Aqua Illuminations SOL LED mounting height question!

[RtReef]

Ok AI Sol people or any LED people, actually....
When you converted over to LED did any of you measure PAR before hanging the light and adjusting output percentage?

I want to know the proper height for mounting this light? I made my own mounting bracket for about $10 and I can adjust it.

My tank is a 65G Tall tank that was going on T5 HO 4 bulb 39W/ea. I want to match PAR value more so I don't scorch any of my corals!

If someone has a similar tank in height can they tell me the percentage they are running the LED's on and the height they mounted the light from the tank.

[crailtap25]

not too sure as i do not run LEDs. But if you are switching to AI SOL from a 4 bulb T5 unit then i would keep it as far from the water as possible for a week or two, and move it down 2 inches or so a week. Too far wont hurt anything in the short run, but too close would bleach everything. Keep moving it closer until everything gains the colors you want.

[RtReef]

Here is a pic of my homemade mount..

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o98/rrod234/hang1.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o98/rrod234/hang.jpg

[RtReef]

Yea I read that the corals will adjust to the new light and, at first, will be in shock to the new change.

My mount wire will be fed through the hole on the L mount and on the other side of the hole the wire will be clamped with an adjustable clamp. This way I can raise as high as 18" and lower as low as 8-10"

It was cheap simple and the colors coordinate, white mount and silver cable!

[anbosu]

They are controllable, so set the height wherever you want it to be permanently and then just dial back the intensity. That way you don't have to adjust the height and can still achieve the same impact.

[ghostman]

A lot of people mount their sols 10-12" above the water line to get even spread of the light and not have a spotlight effect from the LEDs, but do not use the height to change the light intensity. You can control the intensity with the controller, and I would recommend going extremely slow. Start out with 25-30% on all colors, w/b/rb, and gradually increase it weekly or more as your corals adjust. IME, some corals adapted better than others. Some SPS loved the change and instantly grew with increased polyp extension; while others retracted/browned a bit/ or had a small bout of STN. Good luck and enjoy them.

[windyridge]

Been doing a lot of reading and research about these lights as ours are due in a few days. I would love to see a pic of yours mounted and hanging over the tank..trying to visualize the adjust-ability. From what I've read, it is suggested that you start out at 30% and most people seem to mount then at a foot. But that depends on the tank coverage you get. Higher gives you more spread but less par at the bottom. I have a challenge in that I have a corner tank. You can also order 70 degree lenses for the middle pucks if you want less intensity in the middle and better spread. This is an option we might explore if we think we need to.

[RtReef]

Thank you for the replies. I will be mounting at one height then and adjusting intensity gradually.

Another question I have is does anyone really use a PAR meter or do they just go off what their coral is telling them?

I opted for the white unit because I read corals use the white to grow. I know the blue has slightly better PAR, but I feel they are bought bc of the blue color pop. After all the research they both look very very similar when running on all blues or all whites. The nice thing is you can control every color with the controller. I can still change for the blue bc I know the guy at the LFS. Anyone have any input about the 2 lights, either way.

[windyridge]

If you do a search here there is a thread or threads somewhere showing par readings and depths.