I've been saving for a Solaris LED light ever since they came out. Even though I didn't really have it all saved the price on the refurbished units was just too good to pass up. I've promised to be VERY good and not buy any more toys for a LONG time. My light got here today!
I've taken some pictures for comparison. These were all taken tonight with the same settings on my camera. If my tank looks like everything is just thrown in there it's because it is. I'll re-aquascape when I move it back into the living room (hopefully) this weekend.
You could see the lights getting dimmer when you were reducing the power but I can't see much difference in the photos. Solaris recommends lighting at 50% but I may reduce it further as 50% appears far brighter than the PC lights.
The light was easy to set up right out of the box. The touch pad controls are easy to use and the menus are pretty intuitive. Sometimes it seems like you double click and go past what you are looking for but it is easy to go back. I want to set it up on a solar/lunar cycle but I think that I need to acclimate my corals to the stronger light.
In an odd coincidence, I took the picture with the PC light on and then walked out of the room to get something. When I went back into the room 5 minutes later the PC's were out but the fan was still running. I don't know what happened but it seems unlikely that 2 PC bulbs that are just 3-4 months old would both burn out at the same time.
Yes, Dick had a post about the refurbs a few weeks ago. There were only a couple of the 24" ones available when I ordered mine about 10 days ago. I think that Solaris had a few problems with their early units and these were ones that were returned and refurbished. They still carry the 2 year warranty. The discount on the refurb coupled with the already low price made it too good of a deal to pass up.
Wow,
What a difference. I checked em out on the web. Still so expensive! What a difference though... and they are supposed to last and last and last! Beautiful photos!
Thanks Technowledgy. They are expensive and since I am replacing a PC light I probably won't see any energy savings in the cost of running the fixture. The fixture itself has a temperature readout and the hottest I've seen it is 86 degrees. I think that most of this dissipates before it reaches the surface of the water, I can't feel any heat when I put my hand under the light. Thinking about it, I haven't heard my chiller come on since I got my Solaris. It uses nearly 400 watts when it runs so there are savings there.
Of course, like every other reefkeeper I have found that I want better growth from my corals. That would have meant upgrading my lights to MH, which would have used more electric and produced more heat.
Very,Very Impressive.Now,I'm never one to Rain on anyone's parade
However,my local fish dude tells me that there may be 2 situations they are currently looking into as far as LED's are concerned.
First off some people are reporting a red hue in the spectrum,or even turning corals a reddish color.That last part just my be what the human eye sees.
Second,and really Important,is that some corals are "reaching" during exposure to LED's.I can only assume a need for a certain specrum of light is not being met.
Now...that said,Erring to the side of caution,I'm gonna give it 6 months or so before I consider a major ($ 2,149 for my 55g)investment and let others find out the yay's & nays'.
Man oh Man...Can't wait 'till the price drops !!
All the best,
Larry.
I am in the Project DIBS P. damicornis breeders challenge. My colonies are all red/pink. One of my colonies came from a local reefer who uses MH. He said that his parent colony had morphed from green to red. It will be interesting to see if the Solaris causes any change.
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