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View Full Version : A non-scientific honest review of the Aqua Illumination Nano from an actual user


rostato
09/11/2011, 06:21 PM
Having owned the AI Sol in the past, and being one of the first few people to utilize the Sol's power to it's full potential (using half the amount of modules than recommended with success), I quickly jumped on the chance to use the Nano Sol on my new project.

So I ordered 2 of them from ReefGeek as soon as I could, and played with the lights this week. I must say that while they are just as awesome as the Sol, as far as spread and power; they really screwed the pooch again on the mounting design.

Before we get into everything, I'll give a little background on the tank.

I picked up a 40 Breeder during Petco's $1 gallon sale for cheap, and started from there. Technically these lights give off 15" of spread, and therefore I would probably be told to utilize 3 fixtures on this tank, but I am pretty sure I can get away with only 2 easily.

Check out my build thread here. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2066287

So after getting the lights and unboxing them I was astounded by how nice, small, light and compact the AI Nano really is.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/265ff6df.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/0bfd09c1.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/d9b190e1.jpg

rostato
09/11/2011, 06:29 PM
As for light and spread, I didn't take any par readings because AI proved themselves to be honest with the SOL, so why would they publish fake numbers on the nano.

Anyway, as far as spread goes, they are about spot on with there specs. I had to mount mine about 2 inches higher that the stock mount would have placed the because of it's terrible design, but I'll get into that later.

So with the extra 2 inches I get about 18-20" of spread out of the nano which is pretty awesome. Here is a coup,e pictures with just one light on the tank....not at full power to better show the spread pattern

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/41a517c1.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/970acc43.jpg

Now the whole tank
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/a17c0cae.jpg

As you can see, they really are very bright. It's hard to capture them properly.

As for the mount...this seems to be a trend from Aqua Illuminations, and it is starting to drive me crazy.

First off the mount doesn't even work on 90% of the tanks produced today. Anything with a brace is not compatible. See pic

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/1df7296a.jpg


Second, they only give you two extremely long screws to use on the mount that stick up at least an inch, and look ugly.

And third...if you tighten said screws to a normal torque, it will somehow inhibit the fan from turning on, and make the lights overheat...this induces a nice safety feature where the lights turn off, but troubleshooting this down was just absolutely terrible. Who would have though that was the cause? Here I thought I had defective lights that would turn of automatically every few minutes, only to find out that the hardware that comes with he lights was the cause.

rostato
09/11/2011, 06:35 PM
So, in order to get the mount to work, and look semi-good, I had to mount some 3/8" acrylic to the back of the tank, and attach the mount to that. Then I had to buy new 10-32" screws so that the hardware looked sleek.

I also had to add a 1/4" aluminum spacer to the back whole and a longer screw to make the light level. This was because the acrylic was at an angle...not because the mount is Fu bar.

Here is my mounting solution. I think it turned put nice, but could be better.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/f32f2d62.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m36/hondaguru/6c2ce790.jpg


So overall, the lights are awesome, but AI just can't seem to completely finish off their products with a nice looking, all purpose design. It was a problem with the SOL, and it continues with the Nano. Let's hope they figure something out for the future "phoenix" light.

moondoggy4
09/11/2011, 11:01 PM
Thanks for the pictures and the review I was thinking of putting one on my 33 gallon cube but I have the brace around it So I will have to go with the Sol.

rostato
09/12/2011, 07:06 AM
Yup. Just sucks that AI would develop such a great light and the build a light mount that most reefers can't use with out doing some mods.

Now, I did notice that if I cut the inside lip off the brace it probably would have fit easily. The brace is really easy to cut, but that would have hindered my screen top from working, and I needed a bit more spread.

I actually had to cut a small piece of my sump to make the mount for my ATO fit, and it took all of 2 min.

ari5736
09/12/2011, 07:57 AM
Finally a review of these on RC, can you tell me if the xm white gives a similar color rendition to the white in the SOL. Also approximately how high does the mount put these lights?

macdreamy
09/12/2011, 08:19 AM
Dude

Awesome review on the nano

What's the dimension of your tank that the AI nanos were on?

I wanted to get 2 of those for my 42" x 22" x 18"

Everyone tells me that I should go for 2 Sol instead

But I dun want any light spillage so is the 2 nano working good for coverage?

rostato
09/12/2011, 08:57 AM
Finally a review of these on RC, can you tell me if the xm white gives a similar color rendition to the white in the SOL. Also approximately how high does the mount put these lights?

The white is right around the same as the SOL to my eye. I'll get you dimensions when I get home. I am almost positive that in it's stock configuration the light is 4" off of the water. Mine is about 2" higher than stock. I'll confirm later tonight for ya

rostato
09/12/2011, 09:02 AM
Dude

Awesome review on the nano

What's the dimension of your tank that the AI nanos were on?

I wanted to get 2 of those for my 42" x 22" x 18"

Everyone tells me that I should go for 2 Sol instead

But I dun want any light spillage so is the 2 nano working good for coverage?

This is a standard 40b. 36"x18"x18

I originally had mounted the about 2-3 inches higher than they currently are and had a ton of light spillage. Now I only get a little bit off of the back of the light.

It's hard to say, but I bet 2 nanos would do the trick with well placed corals. 2 sols would be a bit overkill IMO, but definitely a better option if your gonna pack it full of sps

macdreamy
09/12/2011, 10:45 AM
great, thanks

love to see how your tank progress

i'm not looking to 'pack' mine with sps but definitely placed them where they can get optimal lighting,

does controller work with the nano? or maybe control with the apex?

125mph
09/12/2011, 10:54 AM
Do you think this would be too much light for something like a 5g pico?

ari5736
09/12/2011, 01:15 PM
I have my SOL mounted 14" above water line with 40 degree optics and it totally covers 24" lengthwise, I'm curious if you could get the same coverage with the Nano, with the inreased intensity of the xm making up for the par difference. ANy thoughts?

Macropora
09/12/2011, 01:30 PM
It makes me wonder why the bracket is so small to begin with on the AI Nano. Maybe their intentions were to have it installed on a rimless tank or a Nano tank like 5 - 10 gallons?

rostato
09/12/2011, 01:33 PM
great, thanks

love to see how your tank progress

i'm not looking to 'pack' mine with sps but definitely placed them where they can get optimal lighting,

does controller work with the nano? or maybe control with the apex?

Yeah I'm using the ai controller, and they work with apex, reefkeeper, and profilux controllers also.

rostato
09/12/2011, 01:34 PM
Do you think this would be too much light for something like a 5g pico?

Yes, but it's controllable, so you can easily make it work

rostato
09/12/2011, 01:37 PM
I have my SOL mounted 14" above water line with 40 degree optics and it totally covers 24" lengthwise, I'm curious if you could get the same coverage with the Nano, with the inreased intensity of the xm making up for the par difference. ANy thoughts?

That would be a stretch I think. I'm getting about 18-20" spread, and was getting more with them mounted higher, but I doubt the PAR would be high enough on the outer stretches of the tank. Worth a try of your bored and have a PAR meter

rostato
09/12/2011, 01:39 PM
It makes me wonder why the bracket is so small to begin with on the AI Nano. Maybe their intentions were to have it installed on a rimless tank or a Nano tank like 5 - 10 gallons?

I'm 90% sure that they developed it to be on a rimless tank. Nice for rimless owners, but not so much for most of the reef keepers out there.

Macropora
09/12/2011, 02:18 PM
I'm 90% sure that they developed it to be on a rimless tank. Nice for rimless owners, but not so much for most of the reef keepers out there.

Maybe they should have an optional brackets available. One for rimless tanks and one with rims.

rostato
09/12/2011, 02:42 PM
Maybe they should have an optional brackets available. One for rimless tanks and one with rims.

Key word...should. Ever since they came out the complaints with AI were their mounting options. I was just hopeful they finally fixed them, but was quickly disappointed

rostato
09/12/2011, 04:55 PM
Finally a review of these on RC, can you tell me if the xm white gives a similar color rendition to the white in the SOL. Also approximately how high does the mount put these lights?

The mount puts the light 4 inches off of the top of the tank...mine is 6" off the tank with the way I have it mounted, and 6.5" off of the water.

96p993
09/12/2011, 07:12 PM
I have a 29x26x18 tank...I absolutely love the footprint of this thing. Do you think 2 would work on a mixed zoo, acan tank?

rostato
09/12/2011, 07:27 PM
That's a tough one. I honestly doubt it. You'd be better served with 2 sols

96p993
09/12/2011, 07:30 PM
That's a tough one. I honestly doubt it. You'd be better served with 2 sols

Ya I already knew the answer...I just really love the tiny footprint

125mph
09/12/2011, 08:03 PM
Hi,

if the tank is 12x12x12 (7.5g pico), will the nano sol be able to fit with the mount? Basically, is the mount/rail adjustable horizontally so that I can position the LED unit in the middle of the tank?

125mph
09/12/2011, 08:41 PM
Also, does the nano come with a controller or do you buy it separate? I see theres some touch screen controller thing.. how does that work? Where is the screen on the unit? I assume it came with the rail kit you used right?

rostato
09/12/2011, 10:09 PM
Yes it came with the mount. The lights are adjustable front to back 1".

Honestly, IMO you need to buy the separate controller. The touch controls are finicky, and worthless. I feel like it was developed for show tanks when showing off the lights, but in reality it's just not practical. If you set the light to your preference and cycle the power the light will automatically go full power. So unless you want it full power on a separate timer all the time, it's worth nothing.

No screen on the unit

AD87
09/13/2011, 06:44 AM
I have a 29x26x18 tank...I absolutely love the footprint of this thing. Do you think 2 would work on a mixed zoo, acan tank?


The website shows the foot print and par numbers on a 36x36 square at 24 inches deep, so at 18 deep inches so you might be able to pull off lighting a 24x24 square at a shallower depth.

125mph
09/13/2011, 08:12 AM
The website shows the foot print and par numbers on a 36x36 square at 24 inches deep, so at 18 deep inches so you might be able to pull off lighting a 24x24 square at a shallower depth.

The website par numbers and spread on the nano is not correct btw. It is the same image (yes actual same image source location) from the Sol White. They need to take some new measurements and post real data for the nano.

AD87
09/13/2011, 08:49 AM
The website par numbers and spread on the nano is not correct btw. It is the same image (yes actual same image source location) from the Sol White. They need to take some new measurements and post real data for the nano.

Yea pretty misleading

125mph
09/14/2011, 10:46 AM
Alrite.. I just ordered the AI Nano for my new Nuvo8g Pico.. Hope it works out and fits right. The glass is 6mm thick.. any suggestions on mounting it? The tank is 12x12x12.. i assume it will fit nicely in the middle of the tank?

rostato
09/14/2011, 01:14 PM
Should be fine. You may need a spacer to keep the mount more secure. But only one way to tell...

rostato
09/20/2011, 09:41 PM
Here is a video review. Not the best, but gives a decent idea of what to expect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDDSgDGQCbw&sns=em

bymers42
09/27/2011, 07:03 PM
Did you get a measurement at all on the mount as far as how wide of a rim it can fit on? I saw you said you mounted it on 3/8 acrylic, but could it fit on something wider yet? I am just trying to figure out how I will mount one on my 29g BC.

rostato
09/27/2011, 08:15 PM
Up to 1/2" per the AI spec sheet

wes42079
10/25/2011, 06:13 PM
Nice review on the AI's. I am now considering purchasing these over T5's.

mr86mister
11/27/2011, 10:57 PM
Great review. Looking to get one for my JBJ Nanocube 6.

Nami_Dori
01/06/2014, 08:42 AM
Old post, I know, but I have it on my 12" cube. The slots on the mounts only let you slide it 1/2". Mine is sitting off center, even after I filed it. It sits on a curve, and the light doesn't work if it's tilted. Tried shimming it, but it was a hassle. I'm upgrading to an 18" cube, should be fine then. Also, I'm running an SPS tank, the light works great.

MikeD
03/10/2014, 10:54 AM
I'd like to hear more from other users of the Nano too to see what your long term thoughts were on this light... Want to use it for coral QT and frag tank use...

terry4505
04/17/2014, 08:58 AM
I'm picking up one of these for my 4 gallon pico (probably overkill, I know).

I'll post a review when I get mine tomorrow.