chinese led lights

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jrp1588 said:
My lights use epistar. I won't say they are top quality or anything, but I will say they 100% grow coral. I have seen more growth in my SPS corals in the month I've had these lights than I would see in 2 or 3 months with my ATI sunpower. With the frags I just got a couple weeks ago, you can actually see a small difference in growth day by day, at least around the base where it's encrusting.
Click to expand...

This is a good a endorsement for anyone switching from t5s. Have the colors in the SPS changed at all?
 
I have all the info I need....

I have all the info I need....

To stay on subject I must say I have seen Chinese led systems in action on large and small tanks... They have the Same drawbacks as any led so get what you need for your tank...
However that being said it is very hard to know exactly what you will be getting with these things...
If you have a 30gal or smaller get one it's your BEST option... If you have a 50 get (2) it's your BEST option...
If you have a tank larger, taller, wider, or longer than others you may have a few specifications that the other guys don't have to worry about.
Penitration isn't a guarantee with the Chinese LEDs
Clean whites isn't a guarantee with the Chinese LEDs
Configuration isn't a guarantee with the Chinese LEDs
Dimmer isn't an option on most Chinese LEDs (so you have to move all your coral to the bottom of the tank to avoid sunburn)



So I'm more torn then ever...
I'm in the market for (2) 48-60 - 3w led fixtures
And I thought $900 would be enough to get what I wanted...lol

So in the beginning I was gonna by a nice unit. High power and good looking.

Then after researching and researching the components wavelengths and all the ins and outs of what I need. ( I have an electronics degree so this crap made sense for the most part) I decided damn the man I'm gonna build this myself with what I want and need...

Then to the buying and shipping...

Ok not bad stayed in budget... Still not 100% sure where to get a grooved heats ink that I can mount 48 LEDs on (RapidLED only has them up to 36)
Getting excited this build will be fun...
Then I found some video of what a RapidLED build looks like...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wWU...DvjVQa1PpcFPsPqjhWohd38-aicQGWLCCdUPKKjKCfqM=



This thing is going in my living room it will not look getto in anyway....:uzi:


I want my fixture to look nicer than this...

So now Im lookin a paperwork from troptrae
And the eshines docs Jeramy sent me...


Lookin in to the eshines 48x3w Cree w/ sunrise-sunset controller...
still in budget...

But... I could build it better now that I have spent all this time researching...

So if you know of a place to find a good heatsink or a finishing case idea.. Let me know....:smokin:
 
jg210302 said:
TropTrea,

You are correct about the tank dimensions... I am so stuck now, for the cost should I just build my own fixture???

Thanks again,
Jeremy
Click to expand...

I have 8 of the Eshine Leds and they seem to be working well. I have only been using them for a week or 2 so we will have to wait and see.
I am not on this forum very much usually on ARC but it seems like Eshine ask not to post price list on forums
 
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jrp1588 said:
Colors are mostly the same, I'd say reds aren't as strong since I used to have a purple plus bulb just for that.
Click to expand...

x2

thats the only drawback i have noticed from the chinese boxes. reds do not pop that well. but i am reading that's a general problem with led perhaps since most run white and blue only.
 
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submersible said:
Have you tried heatsinkusa.com ?
And for a finished case, gut a old t5/pc/etc fixture and mount the heatsink inside, like cet98 did: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2106687
Click to expand...

Wow looked at there 10" heat sink and a 10" X 48" heat sink could handle 138 3 Watt LED's without using fans. Unfortunatly it is $147 which per LED adds to the price quickly. And who realy needs that dense of a population of LED's. Just think 2 of those on a 120 gallon tank could give you 800 Watts of LED lighting and you would need sun glass to see your tank. Now if you add fans you could go over 1,000 Watts.

Might be great for someone with a 60" tall tank.
 
ReefJP80 said:
How do the whites look? Are they really 16000k-20000k like the description states? Any pics?
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Nice thing is you can turn blue and white up or down and dial in the color your looking for. I think color is great I'll post picture soon. I only have two of them on a 60x24x24. I think I'll order a third so it is more even across tank.
 
bezlar said:
Nice thing is you can turn blue and white up or down and dial in the color your looking for. I think color is great I'll post picture soon. I only have two of them on a 60x24x24. I think I'll order a third so it is more even across tank.
Click to expand...

Only keep in mind that when the LED's are turned down it also reduces the PAR. So a fixture that is rated at 120 Watts with the blue turned down to 75% is only giving you about the same PAR as a systen with 95 Watts. But if you tiurn down the whites to 75% it is not as drasic a change but gives you the equivelent to about 110 Watts. I relay should not use the word PAR here as I only mean the PAR usable to corals.
 
I'm looking into buying 2 fixtures for my 75g, but there are so many options! Which one would you guys recommend me getting? I plan on mostly softies and LPS. Dimming option would be best but i can live without it.
 
Why does everyone want dimming so bad? The only reason I can see it being useful is during acclimation, and for that you can just raise the fixture or put some screening over the tank. Just seems like one more thing that can break to me.
 
jrp1588 said:
Why does everyone want dimming so bad? The only reason I can see it being useful is during acclimation, and for that you can just raise the fixture or put some screening over the tank. Just seems like one more thing that can break to me.
Click to expand...

I'm with you, just raise or lower the fixture to get the right intensity. I'm not too picky about spectrum, but I think the others may want to dim to get the blue/white mixture they like.
 
Ianwraab said:
Then after researching and researching the components wavelengths and all the ins and outs of what I need. ( I have an electronics degree so this crap made sense for the most part) I decided damn the man I'm gonna build this myself with what I want and need...

Then to the buying and shipping...

Ok not bad stayed in budget... Still not 100% sure where to get a grooved heats ink that I can mount 48 LEDs on (RapidLED only has them up to 36)
Getting excited this build will be fun...
Then I found some video of what a RapidLED build looks like...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wWU...DvjVQa1PpcFPsPqjhWohd38-aicQGWLCCdUPKKjKCfqM=



This thing is going in my living room it will not look getto in anyway....:uzi:


I want my fixture to look nicer than this...

But... I could build it better now that I have spent all this time researching...

So if you know of a place to find a good heatsink or a finishing case idea.. Let me know....:smokin:
Click to expand...

Forget about the ugly looking and standard heatsink for your DIY build. Take a look at this DIY build and the materials he used. Very clean and professional.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1975251
 
A couple pictures of my two eshine 48x3W CREE with 4 RB replaced with red in my 125 gallon tank which just finished cycling.

10% white and 30% RB/red. The 4 red LEDs in the left unit were covered by blue masking tape to reduce its intensity. Only 2 red were covered by blue masking tape in the right fixture. Which side do you like?
007-2.jpg


40% white and 60% RB/red.
004-4.jpg
 
I just ordered 8 total for 2 tanks, they are dimmable for use with a reefkeeper or apex they are nice. And have 3 UV leds added to each unit. There is a group buy going on at another site.
 
My new supplier for all things LED's is www.aquastyleonline.com

I have had many types of LED's and even sold a Radion a few months ago I had on my frag tank in leu of these. Same PAR ratings and almost the same control functions when hooked up to a Apex.
 
Malign Reefer said:
My new supplier for all things LED's is www.aquastyleonline.com

I have had many types of LED's and even sold a Radion a few months ago I had on my frag tank in leu of these. Same PAR ratings and almost the same control functions when hooked up to a Apex.
Click to expand...

There prices are nice however they sell mainly Bridglux LED's rather than CREE. Bridgelux is probably the number two rated LED brand and only slightly behind Cree in some respects compared to most of the rest. Yes you can build a nice fixture with the Bridglux LED's but do not over drive them above 750 ma and make sure you have large enough of a heat sink and/or cooling fans.
 
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