Anyone Running Ai Sols?
 

Hey,

Just curious if anyone is currently running Sol's on their reef tank. I would like some feed back from a Canreef'er before buying or considering buying.

Thanks,

I have Sol Blues on the display and an eshine pro 60w on the frag tank.

I am very happy with the Sol's, just make sure you start them low (like 30%) and ramp them up very slow, or you run the risk of frying everything.

The only complaint I have is the major price drop right after I purchased:Cry:

Do you find them "Dim" and don't provide much Light/Pop to your tank. I'm thinking of putting 2 on my 65G

As I had mentioned I am very happy with them.

I do not find them dim (they are powerful enough to fry everything you have if you are not careful upon initial set up and this is well documented if you do a little searching on internet and forums)

as to the "don't provide much light/pop" comment, not sure where you got that from. I have seen comments like that in reference to cheaper 1w LED's but it has not been my experience with the 3w units.

If you are dealing with a fixture that is powerful enough to kill most of your stock due to running too much/too bright at first it kind of is the opposite of "dim/don't provide enough light" don't you think? does not seem to make much sense.

i think some people have said they perceived a switch to LED from halides to appear dimmer to the eye (which doesn't necessarily equate to the unit putting out less useable light).

Ahh, ok I can see that and have read similar comments but that is in relation to LED in general not just the Sol's which is what the OP was asking about.

Kind of like when we all started changing from regular light bulbs to the the spirals, our eyes percieved a change in the light and may have thought them more dim.

Yeah sorry I didn't quite know how to word what I was trying to explain. I was reading reviews about them and a few people were saying they don't put out alot of light marking your display very dark and dim. Compared to Halides? I guess it would mainly rely on your white / blue intensity balance.

Could also just be related to the optics and differences in how high people have their fixtures over the water level and not the actual light output.

What are you keeping in terms of corals and how deep is your tank.

I switched over to the Sols about 3-4 weeks ago from MHs. Really glad I did it. I started mine out at 30% and now up to 43%. I took some pics and they definetly look dim in pics but ther really are brighter in person. Having a little growth spurt and colors are looking better I'm amping up the intensity really slow and thats when I will start playing around with the blue colors. I have 4 of them over a 144G.

How much does each module cost?

hey,

I haven`t actually setup my tank yet, I am currently keeping nothing as I have many advanced fully planted tanks this will be my first SW Tank. I am currently building all the supplies needed to setup my tank as I have a few things on order and won`t be available until later in Novemeber. I am trying to decide to just buy 2 units as it will be only 350$ more expensive for the 2 prebuilt units and controller then flat out building a DIY with crees. Cleaner Neater and less of a headache for me.

I only have lighting to source out as I think i`m going with a vertex 100 or 180.

I plan to just start up as a fowlr anyways as it is my first SW tank I want to slowly get my feet wet as I get the hang of it and learn make a few mistakes I plan on adding some easy corals. I figure that I will plan so I don`t have to upgrade. If I have everything I need to begin with no need to upgrade later :)

Currently my tank is 36L by 18w by 24 h

So I guess they had a recent price drop to 399$ a unit but I found a website selling them for 349$

The controller is around 80$ and the hanging kit aroun 50$ I believe.

Saltynuts I believe is selling a 2 unit controller and hanging kit for 916$ I believe you might want to double check.

So far I'm extremely happy with my AI Sol Super blue unit. Ive had the tank running for around 2 months. Its a JBJ 28 with a single module over top, run using a profilux 3 controller. The main thing I really like is the ability to control all 3 channels (colors) independently of each other. Through out the day my tank rarely looks the same. Using the Profilux as the controller just simplifies controlling the lighting, as well as keeps everything more or less controlled by a single system that is controllable from anywhere in the world (well with internet access). I guess the best way to put it is when i set up my next tank in the new year I will be going LED, now whether that's an AI sol module which I know I like. OR the Ecotech Radion with its RGB colors, but I will wait and hear some others comments on this light fixture first.

I have had the AI Sol blue (2) over a 60 gallon controlled by a Profilux plus 2 for 6 months now. I really like them and the ability to control the 3 colours separately. My SPS and LPS and other softies are growing (I've never had metal halide so can't compare them). My only complaint is the height of the legs, I can't hang it as I am in an apartment so am working on another method to get it a few inches higher.

Hey I was looking through last night at different ways to mount them as I would be wanting to mount them lengthwise not side by side. If you google a search there is plenty of ways. I will be putting mine in a canopy I'm 90% sure i'm going to be ordering these now to just find a retailer near edmonton =\

We have run the AquaIllumination LED modules on our display and coral tank for nearly 1.5 years now. The results are amazing...excellent polyp extension and colors. Many get a charge of seeing the thunderstorm, the ability to adjust individual LED intensities, many timer settings and other features. We have not heard any negative response from our customers. They are fantastic!!!

Thanks alot for the reply.. Goes the same for everyone else. :mrgreen:

Can we get a couple of shots of the tank, please please please!

Video of tank on AI SOL Blue for 10 months

http://www.youtube.com/user/reefkeeper2?feature=mhee

Awsome looking tank in that video!

You will enjoy this one as well: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2029329

Bill

That thread is what triggered an obsessive SOL-hunt for me (until my wallet found out what I was up to).

really wondering where he got that "plastic rock frag shelf"

anyone have any ideas???

loved his tank btw

Yes, sometimes wallets don't have a lot of common sense when they are new or when they are old, and especially when they do not hold inside the desired purchasing power. :redface:

In time it will see that it isn't worth doubting the lights you had to purchase, instead of just buying the AI lighting you wanted in the first place. Thus leaving your confidence intact and allowing you to focus your energy and money on trouble shooting something else that could be going wrong with the money pit....err Aquarium.

:mrgreen:

The "Dim" Impression might also be because there is less 'spill' from LED compared to halide

Indeed! Another beautiful tank!

So any sol owners able to tell me how loud the fans are? I have 4 of them and have yet to hear nor see the fans turn on. Maybe I'm not runnin at a high enough intensity for them to get hot. Not hot to the touch either. On another note, my sump is in the basement and never had to plug in heaters with MH at all. I have to plug in now.

Mine are on pretty much all the time if not all the time. Cant hear them at all, but I can sure feel them when I'm by the fixture.

you could see in person at Red Coral, they have 5 modules over their display

holy sH*t you must have like $1200+++ just for lights!

Welcome to the reef hobby :)

$1200!?!? I must be getting ripped off... where can you find them for that price? lol

With hanging kit and rails add another $800 on to that. They are actualy one of the cheapest "good" LED fixtures out there right now.

Hmmmm...you running them at 100% or is there some kind of setting that i'm not seeing on the controller?

I am in the ai club. Just paid for 3 and waiting impatiently for there arrival. I am trying them on a 300 gallon dd with 3x250 4x80 t5ho in the rear and ais in front and if I like it I will have to purchase 3-6 more. 399 is the going price for them plus 12 percent hst unless you get it from the states. My main concern is to make sure it can grow sps and have them retain good coloration but I guess only time will tell. If not, it will be back to the sauna with the 400w mh lights again.

got an AI Sol over a year ago had to wait for it a while as they said it had to be made as they were backed up with orders.its been a great unit.great coral growth and looks great.controller has been glitchy once in a while usually after a power outage it would have to be re programmed and some times unplugged and plugged back in.i found one time it wouldn't turn on and all settings were good.for some reason when i adjusted the intensity it started working again. outher than that its been great.

Aquajeep, what kind of coral do u keep?

Has any other user experience the same problem by chance?

I think its more to do when Im home at my tank, Up to 80% now. But then again I just checked and the fans are running. RB at 8% and B at 5% with no W at the moment. No setting either, just how my module has been.