OMG I'm trying $OLARI$...

[Joe Reefer]

Cool, when do you expect it?

[Midknight]

Just tagging along... if you don't mind.

[Sushiman]

Well guys I'm going to be the lab rat! I understand that the units are backordered but I'll talk with J&L today & find out /make the order.
I am moving to my new home at the end of the month so tear down of the current FOWLR is the priority. I'll go pic intense on both the lighting & aquascaping for everybody not to worry.
The new set up will be a deep-water community (south pacific) so Softies, LPS, filter feeders & a decent fishload is the rough plan. I will try some SPS & clams, although they will not be the main focus of this system (SPS tanks are great, but I'm a sucker for so-called "soft" corals).
I want this set-up to be low maintenance & quite frankly stunning to look at. I'll be utilizing aquascaping techniques found in Reef Aquarium Vol III using eggcrate & black expanding pond foam + live rock on PVC frames so it should be pretty cool. I'm also going to try to camo necessary equipment (this tank is not drilled!) so the scape' should be a fun challenge.

[RicePaddy]

I am very interested in what you find out about this new technology "Solaris". I have been told that J&L do not keep these lights in stock and order from the MFG on a per customer basis.

These lights would solve the heat and space issues I would have on my tank if I used a PC Halide system.

I cannot wait for your future posts.

Will

[kwirky]

I'm a sucker for softies/LPS too

for those interested, advanced aquarist has a good review of the 14" solaris fixture here, comparing it to a single MH bulb:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review2

here's a chart showing it's output, comparing it to an xm 250W 20000k bulb (a very good 20000k bulb that outputs better than most 13-15000k's)

[niloc16]

this is going to be a good thread. i'm dying to see someones tank with this lighting on it.

[Farrmanchu]

I wanna see what all the different dusk/dawn and whatnot options look like! And of course, follow the growth, that's the deciding factor.

[StirCrazy]

Ok talk a real hard look at that picture below.. it doen't put out anywhere near the amount a MH would BUT of what it does put out 87% is in the PUR range compared to the 78% of usable light the MH puts out..

Now to put this into proper perspective If the solaris puts out 100 units of light, 87% will be in the PUR range or 87 units of light. Where if the MH puts out 600 units of light 78% will be in the PUR range or 468 units.

no where in that graph does it say how much light is put out, only how much of the output is usable.. it is a very nice marketing ploy though..

Steve

Originally Posted by kwirky

I'm a sucker for softies/LPS too

for those interested, advanced aquarist has a good review of the 14" solaris fixture here, comparing it to a single MH bulb:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review2

here's a chart showing it's output, comparing it to an xm 250W 20000k bulb (a very good 20000k bulb that outputs better than most 13-15000k's)

[Skimmer Juice]

I got a pretty nice euro reef, i just need a good light.

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

Now to put this into proper perspective If the solaris puts out 100 units of light, 87% will be in the PUR range or 87 units of light. Where if the MH puts out 600 units of light 78% will be in the PUR range or 468 units.

no where in that graph does it say how much light is put out, only how much of the output is usable.. it is a very nice marketing ploy though..

Doesn't this quote from that link address the PAR issue?

"Using the data shown in Figures 2 and 4, plus standardized surface area, the 75-watt Solaris produced 89.4% of the PAR generated by the 250-watt XM 20,000K lamp.

This equates to totalized PAR (µmol·sec) over a normalized surface area of 113 µmol·sec per watt for the Solaris, and 38 µmol·m²·sec per watt for the metal halide lamp."

It sounds to me like the 75w Solaris produces more PAR per watt, but less PAR in total. But not substantially less... 89.4% of the MH PAR.