fab August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 I ran across an ad in FAMA for the newly available Solaris LED illumination system and am looking for anyone who has knowledge about them. I am planning a new setup and would like to consider this lighting approach if I can find someone to validate its spectral and PAR effectiveness for a reef tank. This LED system 25 LED lamp arrays and is reported to have equivalent light output to 250w Metal Hallides, but with far less power consumption. The company indicates they have a 400w equivalent capability on the books. Their claims are that the lamps dump no heat into the aquarium and run at about half the power consumption (recurring power cost) of metal hallides. If all this is true and the spectral and Par performances are right, then I'm probably going to spring for them, even though they are somewhat expensive up front. Any knowlegeable words will be greatly appreciated as I need some independent support in this major decision. Thanks, fab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 I had also done some reading on these light, but decided to go with a T5 system instead. The LED lights are waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy out of my budget right now. take a look. http://www.solarisled.com/Products/tabid/56/Default.aspx It would add up though considering the bulbs are supposedly good for 50000 hours! I wonder if the Par level stays the same though? The light power is fully adjustable, being able to gradually dim or increase the level of light. That would be awesome, complete natural photoperiod. Can't wait this these things are affordable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fab August 10, 2006 Author Share August 10, 2006 I am also told that you can 'tune' the light system to your prefered 'max output' color temperature. This is done when you buy it by specifiying more blue LEDs or less to adjust the system between 6500K and 20000K. I'll probably order a set up near 12000K, if I buy these. Further, the photoperiod controller is built in for daylight and moonlight, including moonlight control with a lunar month's night-by-night photoperiod control. It looks to me that, for a new setup, there is a number of items you wouldn't have to buy if I use this lighting system; for example, light controller and chiller. Also because of the way the lights are positioned in their mounts you don't see the direct light, so it could eliminate the requirement for a hood. At least it would simplify the hood a lot. My concern is the end result of the lighting; i.e., its quality. That is what has me stymied so far. I don't have any independent insight into this performance issue. fab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEEPBLUE August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 I'm planning on changing from my MH and VHO to an LED setup soon, It maybe more expensive, but the cost of bulbs, chiller, and the growing electric bills will save you alot in the long run. I heard that Tunzee is coming out with an LED setup, so I'm going to wait to see. I've also read that you can set them for month cycles with overcast, rainy, and partly cloudy days too. And also the moon light for cresent to full moon settings too. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzekunoi August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 I'm sure this light will be the light of choice in the future. AND it will go down in price when more companies start making them. I'll start saving $$$$ to buy one of those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 thats all good and everything but i am sure the led bulbs are expensive to replace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 Actually led bulbs are not very expensive at all... The only problem may be how to replace them. Most leds are soldered into place... which may make bulb replacement a PITA Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 Actually led bulbs are not very expensive at all... The only problem may be how to replace them. Most leds are soldered into place... which may make bulb replacement a PITA Dave the ones on these lights look like a plug in or screw on type which i think would be expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 Ahhh I went to the link... You are correct... basically there are multiple leds soldered into each one of the "bulbs" so to replace a bulb you are replacing multiple leds... still they are not all that expensive... but probably right now more expensive to replace say 1/8 of your bulbs than replace 1/8 of an 8 bulb t5 setup. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 But how frequent would replacement occur? LEDs have a very high MTBF - last time one you have went out? (cars, electronics, etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 Ohh I agree, but they do go out (especially around water )... They are not going to be the everylasting gobstopper of lights... But they will not have to be replaced near as often as flourscents and/or MH. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 saw this light at IMAC. was interesting, but they have switched the setup now to higher output leds and one led per tube . the MH it was next to at imac had a standard reflector but nothing really crazy. and the tank was an acrylic 12 inch deep frag tank, so not realyl a good representation of the penetration power. it was a very nice light, but just too many questions abound at this point for me. also to build it the way they did originally, with clusters of leds in one screw on cap, the leds along for a 48" fixture were 400 bucks. i did some DIY pricing to see what could be done against that 1500 dollar price tag :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEEPBLUE August 10, 2006 Share August 10, 2006 Most LED light out in the industry now, even the cheap one are good for at least 50,000 hour, so even if you had the lights on for 18 hours aday, you would still get 7.6 years out of them and MH are good for what 6 to 12 month max and VHO's about the same. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fab August 11, 2006 Author Share August 11, 2006 A guy named Patrick (I think he is the president) at the Solaris LED lighting factory said that they got a lot of reaction and valuable feedback at IMAC so they went back to the drawing board, delayed release to the public and did an absolutely major re-engineering of the design, then they released it for sale to the public. His remarks are that many good recommendations from aquarists have now been incorporated into the product and that more will be incorporated over time. I know that the advertised MTBF is 50,000 hours but I haven't gotten any info on how the spectrum and PAR behave over time. Anyone with insight on these issues? fab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager August 11, 2006 Share August 11, 2006 A guy named Patrick (I think he is the president) at the Solaris LED lighting factory said that they got a lot of reaction and valuable feedback at IMAC so they went back to the drawing board, delayed release to the public and did an absolutely major re-engineering of the design, then they released it for sale to the public. His remarks are that many good recommendations from aquarists have now been incorporated into the product and that more will be incorporated over time. I know that the advertised MTBF is 50,000 hours but I haven't gotten any info on how the spectrum and PAR behave over time. Anyone with insight on these issues? fab best i can do without owning the particular light itself is to link you to the leds they are using. very nice leds, but very expensive and not easy to get http://www.solarisled.com/FAQTechnical/5MM...60/Default.aspx is the led they are using http://www.lumileds.com/ is the phillips site. the leds are the real deal, incredible power, but they do not list any PAR values. hence my reluctance to try them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fab August 12, 2006 Author Share August 12, 2006 Now I found out that the effective beam width of the 'lamps' is about 45 degrees. A lamp is a set of 25 LEDs, 5 rows of 5 each, forming a square. The light coverage at 12 inches from the bulbs is about a 12"x12" square. At 24" from the bulb the coverage is about 24"x24" square and so forth. Still no info on the spectrum or PAR. I also found out that Dana Riddle will publish an article on the performance of these lights in Advanced Aquarist, the on-line magazine, that will appear on 15th August in the upcoming August edition. There should be some technical spectral info in that article. fab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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