AI SOl Blue Thread

Well, after much internal debate...mainly over the cost....I pulled the trigger today and ordered AI SOL LED lights for my 120 Reef from Aquarium Supplies, Reef Aquarium Supplies, Aquarium Products, Fish Tank Supplies, Freshwater Aquarium, Marine Aquarium. I am replacing my TEK T5 8x54 Watt 48" fixture with these lights. Based on the annual cost of bulbs ($250-300) and the energy savings (estimated to be about $190 a year based on my light usage and price per kwh here in GA) this investment should pay itself off in about 2 years....I hope...maybe sooner if I can fetch a good price for my current T5's on ebay.

I will hopefully get the lights next week, and then install them over my christmas vacation...I will post pictures of the before and after. My plan is to chronicle the performance of the lights based on Coral growth. If it is good, I will probably replace the lights on my 100 custom tank as well...

The prospect of being able to light both tanks for less than half of the power spent to light just one today is pretty exciting. Not to mention the cost savings from a cooling perspective...

Will keep this thread updated in the coming months.

 

How many units did you go with? 2 or 4? What others did you consider?

 

by the way you do your calculations, it sounds like you only bought one, it won't cover your whole tank

 

I am starting with 2...can always add more if I need to. The tank is 48" long, so hoping two will do it. I looked at a lot of options....I travel a lot for work and have 2 young kids..so DIY is not an option for me...I just dont have the time...so I needed an out of the box option... I wanted to get something with a good reputation, which AI seems to have, I like the control you have with thier controler, and the upgradeability of the fixtures over time if need be. The Radion looks really cool, and I would not mind trying that, but the cost is significantly higher for 2 fixtures....the cost of the AI's was hard enough to justify. The AI seems to have all the right options, and while expensive, they are not over the top rediculous in price..especially when you add up what I am paying just to run and maintain my T5's on an annual basis.

 

Only asking as I purchased 2 StarkLed for my 120 and ran them wide. Finding that i am running them at close to 100%. LPS and softies are loving it but the SPS is hit or miss and looking to add 2 more units and looking at going with 2 AI's or adding 4 to 6 ecoxotic Panorama. If you are growing SPS, you may need to look at more. Our problem is with the center brace, there is no option for 3.

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing with the brace and not getting 3. I only have softies and LPS in my tank...and a random SPS that I am not even sure what it is. I am hoping I will be okay...worst case if I have to add two more units down the road, the hanging kit is big enough to support it, and so is the controller...so the cost while bad...wont be as bad as the first two....

 

Update: My lights finally arrived this week when I was away for work. I plan to get them installed tomorrow - I hope! Glad the back order is finally over and I can move forward with this.

 

Update: I got everything installed on Saturday, and I am majorly impressed with these lights. They are the coolest thing I have seen in a real long time. Here are some of my thoughts on the Pros and Cons:

Pro:

1. The lights are very easy to set up and install. Took me less than an hour total to do it.

2. The ability to change the color and intensity of the lights is simply amazing. With my T5 set up, I had to change a bulb out to adjust color scale. With the AI system, all I have to do is go to the controler and dial up or down the whites, blues, and royal blues. It is really amazing, and as someone who has constantly struggled with finding the right combination of 8 T5 bulbs, I am in heaven.

3. the lights are very bright. I am running them at around 50% power, and they look amazing. At 100% power it is almost too bright. I do intend to ramp up the intensity of the lights in the coming weeks, as my corals adjust to the new lighting (my T5 bulbs were past due on a change...I was waiting on these lights).

4. The lights are crystal clear. I dont even know if that makes sense, but my tank just looks clearer and cleaner under these lights. I noticed the same thing with MH vs. T5 as well, and it may just be my personal preference to the shimmer effect.

5. There is no heat coming out of these things...at all...it is crazy how cool they run.

6. While serving no purpose other than being totally cool...I really like the thunderstorm function...you can set up the probablity of the storm, the frequency of it, and even make it happen on demand. When it does happen...the lights slowly dim, as if a storm cloud is passing over head...and then you get lightining strikes. Again...serves zero purpose...but it is fun to watch...my wife even thinks it is cool!

Cons:

1. Despite being easy to install..the instructions suck. I am one of those folks that actually reads directions....and I had to completly disregard them on this one...they were entirely wrong. Fortunately, the system is pretty easy to use..but annoying none the less.

2. The controls on the controler could be better. The controller is great, as far as functionality that it provides is concerned...but the control of that functionality could be better. There is one knob on it that you spin to go through menus, and then you push it in to select/enter things. It is fully functional, and it gets the job done, but I would prefer to have directional arrows and a back/enter key. Again, not a deal breaker...but I did have to come up with a con or two for this system.

Overall, I am really happy with this. I am going to let it settle in for the next month or so. if it still looks great and works great, I am going to order another set for my other aquarium.

More updates as I have them.