Aqua Illumination Sol Blue Question

[RDA]

The short and simple of it: Are AI Sol Blues still worth running or are they so far obsolete at this point that they aren't?

I have a 29 gallon Oceanic Biocube and a buddy just gave me an AI Sol Blue with controller. I have been wanting to switch over to LEDs but haven't taken the plunge yet (how late to the party am I?). I was wanting to know if I should run this light or if I am still better off looking for something newer?

Tank has softies, lps, and a few sps towards the top of the tank.

Thank you.

 

[newjack]

theses are still great lights and very strong. They will do fine growing corals. You don’t have to always have the newest led on the market.

 

[pecan2phat]

They actually grew my corals better than the Radions that I invested in back in 2010

 

[jda]

Some of the locals would fight you if you tried to take one of theirs. They buy up all of the used units that they can find, but they are also getting near end of life and are needing to replace more and more of them.

If you got it for free, then run it and see if you like it. You have nothing to lose.

 

[RDA]

Good to hear these are still a good option to start with. How high should I mount the light above a 29 gallon biocube? From reading, it sounds like AI recommended mounting them at 8 to 12 inches above the surface.

 

[B-SMOOTH]

From everything I've seen/read, the Sols are legendary

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/rentons-custom-200.101447/

 

[DrufusReef]

The short and simple of it: Are AI Sol Blues still worth running or are they so far obsolete at this point that they aren't?

I have a 29 gallon Oceanic Biocube and a buddy just gave me an AI Sol Blue with controller. I have been wanting to switch over to LEDs but haven't taken the plunge yet (how late to the party am I?). I was wanting to know if I should run this light or if I am still better off looking for something newer?

Tank has softies, lps, and a few sps towards the top of the tank.

Thank you.

The Sol's have been and will always be a good quality light. I would not run them in a large SPS only system as your primary lighting, but in a 29 gallon cube they should be just fine even if you want to throw some SPS in. There will always be new advancements in par or ease of use, but a straight blue and white light will not become obsolete anytime soon. I run 2 Hydra 32's in my 100g setup and they do just fine. The other light spectrum is fun to play with but 90% of the time I'm only running white's and blues anyway. Enjoy your new lights! :)

 

[RDA]

Awesome, great to hear. Hopefully should be getting the rest of my hardware to mount the light tonight, so hopefully I can get the light mounted soon.

Any ideas on how high I should mount the fixture over the water surface?

 

[Useful_Idiot]

Just a heads up my sol blues from 2010 that I ran at 100% for at least 5 years lost most of their par output. My tank wasn't doing well last year, finally dawned on me they may be worn out although visually still bright to me. Got a par meter and readings are a 1/4 of what is posted in the original Reef Central thread.