AI Sol Review

Aquattro · #1 06-09-2012, 01:09 AM

I got home in time to actually see the lights on today. After the trial of attempting 3 units on the 180 and seeing it was obviously not enough, I added 3 more for a total of 6 Sol Blue units (Black casing).

I have replaced 3 x 400w Radium MH bulbs in lumenarc mini reflectors.

Thoughts so far...the color of the light is nice, maybe nicer than the radium bulbs. 6 units at 75% are fairly bright, but I'll ramp to 100% over the next week. That will still not compare to the MH bulbs in top of the line reflectors.

Color separation between white and blue still clearly evident, but that's a LED thing, not specific to any fixture.

My controller showed 12amp running the halides, it now shows 0.6amp. Substantial savings there. My chiller also hasn't come on in a week. Nice!

No more fans in my canopy, so I can turn the volume down on the TV. another nice feature.

Light quality - Unfortunately I have to say the light from the MH was far better for coral color than LED. I can see differing shades flickering in the corals as the lights hit it through the water shimmer. Some look like cuttlefish flashing. A couple of pieces are nicer, but some of my favorites are lacking the pop they had. Pink lemonade is lacking the brilliant yellow. Some of the blues and purples are washed out. Not much, most people would still say wow, but I notice the difference.
The sand bed has a couple of focused blue spots here, some white over there.

Most of these issues are not Sol specific, if any. While LED is certainly the way of the future, I'm sure I'll miss the color that the radiums gave. It just doesn't compare.

Overall, the Sols themselves are good solid units, well made, easy to setup, even via the Apex controller. No heat, don't have to replace bulbs, although I should start saving now for the day I need to replace the entire units

Great price compared to other similar products, and I think the best value for my dollar given my needs.
I've seen other tanks without as noticeable points above, but those either had DIY units or Vertex units with a lot more LED bulbs, which probably minimizes these effects.
I don't think I'll be sorry I went LED in the long run, but sitting in front of the tank right now is a bit sad...don't get me wrong, it still looks great, but it's just not the same as Radiums....

I'll update my thoughts on this in a month

sphelps · #2 06-09-2012, 01:36 AM

My thoughts where the same when I switched to LEDs, I wanted to throw mine in the garbage or at least sell them off. However it does get better overtime and you adapt by selecting certain corals and colors that do better under the LEDs. In addition your eyes will adjust and you'll kind of forget about how good it was before, that is until you visit someone else still running halides.

Another thing you'll benefit from is red and green LEDs, not to say you should have bought the Radion but these colors actually do make a significant difference. They can be easily added as you continue on.

Aquattro · #3 06-09-2012, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphelps

In addition your eyes will adjust and you'll kind of forget about how good it was before.

Lol, I think that about sums it up!! haha. I agree, I think it will sink in. From across the room, the tank looks fantastic. Maybe better than the Radiums. More of a magenta tone to it, which is really nice.

I thought of maybe adding a T5 across the front to fill in some areas of concern, but I'll leave it for now and see how quickly I forget how good it was before

sphelps · #4 06-09-2012, 01:45 AM

I think you're current is off to, no way 6 sols running close to full blast are only pulling 0.6amps which is only 70W. 3 400W halides using 12amps sounds right as that's 1400W. The sols should be pulling closer to 4 amps so you're basically using 1/3 the energy.

Aquattro · #5 06-09-2012, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphelps

I think you're current is off

You're right, just checked at peak usage, it's probably 2.8amp

sphelps · #6 06-09-2012, 02:15 AM

They are rated at 72W each I believe so if you run them 100% then you're looking at 3.9A.

Aquattro · #7 06-09-2012, 02:55 AM

Here's a crappy phone pic showing coverage. Colors are washed out in the photo, but you can see the 6 units cover the area well..

sphelps · #8 06-09-2012, 03:08 AM

Aaahh don't show my wife, if she sees those angels in a reef tank I'm screwed!

Looking good btw, obviously coverage isn't an issue anymore. So I know you said the pic washed out the color but do you find color in general more washed out with the LEDs compared to your halides?

Madreefer · #9 06-09-2012, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I'll update my thoughts on this in a month

I'm thinking it wont be a good review. Seriosly dude. Turn the intensity down. I started mine out at the recommended 30% and got impatient and cranked them up to 75% and my corals went down hill. It took a couple of months for them to recover. 10 months later after slowly ramping them up 5% every week or so I now am at 100% for 1 hour a day and slowly increasing the time. The corals are now used to the change to LEDs and growth is way faster and color is great. You did alot of research on these lights and your failing to follow almost everybodies advice on the intensity settings.

Aquattro · #10 06-09-2012, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphelps

Aaahh don't show my wife, if she sees those angels in a reef tank I'm screwed!

Looking good btw, obviously coverage isn't an issue anymore. So I know you said the pic washed out the color but do you find color in general more washed out with the LEDs compared to your halides?

The angels are my favorites, especially since they haven't eaten my clam!

No, the colors are good, not washed out at all, just don't have the pop they used to.