AquaIllumination PAR Measurements

[gatorrx98]

I currently have the stock optics. I want to see if I have any spot lighting with the 40 degree optics. I've been told by several people with AI's that if you have them 15-17" above the water line that the optics may not need to be changed. Another RC member has had 3 AI's over his 180 mixed reef and says that he is actually seeing better growth with the LED's, including his SPS. The AI website has a chart that tells you how many to by based on dimensions and height off of the water. The chart recommends only 3 for a 72" wide tank. George at ReefGeek made the same recommendation. I'll know a heck of a lot more tomorrow.

[jdg]

Originally Posted by gatorrx98

I currently have the stock optics. I want to see if I have any spot lighting with the 40 degree optics. I've been told by several people with AI's that if you have them 15-17" above the water line that the optics may not need to be changed. Another RC member has had 3 AI's over his 180 mixed reef and says that he is actually seeing better growth with the LED's, including his SPS. The AI website has a chart that tells you how many to by based on dimensions and height off of the water. The chart recommends only 3 for a 72" wide tank. George at ReefGeek made the same recommendation. I'll know a heck of a lot more tomorrow.

Good Luck! Keep us posted! Looking forward to some full tank shots!

[125mph]

Hi, I'm new to this thread.. I don't have 6 hours to read all the posts.. What's the most important thing, summary anyone?

[moliken]

i dunno; might be a bit underlit. i am using 3 on my 75, which is 4 feet long, and the AI's are 12 " above the water. looks great.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by moliken

i dunno; might be a bit underlit. i am using 3 on my 75, which is 4 feet long, and the AI's are 12 " above the water. looks great.

I would agree that he might be underlit. I have seven on my 8 foot tank.

[watsonj]

Originally Posted by gatorrx98

After months of research (meaning reading all 77 pages of this thread) and waiting I will be hanging my 3 AI Sol Super Blues over my 180. I am hanging them side to side on a self fabricated bracket. Hopefully I will see the enhanced appearance, growth and decreased power bill that other AI owners seem to really appreciate.

Thanks for all of the advice!

You might find yourself adding two more in the next few months. You never know though so keep us updated on the progress with this setup

[jrsevy]

Originally Posted by snorvich

I would agree that he might be underlit. I have seven on my 8 foot tank.

I went for 4 sol blues on my 48x24x29 tank in a canopy 8" above the water. I have plenty of spread and will stay with the stock optics.

Only the 2nd day, coming from a Coralvue 6x54W T5 with 4 ATI Actnitic and 2Aquablue Special tubes. The colors and detail pop now. I can see ridges on the elephant ears that weren't apparent before. Maxing out for 4 hours at 40W 45B 45RB. Watching for my ricordeas for bleaching/fading but they seem to spreading out more and are more colorful.

[gatorrx98]

So far, I'd say that I agree that it may be a bit underlit. I definitely don't have the same par readings as the 250 radiums were providing. I even notice that our house didn't have the same light blue glow as we came home this evening. I'm running the lights about 15" over the water (initially was at 17" above the water, but the par was too low). I'm just not seeing the great par readings that everyone commented about. I did ask several RC members that were running only 3 on 6' long tanks and they seemed to be getting along just fine. For now I may need to rely on carefully placing my SPS in the higher par areas. I've got the lights at 90%w90%B74%RB and the par reading are just at 300 at 8-9" of depth directly beneath the lights. Do you think that I should reconsider the orientation of the lights? I have them mounted parallel to the front of the tank, rather than front to back.
I'd appreciate any advice, although I'm afraid the advice will be to by more lights. The only way I could add more, is to add 3 more. I'm not sure 1 or 2 would do too much good.

On the positive side, they've been running at full power since 1 and only a 0.3 degree increase w/o the chiller.

[stevedola]

Originally Posted by luibove

I'm using a sol blue on my 24" x 24" cube, & that's with the 70 deg lens I think the nano won,t provide enough light.

and the 1 sol blue with the optics is enough in your opinion? I have a 2ft cube also and wondered if 1 unit was enough for my sps and clams. how far do you have it off the waters edge?

[moliken]

gator, the orientation shouldn't affect the par. the spacing and alignment should depend on the aquascaping. the lights are too high up, which is necessary b/c there are too few for 6 ' tank. like i saiid above i have 3 on my 4'tank. my par ratings are 150 at the sand bed 21" below water level and 900 just under the surface. sorry, but if you want the AI you will need at least another module. not that it'll make much diff, but why not run the lights at full power. btw, i have only 1-2sps.

[gatorrx98]

I think I may lower the lights to 12/5" off the water for improved par and consider change to 70 degree optics to see if that get's me where I want to be. I would really like to upgrade to a 300 gallon and at that point consider my lighting options. Not sure yet. I do appreciate the feedback.

I guess what made me wonder if something were wrong is that the par directly under the lights should be strong regardless of how many I have. It's just not as high as I've been reading. I was more concerned with burning everything than not having enough light under the modules.

[jdg]

Originally Posted by gatorrx98

I think I may lower the lights to 12/5" off the water for improved par and consider change to 70 degree optics to see if that get's me where I want to be. I would really like to upgrade to a 300 gallon and at that point consider my lighting options. Not sure yet. I do appreciate the feedback.

I guess what made me wonder if something were wrong is that the par directly under the lights should be strong regardless of how many I have. It's just not as high as I've been reading. I was more concerned with burning everything than not having enough light under the modules.

Did you try changing the orientation of the lights so they hang perpendicular? If you do that and things are still low, at least you could add a unit at a time (simply decreasing the spacing between units) until you achieve the performance you are looking for. Because you're using the standard optics, you should have higher PAR at the centers of the units, front to back. Hanging perpendicular would give you stronger PAR at the center of the units side to side (essentially, the middle and typically higher rockscaped areas of the tank). At 12" height of suspension, you might be able to get all you need with 3.

[gatorrx98]

Originally Posted by jdg

Did you try changing the orientation of the lights so they hang perpendicular? If you do that and things are still low, at least you could add a unit at a time (simply decreasing the spacing between units) until you achieve the performance you are looking for. Because you're using the standard optics, you should have higher PAR at the centers of the units, front to back. Hanging perpendicular would give you stronger PAR at the center of the units side to side (essentially, the middle and typically higher rockscaped areas of the tank). At 12" height of suspension, you might be able to get all you need with 3.

I may play with changing the orienation. I'm not sure that it will change things too much due to the fact that the par directly beneath the lights wasn't overly great. As you said, It would be much easier to ad additional modules if needed. Now I've got this crazy thought of looking for a 300 gallon tank. If I made the switch, I could simply buy 3 more and add an additional row in the same orientation as my current setup in front of this set-up. I still haven't ramped them up to 100%, so I may just borrow the par meter once again to test a 100% setting.

My biggest concern was that others had such great par readings, so I thought something may be wrong with mine. The contoller cord slightly moves in the port and when it does, the light on the contol panel flickers. I thought that something may be wrong with the controller. I may open a support ticket to find out if something is wrong with the controller. Where I have it mounted, the cable is very stationary, but it really shouldn't flicker when moved.

Thanks again for the advice.

[NanoKeepr]

I've read and kept up with the thread, but don't remember this asked before - can I program the AI controller without having it hooked up the the Sol fixture(s)? I would think so, but felt safer asking.

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by NanoKeepr

I've read and kept up with the thread, but don't remember this asked before - can I program the AI controller without having it hooked up the the Sol fixture(s)? I would think so, but felt safer asking.

Unfortunately no. The controller is power via the connection to the fixture. I'm not sure if it would be possible to rig an alternative power source, or if it would work without the controller being able to communicate with the AI fixture.

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by 125mph

Hi, I'm new to this thread.. I don't have 6 hours to read all the posts.. What's the most important thing, summary anyone?

Sorry 125mph - that would be cheating

We all had to suffer through it - Get busy, you've only got 1941 posts to contend with at present - it will only grow longer

[TonyV]

Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest

Unfortunately no. The controller is power via the connection to the fixture. I'm not sure if it would be possible to rig an alternative power source, or if it would work without the controller being able to communicate with the AI fixture.

Actually you can the same way you do a firmware upgrade. You will just need a USB cord and a PC and viola! I've had my controller much longer than my AI Sol Blue units. I programed it and updated it to the latest firmware running on my desk at work to familiarize myself with it.

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by TonyV

Actually you can the same way you do a firmware upgrade. You will just need a USB cord and a PC and viola! I've had my controller much longer than my AI Sol Blue units. I programed it and updated it to the latest firmware running on my desk at work to familiarize myself with it.

Wow - Great to know. I didn't think you could program it while it was attached via USB.

See, I had to ready 1942 posts to learn that - And I started the thread

[TonyV]

Calm - you are my mentor in the world of AI. I appreciate all the measurements and guidance you gave us. Your work was the reason I chose AI of MaxSpect.

[stevedola]

Originally Posted by stevedola

and the 1 sol blue with the optics is enough in your opinion? I have a 2ft cube also and wondered if 1 unit was enough for my sps and clams. how far do you have it off the waters edge?

Luibove? response?

[NanoKeepr]

Thanks for the answers on programming the controller. I've got a new unit here, but have only been able to find the time to put the rails together.

[seagull18]

I just installed 4 Sol blues on my 48x24x24 tank, 8" above the water. Right now I feel I have enough spread with the stock options. However I can still go higher to get more spread if I feel it's necessary. With my limited experience, it's hard for me to believe you can get away with 3 over a 6' tank, especially if the tank is over 18" wide. I suppose you might be able to get away with 3 if everything in the tank is placed in the middle, not close to any of the sides and the units are placed high above the water line. I have had these units for only a few days, therefore my comments are based upon my initial reaction and not long term experience.

[djkms]

3 units work just fine over a 6ft tank. I have 3 SOL Blues over my 125 mounted sideways 14" from the water line with all 40 degree optics. Keeping LPS, SPS, softies, macros. No "special" placement of corals because of light limitations.

[snorvich]

I just installed my Sol Blue with a Profilux controller and the PC software only shows me 2 channels rather than 3 channels. Any ideas?

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by snorvich

I just installed my Sol Blue with a Profilux controller and the PC software only shows me 2 channels rather than 3 channels. Any ideas?

I'm sorry, as an Apex user, I'm not that familiar with the Profilux. I know the ability to control the 3rd channel (Royal Blues) was a recent AI firmware update. Apex just released an update to support it. It's possible that an update might be required for Profilux as well.

Hopefully another Profilux user will chime in.