Has anyone checked out this fixture. Very pricey (48"- $2325), but may pay off with lower energy costs. Plus all the LEDs can be controlled with the built in microchip. ANyway check out the site(http://www.solarisled.com There is a pretty indepth review that is linked on the page. PLease weigh in with your thoughts
Solaris LED Fixture
- Thread starter kingnick1
- Start date
At this point, for me at least. A definate no. Only because I dont know how easy it would be to replace parts like THE CIRCUIT BOARD. At least if I do someting stupid and spill water on my ballast (which is near the ceiling by the way) I only have to spend a few hundred at most to replace it. or cost and eas of replacing individual LED bulbs. I heard they are soldered in. Of course, I have been known to be wrong before. Maybe as the product is tested by some of my peers I could be convinced otherwise. Something about circuit boards and water just dont sit well with me. 8O
its tempting, because theoretically the bulbs last somehting like 7-10 years instead of 6 months to 1 year. also the energy costs arent just what it costs to run the lights, but also from not needing a chiller, or running the home AC. When the price goes down to under a grand, definatly count me in, but i just cant justify spending almost $3000 on new lights for my tank....thats like marilion said "$2000 is a brand new 75-gallon setup with halides and all the fixin's. "
Still way too expensive for me. I do like the idea of LEDs over MH though. I tried a cheeseball setup with 50 leds (not high output ones) about a year ago. It wasn't bright enough for my main, but worked very nicely on a 10 gallon nano. There was no heat except on the ac adaptor. The hammerhead looked great under it for several months. Then I went on vacation and the "caretaker" forgot about that tank 
( Enough rambling though. I do think this is the future, but unfortunately its still that, just the future.
( Enough rambling though. I do think this is the future, but unfortunately its still that, just the future.No, as was stated previously it would take a long long long time to get enough savings from electricity to off set the purchase costs. Besides I like the glimmer lines of MH, not sure if you get that from the LED. Yes I am to lazy to read liquids link so all this may have been addressed in the article. I choose to stay ignorant of a $2000 light until it is cheaper lol :lol: . But I am mostly just too lazy to read. If it was a picture story maybe. :lol:
So what I have read from many is that initial cost is higher BUT it is more energy efficient BUT it would take many years for one to break even. And,
If something goes wrong, repair cost may be really high.
Lets compare this to hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius. Initial cost are much higher than a comprable vehicle that uses regular gasoline only BUT it is more energy efficient BUT it takes many years for one to break even. (they say you need to drive 50,000 miles a year to break even).
And,
If something goes wrong, repair cost may be really high. (Compare the cost of replacing a regular battery to a what is it called? a fuel cell)
If something goes wrong, repair cost may be really high.
Lets compare this to hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius. Initial cost are much higher than a comprable vehicle that uses regular gasoline only BUT it is more energy efficient BUT it takes many years for one to break even. (they say you need to drive 50,000 miles a year to break even).
And,
If something goes wrong, repair cost may be really high. (Compare the cost of replacing a regular battery to a what is it called? a fuel cell)
I believe this light to be the light of the future. No doubt about it. Way more energy efficient, much lower in the heat department and bulbs that are good for 50thousand hours! That basically means never replacing bulbs. I spend now almost a thousand dollars every 9 mths now just for replacement bulbs for two tanks. This LED would pay for itself at my house here in a few short years. The initial cost is greater, but I think you'll see that come down over the next few years. I looked at a coralife setup the other day 72" for 3 m/h and compacks and it ran in the 4k.
This poll is absolutely useless. Question is would I pay 2k for a LED light...well don't you think that all depends on what it can do? Will that provide enough light for a 180 gal and SPS's or light a nano reef??? If it's the nano tank then I say no...if it's the 180 then I say yes.
cheers
This poll is absolutely useless. Question is would I pay 2k for a LED light...well don't you think that all depends on what it can do? Will that provide enough light for a 180 gal and SPS's or light a nano reef??? If it's the nano tank then I say no...if it's the 180 then I say yes.
cheers
Of course it's the future of lighting, but I wouldn't call this thread useless. Not sure where you got that price for the Coralife fixture, as their 72" model seems to be only $1499: http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... ct=ES53530
Whereas the 72" Solaris will run about $3499. It would be the ideal fixture for large tanks with softies, LPS, and montis. I don't think it's intense enough for acropora. From what I've seen, it does look fairly dim (and incredibly blue 8O ). Considering that blue LEDs are brighter than the white ones, the more intense option is the 20K, and not everyone is into that 'washed out' look.
Whereas the 72" Solaris will run about $3499. It would be the ideal fixture for large tanks with softies, LPS, and montis. I don't think it's intense enough for acropora. From what I've seen, it does look fairly dim (and incredibly blue 8O ). Considering that blue LEDs are brighter than the white ones, the more intense option is the 20K, and not everyone is into that 'washed out' look.
A hybrid vehicle only costs ~15-25% more then a comparable gas vehicle. This, on the other hand, costs 200-300% more then a comparable MH setup. Not comparable. However, once the LED setup drops to the range of 15-25% price difference, it will sell in much higher volumes.
Welll, a more fair comparison for those in the auto industry should be the cost between a fuel cell car and a hybrid car. The gas car is incandescent light, the MH is hybrid, and LED is a fuel cell car. If you have a solar panel on your roof top, then your light is a solar car.
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