Apollo Reef LED SolarBlast Dimable Review

[Dustin1300]

I wanted to also make a correction to my initial post regarding weather conditions being programmed and having the ability to program clouds/lightning.

After playing with the lightning mode, it seems that this feature does not work. I contacted Joe from Apollo last night and guess this feature only works when the Apex is tied into an AI light. The MeanWell drivers do not support the rapid charge and discharge of the capacitors. Not really something I much cared about but just wanted to make sure I clarified this on the thread so no one points a finger at me later. :sad2:

Cloud movement works as it just changes the voltage from time to time to dim your lights but I really don't see much value in either one of the features, was just curious as to what they'd look like. I guess now I don't have to worry about any of my fish being epileptic!

 

[bhazard451]

I personally don't want to dismantle a fixture to bring it up to an equivalent to that of an Apollo and after you consider your original purchase price of the chinese fixtures, and then add all the additional costs of having the better built Apollo you quickly find that the price has hiked considerably.

I'm not saying to dismantle a fixture. I'm saying it wouldn't cost any extra for the Chinese fixtures or Apollo to have meanwells in the first place. They also have a 3 year warranty, but the US warranty is definitely better if you had to ship the unit back to China to fix. No disagreement there. If they were Apex dimmable and $200, would you have thought about going with the chinese one with the same specs?

salty.. you haven't taken into account wholesale pricing for buying large quantities of leds and drivers. I showed what it would cost ME retail to build my DIY fixture with. This is including my cost I paid for $4 crees, $2.50 crees, and $2.99 luxeons.. retail. A reel of 1,000 of them would cost $1.55 each going into a pcb board

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail...00000N04/?qs=ygRr/tkhtesIvBXlkzV5JDHY09dWgO6T

Asian "Bridgelux" leds only put out 60lm/watt. If they are using true Bridgelux, yes it does come much closer... BUT, the Cree's can be run at the Meanwell's natural 1300mah without adjusting the meanwells down to 700mah. This puts out around 4.5 watts instead of 3. Instead of using 55 leds, you only need 24-36, which yes does amount to more savings and efficiency.

Taking all that into account, and adding the extras mentioned, would be UNDER $250 cost wholesale. Add costs like warranty coverage, contracting for pcb boards, etc.. and $399 can def be done.

Like I said, the Apollos are a great option "right now" for Apex users at $350. I wish I didn't have to DIY to get an affordable Apex Cree XT-E fixture though, even though it is possible. If the Maxspect Razor didn't have a controller, I think it could be sold for $399. If I didn't have an Apex, I would have pre-ordered it.

If no company does make an affordable Cree/Luxeon fixture in the near future, I may actually invest in making this happen. Reef controller users have little choice for affordable led fixtures. I feel like the AIs are handily beaten by the Apollo, and the Chinese fixtures. A Cree apollo w more leds and power at $399 would make AI look silly.

 

[Dustin1300]

I ask again, let's keep this thread on track. If you want to debate chinese/AI/Apollo/etc fixtures please create a separate thread for your agenda....Thanks again!

 

[blackgate]

I just pulled the trigger last week and got 2 for my 120. Will be setting them up this weekend. All I can add to the discussion at this point is that they are packaged extremely well and they are very nice looking fixtures.

 

[Tater11]

Thanks dustin I've had them on for about 3 months I had my coral on a frag rack for awhile to adjust them to the lights.they've been permanently mounted on the rock for about 3 weeks and are already encrusting on the rock.ill post some before and after pics when i get home later.

 

[bhazard451]

I knew something was fishy about these lights.

"These lights are not available elsewhere except through us directly or one of our U.S., France, Philippines, Guadolupe or Belgium authorized distributors."

Except that's a lie. These lights were made by the same Chinese company that I ordered my recent Chinese Led fixture from, Twilight Group, in China. Here's proof.

http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/107126704.html

The lot of 20 they bought, came out to $167 a fixture. Exact same light, resold to you at $399. Apollo "R&D" didn't design or do a damn thing.

You can email Jason at Twilight directly on that alibaba page, and they can ship you the light direct from China for much less if you wanted, except they might not be able to use the logo. I might just go ahead and order it. Do yourselves a favor and order this light direct for much less money.

Here is my light I ordered, with LCD controller, shipped from China for $250. Notice the similarities? Same company. They're actually very nice and helpful.

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-g...ght-reef-and-coral-fish-bank-wholesalers.html

 

[Dustin1300]

From what I can see the lights are laid out in a different manner and does not specify whether they are using MeanWell drivers. Shell is definitely the same but I'd say be cautious with placing blame until you know the facts. All roads lead to china though! Tell me when you find the AI Vega/Radion

Do you have fixture already so you can comment on the internals?

 

[Chicago]

i do not think the insides are the same drivers. we will know shortly after the chinese made units are posted..

 

[bhazard451]

From what I can see the lights are laid out in a different manner and does not specify whether they are using MeanWell drivers. Shell is definitely the same but I'd say be cautious with placing blame until you know the facts. All roads lead to china though! Tell me when you find the AI Vega/Radion

Do you have fixture already so you can comment on the internals?

I'll let you know once I get it. I also requested the same configuration (Meanwell's and all) minus the Apollo logo and am waiting on pricing.

The LCD light I ordered they say uses a Rubycon 0-10v dimmable driver, possibly high amp like 5A in parallel strings (Maxspect Razor does this). They confirmed it would work on the Apex if I disconnected the driver from the LCD controller.

Yeah I don't think I'll find AI's or Ecotech's supplier, that would be a little much. lol

 

[Chicago]

what leds did they use on that unit.. it says bridglx.. but they told me epistar.. they also told me they were not sure if worked with apex.. interesting hmm. the appollo unit has the rj45 on the back instead of a lcd included in the unit.. and i know for sure as they sent me pics that units does not use meanwell drivers.. they sent me pics of inside.. the lcd timmer and dimmmer that comes in the unit allows for six points ... so increase light by 3 points and decrease light by 6 points in time..

 

[bhazard451]

what leds did they use on that unit.. it says bridglx.. but they told me epistar.. they also told me they were not sure if worked with apex.. interesting hmm. the appollo unit has the rj45 on the back instead of a lcd included in the unit.. and i know for sure as they sent me pics that units does not use meanwell drivers.. they sent me pics of inside.. the lcd timmer and dimmmer that comes in the unit allows for six points ... so increase light by 3 points and decrease light by 6 points in time..

The units are made custom according to what you want them to add in. If you want bridgelux, 90 degree optics, colors, etc.. just tell them the specs and they'll add it for you. Apollo just had these guys make their light with specific options, like "heat shield for wires", optics, etc.

What I'm saying is, if you want the same internals as the Apollo fixture, you can just ask for it and they'll make it for you. The LCD one is just based on a different setup.

They also have many reps. I talked to Simon for the LCD light, but Jason seems to be the one to contact for the Apollo light.

 

[Dustin1300]

I ask again that if you have an agenda or want to go off topic that you take it elsewhere. The above information is speculation and in my opinion could be taken as defamation or slander. I'd say we all know that the Chinese are not known for being trustworthy on patents/ideas, just look and see things like the Apple stores that pop up and are in no way affiliated with Apple but have the nerve to infringe on every copyright/patent possible. I don't take calling someone a liar lightly and think you should check your facts before you try to take someone's credibility away by saying that they've not put any R&D into a product.

After seeing this posts today I shot an e-mail to Apollo to shed a little more light on the situation. Apollo fixtures are assembled in the United States and components such as the housing are from China, as this helps to keep costs down and is something that they are looking to move away from so you can better disseminate a 'Chinese Fixture' from the Apollo so look forward to this in the near future.

Secondly the pictures posted on aliexpress are actually pictures that Joe took and were stolen and posted on the site. No way affiliated so who's the copy cat? Just please try to have a better sense of pride and just use better judgment as I'd rather first back the US based company and question the Chinese company. I just wanted to keep this short and to the point and end this topic.

 

[vbsaltydog]

I ask again that if you have an agenda or want to go off topic that you take it elsewhere. The above information is speculation and in my opinion could be taken as defamation or slander. I'd say we all know that the Chinese are not known for being trustworthy on patents/ideas, just look and see things like the Apple stores that pop up and are in no way affiliated with Apple but have the nerve to infringe on every copyright/patent possible. I don't take calling someone a liar lightly and think you should check your facts before you try to take someone's credibility away by saying that they've not put any R&D into a product.

After seeing this posts today I shot an e-mail to Apollo to shed a little more light on the situation. Apollo fixtures are assembled in the United States and components such as the housing are from China, as this helps to keep costs down and is something that they are looking to move away from so you can better disseminate a 'Chinese Fixture' from the Apollo so look forward to this in the near future.

Secondly the pictures posted on aliexpress are actually pictures that Joe took and were stolen and posted on the site. No way affiliated so who's the copy cat? Just please try to have a better sense of pride and just use better judgment as I'd rather first back the US based company and question the Chinese company. I just wanted to keep this short and to the point and end this topic.

+1

I hope Joe is able to refute the claim and prove that his design was copied. If you saw a Radion lookalike for half the price of the Radion on Alibaba, would you assume that Ecotech used offshore design/manufacturing and slapped their logo on it or would you assume that the Chinese created a Radion knockoff to capitalize on Ecotech's success?

I look forward to Joe's response.

 

[bhazard451]

I'm just going by what I saw. It caught my eye while I was ordering my other light. This is very much on topic considering it is the same light.

Maybe it isn't Apollo purchasing, but I highly doubt it, especially with all the customized specs similar to Apollo's on the order. I find it strange that the factory would "steal" and produce the boxes with the Apollo Reef Led logo printed on them, when they make similar boxes of their own in much larger quantities.

There is no agenda, people just seem to have too much pride with their purchases. The light is a fantastic purchase at $250 or less. Why pay $399 when you can just buy it direct from the factory like Apollo supposedly did? I'm about to order one myself.

When I talk to Jason and Simon in China from the factory, and he says he made the lights for them... or when I receive the light myself from them and the internals are the exact same, who are you going to believe? If they aren't, I'd stand corrected.

Just got a reply from Simon actually:

"Hi, Vincent

Yes, we are customizing this light to one US company now. but I am not sure if we can make it for you, I need to confirm with our company"

Right from the source. Jason is the director so I'll confirm with him.

 

[Dustin1300]

+1
I look forward to Joe's response.

That's the problem...Joe is not able to post about the fixture in the forum as he's not a sponsor on RC and it is against RC forum rules. Considering they stole a picture he took of the Apollo fixture, that's quick enough evidence to show they don't seem to be up for doing any of the legwork:spin2:

 

[Chicago]

I'm not really it's off topic. The post was a review of a product. Over the years many have posted components of certain products.and others have asked what components make up the product. when it comes to led units many are asking what the components are. Especially what led and drivers just my 2cents

 

[Dustin1300]

Here's a quick conversation initiated with Twilight Group on an inquiry for the light this morning:

Customer(2012-07-11 06:44:44)
Hello

Customer(2012-07-11 06:45:18)
is there anyone there?

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:45:39)
hello

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:45:43)


Customer(2012-07-11 06:45:54)
Hi there

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:45:54)
what can I do for you？

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:46:04)
this is Simon

Customer(2012-07-11 06:46:08)
I am inquiring about some lighting

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:46:23)
OK, what lighting?

Customer(2012-07-11 06:46:26)
I want to buy this one

Customer(2012-07-11 06:46:31)
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/107126704.html

Customer(2012-07-11 06:46:50)
maybe 20 pc

Customer(2012-07-11 06:47:21)
but this look like a light from USA seller, is it the Apollo Reef LED light? I see the logo on the case.

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:48:05)
wait a moment, let me check it

***** (2012-07-11 06:48:06)
Hello?

Customer(2012-07-11 06:48:40)
OK

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:49:26)
It was not our light nor our photos and infringed on US Patent Trademark for Apollo Reef LED, the company contacted us and demanded it be removed. We complied. We are not affilated with Apollo, so we can not provide this light to you, hope to get your understanding

Customer(2012-07-11 06:49:39)
oh

Customer(2012-07-11 06:49:47)
so sorry to hear that

simon liu(2012-07-11 06:49:52)
I am so sorry

With that being said let's put this Chinese light(s) to rest...They have infringed on US Patents and are pulling the light from sale. That's about as cut and dry as this gets.

 

[bhazard451]

Here's a quick conversation initiated with Twilight Group on an inquiry for the light this morning:



With that being said let's put this Chinese light(s) to rest...They have infringed on US Patents and are pulling the light from sale. That's about as cut and dry as this gets.

I stand corrected. That's actually good to hear.

 

[Dustin1300]

I stand corrected. That's actually good to hear.

Just a good idea to do fact checking before sharing something of this nature in a public place.

Ok, now that we've set that one aside, let's see some pictures of those tanks!

 

[bhazard451]

I've asked RC to remove my posts from the thread, as it won't let me do it myself. I apologize for jumping the gun on that and all the misinformation.

I actually would like to hear more reviews of the light and what everyone thinks of the color, growth, experience with Apex and other controllers, etc.

There are very few Apex compatible fixtures in the marketplace, and outside of creating a fixture yourself, this is one of the better options available.