AI Sol Review

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

Hey this thread died.

That's why I like you Bill, you're a cheeky f'er!! lol

I will finish off my assessment of AI's shortly

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by mark

there's a AI Sol success stories thread on RC and picture below got my attention, (3 Sols on a 180g for 5 years)

I'm surprised at the 3 units on a 180, I really needed 6 to give me what I wanted. I'd also say mine was a success story, just not successful enough. I'll type up my closing thoughts on my LED experience later today.

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

That's why I like you Bill, you're a cheeky f'er!! lol

I will finish off my assessment of AI's shortly

Haha. Sorry just stumbled upon this thread while searching tank transfers.
Hey at least i've been behaving lately

[Aquattro]

Well, it is due an update. Now at the end of using these, I have to say my initial review is still pretty accurate. I think these are great lights at their price point, and better than some at higher. Overall, they did a really good job of growing my SPS and keeping most of the colors I had with MH. They did still require a chiller on my setup, but no biggie, I had the chiller inline anyways.
I think, for a 6 foot tank, I might choose differently now, with T5/LED hybrids hitting the market. OR, with the new radion, coverage might be better with less units. Probably still comparable total cost though. For smaller tanks on a budget, I think these are still a contender. I have a 22" frag tank, one does not cover the sides enough. For a 2x2 area, with SPS anyway, you should have 2 units. I've seen less, but for me, I wanted the same intensity as MH. 2 units gave me that.
The coverage and penetration of them is great, color rendition to the eye is pleasing, and the control via my Apex was easy. I do enjoy the ramping effects, which I'll miss with my new light, but I'm trying to find a way around that.
In closing, if you're looking for a decent LED at an affordable price, I'd have no problem recommending these. Especially now with the market flooding, they're much cheaper than the 399 new price last year. Yes, the newer offerings are reported to be better, but they are more expensive. One thing to consider with LED technology, what is great today will be old news in a year. Return on investment when selling is not good

[Madreefer]

I'd have to agree with you. But all of us that do run them obviously are not 100% happy with them as we are all trying to supplement them with something else to get the right coloring. Rich's tank for example, he's got T5s on there as well. He probably has one of the nicest tanks around too. I'm no where near the caliber of his tank but I swapped out 2 of my Sols for the Hydras and wow what a difference. Color is way better. Only thing I dont like about the Hydras is that you can not change out the pucks like the Vegas. I've seen the Vegas and IMO the Hydras look alot better. I always wondered what this "disco effect" was until I seen a Vega. The new controllor is way better than the original as well.

[waynemah]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

Only thing I dont like about the Hydras is that you can not change out the pucks like the Vegas.

The pucks are really easy to remove I'm pretty sure if you wanted to change a color or two, you could just buy the led and solder it up yourself.