DIY Solaris project

[Russel P]

A guy in our local reef club has made a nano hood/reflector/LED system. We're going to have a workshop and make our own soon. :wow: It's more straight forward than I'd have expected, so here's a link if anyone is interested: Asheville Marine Aquarium Society :: View topic - The DIY Solaris Project (http://www.ashevillemarine.org/bb/viewtopic.php?t=621&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0)

[Rob]

very cool idea, and i think the LED lighting is great for efficiency, i think one of the main reasons i would want the Solaris system is the computer control, since it gives you endless granularity in spectrum, intensity and photocycles...

still, it looks like a cool DIY, thanks for sharing

[NaClFinatic]

That's awesome! I am definitely goin to try that out ...sometime

[Russel P]

I'll post some pics after the workshop if anyone would like to see them. I'm ponying up for something a little bigger than that one.

[iglowce]

i'll be waiting for your pix

[George]

I thought his point about Solaris' fixtures was interesting. It's quite true that materials cost for a large tank can add up. Plus, you need to have the patience to wire all those LED's together correctly.

Daunting task, but interesting. Assuming someone comes out with an appropriate fixture for my 60g cube, I'd rather pay the extra $$$ for the controls as Rob pointed out. However for odd size tanks, I can see delving into the DIY realm.

Does anyone know when their 400w equivalent fixtures are due?

[Bernie]

Sometimes I wonder about the background that people have...

I mean what kind of education/life experience do you have to slap something like this together? I know we all can self educate and learn to do something like this, but it would probably take me months of reading and ciphering to figure out how to do something like this...

Russy, is this dude an electrical engineer or something?

[NVMark]

Bernie,

I think with a basic knowledge of electricity and the most important tool of all - Google - most people could figure out a simple LED hood. I don't know first hand (I have yet to do it), but I started doing some research and I found quite a bit of information on LEDs, driver circuits, etc.

I think the challenges would be to get the LEDs to produce the right color temperature, to develop a controller that is comparable to the Solaris controller (timing, season, dusk/dawn, etc.); And to put it into a form factor that does not short out the first time a little SW splashed on it.

Over all, I think I would buy a Solaris.

George – I have a half circle 145 gallon (normal fixtures do not fit well) and I was thinking of buying 2 or three small 14” Solaris fixture to cover the odd shape. It would be a bit more then on long fixture, but it would have some nice advantages – Better coverage, more watts in the space, I could stagger then (time wise) so that the light would move across the tank., and if one fails, I still have light.

Mark

[Amphibious]

I thought his point about Solaris' fixtures was interesting. It's quite true that materials cost for a large tank can add up. Plus, you need to have the patience to wire all those LED's together correctly.

Daunting task, but interesting. Assuming someone comes out with an appropriate fixture for my 60g cube, I'd rather pay the extra $$$ for the controls as Rob pointed out. However for odd size tanks, I can see delving into the DIY realm.

Does anyone know when their 400w equivalent fixtures are due?
George,

Waht are the dimensions of your 60 cube? Solaris comes in 14, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72" lengths. One of those wouldn't suffice?

The latest word on the 400w version is toward the end of April.

[iglowce]

if any1 wanna donate me a Solaris strip, i be more than happy to receive one!

[Rob]

if any1 wanna donate me a Solaris strip, i be more than happy to receive one!
i have been trying to get one in exchange for advertising/formal review and i haven't got one, so dont hold your breathe...lol

heck there are paying customers that are still waiting (IIRC).. these things are HOTT

[iglowce]

I KNOW oh well maybe one day i will be able to get one =]

[netsurge]

Now the thing to really make this cool, would be to attach LED drivers to different colors with intensity controls (~20$ for a driver). Buy one orange and red LED's to simulate sunrise, sunset. you can also have the intensity increase during the course of the day to eliminate the harsh on and off of the lights, also to control the sunrise/set effect.

-Mitch

[Amphibious]

Now the thing to really make this cool, would be to attach LED drivers to different colors with intensity controls (~20$ for a driver). Buy one orange and red LED's to simulate sunrise, sunset. you can also have the intensity increase during the course of the day to eliminate the harsh on and off of the lights, also to control the sunrise/set effect.

-Mitchhttp://www.theculturedreef.com/welcome.gif to Talking Reef Community, netsurge.

The orange and red we see at sunrise doesn't penetrate the water's surface because it's parallel to the water and comes straight to our eyes. That why we see the colors. The fish, corals would only see a dim lightening to there surroundings and by the time the sun is high enough to penetrate the water's surface it would appear the normal white light with the many colors being filtered out as the depth increases.

There is no harsh on off with the Solaris. They come on very dim and slowly ramp up just like the sun rising and ramping down as a sun setting. This unit is already controllable the way you suggest. It has lots more flexability such as the number and length of cloud cover periods and degree of dimming during the cloud cover. And so much more.

Dick

[netsurge]

Thx for the welcome!

True about the sunrise/set colors not penetrating the water surface. However if it does not cause any damage to the corals, it might be nice effect to us, the viewer. But, you could replicate a nano version of the solaris with a simple PIC and led driver, including the cloud cover for a low price. Its actually quite simple to make. PIC + about 30 lines of code + led driver + LED's. Howeverr i will say, it is nice having it all in one package and a nice hood. Also, the company could easily create a sub 100$ version for nano's, which i think they should do.

-Mitch

[gwen_o_lyn]

Welcome Netsurge !!

It seems cloud cover is like moon lights - overrated :)

Unless the electric bill decreases when the clouds come on, then I can do without them. How does that work on solaris?

[netsurge]

How does the cloud cover work?

Im pretty shur they just dimm a few of the LED's to simulate it.

[Amphibious]

It seems cloud cover is like moon lights - overrated :)

Unless the electric bill decreases when the clouds come on, then I can do without them. How does that work on solaris?
You are absolutely correct, Gwen. It does save on energy because they dim, but not easy to measure the benefit. They dim all the LEDS a percentage which is adjustable in length, percentage of dimming and number of cloud cover happenings per day. I programmed my cloud cover out completely.

Dick

[JeffDubya]

This thread outlines a few truths:

1. Like it ior not, DIY is a huge part of marine aquariums.

2. The solaris is amazing, but priced beyond what most people can or would pay.

I don't think putting together a DIY LED array would be difficult at all. Time consuming, yes. Difficult, no. However, making it SAFE and esthetically pleasing would be more difficult. AND a huge part of what you are paying for with the Solaris is software programming.

Rob, I am in shock that more manufacturers are not interested in working with Talking Reef. Sooner or later it will happen, just keep up the good work.

[netsurge]

Very true Jeff, Its not making things work thats hard. Its making it look good. If i were to undertake an LED project I would modify an existing hood. Becuase if your doing it to save money, your not going to unless you can modify existing.

[Rob]

This thread outlines a few truths:

1. Like it ior not, DIY is a huge part of marine aquariums.

2. The solaris is amazing, but priced beyond what most people can or would pay.
i agree with both of these...
and i cant wait for other vendors to get into this game to drive the prices down, becauase they are way out of my range now


I don't think putting together a DIY LED array would be difficult at all. Time consuming, yes. Difficult, no. However, making it SAFE and esthetically pleasing would be more difficult. AND a huge part of what you are paying for with the Solaris is software programming.
yes, i agree along with the software, you get the professional support, warranty, aesthetics, etc.


Rob, I am in shock that more manufacturers are not interested in working with Talkingreef. Sooner or later it will happen, just keep up the good work.
you and me both, i figured i offered a great exposure opportunity, i guess i was mistaken. its been well over a year and i have never gotten a single offer, and have been ignored on many requests for demo products.. oh well..

[NaClFinatic]

yes, i agree along with the software, you get the professional support, warranty, aesthetics, etc.

When I looked into the low volume pricing of the LEDs and drivers, the solaris pricing suddenly doens't seem too bad. And when you factor in what Rob mentioned, it is really a good deal. I think most of us just aren't quite willing or able to pay for the Mercedes of aquarium lighting. Although I will certainly continue to entertain the possibility for the future. (Espicially if they could be mounted in a hood. ...Maybe have rear mounded fans and vents to help facilitate that.)

[mikellini]

I think part of the reason for the high cost is to make up for initial capital before the competition hits the market. I'm guessing the price will be about half within a year of a competitor's product hitting the market

[JeffDubya]

I don't know about that. I have priced the high output LEDs, and they are extremely expensive.

Here's the deal.

Most of us don't think about anything but the here and now. We're an instant gratification society.

I think if you compared the cost between the Solaris and MH Pendants, Electricity, Bulbs over the lifespan, etc... then the Solaris actually turns out to be a steal.

The only part is it is difficult to purchase anything that way. Especially if you are looking at it over a 5 or 10 year period. It's also difficult to be the person who buys the first anything... because you know that whether you are a Solaris or a GM customer, you're the guinea pig, plain and simple. If those companies deny it, they are liars.

If I had the money - and a huge reef tank - and a lack of a jillion dollars in hospital bills for my kid... I'd probably think pretty hard about the Solaris. As it is, I'm pretty grounded in some nice HO T5s. :)

[mikellini]

Solaris is tech. And tech gets cheaper. It's inevitable.

[JeffDubya]

With mass production. Yes.

However, I'm guessing this is ANYTHING BUT mass production.

[mikellini]

Oh, I don't know about that. Many people believe that this is the technology that will replace MH lighting. And not just in aquarium applications either. If you take that into account, sounds like mass production to me!

[Amphibious]

I don't know about that. I have priced the high output LEDs, and they are extremely expensive.

Here's the deal.

Most of us don't think about anything but the here and now. We're an instant gratification society.

I think if you compared the cost between the Solaris and MH Pendants, Electricity, Bulbs over the lifespan, etc... then the Solaris actually turns out to be a steal.

The only part is it is difficult to purchase anything that way. Especially if you are looking at it over a 5 or 10 year period. It's also difficult to be the person who buys the first anything... because you know that whether you are a Solaris or a GM customer, you're the guinea pig, plain and simple. If those companies deny it, they are liars.

If I had the money - and a huge reef tank - and a lack of a jillion dollars in hospital bills for my kid... I'd probably think pretty hard about the Solaris. As it is, I'm pretty grounded in some nice HO T5s. :)Bingo!!! You get it Jeff!!!

The minute I understood that the Solaris would save me money on electricity, bulbs, etc, I did the math and it was as clear as a bell. If Pat of PFO was telling the truth, the Solaris was a steal. I knew Pat could not be lying. If he was, the investment in development time (two years), electronic parts, electrical engineering time, etc, would be wasted. He'd be deemed a crook. He had more reasons to tell the truth. I believed Pat and have the pleasure of saying, I ordered the very first Solaris Pat sold. I was the first "guinea pig" as you put it. It was a gamble, yes, but the risk was small compared to the reward.

mikellini, Yes, the Solaris is definitely "tech" and you can expect the price to drop in the future. That's the nature of tech. But think of how much money people who wait will burn up in electricity, bulbs, room AC units, chillers, etc, waiting for the price to drop. I'm saving enough now to pay for the new version. Something to think about.

Just buy the number of Solaris units I've sold many other reefers are thinking the same way.

[netsurge]

Once the price of the highpowered luxon(sp) LED's (~10$) come to the price of regular led's (sub 1$). Then this could easily move into the 500$ range. Plus LED's are a good way for third party companies to make money. ANything with regular 5mm LED's as a selling point are making a huge return.

Then the solaris can move fom a high priced specialty item to a lower priced - high volume product, mby even linking up with current tank manufacturers for their built in lighting since the tech is the same, and speaking fom my robotics experience its just different application and slight modicication in code for the PIC.

[Amphibious]

Oh, I don't know about that. Many people believe that this is the technology that will replace MH lighting. And not just in aquarium applications either. If you take that into account, sounds like mass production to me!You guys realize that PFO has to order parts from different vendors and get them to China where the parts are being assembled, don't you? Some of the parts are made in China so, that's not a problem but some are not and coordinating the mix of products to get to the manufacturing plant takes some doing. Just one example are the LEDs themselves. For one production run (250 units, I believe) Pat has to order 10,000 LEDs in various colors. That order takes 3 months to fill by the LED manufacturer. So it's not like going to HD and buying a few parts and slapping them together. It's not exactly mass production, but close.

This is what I remember from a personal conversation with Pat. His investment in time and money is huge.

[cire333]

Is anyone still interested in a DIY LED (solaris style) lighting system. I have started putting one together and was wondering if this was worth posting in the public domain, or if anyone wanted to build one simultaneously with me for testing purposes.

things that have already done.

1. I have an algorithm for moon phase, moon rise/set
2. I have an algorithm for sun rise/set
3. I am not sure what is needed for the cloud cover, but it seems pretty easy
4. I have some basic research for the composition and what LEDs will be needed to produce the correct amount of light
5. I have some basic led driver circuits (for dimming and turning on/off the correct LEDs in the matrix

things that need to be done.

1. pick out a suitable mircocontroller and chip programmer
2. pick out supporting controllers and circuits
3a. make a user interface LCD screen/buttons
3b. write software for these components
3c. do more research on light composition needed
4. Print board, pick out or make housing units
5. build and test unit(s)
6. collect some donations maybe get some helpers to help speed up the process
7. setup a website that would help facilitate the development of this site
8. there will probably be more things in this catagory

what the outcome I would like to see is.

1. a resonable replacement for the solaris for a more resonable price
2. DIY kits that could be distributed to ppl that would like the same goal as above. This could be either kits with the end user doing the work or i could partially build
3. different kits that would be suitable for fish only/fresh-water/planted fresh-water/reef-tanks

[Carty]

that would be cool, I started doing the same thing, but i was just pricing everything out first.. and it ended up being not far off of the Solaris price.. and I'd rather pay the extra $200 to have someone else build it and get a warranty for it

[Amphibious]

Now you are using your head.