[PzReefer]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

I'm very interested in the technology, however reading threads on Reef Central and elsewhere, the Solaris has some pretty serious sounding quality control issues as it is made in China. A North American built competitor would be the Aqua-Illumination fixture, but I haven't read any review on this unit yet. Hopefully they don't have the same build issues.

If you read all the threads on RC, you will find that the efficiency claims being made are greatly exaggerated. The units DO use less power than my 250watt MH/54watt T5 fixture, however they also put out less light. The Solaris lovers all say that their corals are doing just fine with the less light which brings up the question of whether we've over-estimated the light needs of our photosynthetic friends. However the Solaris haters are very quick to point out that despite all the talk and claims, there are very few growth pic's of sps corals to back up all the talk.

Personally, the only advantage I see right now is the controllability and having all the features in one single package. BUT for the price they're asking, I could buy a Dimmable MH ballast, Dimmable T-5's and a controller like the profilux to run them all. I think I'll end up with one eventually, but I'm going to wait a few years and let the technology and competition mature.

Friends in the lighting industry also state many off these LED issues as well.
However, I love the built in timers and controllability of the Solaris. I also can see MH/Led units in future too, using 6500K -10000K for growth and dimmable LED from 0-20000K for colour.

PS: IMO dimmable MH ballasts, although cool, are expensive and reduce bulb life up to 40%.