AquaIllumination PAR Measurements

[MelloW33]

I've been running 3 modules over my 48x30x24 tank for 3 months now. I am very pleased with the lights. Once my tank hits the 6 month mark, I'll start adding more and more SPS corals so I'll be able to really tell how they perform then. My zoanthids and LPS corals look great under them and I'm getting some great re-growth on my dragon soul favia.

[Halfmoon61]

Very close to my setup, may I ask what settings you have your lights running at? I have three over a 48L x 31W x 25H, 90% both blue and 60% white for 8 hours and don't seem to have a lot of growth.

[meshwheel]

Hi guys
Thinking about trying out one AI unit over a 36 inch bow front. Do you think I could get by with one unit for SPS??? If the sides are a bit dimmed it's no problem.
Also, do you think they will be coming out with magenta led's to add to the unit in the future? I really like a bit of that color added to the spectrum.
My bowfront is 36 by 30 tall. It's going to look great!

Thanks!

[magnoliarichj]

Originally Posted by thegrun

I did something similar:




I used 4 pieces of 14 gauge sheet metal spot welded together and then welded an EMT coupler to it. I drilled a hole in the EMT and ran the wires down inside the conduit.

[MelloW33]

Originally Posted by Halfmoon61

Very close to my setup, may I ask what settings you have your lights running at? I have three over a 48L x 31W x 25H, 90% both blue and 60% white for 8 hours and don't seem to have a lot of growth.

I'm only ramping up to 50/50/50 at the peak of the cycle.

[SoLiD]

I finally bought an Apogee MQ-200 PAR Meter from Aquarium Specialty to see what my current Power Compact lights are putting out Versus My 3 New Aqua Illuminations SOL Blue modules with stock 40/70 Lenses. I can't wait to finally get some numbers behind everything.

[AJT]

15 out of 20 AI's installed on my 748 gallon.

[pmrossetti]

that takes the cake!!!!

awesome.

[pecan2phat]

wow-za!

[Hagisan]

Incredible AJT! Love the tank. I'd like to see a pic with them all on at 80-100%.

@SoLiD - Looking forward to see the numbers. I still need to borrow the club's meter and get my tank's numbers.

[wes42079]

This is one amazing thread. I'll be following along for the ride.

[roberto_lopes]

Wow, 20 ! And the people think that my 12 is much for my 390GAL SPS tank ....

Nice mounting you got there.

Just a little tip. Place coolers on your cover because they will be very very hot . If the fixture gets so hot, the efficiency will be dropped to 50% for safety.

Mine's are sky open so I don't have this problem. Running for about 8 months now.

[thegrun]

Originally Posted by magnoliarichj

What tank is this?

It's a CAD Lights Artisian Series 50 gallon tank (and DIY stand and light support) The tank is 24" x 24" x 20" high.

[larryfl1]

i have a 350 gallon with 8 sol blue units... 26 inches deep and units about 8-10 inches above water

i have 70 degree optics all around

tank is mixed with lps and sps...

my acans are not doing too well and the open brains on the bottom seem ****ed..i think too much light..

what would be the optimal % to run the units at?

thanks

Larry

[SoLiD]

OK Larry, these are some points to sum up a some of the things I gathered over the last year in regard to the AI SOL LED lights.

1.) Acclimation is the best line of defense for coral bleaching. PAR is not something that we can measure with the human eye. If you don't have access to a par meter, it will just be a guessing game to determine what PAR your corals are accustomed to receiving. The differences in PAR between the new SOL LEDs versus your previous light setup might negatively effect your coral to the point of no return.

2.) 70 degree optics are best reserved for shallow tanks as they do not have the penetrating power to go beyond 16 inches very well. The stock 40/70 degree optics work well up to about 24 inches and anything beyond 24 inches of depth, all 40 degree optics are the best fit.

[SoLiD]

Sorry.... First Double Post Ever

[barnnns1]

ok this is probly a stupid ? but if the ai sol is so powerfull that the majority of people cant use them at full power then is there a better option.or is it just cause the controls are so good that makes them the best option

[thegrun]

Originally Posted by barnnns1

ok this is probly a stupid ? but if the ai sol is so powerfull that the majority of people cant use them at full power then is there a better option.or is it just cause the controls are so good that makes them the best option

The savings of reducing the light output by say 20% would be minimal (the cost of the actual LED emitter is only a few dollars) and it would restrict the fixture's ability to penetrate deep tanks.

[acropora1981]

Many thanks to all the contributers for this thread; I just got my AI Sol Blue & Controller today, still playing with it 5 hrs later

I have a question, probably a stupid one, but here it is: Does the unit actually use less electricity when putting out less than 100% brightness? Like if I run them at 40% W/B/RB will I only be using 72 x 0.4 = 28.8 Watts ? Or does the fixture always use 72 watts but just changes the brightness?

I'm hoping not to fry my sps...Ive got the unit at 40W/35B/35RB around 12" at its peak 12" above the surface of a 28 JBJ nano, and its replacing a 250W Phoenix 14K in a LumenMax 3 DE pendant at approx. the same height.

[heckeng]

Yes, you are correct that by reducing light output, you are also reducing the power consumption. Cool huh

[stpatrick]

Originally Posted by SoLiD

I finally bought an Apogee MQ-200 PAR Meter from Aquarium Specialty to see what my current Power Compact lights are putting out Versus My 3 New Aqua Illuminations SOL Blue modules with stock 40/70 Lenses. I can't wait to finally get some numbers behind everything.

Hi David. Did you get a chance to run some par test on the AIs? I cant wait to see your numbers.

Patrick

[acropora1981]

Originally Posted by heckeng

Yes, you are correct that by reducing light output, you are also reducing the power consumption. Cool huh

Unreal... I wonder what my eventual power usage will be compared to my 250W halide...

I actually decided to finally make the change because were buying a house, and currently our rental unit is all inclusive for hydro so it didn't affect me financially; plus the environmental factor is huge... very very pleased thus far. Also, my halide wreaked havok with my RKL's iTemp probe, making it jump around from all the EM interference from the ballast (an older IceCap). Now it reads steady @ 78F all day and night.

[OneReef]

Has anyone figured out what color and intensity setting on the sol blue would mirror the color and PAR of a Radium 250w or a Phoenix 250w halide?

[SoLiD]

Originally Posted by OneReef

Has anyone figured out what color and intensity setting on the sol blue would mirror the color and PAR of a Radium 250w or a Phoenix 250w halide?

Lots of things to consider. Water Clarity, Bulb Age, Ballast and Ballast Type. I'll say one thing for sure. There is a huge difference in PAR between the 40 degree and 70 degree optics. The penetrating power is very different too. The 40 degree optics hold their PAR pretty consistently and can sometimes seem too strong and the 70 degree lose par quickly but can be turned up higher to a brighter viewing intensity. All in all, without a PAR meter it's just a guessing game. When I get more time I will do some quick checks on a friends tank to make and post comparisons.

[SoLiD]

Originally Posted by stpatrick

Hi David. Did you get a chance to run some par test on the AIs? I cant wait to see your numbers.

Patrick

No not yet... Haven't had the time to do anything other than check things quickly.