or emergency..Won't have any new one untill January 2008... I couldn't wait for reply so I talked to a dealer yesterday. Best price I got was $3600 with free shipping..

 

[mapleredta]

purpleGORILLA;95812 wrote: Well, PFO sold all the 72" I-series. They only have 1 left and using that for parts or emergency..Won't have any new one untill January 2008... I couldn't wait for reply so I talked to a dealer yesterday. Best price I got was $3600 with free shipping..

:wow2:

 

[bzwaagstra]

I LOVE my H series 36". I could go on and on and on how I love it so. I have had zero problems and am happy to answer questions not covered in above. Heck, if you want to make the trip down to Decatur you can even see it in action. You gotta see this thing to appreciate it.

My only regret, the I-series was not out yet when I bought mine. I could use just a tiny bit more light energy.

 

[patrick214]

Do any LFS's carry the I-series?

 

[bzwaagstra]

Due to demand and limited supply you basically have to order the light and sit on the waiting list till the next shipment arrives. You can do that via FishyBusiness who is a sponsor here and well known amoungst ARC members.

 

[harleyguy]

FishyBusiness;95260 wrote: A single power source controls 2 panels of lights. A 72" fixture has 3 power sources, 48" has 2 power sources and all others have a single power source.
Its rather hard to see but in my profile is a pic of my tank with the Solaris.

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to clearify this just a little. According to PFO's web site http://www.pfolighting.com">www.pfolighting.com</a> spicificly this page [IMG]http://www.solarisled.com/Specifications/I4Specifications/tabid/77/Default.aspx">http://www.solarisled.com/Specifications/I4Specifications/tabid/77/Default.aspx</a> It states "Each 12” section of hood has 25-Next Generation 4 Watt LEDs for a total of 100Watts per foot"

Hope this helps.

 

[humptrax]

a piece out of RC:

"To get as many lumens as a 250w halide you'd need more than double the wattage using LEDs, not half. Anyway, Lumileds, who makes the LEDs for PFO, does not currently have a product in production that produces 50 lumens/watt. In fact I already asked PFO in the forums what bin of LEDs they use, and they can't answer because they're only getting random bins that lumileds supplies, which are variable but probably average around 40 lumens/watt, and certainly not 50. They can't say they fixture puts out a certain lumen or lux rating until they tell us which bin or range of bins of LEDs that the fixtures use, because each fixture uses a random assortment of LEDs each of which varies widely in efficiency, voltage (and therefore power consumed when driven by current limiting circuit like used in their fixtures), and color tint (known as the Luxeon lottery, cause you never know what your going to get)".

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=894702">http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=894702</a>

there is an extensive review on the solaris equipment. There seems to be mixed reviews, especially about color rating.

 

[george]

While I agree that LED's aren't as intense as MH lights, I caution you to examine carefully what gets tossed around on RC regarding the LED fixtures. There are several vocal critics of these lights who not only don't know much about how various lighting types produce emission, but have an atrocious grasp of the physics of light, heat, and usable spectrum. There are also a few that clearly have some kind of personal grudge with PFO.

None of the figures thrown around on RC about lumens/watt take into account that the measure of lumens is based not only on the human eye's visible spectrum, but is adjusted for sensitivity. The numbers they throw around make LEDs seem far, far worse than they are.

LED's aren't up to MH intensity. However, they trade that off for nearly zero energy wasted producing UV and IR energy.

The fixtures are very expensive. However a comparable fixture using other technology wouldn't be much less expensive. There is a very sophisticated controller built into these fixtures that provides natural and adjustable variations for clouds, lunar cycles, day length, and hemisphere. Some of those controls and the precision available with LEDs are simply impossible to replicate with other lighting types.

 

[patrick214]

I was seriously interested in the I4 a while back for my 215 gallon reef but have since decided against it. I actually think that a lack of uv may be a problem. Corals, specifically sps, need some uv, there pigmentation is developed as a response to uv. I listened to a podcast a while back from a company who plans on producing an led fixture and they said they planned on incorporating uv into their fixtures for this purpose specifically. For the money these things cost, i just dont think the technology is there yet. They make some pretty enticing claims regarding par, but that thing is never gonna produce the par of a 400watt system with good ballasts, bulbs, and lumenarc or lumenbrite reflector. Also, ive read of problems with led banks going out, a week out of the box. For that kinda money that kinda crap better not happen, and my fixture better work outta the stupid box. Even if it does it leads to the question of what happens when the two year warranty is up and a bank of leds goes out....it becomes just like replacing bulbs for your halide...all in all i think the fixture has some pretty cool features, but i just dont think its quite there yet. When the next generation leds enter the market and competition stiffens i think itll become quite obvious when its time to start considering the transition to the led.

 

[tnyga]

Let me see how this pans out...

Husband: Honey, one of the guys on ARC told me about these LED light fixtures that will cost less to light and be just great for the corals...

Wife: Well, if it will cost less to light...How much is this light "Honey"

Husband: Well thats the GREAT thing...If the club does a "Powerbuy" it will be only $3450 and I wouldnt even have to pay shipping. :shades:

Wife: Ahhhhh ok...and How much can you get for that new light you just bought for $850?

Husband: Well thats another awesome thing...I could use that light for the tank I was thinking of buying you for your 25th Wedding Anniversary :roll:

Wife: Ohhhhhhhh Ok...What address would you like your mail forwarded to because it will be a cold day in Hell that you will be getting mail sent to this house!!:mad2:

:wow2:

Somehow, and it may be me, I think Ill have a better chance at getting pregnant than EVER seeing one of these on my tank anytime soon. :doh:

 

[george]

Patrick214;146332 wrote: I actually think that a lack of uv may be a problem. Corals, specifically sps, need some uv, there pigmentation is developed as a response to uv.

I'd agree with this except that unless someone's running DE bulbs with no shield, all the fixtures with which reef keepers have had success block UV anyway. The point the LED proponents make is that the fixture isn't wasting energy producing it.

Patrick214;146332 wrote: For the money these things cost, i just dont think the technology is there yet. They make some pretty enticing claims regarding par, but that thing is never gonna produce the par of a 400watt system with good ballasts, bulbs, and lumenarc or lumenbrite reflector. Also, ive read of problems with led banks going out, a week out of the box. For that kinda money that kinda crap better not happen, and my fixture better work outta the stupid box. Even if it does it leads to the question of what happens when the two year warranty is up and a bank of leds goes out....it becomes just like replacing bulbs for your halide...all in all i think the fixture has some pretty cool features, but i just dont think its quite there yet. When the next generation leds enter the market and competition stiffens i think itll become quite obvious when its time to start considering the transition to the led.

Good points and I agree it's not mature enough to definitively win against MH, but those 400w MH bulbs will bake a reef nicely without a chiller or extensive fans and you'll never get the natural environmental effects that the LED fixture offers.

As to build quality, I'd venture to say that for every contained fixture on the market, there are DOA's. Granted, an out-of-warranty repair will be costly.

You also have to remember that while the outlay for LEDs is steep, the payoff in not having to run a chiller and crank up the house AC pays back every month. I know for a fact that mine significantly cut my electrical bills and evaporation (which taxes the AC system further). I was able to keep my tank at 78/79 with the AC at 77/78 whereas before, my tank was at 80/81 with the AC at 75 using MH lighting.