Chinese LED Lights

[psusocr]

alright so i borrowed an apogee with sumbersible sensor( thanks dan) and got my par numbers with the different lights/optics. im running 5 lights.. three 90 degree and two 120 alternating pattern. the 120 are 6500K white and 454 nm blue. the 90 are 10-12K white and 460 blue. I also run two 6 foot VHO super actinic tubes. these par readings where with all of my lights on at full power since thats how they always run. i havent tested just blues or just whites yet. The numbers are +/- 30 since its very hard to hold the meter steady with LED beams.. the tank is 72x31x31 and the lights sit 8 inches off the water surface. Ill try to take pics with the meter in the tank but its impossible to do with one person. i took somereally bad quick iphone pics to see my setup. The colors look a bit different in person..
The first reading is 8" down on top of the water and the second reading is an inch under the water.. any closer and thelights read well over 2000-2500

At first i was a little dissapointed with the par numbers, then i looked at my corals. They grow quick( could be quicker) but more importantly i have great PE and awesome color, so regardless of the numbers( which i think are fine) they do their job.

 

[soul4surfin]

Ask. See if they'll tell you how many lumen per watt lm/watt the whites are. I've seen huge variances from different companies. The twilight group epistar whites were dim, even at a higher current, compared to the Evergrow Bridgelux whites, which are bright as can be.

So they say that that lm/w for the whites on these Gehl lights are 90 to 100 and the others are low. I don't know if the latter is to be expected. They are on back order now for around a month. and apparently have only one fan versus in the IT2040 which I think has two. I am still waiting for confirmation on what brand the LED's are (Bridgelux, Epistar, etc..). But for the savings you get with these I can live with that.

 

[bhazard451]

So they say that that lm/w for the whites on these Gehl lights are 90 to 100 and the others are low. I don't know if the latter is to be expected. They are on back order now for around a month. and apparently have only one fan versus in the IT2040 which I think has two. I am still waiting for confirmation on what brand the LED's are (Bridgelux, Epistar, etc..). But for the savings you get with these I can live with that.

90/100 is good for bridgelux/epistar. Other colors like blue are measured mostly in mW instead so that is ok. I might get one to try out and see if it has the same quality... heatsink, etc. The price is attractive.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[2hi4u2c]

If this has already been gone over I apologize, has anybody modified the LED's in the "black boxes"? I just received 2 TaoTronics 28B-27W. I would like to swap out some of the white for red and UV (420) has anybody done this, or found a good source for the chips not mounted on stars?

 

[bhazard451]

So hazard, do you still like the razor and radions better than these units overall? These seem to have awesome flexibility but are those still the superior fixtures?

I would definitely like to see what bhazards rankings are of all the LED fixtures he has used (chinese + non-chinese leds)

The new Radions coming out are going to be nice lights, its just they are way, way too overpriced for me to even consider them, especially since I already own a DIY Cree XT-E light that has more power than the Radion will.

The Maxspect Razor is the biggest Cree XT-E bang for the buck right now. It is sleek, powerful, uses violets, and 2 can cover my 120 gallon for less than $1000. No word on any upgrade path though.

These chinese boxes with a full spectrum of leds are the best value wise. If the Gehl version of the Evergrow controllable light is the same quality, it is the best value right now. $430 for 2 lights with controllers is an exceptional deal as of now, beating Evergrow in price by quite a bit.

 

[bhazard451]

If this has already been gone over I apologize, has anybody modified the LED's in the "black boxes"? I just received 2 TaoTronics 28B-27W. I would like to swap out some of the white for red and UV (420) has anybody done this, or found a good source for the chips not mounted on stars?

You can try. No idea if it will work or not. If the light is wired in parallel, it will be much more difficult than a light wired in series like the Evergrow fixtures. The leds would need to be balanced in parallel, meaning one row uses 1 red 1 uv, and then another row would need to use 1 red 1 uv.

We're not allowed to link to led suppliers, but ebay is a good source. The leds on stars can be soldered off easily (bridgelux/epistar only), and put into the fixtures.

 

[schulzcm]

Hey guys,

Just got my lights in, it120s, and am very happy with them. I have, however, run into two issues. These problems are much more pronounced to me because I have two units over my tank.

The first issue is that one of the white switches goes all the way down to 5% while the other only goes down to 15%. there is about a 10% difference between the lights. If I want them to be equal in brightness I set one to 20% and the other to around 31% etc. Not that big a deal but a little annoying. Hope there is no potential problem with this issue.

The second problem is big, at least to me. One of the timers runs faster than the other. It gains about 5 mins every hour, so when I try to program several looks/schemes every few hours I end up with a tank that is two different colors.... not good. I would have to fix the the timers several times a day not to have the bicolor look ... I don't see a way to fix this in the settings menu. If anyone has an idea on how to slow down or speed up one of the timers that would be much appreciated. I have already emailed sunny and hope to hear from her soon. Hopefully it is something I can do easily.

This issue is kinda bumming me out...

 

[Dapg8gt]

alright so i borrowed an apogee with sumbersible sensor( thanks dan) and got my par numbers with the different lights/optics. im running 5 lights.. three 90 degree and two 120 alternating pattern. the 120 are 6500K white and 454 nm blue. the 90 are 10-12K white and 460 blue. I also run two 6 foot VHO super actinic tubes. these par readings where with all of my lights on at full power since thats how they always run. i havent tested just blues or just whites yet. The numbers are +/- 30 since its very hard to hold the meter steady with LED beams.. the tank is 72x31x31 and the lights sit 8 inches off the water surface. Ill try to take pics with the meter in the tank but its impossible to do with one person. i took somereally bad quick iphone pics to see my setup. The colors look a bit different in person..
The first reading is 8" down on top of the water and the second reading is an inch under the water.. any closer and thelights read well over 2000-2500

At first i was a little dissapointed with the par numbers, then i looked at my corals. They grow quick( could be quicker) but more importantly i have great PE and awesome color, so regardless of the numbers( which i think are fine) they do their job.

Did you try to take readings with no screen on top. I was under the impression that the window type screen cuts the light down significantly. Think that's why most use 1/2" clear screen.

 

[AJ1080]

Im mostly likely going to get a couple d120's for my standard 75g but I want to make sure I understand all of this first.

Right now im running a 4x 54w t5 and have 1 Coral Plus, 1 aqua blue special, and 2 aqua blue plus bulbs.

Can anyone tell me roughly what color range this is in?

Also for 2 d120's, I would plan on mounting them to the top of the canopy, would I need the optics or just use the default layout?

Thank you in advance.

 

[mr. pluto]

if you are resoldering new leds to replace the ones that came with your D120's
do you need to use thermal paste?

 

[Zedar]

if you are resoldering new leds to replace the ones that came with your D120's
do you need to use thermal paste?

I did. And would recommend it. These LEDS are not mounted to a heatsink.

 

[psusocr]

Did you try to take readings with no screen on top. I was under the impression that the window type screen cuts the light down significantly. Think that's why most use 1/2" clear screen.

I took the screens off the tank to do the readings.. Regardless of numbers, my corals are very happy , growing and colorfull and ive been running them for over a year now..

 

[mehaffydr]

What excellent service. I ordered 3ea. of the D120 on Tuesday the 18th and just got a call from DHL they are being delivered today. These will be going over my 225 that is 60" x 36" by 24" deep. :dance:
Can't wait to get mount and working the heat from my 4ea. 250watt MH is just too much.

 

[latinyoungn]

I sent an email to Gehl to see how there IT120's are wired. we'll see what they say

 

[onefishy]

when i emailed gehl this weekend about their version of the IT120's - they quoted me a price of $440 for two units. (do they keep going up $10 with every quote? haha!) they also told me that only one unit would have the controller - both units would be controlled by the same controller.

 

[mehaffydr]

Ok happy day in Alabama my lights showed up less than 1 week after ordering. but I do have a question. I have a tank that is 36" x 60 " x 24 " deep. I ordered 3 D120 with a ratio of 2:1 blue to white with 3 red and 3 green.
Right now I have 4 250 MH and 10 T-5. I have 2 fixtures that ea. have 2 250 MH and 4 T-5 on the outside and then have 1 fixture with 6 T-5 in the center. So should I just replace the MH fixtures with the LED's and use the 6 bulb T-5 in between and use the 3rd. D120 on my frag tank or use 3 D120 and use the T-5 on the Frag Tank?

Any help will be appreiciated.

Thanks

 

[bezlar]

Hey guys,

Just got my lights in, it120s, and am very happy with them. I have, however, run into two issues. These problems are much more pronounced to me because I have two units over my tank.

The first issue is that one of the white switches goes all the way down to 5% while the other only goes down to 15%. there is about a 10% difference between the lights. If I want them to be equal in brightness I set one to 20% and the other to around 31% etc. Not that big a deal but a little annoying. Hope there is no potential problem with this issue.

The second problem is big, at least to me. One of the timers runs faster than the other. It gains about 5 mins every hour, so when I try to program several looks/schemes every few hours I end up with a tank that is two different colors.... not good. I would have to fix the the timers several times a day not to have the bicolor look ... I don't see a way to fix this in the settings menu. If anyone has an idea on how to slow down or speed up one of the timers that would be much appreciated. I have already emailed sunny and hope to hear from her soon. Hopefully it is something I can do easily.

This issue is kinda bumming me out...

That's what kept me away from these. I would need three and if not linked it would be a major prob to keep them synced. That's a real bummer I hope you can fig a way to make them work together

 

[bhazard451]

The clock is fast on mine too. See what they can do, as it isn't too bad with just one unit, but multiple units would be a pain

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[soul4surfin]

So Brian told me that they offer both Bridgelux, Epistar and Cree (XP-G), you just have to tell them what you want when ordering.. For the Cree it is $55 extra per unit. :thumbsup:

 

[phishfoodie]

First, I wanted to say thanks to everyone contributing to this thread. There has been so much good information posted for us that are trying to get a handle on leds.

I just ordered 2 LEDs through Shenzhen Gehl Lamps (not the new lights.) I ordered 2 of the older style (D120 style) with additional moonlights. I worked with Brian Sun as well. He was incredible in helping me get my lights exactly how I want them. He really knows his product, and his english is actually very good considering. So far so good, he said I should have them most likely by the end of next week. If the lights come as expected I would highly recommend working with Brian. I'll make sure to post some impressions once I get them in hand.

Here is my layout, do you think it will look ok? Moonlights are not shown they are 450 blue. If you see any major mistakes I may still be able to change it around. Thanks!