bhazard451
New member
You would be one of the first here that tried the light. I'd say go with your gut and go for it.
chinese led lights
- Thread starter stevercleeze
- Start date
- Status
You would be one of the first here that tried the light. I'd say go with your gut and go for it.
FYI,
Just got my Apollo 4 in that I ordered direct from Cidly and I absolutely love it. It was $213 delivered to my door and it came in 7 business days. I did it with 20 White (10K), 20 Blue, 4 Royal Blue, and 4 UV. Ordering direct through them was a breeze and Lin, my sales rep, was excellent to work with.
Just got my Apollo 4 in that I ordered direct from Cidly and I absolutely love it. It was $213 delivered to my door and it came in 7 business days. I did it with 20 White (10K), 20 Blue, 4 Royal Blue, and 4 UV. Ordering direct through them was a breeze and Lin, my sales rep, was excellent to work with.
jason12345
New member
Do you think they will add a dimmer with a small charge?
This is a ratio that he advised 22 whites, 16 blues, 4 violets, and 6 moonlights. 3w each, but not sure abt the moonlight. What is your advise? I current have softies, LPS and SPS, but planning to add more SPS soon. Is this unit any better interms of the light spectrum than the D120? Quoted at $358 to my door.
jason12345
New member
hmmm... I really dont want light to spill over the sides of my tank, so i think the one i linked would be the best option... Do you think i could easily add a dimmer to this?
bhazard451
New member
Horrible ratio. It would look like an 8-10k light.
2blue:1white for a 14k look. 3blue:1white for a 20k look, then add a few violets.
Moonlights are a nice touch. I added a string to the outside of my light because I missed them. Either light and company could do any spectrum you wanted them to.
bhazard451
New member
No. You would have to rip out the drivers, install new ones, re-wire it, and install potentiometers.
Why not just get the Nova A4 and customize what leds you want? Its the exact same light with dimmers. None of the ebay ones dim.
bhazard451
New member
Try to find out the length the Nova A8 is. It might be cheaper than 2 A4s and might cover the tank.
My A4 easily covers 24" in length of my tank, so 2 A6s are not needed. You get a small price discount for ordering 2 A4s.
jfeva0049
Member
if i go with 2 A4's what do you think of this mix;
dimmer 1 =
8 cool white
8 warm white
4 royal blue
4 blue
dimmer 2 =
10 royal blue
10 blue
1 warm white
3 violet
your thoughts?
tankaddict
New member
Yeah, just use some tweezers to pull the led off the board once you heat the solder, and just solder on the ones you want. I got it from Sam.
Not sure if they will for the Apollo series, I did not even ask. They do have a d120 type model that does have a dimmer though.
Travis1787
Active member
Yea a lot of people say these units like the a4 and the d120 cover a 24" area but my d120 covers my 36" tank perfectly I was very impressed
bhazard451
New member
You're not using optics though. Standard d120s don't use optics and spread further out, but don't penetrate as deep or strong as the ones with optics.
Novas must use optics by design, and are only 12 inches long and wide. The optics narrow the spread.
Travis1787
Active member
yea that's true.. but I have two clams in the sand of my 24" tall tank that are happy as can be so far
bhazard451
New member
I've noticed some slight growth in my gold maximas as well.
bhazard451
New member
bhazard451
New member
Got the reef breeders fixture in today. I now have a good comparison between the d120, nova, and red/green LEDs.
I won't use a fixture without optics unless I need to cover a wide area now. The d120 spreads light all over my room, where the nova is focused into the tank with the optics. The Nova also seems much brighter. It may be because of the optics and 1:1 ratio. The optics provide better light into the lower areas of the tank. I don't like how the light spills everywhere, but it may work better over my 120 gallon tank on one side.
The red and green LEDs aren't overpowering, but I don't see more pop from it yet. They also are mixed into the white channel. Not sold on if they're really needed.
I'll need more time with it. Pics later.
I won't use a fixture without optics unless I need to cover a wide area now. The d120 spreads light all over my room, where the nova is focused into the tank with the optics. The Nova also seems much brighter. It may be because of the optics and 1:1 ratio. The optics provide better light into the lower areas of the tank. I don't like how the light spills everywhere, but it may work better over my 120 gallon tank on one side.
The red and green LEDs aren't overpowering, but I don't see more pop from it yet. They also are mixed into the white channel. Not sold on if they're really needed.
I'll need more time with it. Pics later.
bhazard451
New member
Comparison:
d120 (no optics): Notice how the wall has a ton of light on it
Nova A4 (upgraded driver at 75%):
d120 (no optics): Notice how the wall has a ton of light on it
Nova A4 (upgraded driver at 75%):
glee
Premium Member
bhazard, is the d120 running at 100%? have you tried lowering the d120 to reduce the spread? what are the dimensions of the tank? how many inches from water line is the a4 at? do you have a link to the reef breeders light? sorry for all the questions. the pic with the a4 looks considerably brighter.
- Status
