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Coral Vue Hydros

AI Sol Nano


animalmaster6

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animalmaster6

I'm curious on Aquatic Illumination's Sol Nano LED's.

 

I am not planning on using or purchasing one but it looks like a really cool light to me. Anybody have it?

 

I love the touch Interface that it has to change color intensity.

 

"With this touch interface users can adjust the intensity of the AI Nano’s Cree XP white, blue and royal blue LEDs to dial in the brightness and color temperature they so desire. When switching between each LED color the AI Nano gives a brief flash of that color letting the user know they have switched. From there it’s as simple as sliding your finger on the +/- bar to adjust."

- Glassbox-Design

Full article here: http://glassbox-design.com/2010/ai-sol-nano/

Reef Builders article: http://reefbuilders.com/2010/10/26/side-mo...i-nano-sol-led/

 

Sounds like the perfect ficture for a sleek, modern nano.

 

Looks really cool to me!!

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I saw these at Reefapalooza and they were ok, but not for $400, they're just not nearly powerful enough. You can get huge sets for this price with similar dimmers and settings.

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i agree to above they are awsome lights but for the price i dont know. although im thinking about the bigger one i think its just the Sol for my next tank lol.

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I'll politely disagree...I have the Sol Blue and the light is deceiving. It may not look very bright to the naked eye compared to a maxspect, but it has mega PAR and will cook your corals quick if not careful. I have my light 14 inches above the tank with settings at 30 percent white and 50 percent blue/royal blue and my corals look fantastic and are quite happy.

 

The 40 degree lenses in the middle and 70 degree on the outside make for a powerful combination. VERY happy with this light and what I have read is that the nano is just a SOL blue cut in half. So the PAR is there...for 15 gallon tanks and under, my opinion is the nano would kick azz. What Elos is to tanks, Aquaillumination is to lights. The quality of the light is amazing.

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I saw these at Reefapalooza and they were ok, but not for $400, they're just not nearly powerful enough. You can get huge sets for this price with similar dimmers and settings.

not powerful enough... lol. aquaillumination sol series are all PAR monsters, including the nano. LED lighting always looks deceivingly dim

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It will be the last light you will purchase for quite a long while and the intensity and colors are adjustable for any coral's needs. sooo yes!

 

 

well im glad to hear something positive about them but is it actually worth all the money?
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if you are paying for power then this light is way worth the money. the only light comparable with par output would be a 150 mh and the energy savings will quickly make this light worth it. not to mention the bulb changes.

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I called AI and he said its comparable to 150-250 MH. Rep even said two would cover my 40b so im thinking of changing over. Would probably have to hang high but they are PAR MONSTERS

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I was always kind of a nay-sayer to the influx of LED technology this hobby has been overtaken with... that is until I got my hands on an AI Sol yesterday. Just by holding it in my hands I could tell that a lot of time, money and R&D went into the fixture. The Par is NUTS... I'm talking 1200+ PAR at the sandbed of a Solana. WOW.

 

As for the Sol Nano, it won't be available for a few months (they are projecting late December at the moment), but I speculate it may take longer because of the demand with the regular SOLs and AI's ability to keep up with the demand. I tested the PAR on the Sol Nano at MACNA and it was pretty impressive, comparable to a 150w MH.

 

If this Sol grows corals like my Powermodule did, I'll never go back to T5's again. The colors alone are off the wall.

 

Just my two cents! :)

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CONSTANTNE and theWAND: These LEDs are no different than any of the DIY or par30 / par38 bulbs out there! They use Cree XP-series LEDs, which is the most common LED used in any other DIY setup. It's not black magic. In fact, Evil is using the same LEDs on his 36 Watt Nano LED setup for $250 and even at that price I thought it was a little over-priced because 2 of his 21 watt par38 bulbs are $240 and they use the same LEDs.

 

These are not PAR monsters, give me a ****ing break. I could say the exact same thing about my DIY build in that case.

 

PS: You did see the DIY build I did in my sig right? I'm using the exact same series of Cree LEDs that this setup uses and I mentioned many times that I knowingly over-paid for my LEDs and driver and even with quality tools and quality thermal adhesive and quality 3-up LEDs I paid a total of $120 for everything. I could've easily built the same setup with 36 watts for $150 (would've taken a lot longer for my parts to get here though). These are fancy, but I've actually seen them sitting next to many other kits from multiple other vendors and they don't stand out aside from the touch-screen dimming.

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I called AI and he said its comparable to 150-250 MH. Rep even said two would cover my 40b so im thinking of changing over. Would probably have to hang high but they are PAR MONSTERS

For that price I would get the Orphek 120 watt.

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CONSTANTNE and theWAND: These LEDs are no different than any of the DIY or par30 / par38 bulbs out there! They use Cree XP-series LEDs, which is the most common LED used in any other DIY setup. It's not black magic. In fact, Evil is using the same LEDs on his 36 Watt Nano LED setup for $250 and even at that price I thought it was a little over-priced because 2 of his 21 watt par38 bulbs are $240 and they use the same LEDs.

 

These are not PAR monsters, give me a ****ing break. I could say the exact same thing about my DIY build in that case.

 

PS: You did see the DIY build I did in my sig right? I'm using the exact same series of Cree LEDs that this setup uses and I mentioned many times that I knowingly over-paid for my LEDs and driver and even with quality tools and quality thermal adhesive and quality 3-up LEDs I paid a total of $120 for everything. I could've easily built the same setup with 36 watts for $150 (would've taken a lot longer for my parts to get here though). These are fancy, but I've actually seen them sitting next to many other kits from multiple other vendors and they don't stand out aside from the touch-screen dimming.

where have you gotten your info from. there are plenty of people who have gotten actual par measurements from these things. they put out much higher par than most other led fixtures out there. think about it, how many other fixtures can run three cree leds at full power in such high density? this is the reason why aquaillumination recommends that you place this fixture 12-18 inches over your tank so you don't simply burn your corals. there is nothing wrong with a diy fixture, but can your 3 up puck have each led on the puck controllable individually? no. aquaillumination is already beta testing the firmware update for their controllers to do just this. there was absolutely no reason for you to flame me or constantine.

 

http://www.michiganreefers.com/forums/ligh...asurements.html

 

and for further infromation par 38's from evil run 600 par at surface level 40 degree optics. to get the coverage the sol nano or sol blue 12" have with comparable PAR measurements, you would have to put out about as much money for the PAR 38s and sacrifice the controllable part. they aren't even dimmable. on guy on RC has his sol blues running at 45% white 60% blue and is getting higher par ratings than his 250 watt MH gave him. tell me your DIY can do that. if someone can afford an AI i would tell them to go for it. it's worth the money and is an investment that will pay itself back very quickly. and before you go running calling me a fanboy, you should read my tank thread and see that i am running two par 38s over my tank.

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When I talk about AI im comparing it to other fixtures on the market, not a DIY. I dont have the time to research and plan for a DIY. So when you take out the idea of a DIY there arent many choices especially with controllable features.

 

Reggie, why do people spend so much money on Vortech's if it's just a powerhead?

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http://www.michiganreefers.com/forums/ligh...asurements.html

 

and for further infromation par 38's from evil run 600 par at surface level 40 degree optics.

"AI - 12" - 1370 (water surface)"

 

So Evil's par38 is at 600 par (according to you) and the Sol runs 1370 par (according to a different test result you found on a forum) and you say that two of Evil's par38s won't match up to the Sol? Also, these measurements are not even remotely scientific, it's some dude on a forum with a par meter, whoopty doooo!!!! These high par ratings probably have to do with the fact that this system is compact more than anything else. Compare the LEDs themselves and what current they're running and you'll find out that they are the same as everyone else on the market like I said. I don't care one bit about dimmers, they reduce the lifespan of your LEDs and are not necessary.

 

For the record, there's a par measurement of the Orphek 156 using the same par meter as the guy on the forum (only with a hell of a lot more detail) and the Orphek peaks at 650 par, where the AI peaks at 560 par and the Orphek dimensions are 24" x 6" while the AI is something like 6" x 6", so as I said before, the Orphek is putting out a LOT more par over a much larger area.

 

You're being flamed for saying, "LED lighting is decievingly dim" which is just flat out dumb. Add to that the fact that I have the EXACT SAME lights in my DIY setup in my sig. And as I said I saw these kits in person (have you?) and they were NOT as powerful as other systems that also use the same LEDs, so you have no ground to stand on.

 

I'm not comparing these directly to a DIY setup, I'm only saying they are over-charging for the lights themselves, feel free to disregard all DIY talk and dish out the money for these things, I don't care what you do with your money. Constantine, you don't have time to do a DIY fixture, but you have time to call about spending $800 on two of these nano lighting fixtures and cry about it on a forum when someone says they're not that bright? Why not just buy two of Evil's Nano fixtures like I said and save $300? Again, they use the exact same lights. The fancy dimmer with touch screen controls are nice, but they do not make the par output special in any way like you two think.

 

Edit: Constantine, why don't you just get the Sol (not the nano) it'd cost about $600 with the controller.

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I'm not comparing these directly to a DIY setup, I'm only saying they are over-charging for the lights themselves, feel free to disregard all DIY talk and dish out the money for these things, I don't care what you do with your money. Constantine, you don't have time to do a DIY fixture, but you have time to call about spending $800 on two of these nano lighting fixtures and cry about it on a forum when someone says they're not that bright? Why not just buy two of Evil's Nano fixtures like I said and save $300? Again, they use the exact same lights. The fancy dimmer with touch screen controls are nice, but they do not make the par output special in any way like you two think.

 

A 5 minute phone call is not that long Reggie and I am not crying over you saying anything, I dont even own them or any AI product lol :lol:. BTW, you still never answered my question I asked you earlier.

 

Anyway, can we get back onto track here and get some more advice on these.

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BTW, you still never answered my question I asked you earlier.

I don't know or care, I've never researched the vortechs and don't plan on buying one in the next 5 years. This is a lighting forum, why don't you ask about lights if you want an answer.

 

Edit: And you didn't respond to a single word I said either, so what do I care what you say? Did you even click on the Orphek link ffs?

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animalmaster6

Thanks for the input. Sounds like this light is as awesome as it looks.

 

Looks awesome!!

 

Does the touchscreen work well?

 

Reggie- You're not going to use a VorTech in 5 years? Might want to rethink that. They are the best.

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Reggie- you rag on some guys information/advice posted on a forum. I can't wrap my head around this one...

1) I didn't start it. I'm reacting to this response of "lol, these things are PAR MONSTERS, you don't know what you're talking about..." when I have the EXACT SAME LIGHTS in my sig. And the ignorance of a statement like, "the only light comparable with par output would be a 150 mh" when again, I have the same god damn lights, how frusterated would you be? I can't get that par output, yet I have the exact same LEDs, hrrmmm... that's just plain dumb, sorry.

 

2) How many times do they have to use the term "PAR MONSTERS" as if this light is some kind of mythological beast before someone else chimes in and says something? These are the most common LEDs in any LED light out there! ... What else do I need to say? These are the most common LEDs in EVERY light you can buy!!!!!! More people should be ragging on this. I can't type that without shaking my head.

 

Edit: Oh were you talking about the guy who posted the light's par ratings? Two reasons I did that, 1) I said two of Evil's par38s were going to be equal to this and theWAND said they wouldn't, while the par ratings that he posted pretty much proved ME correct. 2) I'm just saying that's not an end all measurement because you can't say "oh this one got 600 and this one got 650 so the 650 one is better when they were 2 different tests and times and they're just recording peak outputs, which will favor a spotlight light. These lights use a small 3-up configuration, which most manufacturers don't use. This will make the light more concentrated in the center, like a spot-light effect, which might make for a higher spike in the center of the fixture, but the actual par output in total will not be any different from the same LEDs being run at the same current. As I've said a million times, I have the exact same XP-E and XP-G 3-up lights in my DIY and it cost me $120 and I could've done a 36 watt setup for about $150, so getting this same par output is not hard, or unacheivable.

 

Regardless, the par rating of the Orphek in the review that I posted was quite a bit higher than the Nano (based on captive aquatics and the forum dude respectively) and the Orphek is huge by comparison (not concentrated at all) so it's at a disadvantage if you just compare a peak par rating.

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Let's keep it civil :)

 

Pretty much every LED fixture is Cree LEDs + some arrangement of mass produced chinese electronics and heatsink (costing pennies on the dollar it's sold for for the most part - at least some are assembled and/or cooled better than others), so just pick the arrangement/amount/fixture design that works for you and go with it. This is an issue where comparing "who's best" is pretty much a moot point, because they're really all mostly the same. AI's only real claim to fame is the controller, they paid $$$ to license the ability to integrate a controller without getting sued.

 

I'm a big fan of Orphek as the only (mostly) non-chinese LED product available and their 'Power LED' diode, but their PR-156 is in no way designed for a nano, nor even their new PR-156W. Here's hoping they make something for us!

 

I'm generally not a fan of controllers, but they do have their use from in fixtures designed for nano aquariums because there are so many size/depth variations in nanos. Just find a setting and leave it, rather than stressing out your coral with spectral changes every other day, or alternatively, do some research, get a fixture designed for the size of aquarium you have, and save some $.

 

FWIW, I'm a fan of LED spotlights, because they're so versatile!

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Pretty much every LED fixture is Cree LEDs + some arrangement of mass produced chinese electronics and heatsink (costing pennies on the dollar it's sold for for the most part - at least some are assembled and/or cooled better than others), so just pick the arrangement/amount/fixture design that works for you and go with it. This is an issue where comparing "who's best" is pretty much a moot point, because they're really all mostly the same. AI's only real claim to fame is the controller, they paid $$$ to license the ability to integrate a controller without getting sued.

 

I totally agree with you and its true with a lot of products. I mean a skimmer is pieces of plastic. Have people made there own? Yes, but it doesnt stop them from paying hundreds or thousands on "name brand" ones. You cant compare a DIY price to a company's price because a DIY is usually way cheaper. For me, I like AI because its upradability and the controller and not many fixtures on the market offer this. Like you said, they did pay for the license and put in the research to acquire it.

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animalmaster6

Thanks for the opinion Mike. I do agree that the LED Spotlights are more versatile and can be made to "show" certain parts of the tank. Do they have good PAR?

 

 

I loved your carpet anemone articles BTW.

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