chinese led lights

[Mr Neon]

Talked to Sam..it appears my d120 came through by mistake without the 4 violets. Although it looks real blue and bright, I really wanted the violets as well.

I guess at this moment it is just a wait and see how they handle it. I will sell it to anyone that wants it for the price I paid and I can then order another one.

17 whites/11 blues - dimmer 1
27 blues - dimmer 2

Comes with hanging kit as well.

$182.00 was the cost. Brand new.

 

[fetta]

how do i get ahold of sam

 

[Genius]

All, Thanks for the education. I've read through this thread and am still kinda confused....and have a major headache.

I just upgraded to a 120 (48x24x24) and am getting rid of my T5 and going with LED. I'm currently keeping a mixed reef with a little bit of everything. Could someone (bhazard?) tell me EXACTLY what to get? The lights will be in a soon to be built custom canopy so they can be as close or far from the tank as I want them. I was thinking that 2 d120's would work, only concern is that I'm missing allot of coverage from front to back assuming I mount them horizontally. Do I need to go with Optics, if so how much? An answer from the pro's would would save my head from exploding!

 

[ghrorick]

Here is pics of the nova a6s on my 120 gal along with the new connecters to connect 2 lights together. The whites in the pic are only on about 50%. Please excuse the wire the lights are hanging from, it is all I had at the time.

 

[bhazard451]

Here is pics of the nova a6s on my 120 gal along with the new connecters to connect 2 lights together. The whites in the pic are only on about 50%. Please excuse the wire the lights are hanging from, it is all I had at the time.

Looks pretty sweet. How are you liking them?

 

[bhazard451]

All, Thanks for the education. I've read through this thread and am still kinda confused....and have a major headache.

I just upgraded to a 120 (48x24x24) and am getting rid of my T5 and going with LED. I'm currently keeping a mixed reef with a little bit of everything. Could someone (bhazard?) tell me EXACTLY what to get? The lights will be in a soon to be built custom canopy so they can be as close or far from the tank as I want them. I was thinking that 2 d120's would work, only concern is that I'm missing allot of coverage from front to back assuming I mount them horizontally. Do I need to go with Optics, if so how much? An answer from the pro's would would save my head from exploding!

2 d120s, in a canopy, no optics, with 4 violets per fixture.

I like the added color pop of 2 red/green/cyan, but it isn't needed. Multiple colors of white (like cool white, warm white, neutral white) are a much better option.

 

[ghrorick]

I like them. I think I should have gone with 4 violets and 4 uv, more blue and less white, but all and all as long as the corals like them I will like them. The center brace casts a huge shadow over the middle of the tank, which at first made me nervous on whether or not 3 a4s would cover a 180 gallon (6x2x2). I am betting since it is basically beams that the center brace kills the light in that area (also the 180 is acrylic so no black center brace). That being said I think I am going to go with 3 d120s above the 180 instead. I was thinking though that I will get the fixture they have listed with 2 violets, 2uv, 17 white and the rest blue and royal blue, although that idea will probably change about 20 times between now and the time I actually get around to ordering.

 

[Mr Neon]

Talked to Sam..it appears my d120 came through by mistake without the 4 violets. Although it looks real blue and bright, I really wanted the violets as well.

I guess at this moment it is just a wait and see how they handle it. I will sell it to anyone that wants it for the price I paid and I can then order another one.

17 whites/11 blues - dimmer 1
27 blues - dimmer 2

Comes with hanging kit as well.

$182.00 was the cost. Brand new.

Guess i was mistaken about the violet LED's. I was so convinced that they would have a purple tint to them that when Sam send me a pic of the actual d120 with violet leds, mine were more blue or all blue. I realized as well as Sam letting me know that I ordered the 440nm instead of the 420nm. The 440nm violets are more bluer but just a bit dimmer than the regular blues. Hence last night just running the blues, I got a cool blue/purple looking tint in the tank. I turned the dimmer down to almost nothing and I could finally see a slight difference in the led's to distinguish the 4 violets from the blues.

Anyhoo..all is well again and the lights are good!

 

[bhazard451]

I like them. I think I should have gone with 4 violets and 4 uv, more blue and less white, but all and all as long as the corals like them I will like them. The center brace casts a huge shadow over the middle of the tank, which at first made me nervous on whether or not 3 a4s would cover a 180 gallon (6x2x2). I am betting since it is basically beams that the center brace kills the light in that area (also the 180 is acrylic so no black center brace). That being said I think I am going to go with 3 d120s above the 180 instead. I was thinking though that I will get the fixture they have listed with 2 violets, 2uv, 17 white and the rest blue and royal blue, although that idea will probably change about 20 times between now and the time I actually get around to ordering.

They're having a sale the week of July 1st so you wont have to pay too much extra for the violets and custom ratio. I like both fixtures. It all depends on the tank.

 

[ghrorick]

bhazard, do you like the d120s with the red and greens better or is basically a toss up? I am putting these over my zoa/poly tank (180gallon) and since I will not be doing any upgrading/modifing of the lights I thought the d120s would be a better bet than the novas. I saw your fixture with the reds and greens and thought that maybe they could help the zoas out even more with color.

 

[jefftse]

What's the latest on apex VDM compatibility?

 

[bhazard451]

bhazard, do you like the d120s with the red and greens better or is basically a toss up? I am putting these over my zoa/poly tank (180gallon) and since I will not be doing any upgrading/modifing of the lights I thought the d120s would be a better bet than the novas. I saw your fixture with the reds and greens and thought that maybe they could help the zoas out even more with color.

It really does help out with color in reds and oranges, but they also stick out like a sore thumb. You gain visual appeal, but you also can see 2 red/green somewhat spotlighted areas in the sand. Its a toss up.

With that said, I gutted my Nova and I'm installing Cree/Luxeon Reds, Greens, Cyans, and 420 violets. No more than 2 reds/greens/cyans each. See if Sam has reds and greens.

 

[bhazard451]

What's the latest on apex VDM compatibility?

Nothing yet, and its somewhat of a pain to convert it. You would need 4 meanwell drivers, or 2 high voltage 0-10v drivers. Hopefully someone offers something soon.

Apollo Solarblast fixtures offer it, but are $359. Almost $200 more. Same with the Reefbreeders fixtures.

 

[jefftse]

Nothing yet, and its somewhat of a pain to convert it. You would need 4 meanwell drivers, or 2 high voltage 0-10v drivers. Hopefully someone offers something soon.

Apollo Solarblast fixtures offer it, but are $359. Almost $200 more. Same with the Reefbreeders fixtures.

Damn.. $200 more??? and I want to A8 style too...

 

[bhazard451]

Damn.. $200 more??? and I want to A8 style too...

I gave up waiting and started building my own DIY fixture. There just aren't any cost effective lights that are Apex dimmable. I refuse to pay $359 for a unit that can be gotten for $165 without Apex dimming... shipped overnight from China.

 

[fetta]

I totally agree with bhazard451.....maybe you should make some lights that you can control with the apex......and then you sell them to us.......lol

 

[jefftse]

I gave up waiting and started building my own DIY fixture. There just aren't any cost effective lights that are Apex dimmable. I refuse to pay $359 for a unit that can be gotten for $165 without Apex dimming... shipped overnight from China.

AI sol is only 400 bucks? and it's made in US and apex dimmable?

 

[bhazard451]

AI sol is only 400 bucks? and it's made is US and apex dimmable?

AI Sol only uses 72 watts and doesn't cover as large an area compared to 110watts on these. It has similar or maybe even less PAR/PUR (usable light). You can buy 2-3 d120 boxes for less than $500 to cover a 6ft long tank. You would need close to 5 sols over that same tank to cover it, costing $2,000.

The killer is Apex dimming right now. It wouldn't cost much more to implement in the chinese fixtures either. I did it for $52 (shipping included from Hong Kong), so it would only add around $20 per fixture if one of them actually did it.

 

[bhazard451]

I totally agree with bhazard451.....maybe you should make some lights that you can control with the apex......and then you sell them to us.......lol

Haha, I was thinking about it, but I just don't have the time. Someone could totally buy a bunch of the custom 0-10v chinese drivers in bulk and add them in for a fee.

 

[jefftse]

so did you get it working with apex?