Hi Allen. Thanks for the info. I'd see the thunderstorm video - pretty cool eh? I think there has been one Sol owner that was called by neighbors at night to see if they had electricity shorting out in their house, based on the flashes LOL! I'm not sure if I would run that mode, but we'll see.
I'm not sure if I can mount the Sol in the 130 hood or not. The hood depth (top-bottom) may not be enough room, and I believe the front-back dimension of the spacing for the stock lights is a bit less than the dimension of the Sol. I've even considered cutting through the top of the 130 hood and attaching it from the top.
Another option is to take the guts out of my current 6xT5 hood, and attach it in this. I've never liked to height of this hood, but that extra height might now be good to get the Sol up higher. This is as low as the hood can sit, but it can be raised higher:
My other option is to get the 24" Sol rails and legs, then attach a 12" set of rails crosswise on top of these. The Sol mounting is designed to be mounted with the units situated with the long dimension parallel to the sides, rather than the front of the tank, and I need the opposite to get the light spread I want. If I got this route I'll have to make a screen frame for the tank - not a big deal.
OK - I just took a break from this post and ordered the AI Sol Super Blue Module w/ Controller, and 12 & 24" rails. That should cover me on all of my mounting possibilities. This is now my most expensive attack of reef insanity! But at least the cost of replacing T5s is now a thing of the past. Don't look for any quick installations - it may be a month or more till I get the unit and then have time to figure out the mounting.
