I now have had my two tanks up and running for a couple weeks. Each tank has five Sol Blue units over a 72"x24"x30" tank. The middle unit is turned parallel to front due to center overflow. The rock on each comes up about 15"-18" from the bottom of the tank.

Tank 1: Units have been converted to all 70 degree optics, sitting about 7" from the water surface.
Settings:
10am 45W 45B 45RB 180 min ramp
1pm 90W 90B 90RB 60 min ramp
4pm 45W 45B 45RB 60 min ramp
10pm 0W 3B 3RB 60 min ramp lunar cycle on

Tank 2: Same as above other than I have not gotten in the 70 degree optics in yet, so that tank has been operating as standard

Observations after two weeks with corals.
Tank 1 is going to be mainly SPS/Clams. Montipora Cap (bright Orange) has held color and looks great after two weeks. Acropora Plana, Formosa and Nobilis have only been in for a few days, but appear to be doing well. Will be watching closely to see if any signs of bleaching start. The Acros are around 12" below the water line, the exception being the Formosa which is a bit higher, but it was also the darkest, so any change will be more noticeable.

Tank 2 is going to be a Softie/LPS tank. Optics are standard as the additional 70 degree optics for these five units are on backorder. Frogspawn and Colt look better after two weeks than they looked when I brought them home. Added Toadstool, RBTA, Aussie Elegance, Meat, Rhodactis and a couple of Zoas last week and all are doing great. The one exception has been a green polyp leather that appeared to be sluffing off a coating under the standard set-up. I have moved it to the SPS tank under the all 70 degree optics and that has stopped and polyp extension has been very good. I put the RBTA's about 6"-8" above the sand on they have yet to move more than 3" from where they ariginally were placed. They open fully and appear "happy".

This has been a new tank set-up so I have not had to worry about acclimating the entire tank to a new lighting schema. That makes it quite a bit less complicated for me as I can worry more about how each piece is doing and move the individual piece accordingly.

We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for the sharing your experience. I've noticed that the 40 degree optics are quite intense. I started seeing signs of bleaching at 45% with SPS under the 40 degree optics (lights 10" above water, SPS ~20" under the light). I plan to switch to 70 degree optics once they're made available.

Awesome. Just what i needed to know. Thanks!

hmello@bermexin I was thinking about getting an AI light, still debating on the AI nano, or 12" though. I know this sounds like a silly question, but I would like to try to fit an AI light inside the stock hood of a 29 gallon biocube, do you think this can be done, or do you not get enough spread that close to the water? I have a reef keeper lite and I would like to control the AI unit and keep the "sleeper" look on the tank. Your mounting bracket and light look great on your tank btw! :thumbsup:

1) Type of unit - AI Sol Blue
2) Tank dimensions - 3 x 1.5 x 1.8 (feet)
3) Number of units - 2
4) Optics in unit - standard
5) Height of units above water - 5" (standard legs)
Still figuring out how to increase the height; worst case hang on the wall.
6) Detailed settings - see below
7) Experience - less than a month

Here are the settings.
04:30 pm = W 45%; B 30%; RB 20%
Ramp up time 10 minutes.

8:00 pm = B 40%; RB 40%
Ramp up time 10 minutes.

11:00 pm = RB 50%
Ramp up time 5 minutes.

11:30 pm = W 0%
Ramp up time 2 minutes.

12:30 am = B 0%;
Ramp up time 2 minutes.

01:30 am = RB 0%;
Ramp up time 2 minutes.

I wonder my photo period is ok or not;
because I prefer to have the light from late afternoon onwards;
so when I am back home I can enjoy the tank.
Any comment?

Thanks!

We could sure use more settings and result reports from folks that have at least 3 months experience with their AI's up and running.

No you won't get enough spread IMO.

Lets bump this up for some of the AI owners who may have some questions.

Update to settings
 

Here is an update from the numbers below:
At this time I've been able to successfully increase the settings to
6:45AM ramp to 45/55/55
6:45PM ramp to 5/50/50 over 210"
9:30PM ramp to 0/1/1 over 30"
Height of lights over water is now 9 inches.

This is working very well. I had increased the AM ramp to 55/65/65 BUT found that one of my corals had started to show slight signs of bleaching - immediately dropped the values back to 45/55/55 and the bleaching has halted. Thus this looks like the optimal for my tank at this time.

I have two AI SOL Blue units 12 inches above the water line, I have had them for a few weeks and I'm starting to add SPS to my tank. Does any body have settings with their highest intensity?

Right now at my afternoon setting my intensity is 65%w 75B 75RB.

I want to make sure I'm not under lighting my corals or overlighting them.

Well, there is more to it than just intensity. Placement means a lot as well, especially if you are using the standard optics. The best thing to do is watch your corals. Certain corals may do well under more intense lighting. My current settings have a max of 60% across the spectrum, but only for a couple hours. My lights are a good 8"-10" above the water and my tank is 30" deep. I am also running all 70* optics. I have had no problem with bleaching or color loss. I have a Formosa Maricultured piece about 8" below the water line that has shown visable growth in the three weeks I have had it as well as a color shift from more brown/dark to more of a dark purple. the tips are a purple blue. I also have a wild Nobilis at about the same level that was a very light blueish gray with blue tips to very bright sky blue tips that have the color extending down the tips further. It has grown about 1/4" in the three weeks on all tips. I also have a wild pink Mille that came in lighter on one side. It has only been in the tank a week, probaby 6" from the surface and really has not changed, great polyp extension though. I also added 25-30 frags from other reefers at 6" above the sand to 6" below the water surface and I have seen no real negative reactions.

The growth has been somewhat surprising, especially given the lower intensity I am using right now. I really do not see changing the intesity unless I see some reason to.

Oh well, very verbose response to say, watch your corals.

this is a great thread! i've gotten just about all the info I wanted on these Sols prior to purchase in one spot. great info VegasMike too...it's very helpful.

My new tank is coming in about a month so I'll be making a move to these around that time. this is my plan.

1) Type of unit - AI Sol Blue (based on what I've seen I kinda wish there was something in between the White and Blue, but it sounds like the Blue are what everyone who knows wants...)
2) Tank dimensions - 48" x 24" x 30" (150H)
3) Number of units - 4
4) Optics in unit - standard?
5) Height of units above water - will hang...hopefully at 12" so i can work under them.
6) Detailed settings - n/a at this point...this thread is helping me plan though!
7) Experience - none with LED - 7yrs T5

It would be great to know how people are experiencing these between the AI controller and the Apex. Does anyone have experience with both? Suggestions? I'm about 90% sure I'm going to get the Apex along with the Sols, but want to make that's a good move since the total cost could get me to St. Thomas for a week or two!

The AI controller is worth every penny. It makes adjusting the intensity and programming the light cycles so easy. What's another $70 bux when you're already dropping a few grand on the units :P

I actually like the AI Controller, other than the knob. I wish it were all push button, but it works great nonetheless.

Do you guys run controllers at all? If so, you would prefer to control the lights independently of the rest of the tank with something like an Apex?

Certainly right about the extra $70 isn't much at this point! I'm just wondering if it's a complete waste if I already have an Apex. thanks!

where did you guys buy your Sols? It doesn't look like you can get any deals on them anywhere...but curious about best supplier for speed of shipping...good service, issue resolution, etc.

I was VERY happy with the service from George at Reef Geek

I just finished installing 2 SOL Blues over one 40B, and one SOL Blue parallel to the length of the tank over another 40B. Both installs have the fixtures about 14 inches from the surface of the water. Initially I have them set for:

8:30AM W5, B20, RB20, Ramp 30min
11:00AM W25, B30, RB30, Ramp 30min
3:00PM W5, B20, RB30, Ramp 30min
6PM W0, B0, RB0, Ramp 30min

I really like the colors of the fixture and the color of the corals.

Definitely George is a great customer service person.

He is the man!

I am still very confused on what I should do when I turn on my AI SOL Blue this weekend.

The tank is a 60G cube. Its a single AI SOL. I am guessing since its got the 40 degree optics that I would need to get the light ~ 18 inches above the water to get good coverage in the tank. I asked AI about the 70 degree optics and they said I could purchase them but it would void my warranty if I changed the optics.

So is 18 inches high correct or am I going to light up the whole room?

Current corals that I am moving to the new tank are mostly Zoas and some LPS for now. I am planning on SPS once the tank is stable after the upgrade.

What should I do to start this off?

Thanks

I had not heard this before.

I am having an issue with my lights. I thought I programmed the lights to get somewhat near how my buddy had his prior to the settings being erased. Here is is his graph first off:
[IMG]http://i55.*******.com/2gy0chs.jpg[/IMG]
Now, last night I went out into the kitchen around 11:30 and my lights were still on. The blues were only supposed to be on. This morning I walked out getting ready to leave and I notice my whites are on 50% and my blues are 3%. ***? Here are my settings. I didn't have time to play with it due to me running late already.

T1 12:00 am
W- 0%
B- 5%
R- 5%
ramp- 240 mins

T2 4:01 am
W- 0%
B- 5%
R- 5%
ramp- 240 mins

T3 8:01 am
W- 50%
B- 70%
R- 70%
ramp- 100 mins

T4 9:41 am
W- 60%
B- 80%
R- 80%
ramp- 240 mins

T5 1:01 pm
W- 70%
B- 85%
R- 85%
ramp- 240 mins

T6 5:01 pm
W- 40%
B- 75%
R- 75%
ramp- 120 mins

T7 7:01 pm
W- 0%
B- 50%
R- 60%
ramp- 150 mins

T8 9:31 pm
W- 0%
B- 30%
R- 30%
ramp- 240 mins

I have an Apex but still went with the Apex. If something went wrong, I would only need to contact AI rather than having to figure out if it's an issue with AI or Neptune.

Socal Tropical Fish in Fullerton, CA you can get their site from google. It's a very popular LFS here in Socal which killer pricing. They probably have some in stock.

T1 12:00 am
W- 0%
B- 5%
R- 5%
ramp- 240 mins

T2 8:01 am
W- 50%
B- 70%
R- 70%
ramp- 100 mins

T3 9:41 am
W- 60%
B- 80%
R- 80%
ramp- 200 mins

T4 1:01 pm
W- 70%
B- 85%
R- 85%
ramp- 240 mins

T5 5:01 pm
W- 40%
B- 75%
R- 75%
ramp- 120 mins

T6 7:01 pm
W- 0%
B- 50%
R- 60%
ramp- 150 mins

T7 9:31 pm
W- 0%
B- 30%
R- 30%
ramp- 150 mins

A local friend and I figured out a math problem I had. LOL that's what it should be. I'll make the changes tonight.