Lighting Options LED

[TwistedMind]

So I originally intended to go with the maxspect razor LED but, I recently discovered AquaIllumination Sol.

Since both moduas run 400 bucks which is the better equipment?

[Zack]

Have you considered rapid led's triple puck kit? They are 200 and with about 50 bucks more for the dimming kits your still saving some money. A buddy of mine has one and he loves it.

[EpicWin]

i have maxspect mazarras and g2s honestly the maxspect gives you more light at 120 watts but the quality is no where near the same.... ive had nothing but warranty claims with all of my maxspect units.... im screwed when teh warranties are out.... get the ai but look at these first ive hearrd good things http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/lighting/led-lighting/sunbrite-led-lighting/sunbrite-f-series-led-fixture

[kkiel02]

I wonder if the sols will drop in price again when the vega is released? You might want to wait for that since there site says August 2012?

[Teeb]

I've been happy with my Sol's, they're probably the most trusted LED's out there.

[350gt]

coming from someone who is running AIs.....

If its a new tank..... I say go for it..... or wait for the VEGAS like Kevin said,, which is a good idea but they might be on back order as soon as they are released as ppl having been pre ordering since last year(or about),...

If you have a existing tank and running metal halides....... Get ready for a shock when you set them up. If you have tons invested, I would say you might want to rethink going LEDS for now....


I slowly acclimated my tank to the AIs and it fared well and only lost a few frags and a nice sized CAP is barely holding on..... I added 2 T5s to help aid the spectrum as if you read online, its apparent they are missing something..... But then its online... I have see nice tanks running Ais only and they are really nice but again, its online....

I say I am very pleased with the Ais at this point..... Apart of me wishes I didnt add the T5s. Only so I could give a fair judgment on the Ais themselves.....

But who doesnt like Hybrid systems?...... I mean MH looks best when aided by a T5 or a LED strips... IMO

[350gt]

When I added the T5s, in that same week I lowered the whites and raised the blues about 20% over the whites.... It gave me a great look and the corals seemed to respond to it and the t5s.... So I really dont know which did more for the corals...

Buts its a great look...

[EpicWin]

interesting.... i switched from metal halide cold turkey overnight and lost nothing.... i went from a 150 watt de to 1 ai sol at 55% and gradually ramped it up over a couple weeks.

[350gt]

Yes I didn't lose much like I said.... I took it as slow as I could... Well i could have gone slower but you know how that goes... I started at 35, with 3 units 12" awl... Bumped them up a few percent for a few weeks then brought the whites back down... Been thinking about messing with it again but everything is looking good, I'm afraid too...

Just do a google..... You will find plenty of ppl who have horror stories with the sols.... I have them, I like them but they could be better..

[jvene1]

http://ledtric.myshopify.com/ You could always look at the new infuse series. I've been pleased with the LEDTRiC leds in the past.

[johnsutter71]

Kessil A350W's I'm telling you these things are the best and put out a very wide beam of light. Just look at my youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq8pWlAWtqA&feature=plcp

[jroescher]

Whatever you do, don't start reading this:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2110092


You'll probably recognize the LEDTRiC lights here too. One of those companies referred me to their Florida distributor.

[TwistedMind]

I read 9 pages and gave up,thats a flame fest.

I guess Ill just DIY them and see wat happens LOL, Wifes starting to complain about the money.

[Zack]

interesting.... i switched from metal halide cold turkey overnight and lost nothing.... i went from a 150 watt de to 1 ai sol at 55% and gradually ramped it up over a couple weeks.

I switched from a 150w metal halide to 2x slimline s-12's and saw no issues at all.

[rrasco]

DIY won't necessarily be cheaper. I went DIY for cost reasons, but also due to customization. My fixtures ended up running me 400-500 each when everything was said and done. You can do them cheaper, but if you want them to look nice and have options, it will cost you. I like the fact I can upgrade my units whenever I want, swap LEDs for more efficient diodes or different colors. You don't really have that option with an off the shelf unit, however, with those, all the work is already done.

Looking at the various fixtures, I was leaning towards the maxspect mazarras before I went DIY, but I have not seen what new units are coming out so I'm not up to date on the market anymore. I liked the mazarras because they looked clean, had nice features, and had a broad spectrum of light output...I think that is one of the biggest factors when choosing/building LEDs. I have no experience with them though, just going based on what I know about them.

[koa25]

Thats pretty impressive that you are getting all that coverage from those little cans over your tank john. Very cool. Color looks nice as well. What spectrum is that?

[TwistedMind]

DIY won't necessarily be cheaper. I went DIY for cost reasons, but also due to customization. My fixtures ended up running me 400-500 each when everything was said and done. You can do them cheaper, but if you want them to look nice and have options, it will cost you. I like the fact I can upgrade my units whenever I want, swap LEDs for more efficient diodes or different colors. You don't really have that option with an off the shelf unit, however, with those, all the work is already done.

Looking at the various fixtures, I was leaning towards the maxspect mazarras before I went DIY, but I have not seen what new units are coming out so I'm not up to date on the market anymore. I liked the mazarras because they looked clean, had nice features, and had a broad spectrum of light output...I think that is one of the biggest factors when choosing/building LEDs. I have no experience with them though, just going based on what I know about them.


Do you happen to live in or around Corpus Christi? I would love to buy you a beer and discuss DIY LED's , I know absolutly nothing about them or electricity.

[rrasco]

I don't, I'm in SA. If you have any questions, shoot away. I'm no expert, but I have a grasp on most of the current trends/issues and will try to answer any questions you may have.

[350gt]

Twisted send a email to rapidled.com they are very helpful....

[johnsutter71]

Thats pretty impressive that you are getting all that coverage from those little cans over your tank john. Very cool. Color looks nice as well. What spectrum is that?

Thank you. I think they look amazing and much better in person. My corals LOVE these lights. As far as spectrum goes you can make it very white or brilliant blue. I'm not sure exactly but I'm thinking they are at around 4800K give or take. I don't have a par meter so I'm not exactly sure. I have been slowly turning up the brightness over the last couple months and when I shot that I was around 50% for color temp and brightness. The first coral to really grow was my mushrooms but my toadstool has been showing much improvement since I hit that 50% mark. I can't wait until I get the full affect in a few months though.

[koa25]

Are those the tuna pendants, john? 400 bucks a pop? Looked them up. Awesome led pendant compared to those canons. Got some pretty good reviews and results.

[350gt]

I really like those kessils as well....

Awesome tank there....

[johnsutter71]

Exactly. They are the tube A350w's the tank is 25" deep and 48x18 wide with a lot of lighting spillover. They are suspended 11" above the tank

[350gt]

Would like to know what kind of #s your getting...

[rrasco]

I still need to get a hold of that par meter again to see what numbers I am getting now that the optics are on. Corals are happy, so that's the most important part I suppose. Dang par meter is never at ER anymore.

[johnsutter71]

I still need to get a hold of that par meter again to see what numbers I am getting now that the optics are on. Corals are happy, so that's the most important part I suppose. Dang par meter is never at ER anymore.

My feelings exactly. If the corals are thriving I'm not gonna over think it.