chinese led lights

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have a question. I bought an LED fixture off of ebay before I found this thread. I saw that it had a heatsink and that the LEDs were 3w being ran at 2w. The fixture looks almost identical to the Nova A4. Same 4 circular clusters just different air exhaust ducts and its not dimmable.
Sorry if this has already been covered but its a very long thread. I tried skimming but I didnt see anything. Thanks in advance
John

I'm in the middle of a driver replacement right now. It won't be simple.

You'll need to open the lights and see what kind of led drivers they are using. If they are not labeled with voltage and current, don't even bother swapping them. It is similar to my A4 unit, but may be wired differently and use different drivers.

You will need to closely match the voltage of the drivers on your replacement ones. The current will need to be similar too. It would have to be a dimming driver, and you would need to solder a potentiometer onto each one. Then, on top of that, you'll need to rewire the fans onto their own outlet, because they use some kind of voltage regulator pcb that I haven't figured out yet to power the fans through the drivers.

You're better off just selling the light if you can and re-ordering a dimmable one. Its so much easier, and it would cost nearly $100 in parts to do it yourself.
 
Sam said he'll mkae me a custom link, but it'll take some time. hoping I can order tonight! most of my fish and inverts are coming in tomorrow...=(
 
Unless you're very good at re-wiring things, I don't recommend doing the driver swap to 0-10v dimmable drivers.

I got everything wired in, but its a complete mess inside. I'm still not done, and this is with 3 hours of work into it. I also stripped one of the ac wires, so I have to rewire that, which is gonna take even more time. I also chose to solder wires after using wire nuts, as the wire nuts weren't holding that great. What a mess. The amount of work just wasn't worth it for me.

I ordered a reef builders? fixture, but I'll have to wait 2 weeks for it. Going to see which fixture I like better, and then move one to my 120 gallon.

I'm hoping the Evergrow guys release a true 0-10v Apex dimmable fixture soon.
 
Last edited:
Sam said he'll mkae me a custom link, but it'll take some time. hoping I can order tonight! most of my fish and inverts are coming in tomorrow...=(

I like the ratio you wanted so could you please post your custom link here when you get it? Thanks.
 
I've been emailing Hendy. He has been helpful. Still don't know if I will wait for the Reefbreeders to come in. I like the inclusion of the other colored LEDs.
 
Hey all,
I just placed an order for these:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/546432064/2012_dimmable_cree_led_aquarium_light.html

I got the cool whites changed to neutral whites with a leg kit and shipping was $227. I liked the three dimmable switches and they were more than willing to customize colors. I havent received it yet (Just ordered on Friday and they had to customize with the neutrals) but am excited and will let you all know what it looks like.

This is for a BC29 if it matters.

Jason

Thoughts on red and green LEDs. I hear mixed things all the time
Corey
 
I highly recommend adding optics to your fixtures. It is about an extra $20 (already included in the Novas), but the same thing would cost $50 more through reef breeders. It's a good value, considering it would cost $1-2 per optic on your own.
 
Thoughts on red and green LEDs. I hear mixed things all the time
Corey

I am certainly not a lighting expert and im sure someone can chime in, but I went with these because it seems be more of a "full spectrum" light. I know it is lacking some wavelengths but I think it is a step above the blue/white combos. The red, green and violet are on a dimmer as well if I dont like the color. Also, I think I read that those spectrums are not so much "visually pleasing" but add spectrums that may be useable to the corals.

Im sure someone will have something more usefull to add but those were my reasons (valid or not):beer:
 
I like the ratio you wanted so could you please post your custom link here when you get it? Thanks.


Here you go

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/317...20w-23-blue-4-violet-and-19-white-9-blue.html

I liked my dimmers that way, so if you're content just get it.

Edit: Since I'm doing mainly lps, zoas, shrooms, rics, and other softies I decided to use one fixture for a 48inch long 75g. Someone on another forum has done it and raised it roughly 8-10inches to get a good spread and his stuff are already growing and more colorful then his MH (according to him). I'll let you guys know how that pans out in a month or so for me. lol
 
Does anyone know the type of power connector is used for the a4's? I'm specifically talking about the piece that screws on to the fixture.
 
I picked up the 30 blue, 25 white d120... I quickly set it up tonight before having to head out and eh... I wish I went with the 32 blue, 4 violet and 19 white. The white is super, super white and while I don't have anything under it yet (working on that,) I still would rather have much more blue/violet.

The fixture seems very well made though, and I am still happy, so far, with my purchase.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top