Anyone try AuraLed?

[4deepwater8]

hi...i bought a custom auraled fixture from Mr. Rob Wood and i got the fixture about 2 weeks later. After putting the fixture on my tank...i notice it was not nearly as bright as the marineland fixtures i had before. I bought an apogee PAR reader and to my surprise here are the readings:

8" Deep - 70 par
24" Deep - 25 par

To my surprise when i ordered the fixture Rob actually guaranteed me that i would be satisfied with the fixture and my PAR would read around 800 at the sand bed 24". PAR Reading on this auraled is nowhere near what he promises...and it actually is extremely low for corals. My fixture had 175 watts and the reading where that low!

After running tests i requested my money back...but for my surprise Mr. Rob Wood declined it and said it was my fault...

My suggestion....stay away from Auraleds...i have done several par readings and they are VERY LOW....i lost 3 corals in the period of 2 weeks with that fixture.

Can you take some pics and give us details.

 

[bigkenny76]

Not Chosing sides just yet , would love some pics on those PAR readings, Or someone to chime in with anouther PAR reading (hook us up Fryman) , if the numbers are bad , there bad. nothing we can do. but i need more info on placement and height with numbers that low. but it looks like everyone that has them loves them or hates them.

 

[dpeoples]

Yea Fryman hook us up the crowd is going crazy:wildone:

 

[Fryman]

OK, I did some quick & dirty readings. It's a pain to orient the par meter correctly so readings are prolly +/- 10%.

PAR values at the center of the tank
6": 375
8": 330
10": 220
13": 200
20": 185

20" is at the sandbed in my tank.


I also tried the corners for worst-case and got the lowest reading at the very front right corner of 80 (20" depth). Far right side in the middle was 95 (20" depth).

Some notes/caveats:
- PAR sensor I used was an Apogee Model SQ-110
- Depth readings are with reference to the top of the tank. The light is laying on top of the tank but lifted up maybe ~ 2-3" from the water.
- I did the reading ~45 mins ago, it's completely dark outside and there was very little other light to influence the readings.
- I ordered the 150W auraled fixture. I originally asked for 175Watt, but 150 was the maximum Rob said could fit on my tank due to the eurobracing on my Oceanic Tech. This bracing seems to greatly affect the light at the edges of the tank. You can get a custom wattage, I'd recommend getting as high as possible.
- The dimmer is crap IMHO. I probably won't bother hooking it up. It looks cheap & I don't expect it would last very long.
- The fixture is about what I expected...but I wasn't expecting much. It looks very DIY. Probably would be better for people with canopies.
- The color looks more "true" to me. There are a lot of blue LEDs but it doesn't seem to be as blue-tinted as my T5s. I think the red makes a difference. But it's hard to say right now because I don't have any coral in the tank yet. I will update when I move the livestock over.

 

[dpeoples]

Thanks for getting back to us Fryman. Keep us updated if you can. Par lvls seem ok. What does everyone else think? Sorry if it seems like we keep beating a dead horse with all my questions:deadhorse1:

 

[wildman926]

I am not saying shenanigans but I don't trust a person that posts a negative on their first post. I need a picture with the fixture and the corresponding par meter.
kinda like this.

It just seems odd. I was looking at gettting a new LED. But I am still leaning towards the vertex illumina 200 48 inch.

OK, I did some quick & dirty readings. It's a pain to orient the par meter correctly so readings are prolly +/- 10%.

PAR values at the center of the tank
6": 375
8": 330
10": 220
13": 200
20": 185

20" is at the sandbed in my tank.

If the above par readings of the dual 250 MH fixture are accurate, then the Auraled is not far off after reviewing Fryman's readings. I hope this puts to rest the par issue.

 

[bigkenny76]

Thats all i needed to Hear guys , i will be ordering one of these fixtures for my 220 in the next week ,Rob drew up a 210 watt fixture for my tank for a really good price, will update you guys on the progress, Thank you very much Fryman for the update.

 

[4deepwater8]

Fryman thanks for doing that for us fence sitters. I am think I am sold.

 

[richardinphx]

auraled

auraled

Well, i have read every single post in this discussion, and in the discussions that began with soundwave from 2009, and printed and bound all of those into a "book"

i think I am going to try the Virginia company, and mount them to the top of my 48X18X24 reef, (in a wooden frame i will make myself maybe)which is now 10 years old, this makes my 18th year+ with marine tanks, I think it is just what I am looking for.. If you know anything about APS in Arizona, I think my 324w T5HO 48 inch lights and a massive chiller is costing me about 250 dollars a month in the summer!

I am calling A-LED tomorrow finalize some details and hopefullyt by next couple of weekends (of Aug) I will have it in...

We shall see how the electric meter spins then! This is a great forum....I am so impressed with the quality of the persons involved and the intelligence inquiry level here... Its amazing....

richard in phoenix, az

Oh one question,, when are most of running your lights, and for how lon? I use mine 13 hours a day from 9:30 am until 10:30 pm .. i know that costs more because of electric rates premium in the day but ??????

what are some of you doing.. THANX

 

[4deepwater8]

Well, i have read every single post in this discussion, and in the discussions that began with soundwave from 2009, and printed and bound all of those into a "book"

i think I am going to try the Virginia company, and mount them to the top of my 48X18X24 reef, (in a wooden frame i will make myself maybe)which is now 10 years old, this makes my 18th year+ with marine tanks, I think it is just what I am looking for.. If you know anything about APS in Arizona, I think my 324w T5HO 48 inch lights and a massive chiller is costing me about 250 dollars a month in the summer!

I am calling A-LED tomorrow finalize some details and hopefullyt by next couple of weekends (of Aug) I will have it in...

We shall see how the electric meter spins then! This is a great forum....I am so impressed with the quality of the persons involved and the intelligence inquiry level here... Its amazing....

richard in phoenix, az

Oh one question,, when are most of running your lights, and for how lon? I use mine 13 hours a day from 9:30 am until 10:30 pm .. i know that costs more because of electric rates premium in the day but ??????

what are some of you doing.. THANX

Most people I see in here say run them 9-11hrs a day,
I run my as the sun, so in the summer my lights come on at 8:00 and go off at 8:00, and I change as the seasons change.

 

[Fryman]

I've been running actinics for 12 hrs but whites for 10. So the actinics turn on @ 10am, but the whites turn on an hour later at 11am. At night the whites turn off at 9pm, but the actinics stay on till 10pm.

With the reds now I'll prolly go down to 8 hrs, noon-8pm or something like that for them.

 

[bigkenny76]

Fryman have you put any corals in the tank under the new lights yet ? if so could we get a few pics ?

 

[dpeoples]

Just ordered mine today. I only live about two hours from them so mine will be ready on Monday so I am going to go pick it up so I do not have to leave it in FEDEX hands for a safe delivery. Went with the 175 watt. I will post pics as soon as I have it installed and up and running. Gotta say Rob is fun to talk to he definatley answers any possible question you may have and then some.:bounce2:

 

[tjohnson27209]

I've been following this thread for a while and when I first saw the AuraLED listing on ebay I was skeptical soooo I started looking around for research about them I liked what I read so I decided to call up Rob and get started on building my setup for my 54gal corner tank, we agreed on a setup and I placed my order.

Now this is where it gets crappy...I placed my order on I believe a Wed. or Thurs. and Rob told me it would be out Monday and I can expect it to be at my place by Wed. I havent even received a conformation email that FedEx even received my shipment for delivery *I live in NC so it wouldnt take that long to get here* THAT WAS 3.5wks ago! Since placing my order I havent really been able to get in contact with Rob as much either he doesnt answer his phone or it goes straight to voicemail. I just left him another VM on his phone so hopefully this will get straightened out if not then PayPal will be getting a refund request!

-Tyler

 

[dpeoples]

I am sure it will. I have not read anything on any sites from someone being stiffed. I spoke with him twice late last night. Let us know how it goes.

 

[richardinphx]

he may have to soon decide whether he wants to be in the sign business or the LED aquarium lighting business .. he may becoming overwhelmed with order inquiries and just working hard to get the product out to the ones promised first... it is entirely possible and probable that he is a couple of weeks behind with everything.. however, he could surely get someone to answer the emails or return phone calls ... I know he said something about having a wife on his ebay ad (lol)

 

[richardinphx]

good grief i just sent two PM asking about their orders above, i hope i didnt get them backwards... duh

 

[tjohnson27209]

I hope it does work out. When I was able to get in contact with Rob he was a great guy to talk to about the hobby and LEDs. Now it just seems sketchy that he will not answer calls or emails after he got my $275. For me personally I dont care if my orders takes 3days to 7months to get here JUST STAY IN CONTACT WITH ME!!!! That way I know you aren't hiding anything from me....butttttttttt we'll see how it turns out *keeping fingers crossed*

-Tyler

 

[rysher]

wow!

 

[richardinphx]

I just talked with Rob at Auraled, (6:15 pm Arizona time) so it has been about 5 hours since I called him and left my first message, we discussed my 90 gallon bowfront (48 X 18 X 24) and I expect a quote from him within a day or so, he is telling me build out is about 5 days..... we talked at length about what i wanted, what he thought would work well for me, and answered any question I had - and his answers satisfied me..... He loves to talk aquariums....

He gave a pretty good idea of cost.... so, waiting on drawings and a quote