solaris or halide

TXReefer21 · #1 11/29/2007, 07:51 AM

Please help me out here i have the new 34g current-usa solana tank. I want to have no limit to what i can keep. It will more than likely be a mixed reef. So do i go with the PFO solaris LED or do i get a 150watt halide with PC actinics then tank is 20x20x20 so T5 is out or i would use it. Please tell me what you would choose and why?

Thanks,
TX

roblack · #2 11/29/2007, 09:43 AM

On such a small tank I might go with with MHs and actinics or T5s rather than LEDs just due to the cost. If money is not really an issue, go with LEDs due to the versatility (You can adjust the light levels and color, sunset and sunrise, moon light). Great light for LPS and SPS IMO. I don't know alot about T5s, but they might be the right cheaper light for a tank of that size. I have seen pics of very nice mixed tanks using T5s.

TXReefer21 · #3 11/29/2007, 10:12 AM

thanks for the input but as i mentioned T5's are not a option the shortest available is 24" and my tank is 20" i really dont want a overhang. Price is not a problem. I just don't much about the solaris the more research i do the more i do like the solaris. It does have a lot of great features and it doesnt put out the heat that a halide does. which i do like because i wouldnt have to run a chiller. I also like the fact that i can chance the spectrum as well. I just wanted some input from you guys on what you would use and why.

Thanks,
Tx

jmchzn · #4 11/30/2007, 11:11 AM

SOLARIS
over and out
no contest
my Solaris kick some serious butt with no downside!
oh IMHO

SWSaltwater · #5 11/30/2007, 11:19 AM

go with the 14 " Solaris, the spread will be fine for a 20 cube

TXReefer21 · #6 11/30/2007, 11:45 AM

Thats what i was planning was the 14" solaris. Thanks for all yalls help looks like i will get the solaris. I love early Christmas presents.

Thnks,
TX

chrissreef · #7 11/30/2007, 11:45 AM

Solaris - no chiller needed, lower electric bills, no heat in your room, no bulb replacement for 5 yrs (though in 5 yrs no one knows if you'll be able to replace your LED's... Solaris isn't even maing that promise!

be careful though... the I seriese has high PAR but doesn't give the visual intensity of MH so you will need to acclimate corals to the lighting by putting them on the bottom. the light just works differently so you'll need a little time to get the "feel" of them and their coral impact.

stony_corals · #8 11/30/2007, 12:07 PM

Go with the halide SWSaltwater sells solaris so there's bias there...

Don't waste your money by going LED, all the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) surrounding the savings over LED versus halide are bunk at best. You don't need a chiller for halides... The Solaris are no where near intense as a halide, the studies PFO did was with an XM 20k, a crappy bulb for PAR, without a reflector....

What I would do if I were you, get a lumenarc, which is 19" square, with an IC 175w ballast and the Iwasaki 14k SE. No need for actinics, a very blue white look. Also you could do something like a 250 HQI and Radium combo which is one of the best colors to the eye and corals...

lesages · #9 11/30/2007, 12:09 PM

You wouldn't need a chiller with a 175w MH. I've got 150w MH + 2x65 PC over my 25G and one 60mm PC fan blowing across the water provides more than enough cooling.

I'd go with MH.

hyperfocal · #10 11/30/2007, 12:27 PM

I'm with lesages. I'm running a 175W MH over my 20H, and it's being cooled by only a small 12v fan too. The money you'd save over buying an LED would buy some sweet frags

TXReefer21 · #11 11/30/2007, 12:48 PM

Thanks for the reply but my tank is rimless and i dont want a huge reflector and fans taking away from the beauty of the tank. Aslo with a halide i know i will need a chiller i run them on a tank now and it gets hot here in texas and i will need a chiller. Also this tank is in the bedroom and i dont want a bunch of light spill like you get with halides. I think i will take the chance and get the solaris. It does everything i want and has a nice sleek look to it.

TX

hyperfocal · #12 11/30/2007, 12:55 PM

Well, sounds like your mind was already made up but that's ok

It'd probably be worth checking out other LED units though. Aqua-Illumination jumps immediately to mind.

Reef Sponger · #13 11/30/2007, 12:57 PM

I've seen Solaris and although a really cool fixture, not sure if it has enough to keep SPS and clam dominated tanks. Fish only, mixed reef with only a few high light demanding corals might do well.

TXReefer21 · #14 11/30/2007, 01:05 PM

well it wasnt already made up but i have posted a couple other place and have been weighing the pros and cons of both for a while and think the solaris will do a mixed reef nicely with out the heat and heck its a really cool fixture.

Thanks,
Tx

stony_corals · #15 11/30/2007, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TXReefer21
Thanks for the reply but my tank is rimless and i dont want a huge reflector and fans taking away from the beauty of the tank. Aslo with a halide i know i will need a chiller i run them on a tank now and it gets hot here in texas and i will need a chiller. Also this tank is in the bedroom and i dont want a bunch of light spill like you get with halides. I think i will take the chance and get the solaris. It does everything i want and has a nice sleek look to it.

TX

TX, will you need a chiller anyways? I have run halides for years, and don't run chillers. In the summer when it gets 85-90, a good sized fan will do wonders for increasing evaporation. With a lumenarc, the spill will be minimal if any, that's the reason to use them. I had two on a rimless tank and with the fixture I built it complimented the beauty of the tank. Good luck.

TXReefer21 · #16 11/30/2007, 01:13 PM

Thanks but i rather not have a science experiment in my bedroom with fan and what not im try to keep it very clean and simple i didnt come here to argue i was just stating that i think it wouldnt look good with the large reflector. If i did go halide it would be a prebuilt fixture. Im just trying to see what everyones opinion was and why. The more i look at it the more i like the solaris so i guess i am going to try it. You dont know untill you try it so that what im going to do.

THNKS
TX

stony_corals · #17 11/30/2007, 01:31 PM

Like I said good luck... I don't see how having a halide would be a 'science experiement'....

TXReefer21 · #18 11/30/2007, 01:43 PM

because then have fans and everything else every where and to me that looks like crap.

TX

stony_corals · #19 11/30/2007, 01:49 PM

Nah, you could make a very nice hood to enclose all that. Some people like to do that other do not (I'm one that doesn't). That's all my point was, fixtures can be made that rival and surpass most of the commericial stuff. I mean even the Aquamedic pendants are sharp looking... I recommended lumenarc due to the quality of the reflector and that they'd focus the light down.

Please post your experiences with your new Solaris.

hyperfocal · #20 11/30/2007, 02:09 PM

There *are* nice looking MH strips out there. Note that the LED units have fans as well, if you're worried about noise/appearance/whatever.

curthendrix · #21 11/30/2007, 02:16 PM

I believe the new Solaris "I" fixture should provide enough light to keep any SPS or clams you would want. To those that have seen the LEDs in person....how would you rate the light produced from an asthetic perspective?

roblack · #22 11/30/2007, 04:05 PM

My Solaris H4 is more than bright enough to keep SPS and clams, and I do not even have it on the brightest settings (about 75% at the moment). I have a variety of acros (over 20), about 10 montis, and tons of LPS, all thriving under the H4. Some of the LPS were moved to shadier areas due to too much light.

curthendrix · #23 11/30/2007, 04:29 PM

How does the light visually compare to MH and T5s? How is your sps growth?

chrissreef · #24 11/30/2007, 05:28 PM

"surrounding the savings over LED versus halide are bunk at best. You don't need a chiller for halides... The Solaris are no where near intense as a halide"

bunk? hmm, less heat bulb heat (read as AC running, less water heat (read as chiller running), less humidity, less chiller, 0 bulb replacement costs, no loud/huge fancy canopy that costs $$.

Sure you can get 175mh... but who wants a flashlight above their tank? you don't need a chiller with 175w b/c they aren't putting much out of... anything - otherwise you need a chiller (unless you have mh 20"+ off the water). one can grow sps easier under solaris than a 175w any day... a 250 will begin giving the solaris competition though. 400w is still better - but he has a small tank so it's impractical.

yes the solaris isn't as intense to our eyes as a 400w halide - but they blow a 175w out of the water to our eyes - i've seen 2 running (H, I series). The I series is very bright... when I saw it, it was the intensity of a 250w halide but with 400w par values.

2cp - didn't mean to come off so pointed but some people are very skeptical/biased b/c it costs $ initially. As for me, I have to go MH b/c of the shape of my tank... I would need 3 solaris hoods which would cost me over $6k =(

aninjaatemyshoe · #25 11/30/2007, 05:34 PM

Problem is the length of your tank. The 14" solaris seems like it would be too short and the 24" solaris would probably be too long (would look kinda ugly above that tank). Also, the spread of LED fixtures tends to be a tad too narrow for a tank 20" wide. Most I've read recommend nothing wider than 18". A metal halide pendant would be better choice for a tank of those dimensions. The solana has a MH pendant that looks pretty nice. Why not go with that?