chinese led lights

[Malcolm_C]

I like your bottom lay out better. but put the fixtures close together so they are at least 6" from the front of the tank. Your height will determine if you will need lenses and what degree to get.

thats the plan, I order two a couple weeks ago. the color is good. my radiums are pretty old, so not a very comparison. i don't think these will be as blue ad the radiums. it only took a week to get the first set of lamps. so i should have the others by next monday or tuesday.

 

[radbluesfan]

That's because the LEDs that your Lfs sells are probably the proven LEDs, that are guaranteed to grow nice sps. When you buy one of these chinesse LEDs your taking a big risk and they may or may not work for certain corals. You have to pay to play. There a reason why this thread is so popular...people are searching high and low for a cheap alternative to LEDs and these little boxs can be very tempting.

Like I said, the overwhelming majority of people that have posted on this thread have had no complaints and have tanks that are doing well. The pictures are nice too. I am no professional and I can hardly tell the difference between MH, T5, and LED. What I do see is LED's reduced power consumption, heat, and bulb replacement costs. The testimonials of the members here who actually have bought and are using these lights is worth a lot to me. I have seen the pictures of nice sps growing and I am going to see if I can get a fish to live before attempting anything more. I can get 3 of these lights for slightly more than one at the LFS. They are just lights after all---and no one is experiencing epic failures from them. Have you actually tried them--about 199 pages back I read that someone you know had some problems but there are many variables that can cause problems in a reef tank. I understand that you do not like them and you are entitled to not buy them and get whatever you want to spend your money on. We get it, you don't like these, no problem. Why every couple of pages you need to state it again and again I do not know---it is not really what the thread has turned into. Thanks for the warning but I want to hear from the actual consumers and get their first hand experience. Yes I am doing whatever I can NOT to spend $1500 in lighting. I am a newbie and just not THAT into at this point. These lights obviously are not for the diehard, no budget, reef connoisseur but for many here they are just fine.

 

[BigCountry74]

Thanks for the info Phishguy. And Big Country, thanks for your opinion. I get a kick out of your posts, once in a while I come across one of your comments about your wife complaining about your setup and my husband and I both laugh. It's the same battle over here!

haha!

BTW my wife LOVES your avatar pic.

Yeah she wants to be an interior designer (really good at that stuff). And here I come dropping this 135g fish tank into her kitchen/dining room....which is ALL you see when you walk into this space...

So she about killed me, I am not going to lie....But I made it look nice and clean, and last week she ordered a new light fixture for the kitchen, so I think she is finally learning to decorate around it :beer:

 

[reefroids]

the real deal chinese lights

the real deal chinese lights

take a look at this . all you're questions will be answered

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzIDMnQfaY8&list=UUxUl4_Kq-zB2Lrfnf57xY3Q&index=11&feature=plcp

also look at this link this is 1 year after install you can see coral growth with 4 led fixtures that are 250 watt each 50% royal blue 50% white

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVLt...DvjVQa1PpcFMC5YTom8OSGVxpzHLoOyCNMsrRaSKjg8c=

 

[Ucyibd1]

Hey Radbluesfan, I got my lights today and got them hung above my tank. I really like them, I have the dimmer turned way down so I don't shock my livestock, and the light is still bright. The only thing I have to compare the lights to is the T-5 fixture (8-54w) and with the dimmer turned halfway up these fixtures are as bright as it was. The only thing that could be better on the lights is the hanging hardware they give you. Send me a PM if you want the contact I used to get them.

 

[karsseboom]

Like I said, the overwhelming majority of people that have posted on this thread have had no complaints and have tanks that are doing well. The pictures are nice too. I am no professional and I can hardly tell the difference between MH, T5, and LED. What I do see is LED's reduced power consumption, heat, and bulb replacement costs. The testimonials of the members here who actually have bought and are using these lights is worth a lot to me. I have seen the pictures of nice sps growing and I am going to see if I can get a fish to live before attempting anything more. I can get 3 of these lights for slightly more than one at the LFS. They are just lights after all---and no one is experiencing epic failures from them. Have you actually tried them--about 199 pages back I read that someone you know had some problems but there are many variables that can cause problems in a reef tank. I understand that you do not like them and you are entitled to not buy them and get whatever you want to spend your money on. We get it, you don't like these, no problem. Why every couple of pages you need to state it again and again I do not know---it is not really what the thread has turned into. Thanks for the warning but I want to hear from the actual consumers and get their first hand experience. Yes I am doing whatever I can NOT to spend $1500 in lighting. I am a newbie and just not THAT into at this point. These lights obviously are not for the diehard, no budget, reef connoisseur but for many here they are just fine.

It takes years to proven that the light is working for the better. At least 12 months of solid growth from sps and THEN maybe you can say yes these lights work. You will soon find I'm this hobby that nothing that works is cheap and if you want a nice sps tank you have to pay. If you settled on just keeping fish them there is no problem with throwing any old t5 fixture on it and be
Fine. But of you ever plan on upgrading you better buy it right the first time or you will pay twice.

 

[Ianwraab]

Eshines... OSRAM... Build it yourself... Chinese equipment... AI Sol...***

Eshines... OSRAM... Build it yourself... Chinese equipment... AI Sol...***

Ok so I have put massive hours into reading this and onpairing that that I no longer know what I'm looking for...lol...


But seriously for between $800 and $1000 I can get my 125 up and growing...
Here in lies the problem...

OSRAM -
has great numbers, has replaceable bulbs, and looks all types of high tech... Ad found a 48" fixture so no need for separate units:fun5:

Build yourself led -
I can do this no problem... But is the ultra premium retro fit kit outdated? Regardless numbers are good and it is easy enough to replace an led on a ballest you built :dance:

Ai sol -
has great numbers, has replaceable bulbs, and looks all types of high tech... Oh and it's expensive... So it's the best right... :debi:

You get my point... What is worth this kinda money... I ready to spend some cash but I don't wanna spend any cash for a long time after this :fun4:

 

[TropTrea]

It takes years to proven that the light is working for the better. At least 12 months of solid growth from sps and THEN maybe you can say yes these lights work. You will soon find I'm this hobby that nothing that works is cheap and if you want a nice sps tank you have to pay. If you settled on just keeping fish them there is no problem with throwing any old t5 fixture on it and be
Fine. But of you ever plan on upgrading you better buy it right the first time or you will pay twice.

That end statement is so true. When I had a store front you would not believe the people that you could not talk out of buying something that would not work for what they wanted because they saw a lower price on something else. Lights were the biggest of these but it also did apply to filters, and even heaters.

I had one customer that in the course of one year bought 4 different light fixtures each time going to one slightly better than the first prior one he bought. But from day one I tild him which would work for him but only after wasting his money 3 other times did he get what he needed.

While what he needed was a $200 light fixture, He stareded with a $40.00 one, then got a $60.00 and again a $120.00 before buying the $200.00 fixture. By trying to save a couple dollars he actualy spent more than twice what he would of in just one year.

Some people might like what I say about some of the low cost light fixtures. But I only do not want everyone to end up like my customer. Two out of three people that buy the wrong thing end up giving up on the hobby. I want to see the hobby continue to grow.

Yes there are money saving ways to get good lighting on a Reef. I'm getting more and more into DIY LED's more and more. The biggest thing is you can do them for less than it costs for the secret black boxes. You know what your getting when you build them yourself, and most importantly if you don't like something about your lights a change is only a fraction of the cost of replacing a comercial fixture.

Believe me the range of LED lights out there on the market is vast. The comercial units range from fantastic to not worth the box they were shipped in. In LED's are comming out every month but it takes the comercial companies months if not years to redapt to the latest technology.

Look at how technology is changing. Just a few months ago Cree's XM LED's that run up to 10 Watts were released on the market in Star mounts. Cree also released a new MT series that run at 6 Volts and 4 Amp making them 24 Watt Leds which I'm sure will be soon available for the DIY in Star or simular mounts.

 

[d-man]

Can you remove the splash guard and put optics on these?

 

[karsseboom]

That end statement is so true. When I had a store front you would not believe the people that you could not talk out of buying something that would not work for what they wanted because they saw a lower price on something else. Lights were the biggest of these but it also did apply to filters, and even heaters.

I had one customer that in the course of one year bought 4 different light fixtures each time going to one slightly better than the first prior one he bought. But from day one I tild him which would work for him but only after wasting his money 3 other times did he get what he needed.

While what he needed was a $200 light fixture, He stareded with a $40.00 one, then got a $60.00 and again a $120.00 before buying the $200.00 fixture. By trying to save a couple dollars he actualy spent more than twice what he would of in just one year.

Some people might like what I say about some of the low cost light fixtures. But I only do not want everyone to end up like my customer. Two out of three people that buy the wrong thing end up giving up on the hobby. I want to see the hobby continue to grow.

Yes there are money saving ways to get good lighting on a Reef. I'm getting more and more into DIY LED's more and more. The biggest thing is you can do them for less than it costs for the secret black boxes. You know what your getting when you build them yourself, and most importantly if you don't like something about your lights a change is only a fraction of the cost of replacing a comercial fixture.

Believe me the range of LED lights out there on the market is vast. The comercial units range from fantastic to not worth the box they were shipped in. In LED's are comming out every month but it takes the comercial companies months if not years to redapt to the latest technology.

Look at how technology is changing. Just a few months ago Cree's XM LED's that run up to 10 Watts were released on the market in Star mounts. Cree also released a new MT series that run at 6 Volts and 4 Amp making them 24 Watt Leds which I'm sure will be soon available for the DIY in Star or simular mounts.

Boom...DIY LEDs are a great alternative to the more expensive brands. Also with DIY you know there gonna grow corals and not have doubt like with these chessy fixtures. There you go looking for a cheaper option go DIY.

 

[TropTrea]

Boom...DIY LEDs are a great alternative to the more expensive brands. Also with DIY you know there gonna grow corals and not have doubt like with these chessy fixtures. There you go looking for a cheaper option go DIY.

Actualy DIY is less expensive than most of the questionable low cost LED fixtures out there. My build for my 40 breeder tank costed me under $160 and is putting out more light than my other tank with 156 Watts of T-5's. The coral colors look better, and only time will tell about growth but I'm confident that it will be at least equal.

 

[radbluesfan]

Actualy DIY is less expensive than most of the questionable low cost LED fixtures out there. My build for my 40 breeder tank costed me under $160 and is putting out more light than my other tank with 156 Watts of T-5's. The coral colors look better, and only time will tell about growth but I'm confident that it will be at least equal.

Did you use some type of DIY kit? If so, where did it come from? I have not bought anything yet. My best friend is an electrician and I work with many avionics techs. I like to keep an open mind and anything is worth taking a look. We all have spring fever now though---might be hard to find help.

 

[karsseboom]

I have done an DIY led setup from rapidleds.com and is far its Growing sps on a 29g nano.

 

[biecacka]

How much are you guys spending on the DIY setups? I have a220 and need 3-4 fixtures. It's a softy lps tank and could buy the eshine or something similar for a few hundred bucks. How much will the DIY unit cost me ?
Corey

 

[kbell2433]

I have done an DIY led setup from rapidleds.com and is far its Growing sps on a 29g nano.

How many led's? how big of heatsink? what colors? What degree lenses? and are they dimmable?

Just curious as i have a 29 DT

 

[karsseboom]

You just go on there site and they guide you through the process. They can help you pick out what would work best for your needs.

 

[karsseboom]

Double post

 

[david pinder]

Earlier stated 144 wt fixtures someone chimed in they were only 36 wts they wrong im talking 48 3wt crees for total of 144 wts, and my sps have responded nicely.Also for all those thinking of buyong the cheap 120 wt on ebay dont disagree that there a nice cheap starter I origanly bought 6 of them when I first started trying leds. I have since relegated these to refugiums and frag tanks, Anyway had a second one of the 6 go caput today so dont know how dependable these things are going to be. Hope my crees work out better in the long run as I bought 16. Doest matter about buying t5 or mh bulbs every year if your led fixture doesnt last, leds are not going to be cheaper in the long run. I went leds for the heat factor on 2400 gallons of aquariums im running a total of 3200 wts. before leds couldnt keep my tanks cool and chillers were not an option.

 

[nrosdal]

These are a little more refined and more expensive but has anyone tried em out?

http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=42&products_id=220

 

[TropTrea]

Earlier stated 144 wt fixtures someone chimed in they were only 36 wts they wrong im talking 48 3wt crees for total of 144 wts, and my sps have responded nicely.Also for all those thinking of buyong the cheap 120 wt on ebay dont disagree that there a nice cheap starter I origanly bought 6 of them when I first started trying leds. I have since relegated these to refugiums and frag tanks, Anyway had a second one of the 6 go caput today so dont know how dependable these things are going to be. Hope my crees work out better in the long run as I bought 16. Doest matter about buying t5 or mh bulbs every year if your led fixture doesnt last, leds are not going to be cheaper in the long run. I went leds for the heat factor on 2400 gallons of aquariums im running a total of 3200 wts. before leds couldnt keep my tanks cool and chillers were not an option.

This is where truth in advertising comes in as well as my thoughts on going DIY. Yes there atre systems out there claiming there using 144 3 watt LED's but they might not be running them at 3 watts but possibly only 1 Watt. Yet they do not state this so you assume your gettting a 144 watt system but in reality your only getting a 48 watt fixture. I even found one ssystem on line running 144 LED's and it is only a 36 Watt system. Yet without reading the fine print on the documentation page it never openly states iits actual output. But people assume it is either a 144 watt or even a 432 Watt system.

Cree claims 50,000 hrs at max current will give no more than a 10% loss in light output. If you look at 50,000 Hours running the LED's a max orf 16 hours per day, you have 3,125 days or 8 1/2 years. In most properly build LED systems the drivers are shorter lived than the LED's themselves and this is usualy a heat issue. But if you have a DIY system and a LKED were to die you know how to replace it with the LED costing between $4.00 and $10.00 for even a 5 Watt LED. If a driver dies you also know how to replace it costing between $16.00 and $40.00.

With a comercial system your talking a completly different game. If something dies while under warrant your in good shape, but if the store you bought it from is no lnger there or the warantee expired your replacing the whole fixture out of your pocket.

Looking at the system I built it costed me $160 and is replacing a fixture with 4 39 watt T-5's. if I replace the bulbs every year on the T-5's the system pays for itself in bulb replacement cost if it lasts 21 months. But there is also electrical savings going to rughly 60 watts from my old 156+ watts. so at 94 watts less power being used and running it 12 hours per day I will save the $160 initial cost in 39 months at 12 cents per KWH. So there is a definate saving here after some time. If your working on a new system chances are the saving will be initial since it cost less to build your own LED fixture than any you would pay for any type of comercial fixture.