chinese led lights

[antbreon]

truth be known most everything you buy is made in china.. it may be assembled here but the stuff or materials it is made of..more than likely came out of china at some point ..even what you think of as us companies ....yes i agree..there is Chinese crap and good stuff is made over there as well ..just hard to sort though it when you cant even put your hands on it..pictures can be deceiving..sucks but is what it has come to..

i own a race car fabrication business..want to switch over to production ...but i see bids from china including the shipping for less than i can get the materials for here ..we have to many middle men making profits for just moving products or materials..things though ..sometimes they dont even handle them but mark them up 40%

 

[Vadafallon]

What that guy said.

What that guy said.

You get what you pay for. You should never skimp on lights with the amount of money we have in these tanks.

 

[GroYurOwn]

How about "you never know until you try" or "don't knock it till you try it." or "there's a first for everything." I guess I will know soon enough, but for some the simple fact that top dollar wasn't paid is enough to think that positive outcomes are not possible.

 

[tehfeer]

I think I will give the LEDs a shot. I need a new bulb for my MH so why not! I will let you guys know how it goes.

 

[ezerasurfr]

Just bought 2 of the 120w 3w 55 (30/25) off ebay for my 72g.... I'll let you all know how it turns out and maybe even start a new thread with progression pics...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarium-Co...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item68c94c7950

 

[billwill]

Here is pic of my 120w taotronics 3w on one side of my 90g. This is 9 inches above water surface. These are bright, to the point that I had to move them up because I'm burning some tips.
Sent from my HTC Liberty using Tapatalk

 

[Plumbcrazy]

@Groyurown
I too had major concerns about these fixtures(low cost=low quality). I too contacted the seller/builder. After going back and forth I bought mine with the up most confidence. They really stand behind their products. One year no questions asked warranty. I cannot praise this product enough. My tank looks great and growth is amazing. Just acclimate you tank accordingly.

 

[BigAirHarper]

ezera we always appreciate pics! : )

billwill color of those lights looks good.

 

[want2reef]

My blues just came on for there cycle.

What little corals I have left over from a crash, sure glow.

 

[want2reef]

Oh ya, these babys are way cooler than the MH it replaced.

I can put my hand on the bottom of the pendant without getting burned, not so much with the MH's.

 

[BigAirHarper]

Sweet deal want2reef, keep us posted with pics. And I don't know what ur talking about with MH. Mine always stayed ice cold to the touch. Urs must have been defective; )

 

[want2reef]

Funny thing is, these things say they draw 120w's and heat wise it seams more like 50w.:smokin:

 

[Plumbcrazy]

Funny thing is, these things say they draw 120w's and heat wise it seams more like 50w.:smokin:

What fixture did you go with.

 

[want2reef]

Taotronics, 30b, 25w, 3watt LED's driven at 2watts.

 

[Mxreef887]

Taotronics, 30b, 25w, 3watt LED's driven at 2watts.

Awesome. I ordered 3 of these for my 125 gallon 6ft tank. Will be delivered Monday. CAn't wait!:spin1:

 

[want2reef]

Cool, hope they work out for ya. Check out the reviews over at Amazon... seems that everybody likes them too.

 

[want2reef]

Billwill, how far up did you have to move your lights up? I have mine at 10 inches and ended up having to move my orange cap down to the sandbed.

 

[clownfool]

I'm running the ebay version that says TaoTronics on the box (55 3W bulbs running at 2W). Been going for a little over a month (I should just stop right here because that's not enough time to measure anything). But the one BIG thing I can say for everyone to watch out for is that I've burned several corals because these are far brighter and concentrated than the 250MH setup it replaced. My acans, monti's, and pretty much everything else is doing well under these. I struggle with SPS, but that's been true for me under MH as well.

I have read a few times here that people's SPS are getting burned under these chinese LEDS because they are so bright. Has anyone tried to get a dimmer switch from home depot? If it would work there would be no more burning. I asked about the dimmer switch a few times, but no one else tried it or giving feedback. Does anyone know?

 

[billwill]

Billwill, how far up did you have to move your lights up? I have mine at 10 inches and ended up having to move my orange cap down to the sandbed.

I moved them up to about 9" above the water. A fellow reef club member was over and thought I needed them about 4" off the water, so that's what I had them at. When I moved them up, I also shortened the cycle time to 11hrs blue/8 hrs white. The change is definitely helping.

 

[billwill]

I have read a few times here that people's SPS are getting burned under these chinese LEDS because they are so bright. Has anyone tried to get a dimmer switch from home depot? If it would work there would be no more burning. I asked about the dimmer switch a few times, but no one else tried it or giving feedback. Does anyone know?

I would definitely be interested to see if anyone has tried this successfully. I don't know that it would work. I know a little about motors, and with motors it only works with permanent split capacitor motors and none of the others.