PFO Solaris lighting

Raccio · 01-03-2007, 11:27 PM

I went to my LFS today and he replaced a light on his 90 gallon tank with this new solaris light. I have heard of it before and read some articles but never saw it on a tank. It had 500 watts and it even created the halide shimmer effect. The only thing was it didnt seem as bright as I would have thought. The owner even said he had to take a couple of kinds of acro out because they werent opening up their polyps. But besides that the shimmers looked good and the color was awesome. You could tell it ran really cool and it had its only lcd screen display with a timer on it.

HE ALSO SAID HE PAID $2400 FOR IT!!!!!! HA HA HA......yah okay. I'll wait a few decades

VWD · 01-04-2007, 08:18 AM

Alot of money! I have not heard much about if they are really selling or are they going to fade away.

leveldrummer · 01-04-2007, 02:31 PM

id like to see some more testing on the growth these things can produce, the idea is just wonderful. high price, but after you figure replacement bulbs its really not that far out.

Twitterbait · 01-04-2007, 03:38 PM

They have actually been selling like hotcakes... wish i could afford one.

UseSkaForEvil · 01-04-2007, 05:56 PM

im planning on getting a 4 footer for my new set up, it'll cost abotu 2100 after shipping, tons of $ but after 4 years it'll be worth it $ wise. and after hearing about some different problems people have had with metal halides and fire im not going down that route. plus, i live in an apartment where i cant run the microwave and the heater at the same time, so i'm fairly confident i cant have an incrredible amount of lights and anythign else on.

oh and 500watts was probably what he told you but i think incorrect, the fixtures use 75watts a foot and the highest is 72inch at 450watts. but watts arent a measure of lightoutput anyway, lumens are.

anybody correct me if im wrong.

tashier · 01-04-2007, 06:04 PM

Who is selling these things? I might take out a second mortage to by one. LOL. I'd sure like to try one myself.

UseSkaForEvil · 01-04-2007, 06:09 PM

are we aloud to give links to businesses? im newish and dont want to break the rules but ill give them out if its ok.

woz9683 · 01-04-2007, 06:10 PM

Raccio, do you know what length that light system was at your LFS. I was looking on the PFO website and it really doesn't give any good pictures of how many blocks of bulbs per fixture and it also doesn't say how many watts for each fixture. The $2,400 you mentioned looks like the price of a 48" fixture, so maybe six groups of bulbs with 25 LEDs each to produce 450 watts? I did find an article that says the bulbs are 3 watts apiece.

UseSkaForEvil · 01-04-2007, 06:16 PM

here's a good link http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review2

the four foot light is 300watts 75 watts per 25leds, 25 leds a foot

woz9683 · 01-04-2007, 06:29 PM

Ok, UseSkaForEvil posted while I was typing. With only 75 watts per foot how could they ever rival the penetration or intensity of halides. UseSkaForEvil, you could put 2x250 watt halides over your 48" tank, go top of the line everything, for under $1,000 and still have $1,100 to use on replacement bulbs for years! I don't see the value really?

UseSkaForEvil · 01-04-2007, 06:45 PM

well, according to the article they outperform 250watt metal halides. remember that wattage is a poor way to express light output. its fine when everything has the same relative efficency but because LEDs have a higher lumens to watt ratio its less useful. since they also use less electricity (although power is cheap in NE ohio) they cost less to use. also i could be wrong but metal halides need to be changed yearly and 2 good blubs would cost about 180 right? so after 6 years the cost would even out at that amount alone (the leds should last 8-10years) plus heat is an issue for me. i like to keep my apartment at 72 degrees so my tank gets hot just with pumps and PC's. halides generate alot of heat and led's don't.

also i could be wrong, but dont most people use metal halides along with some other type of lighting?

Twitterbait · 01-04-2007, 06:50 PM

remember that it comes down to par value (never thought i would concede that). it may not seem like a lot of penetration but just ask the coral.

VWD · 01-04-2007, 06:57 PM

I have not met anyone that own or use the light as of yet. Maybe it is the part of the US where I live along with the price. Until the price comes down or the light is proven over time , I will hold off on thinking about buying one. I'm not saying it won't be something that works and pays for itself over time, Just to new to say

UseSkaForEvil · 01-04-2007, 07:00 PM

whats the difference between PAR and PUR? i understand that the PUR measures only the wavelengths that are usable by photsynthesis, but then whts PAR?

Also (if im right) in plants there is a second stage of photosynthesis that i thought required light within 550-600nm (broad because its been awhile). is the amount of light negligible or is the small amount of light within that wavelength produced by the led's enough? or i geuss, does coral not have that stage?

reefermike1 · 01-04-2007, 07:04 PM

seems like it could be made alot cheaper, i do like the idea of high intensity without high heat though. save ya 400 on a chiller alone!!! idk ill wait till jebo comes out with a cheepo knockoff before i try it out

or ill wait till i start seeing them on ebay. also factoring bulb replacement....comeon, u really think that light will last more than a couple years anyways before something breaks!!! i can see that really cool lcd panel going out and the whole thing doesnt work anymore and pfo telling u "sorry to hear that, we can sell u a new one"