AI Sol placement

R

ReefJunky

Premium Member
I feel like I'm over analyzing this, but since each unit is covering an 18x18" footprint it shouldn't matter whether the unit is parallel or perp with the tank, right? Looking to design a light mount from EZTube and would prefer to have the lights perpendicular with tank (cords would exit the backside) but they're currently parallel and it seems like it would be better as the pucks run with the length of the tank. A little help please :)
 
They have 18"x18" coverage even thou they are rectangle lights? I don't remember. I ran my Sol's Parallel and had the cords meet in the middle. My tank is 60"x18" and I am still only running two Vegas Parallel.
 
My tank is 36x18 so each light needs to cover an 18x18. From what I've read online the lights basically cover a 24"x24" (obv with right height placement). I currently have them just like you said, side to side, cords meet in middle.
 
I know you would get more support from your light support running them front to back but, maybe you can run two Eztube per light. Like the picture of the fishtank in the middle of the page of this link:
http://eztube.com/gallery
 
I suggest looking at your rockwork and coral placement as well to determine what configuration gives you the best coverage in relation to the corals. You probably won't want to run them at 100% anyway and I would just watch where your center pucks are located as the stock optics on those are 40 degree as opposed to the 70 degree optics on the outer pucks. The center pucks will deliver a lot of PAR and may bleach things out if the corals are not acclimated to LED's and high intensity. A lot of people, including me, swapped out the 40 degree optics for 70 degree optics which you can order from AI.
 
Yeah, I have the 70 degree optics and am currently running them just 5" AWL, tank is 18" deep (I will increase light height when mounts are made. Temp mounts were made using spare wood I already had) running W40 B55 R55. None of my corals are attached so if I need to rearrange to accommodate the lights somehow that can be arranged. I'm moreso concerned with getting my mounts designed and deciding which direction to face them is crucial in starting lol. The tank is plenty lit up now, and I could always pull them off and move it around to see if there is a noticeable diff pending which direction they face, but id rather not play with them too much above the tank as that's an accident waiting for me to meet! :)
 
Well, problem solved. Answer from AI:
Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry. In my opinion, I would run the Sols at about 8-12" above the water line and parallel to the tank. This will Not only maximize your spread but will also yield great PAR . If you have any other questions please ask at anytime. We thank you for supporting AI and have a great rest of your week.

Best

Justin
AI
 
Yes, Justin is great. It is amazing how fast he responds. I would think they get hundreds of questions a day.......Maybe they hire a bunch of people named Justin to answer the questions. HA!
 
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