Solaris Lighting

[humptrax]

just to shine some light on the issue:

Ultraviolet radiation, at wavelengths known to induce coloration and in quantities produced by artificial light sources, has been shown to induce a shut-down of photosynthesis in a process known as dynamic photoinhibition (for a example of photoinhibition by artificial UVR, see Riddle, 2004). The long term effects of dynamic photoinhibition caused by artificial lighting is not known, although we could advance the theory that long-term exposure to UVR could lead to a sort of starvation, where consumption of stored energy reserves until they are exhausted occurs within zooxanthellae, eventually leading to death of symbionts and perhaps the coral animal itself.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/2/aafeature#h2">http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/2/aafeature#h2</a>

the answer it seems, like anything else in this stupid hobby, is WE DON"T KNOW YET. :doh:

 

[harleyguy]

Here is where I am at on the whole LED thing, for anyone who cares. I am in the process of gathering parts for a 60 gallon cube that that was started mainly for a pair of Picasso Clowns that Tim sold me. The tank will also hold a carpet anemone and I would like it to hold rare SPS.

I have narrowed my lighting choices down to 2. The PFO Solaris 24” I4 and the Giesemann Infiniti 250W hqi w 4x24w T-5.

Pros and cons of each.

Let’s start with the Solaris:
PROs:
Little or no heat transfer to tank
Absolutely silent
Color temp adjustable
Built in moon light with moon phase
Only uses roughly 200W of power (I’m just counting the LEDs here)
High PAR but adjustable
Long life LEDs
No UV?
No need for a chiller

CONs:
Cost (24” fixture can be had for about $1499)
LED strips burning out
More of a “focused” light
No UV?
First generation…. Kind of (the I is actually the 3rd gen although the only difference between it and the H is the Temp and the white LEDs)

Giesemann

PROs:
Cost (24” fixture $899)
MH and T5 Proven technology
Tons of bulbs and Temps available
Great shimmer lines
Great light spread
Fixture looks great

CONs
Puts a lot of heat into the tank
Par can only be adjusted by raising and lowering the fixture
Bulbs need to be changed regularly
Will cause need for a chiller in my case
No moon light
Ballasts can get noisy over time

Cost comparison for each over a 5 year time period (I figure if I get 5 years out of it I’m happy)

Solaris
Fixture $1499
Power $3.65mt $219 over 5 years

Total for 5 years $1718


Giesemann
Fixture $899
Power $6.31mt $378.60
MH Bulb
Every 8 mts $80 each $560
T5 Bulbs
Every year $20 each $400
Chiller $335
Power $3.65mt $219
Mag 7
For chiller $60

Total for 5 years $2852.60

So with all this said, I’m still not sold on the LEDs. I’m a little gun-shy on the fact that they are so new and they are having some problems with them. I expect that PFO is making rolling production changes to problems that arise, its bad business for them to sell a product that cost this much and have too many problems. Also I am not at all sure we get a fair representation as to how many Solaris fixtures have actually had problems, because you always hear about the bad stuff but rarely hear about the good. Also there are a ton of people in this hobby that don’t spend what extra time they have on the net like some of us that have no life.

In the end I will most likely get the Solaris. I figure it isn’t that much more than the Giesemann and since it’s only the 24” it’s not like I’m shelling out 4K. I will try out some standard SPS and make sure thy do well before I try any rare species though.

Sorry of the long post…

 

[cameron]

Icecap T5s with the upcoming dimmable ballast is my pick for the next couple years. IMO LEDs are a couple years away from being seriously competitive. Their output is still overstated and the manus all but refuse to release real PAR numbers. They insist on comparing to an unknown ballast and an unknown bulb. Also, the drop off outside the lighted area is significant so coverage isn't nearly as good as MH and T5s blow both out of the water. Cost wise, those panels aren't going to be cheap and in 5-8 years when one burns out you better hope the manu stocked up because those LEDs will not be available any longer and you will likely have problems finding replacement panels. T5s don't need a chiller, you don't have to replace bulbs annually and can easily push bulbs 2-4 years without issue unless you are really anal (LEDs are rated at 50000 hours but T5HOs are rated at 20000 and a T5 bulb is only $25 for a quality one). As for savings on electricity... at near 500w which is what the high end fixture consumes, it isn't much of a savings over my old (now Big Ds) 600w 6' Icecap T5 setup that produced arguably equal to or more PAR for a 1/4 of the price.

Wait two years IMO. LEDs will be the future assuming Lasers or OLEDs don't knock it off first.

 

[george]

The power cost savings on the LED's is not simply the operational electricity of the fixture. The lack of heat output and considerably lessened evaporation translates to your home AC bill. Beyond the heat output of the bulbs themselves, the increased humidity from more evaporation (intensified if not using a chiller) taxes the AC system of your house even more. If your tank is not in the basement/bottom floor, you'll see more return. If you use a chiller, you'll be paying for that too. I can tell you my home AC bill went down far more than just the difference of 100w between my old and new fixtures.

I wouldn't argue that T5's are the most economical way to go, but I don't particularly care for the fluorescent look. If someone doesn't mind that look, I'd never recommend an LED instead.

What I do think is that LED's are capable of replacing MH fixtures for a perfectly healthy tank, if not so intensely lit (and in my opinion glaring in some cases). It costs more to start, but pays off over MH.

 

[harleyguy]

I agree that T5's are great and as far as fluorescents go they are IMO the best out there, but they just don't penetrate like MH or LED for that matter. And if you want to grow SPS you better do it closer to the surface and clams are out on a deeper tank. T5's are great for supplementation, softies, and LPS but we aren't really talking apples to apples here. If you want to compare something to LED (at least the Solaris I4) you really need to be talking MH.

Also, I do agree that T5's don't put out much heat, but to say you don't need a chiller is a very broad statement. T5's do radiate heat to the tank, and they do cause the tanks temperature to rise, the amount of the rise depends on a lot of variables like ventilation, evaporation, and sump size (among others). The point here is that the Solaris LED fixture does not add heat to the tank, T5's do. And that's all I have to say about that.