Decided to go with leds....

[lsingh]

setting up a brand new tank and for sure goin with leds.....
tank dimensions r 36x18x24 and it is goin to lps dominated tank with few clams and sps.....

so far i am thinking about goin with either 2x 50wts led canon pendants or 2 AI sol.......
what do u all recommend....

 

[lennyd4]

I am starting up a new tank with the exact dimensions , and I have been looking around for LED fixtures so whichever you buy please post your thoughts about the unit!

 

[Snprhed]

I have 2 sol blues on a similar sized tank. I think they do a great job. You will have to suspend them 8-10 inches above the tank to get the correct spread. Here is what mine look like

 

[lsingh]

I have 2 sol blues on a similar sized tank. I think they do a great job. You will have to suspend them 8-10 inches above the tank to get the correct spread. Here is what mine look like

good looking....hve a question now does blue gve the same amount of par as white....

 

[pumarjr]

You may want to wait a few weeks before making the jump, with Ecosmart, AI, and others on the verge of releasing new fixtures, it may be worth the wait to dive in. the new AI fixture looks so promising that i'm also on the verge of going led all over again.lol. I have a 36" LED fixture from Sunbrite lighting, it's very bright, just with the new tech in the fixtures, i'm considering selling my light and buying the new AI, ES, or Maxspect fixture , the vertex is an option, but not one for me.

 

[pumarjr]

good looking....hve a question now does blue gve the same amount of par as white....

the AI white is too white, like 10K or something, AI Sol Blues look much better in color. And I believe the answer is yes.

 

[lsingh]

i like maxspect fixture but could find much info on that.

 

[pumarjr]

What kinda info you looking for? I saw a while back on here someone posted all kinds of goodies about them.

 

[pumarjr]

Mazarra LED Lighting System

 

[pumarjr]

 

[florida reef]

good looking....hve a question now does blue gve the same amount of par as white....

The answer is yes. I saw a really good write up by a reefer who was able to measure the PAR output by the white and the blue on the same tank. Actually, the blue had more par toward the bottom 1/3 of the tank.

 

[pumarjr]

 

[florida reef]

Wow, they had all of those tanks set up at one show? Talk about a lot of work!

 

[Pellaeon]

WOW dude that is pretty incredible. I have two AI SOL blue's and absolutely love them.

 

[lsingh]

i am leaning more towards AI sol but wanted to wait till price drops

 

[Stinger]

well it may be way too expensive for me, I have a 4ft long x 18wide x 28 deep tank. I may have no other choice but to go MH :cry:

 

[Stinger]

well it may be way too expensive for me, I have a 4ft long x 18wide x 28 deep tank. I may have no other choice but to go MH :cry: can they get needed par for a 28 in deep tank?

 

[devoman]

I was at MACNA 2011 in Des Moines, IA this morning. SOL had a booth there and I talked to one of their staff. They were showing a new light that will be coming out shortly that is wireless. It's so new that haven't named it yet and are having a contest to come up with a name. Anyway.....they also said the price of the existing SOL is going down to $399 for one module. I think they said that was effective right away so we should see it on retailers websites shortly.

 

[kuyatwo]

i voted all sol blue. if you go seperate blue and white you will need two controllers

 

[LegoZ81]

the AI white is too white, like 10K or something, AI Sol Blues look much better in color. And I believe the answer is yes.

Also when dialing in the white you seem to get more of an XM 20k color look to it I am at 35w-45b right now and it there is a weird purple cast to it.
I think I should have gone with the blues but I am just going to add DIY blues in between with either no or 80* optics (they are free with the strips) to achieve a 2b-1w combo rather than the 2w-1b i have now.

***Just ran the numbers since I have 64 whites I'd have to add 96 blues on their own sinks to sit between the ai's to make it 2b:1w for a total of 64w and 128b lol... I'd also have color mixing concerns if I used any optics... looks like this may not be such a winner lol***

i voted all sol blue. if you go seperate blue and white you will need two controllers

The other concern is color mixing, you might find that you have stripes of blue and white. Not sure if that would still be an issue with 70* optics or not though...