chinese led lights

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clownfool said:
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?
Click to expand...

I don't know if it would work. I just started with mine high off the tank and on a short cycle like 4hrs. Worked the fixture down and extended the cycle. I had no problems doing it this way.
 
clownfool said:
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?
Click to expand...

Simply putting a dimmer switch on these units WILL NOT WORK. It would require new drivers....cutting and soldering the electronic parts, knowing what you are doing.

Also, you do need to acclimate your corals. Since these are not dimmable, try one or more of the following:

1. Mount high (ca two feet), and over the next month or so slowly lower a couple inches per week.

2. Cover your tank with a couple layers of window screen. Each week or so, take a layer off.

3. Start with a reduced light period. Each week or so, add more time.
 
jvschlegel, I was in the same boat as you.

I was do for new bulbs ($160) and one of my ballast($145) crapped out... good excuse to change over to LED's. :)
 
In these two photos you can see the covered area and the distance of the lamp from the top (4 inches). Only the whites are on, but the color is not accurate.
 

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I made a canopy this weekend that is 13 inches high. When my lights come in tomorrow I am going to cut out 3 squares so I can lower the lights into them so they are flush with the top sort of like MrSaltwater fish does with his radions. This will give me around 10inches from the water. I'm also going to do the screen acclimation for a couple weeks.
 
Lots of variety out there, heres what I've found:

cidly 112 1w leds @ 1w
aquariumleds 20k or 14k 119 1w bridglux leds @ 1w
aquariumleds 20k or 14k 40 3w bridglux leds @ 3w
taotronics 55 3w bridglux leds @ 2.38w
eshines 36 3w cree leds @ 2w
eshines 36 3w bridgelux @ 2w
eshines 48 3w cree leds @ 2w
eshines 48 3w bridgelux @ 2w
eshines 60 3w bridge/cree @ 2w coming soon
eshines 72 3w bridge/cree @ 2w coming soon

eshines have an optional controller for dimming/sunrise/sunset and optional 30/60/90 degree optics.

So whats better:
3w to penetrate deeper
2w for longer life/efficiency
1w for better spread
Cree's for for more lumen per watt?
 
Ive found the most LEDS come from Guangdong China. These companies just import and sell them with a fancy name. I see nothing wrong with it.
 
I pulled the trigger and bought 3 of the 120w fixtures that are being driven at 2 watts for my 220 mixed reef, mostly softies with lps and Chalices,they will be here in 4 days, so I will post pics and results every week of the progress.. I went with the taotronics.
 
For the record, I went to my LFS today, and he had both the 1watt and the 2watt fixtures that are being discussed here running on his frag tanks. I have to say, the fixtures look great, and the corals looked even better! After seeing them in action I'd be very likely to purchase a couple of these in the future.

I had a hard time noticing any difference in intensity between the 1w and 2w models, but the 1w fixtures had more LEDs, so maybe that's why.
 
Funny, looks like this thread has morphed from why not to buy these units to "that sounds like a pretty good deal, i'm gonna try these units out." Mine should be delivered today.....
 
Mxreef887 said:
I made a canopy this weekend that is 13 inches high. When my lights come in tomorrow I am going to cut out 3 squares so I can lower the lights into them so they are flush with the top sort of like MrSaltwater fish does with his radions. This will give me around 10inches from the water. I'm also going to do the screen acclimation for a couple weeks.
Click to expand...

Just make sure not to block the air intakes on the sides. Also, these fans aren't the quietest in the world, so it might add some noise in the room this way.
 
GroYurOwn said:
Funny, looks like this thread has morphed from why not to buy these units to "that sounds like a pretty good deal, i'm gonna try these units out." Mine should be delivered today.....
Click to expand...


Indeed it did! We finally got on the right track! Sounds good, keep us posted with pics please as you unbox and mount them on your tank! We really appreciate it.
 
billwill said:
Just make sure not to block the air intakes on the sides. Also, these fans aren't the quietest in the world, so it might add some noise in the room this way.
Click to expand...

Yeah I found that out today. I mounted them using L-brackets under the beams inside my canopy. This way there is no holes on top of the canopy and they are still about 9inches off the water. I'm in the process of switching stands too so this won't happen for about another week and that's when I'm gonna swap canopies and lights and will get some pics up then.
 
ezerasurfr said:
Not to get too off topic, but Acura is not only in the US. Nor is it simply a rebadged Honda. Honda is the parent company as Toyota is the Lexus parent company just as VAG (Volkswagon Audi Group) is the parent of Porche. While many of the parts are the same, drivetrains and engineering (as in aspiration ratios ect) are completely different. While they may look like the same cars, they do not perform the same. The difference is not as simple as esthetics, and I believe the analogy may have some credence as it applies.
Click to expand...

+1 Could not have said it better.
 
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