chinese led lights
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Mr. Demeanor
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Do the Aliexpress D120's have dual power cords (separate power for blue and white)? I see two cords in the pics but I dont see where it states if they do or not.
Philly guy
New member
OK, I've been following this thread for 3 to 4 weeks and have spent a lot of time here and on alibaba/aliexpress. All of you have helped me and confused the h*** out of me at the same time. I like the Nova A6 but needing 3 of them and still having to spend more money on drivers and hire somebody to make them work with an APEX just puts them out of my price league. Especially when I don't even own an APEX yet. I like the price of the D120 but again it is strictly manual as far as dimming.
I did find a light similar to the D120 that has a LCD screen that fronts not just a timer but also a dimmer making the unit (hopefully)totally automated for my wants and needs. The real kicker is according to the rep they use 0-10v dimmers and if you bypass the LCD they should work with an APEX. This would give me the ability to use the units as is for now and in the future buy an APEX and control all units at once thru it.
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/582013867/brightness_controllable_led_aquarium_lights_with.html
The above is the original link that I used to get information about the lights. It was thru messages with Lyn that I learned that they had an upgraded version of this light that had the fully automated timer and dimmer capablities. Bottom line is I was quoted about $735 for all 3 units including shipping. Even if there is a slight upcharge if you only order 1 unit it should come to about $250 for one delivered. Not bad if it really can stand alone today and be made APEX compatible tomorrrow.
Comments?
I did find a light similar to the D120 that has a LCD screen that fronts not just a timer but also a dimmer making the unit (hopefully)totally automated for my wants and needs. The real kicker is according to the rep they use 0-10v dimmers and if you bypass the LCD they should work with an APEX. This would give me the ability to use the units as is for now and in the future buy an APEX and control all units at once thru it.
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/582013867/brightness_controllable_led_aquarium_lights_with.html
The above is the original link that I used to get information about the lights. It was thru messages with Lyn that I learned that they had an upgraded version of this light that had the fully automated timer and dimmer capablities. Bottom line is I was quoted about $735 for all 3 units including shipping. Even if there is a slight upcharge if you only order 1 unit it should come to about $250 for one delivered. Not bad if it really can stand alone today and be made APEX compatible tomorrrow.
Comments?
I am pretty sure if you can solder and it runs the same power you can replace them later. Not all leds run the same power. Everything that I have read says that green really doesn't add much but maybe aesthetics. You want green that is in the 540 or 550nm range most leds I dont think are. UV is 395-400nm violet is 420nm I am going with violet.
bhazard451
New member
3 days. It's insanely fast considering it ships from Hong Kong.
bhazard451
New member
If that's the case, great find!
daninfamous
New member
Chicago - mine are non dimming. Only on/off per color. I still think the color is great. Im going to bust out my d200 this weekend and do my best to capture the actual color. But even 30B 25W I think its awesome.
On my 20g long I'm using a viper clamp on 150w metal halide with a 14k phoenix bulb but my tank is getting too warm. I don't want to build anything so a fixture is what I would like. I'm thinking the rapid led 12 led dimmable bulb (http://www.rapidled.com/12-led-par38-bulb-mixed-color/ or reefbreeders dimmable fixture (http://reefbreeders.com/value_led_fixtures.html). Any thoughts?
Got my D120's in last week. I ordered the 28B / 27W. I am not a fan for SUPER BLUE coloring. To me, 50/50 may not make the colors pop by getting all fancy with different colors but its more natural looking.
I have seen some LED set ups that make the tank look like its raving...
New set up so no water in the tank yet.
First impression. These lights are amazing for the price. Construction is very good. I won't comment on wiring and internals, not enough experience. The fans are quiet and move a good amount of air. VERY bright.
Time will tell if they are worth a damn though... however from reading this thread. I am confident they will succeed in what I want to do.
I have seen some LED set ups that make the tank look like its raving...
New set up so no water in the tank yet.
First impression. These lights are amazing for the price. Construction is very good. I won't comment on wiring and internals, not enough experience. The fans are quiet and move a good amount of air. VERY bright.
Time will tell if they are worth a damn though... however from reading this thread. I am confident they will succeed in what I want to do.
Got my D120's in last week. I ordered the 28B / 27W. I am not a fan for SUPER BLUE coloring. To me, 50/50 may not make the colors pop by getting all fancy with different colors but its more natural looking.
I have seen some LED set ups that make the tank look like its raving...
New set up so no water in the tank yet.
First impression. These lights are amazing for the price. Construction is very good. I won't comment on wiring and internals, not enough experience. The fans are quiet and move a good amount of air. VERY bright.
Time will tell if they are worth a damn though... however from reading this thread. I am confident they will succeed in what I want to do.
What size tank is that? Do the 120's require additional external equipment?
Had my d120 for a week now and it seems to be doing great. At first I posted that Sam forgot to put in my violet LED's and then it was determined that the violet leds were installed. Now, after sending Sam pics, they are sending me violet leds to install rather than take the unit back. I guess they did not put them in there after all.
So, is this something that I can do myself with a soldering gun. What would I need when it comes to solder? Sam suggested that I send the unit to their USA distributor and they can change out the blue led for the violets but I really don't want to go that route. If this is something that can be done pretty easily, I may just change out a few more leds as well.
So, is this something that I can do myself with a soldering gun. What would I need when it comes to solder? Sam suggested that I send the unit to their USA distributor and they can change out the blue led for the violets but I really don't want to go that route. If this is something that can be done pretty easily, I may just change out a few more leds as well.
Did you get an answer for this? I am looking to light my 125 also.
bluesox_68blues
New member
This has been such an amazing thread! I think I'm ready to order for my 40 tall. Just some questions I like more blue but my wife like a more natural look. Depending one the blue vs white the point of 2 dimmers is so I can "tune" the lighting right? So if its too blue for my wife I can tune it whiter and vice versa right? I also don't fully understand the degree optics? My light will be in a canopy maybe 4-6 inches from the water so what angle or lence would work? Lastly If you guys know the light it sounds like I want can you please post the exact link I can purchase it through after making an acount
Thanks for posting all this great info!
Thanks for posting all this great info!
bhazard451
New member
The Pharos leds are on sale too. The 2 module kit comes out to $350 each with a wireless controller... which is actually a pretty nice price for what you get.
http://fathomled.com/products/pharos-series/
http://fathomled.com/products/pharos-series/
Mr. Demeanor
New member
Kind of. I think I am goint wit just a 50/50 mix...maybe a little more blue. Not sure if I need optics.
Going to use 3 D120's. I dont see an option to add optics to the model with the mix I want so I just emailed them.
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Mr. Demeanor
New member
So this is the one I have pretty much settled on. It is 120 watt cree led. For a 125 long, what optics should I go with? It shows 60/90/120 degree but I am not sure how to chose what I want when placing the order. I will be getting three of these.
Tank is 6' x about 18" water depth at the deepest.
Problem is I have a lot of rock that goes almost all the way to the top (kind of a barrier reef look) and I am afraid if I add optics I will have issues with the rock at the top in the back not getting light.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-g...-aquarium-light-freeshipping-wholesalers.html
Here is a pic of the tank. Any advice appreciated. Ready to order!
One of my PC lights just died so I have limited light in the pic (which is why I am ordering!)
Tank is 6' x about 18" water depth at the deepest.
Problem is I have a lot of rock that goes almost all the way to the top (kind of a barrier reef look) and I am afraid if I add optics I will have issues with the rock at the top in the back not getting light.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-g...-aquarium-light-freeshipping-wholesalers.html
Here is a pic of the tank. Any advice appreciated. Ready to order!
One of my PC lights just died so I have limited light in the pic (which is why I am ordering!)
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Mr. Demeanor
New member
Could I mix having no optics on some of the leds and 90's on others in the same housing? Maybe have 90's along the front couple rows to get more PAR at the sand and none on the back rows? I dont know how I would order that though...
bhazard451
New member
Those aren't Cree leds. They are Asian Bridgelux just like all the other d120 fixtures. It also isn't a good idea to mix optics/no optics. I think the non optics leds would spread their light into adjacent optics.
If you are hanging the lights higher than 6 inches up, or don't have a canopy, go with 90 or 60 degree optics.
If you are in a canopy or have them close to the water, go with no optics or 90.
I personally would always use optics.
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