Ai sol to hydra 52 upgrade extra pucs.

[dgelz]

Just upgraded two of my sol blues to hydra 52s. What should I do with the led pucs I took out of the sols? I've got fans, lenses, circuit boards and led pucs. Advice?http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/02/pyturaty.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/02/8esuga7a.jpg

[mattmann88]

Was the upgrade fairly easy??

[LefkoNJ]

Did this upgrade as well. It is very simple to do.

[dgelz]

The upgrade is ridiculously easy.

[reelredfish]

Can you provide me feedback on the upgrade?

I am in the process of a tank change. My old 120 Gallon has been torn down. It had two SOL Blue on it never had issues with them so I still have them.

Currently setting up my new 180 in wall 5' tank. I figure I need 3 lights on this tank. I was looking at buying 3 Hydra 52 but now that they have the upgrade I am interested in upgrading the two I have then buying one new for the middle.

Once upgraded is it exactly the same as a new 52 mounting and all?

Cause if I upgrade them it would be just about like me getting the new light for the middle for free....my strange logic

[dgelz]

The upgrade kit comes with absolutely everything g for a brand new light, minus the aluminum heat sink. The conversion is incredibly simple. The new circuit board is the brain of the light...it tells everything what to do and when to do it. So as far as control is concerned...the upgrade and the hydra 52 new are identical. The only difference is in the height of the heatsink. The sol heatsinks are probably about a .5" or more taller than the new hydra 52s. This didnt bother me. I just updated the firmware and all three are running flawlessly in unison.
IMO...to buy new hydra 52s for $599 when you can upgrade your two sols for $299 isn't worth it. Figure your sol is worth about $230 used...if you're lucky. Add $299 for the upgrade kit and your total is $530. You're saving $70/light, plus you can sell your sol blue led pucks, circuit board, power supply, and lenses, as well as the body, which would narrow down your expense significantly assuming you could find a buyer...maybe $100 or so.

[dgelz]

Mounting is exactly the same. All holes are drilled with the exact same dimensions. The only difference is the heights of the hydra 52 vs the sol upgrade. The difference in height can be made up while mounting using washers or spacers from Home Depot. They're $.12 ea.

[dgelz]

"upgrading the two I have then buying one new for the middle." This is exactly what I did.
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[reelredfish]

Perfect thank you so much for your help on this. I was not worried about the physical part of the install. Have been working on electronics my whole life.

Was just concerned if it was the same as buying a new hydra 52 or not.

[reelredfish]

That's how I plan to set mine up just like your pics. How long is your tank?

[dgelz]

All three units (two converted, one store bought) were immediately picked up by the wireless remote..."three hydra 52s detected". Felt awesome when I saw that on the led screen.

[dgelz]

60" long, 30" deep, 20" tall

[reelredfish]

Ok and the 3 have no issues covering the tank? Cause that about what I am at my dims are a little different but close enough it should be close.

[dgelz]

Absolutely no problems covering the tank. I was worried about width coverage, which is why I mounted mine perpendicular. But even then I could have mounted the parallel with the tank and been fine. These lights have great spread.

[reelredfish]

Thanks for all of the input nice to see some folks still willing to pass on first hand info.

[bapicella]

Is this upgrade worth it? What was the cost?

[reelredfish]

I did not upgrade i traded mine in for store credit and now have 3 brand new Hydra 52 above my tank.

I just did it cause i wanted the warranty.

[dotkat77]

Where is the best place to get the kit? A friend of my wants to upgrade his Sol-blues

[reelredfish]

Ai direct.

[Adam G]

Yep, just go to aquaillumination.com and go to upgrades. Just ordered mine today. Really looking forward to receiving them based on the great feedback you guys are giving. I currently have 4 Sol Blues on a 48x30x30. I am just going to convert 3 of them and see how well they cover my SPS dominated tank. I can always convert the 4th if I need it.