Chinese LED Lights

[Tek]

I just replaced my 250 mh with a 120 watt led unit.It doesn't look as bright as the 250,but what I am hearing from others that this is decieving.This unit is on a 28 jbj nano,about 6'' from water surface.Right now the blues are about 80%,and the whites are 60%.

You might want to start at 20-30%.

I have a JBJ 30G and it bleached some of my SPS at where you are running yours. I have had it almost 3 months now and 35% on each channel has been enough to keep my SPS and corals happy with good growth. My lights are about 7" above the water line.

 

[Fish_Freek]

you might want to start at 20-30%.

I have a jbj 30g and it bleached some of my sps at where you are running yours. I have had it almost 3 months now and 35% on each channel has been enough to keep my sps and corals happy with good growth. My lights are about 7" above the water line.

+1

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks guy,I don't have access to a par meter,but will cut it back to 30 to 40% to see how the corals do.

 

[humaguy]

Heads-up folks...

Cheap Chinese LEDs lead to aquarium fire at Arizona community center preschool

For many aquarists, a rite of passage is buying some cheap version of a product to save a few dollars only to regret it in the end when it fails. For most of us this means a pump that stops working or plastic that cracks. But for some of us its much worse with a heater failure or a light fixture catching fire and one teacher learned this the hard way. The Chandler, Ariz., preschool teacher working a the East Valley Jewish Community Center used donations from aquarists to cobble together a reef aquariums for the kids to enjoy only to have a cheap Chinese LED light catch fire and cause extensive damage to the building.

The teacher received donations of coral, fish and equipment and built her own sump, overflow and skimmer to bring the reef experience to the children in her classroom. Needing a light, she turned to eBay and picked up a couple of 35W LED pendants for around $75 a pop and all was fine until the fixture caught on fire setting off the building’s sprinkler system. The fire was not that large thanks to the sprinklers, but the water damage to many of the classrooms threatened to shutdown the school and community center for months. Thankfully, the local community banded together and with donations was able to open in a matter of day instead of months.

We feel for the teacher who was only trying to bring a new, positive experience to the children only to have the fixture cause havoc to the situation. According to her posts on an aquarium forum, the LED flood light was similar to the one pictured above. We can see how she feels guilty about the incident and hopefully the aquarium community can come together and provide some alternatives for bringing the reef experience closer to growing children.

By Brian Blank on rb

 

[bhazard451]

Heads-up folks...

Cheap Chinese LEDs lead to aquarium fire at Arizona community center preschool

For many aquarists, a rite of passage is buying some cheap version of a product to save a few dollars only to regret it in the end when it fails. For most of us this means a pump that stops working or plastic that cracks. But for some of us its much worse with a heater failure or a light fixture catching fire and one teacher learned this the hard way. The Chandler, Ariz., preschool teacher working a the East Valley Jewish Community Center used donations from aquarists to cobble together a reef aquariums for the kids to enjoy only to have a cheap Chinese LED light catch fire and cause extensive damage to the building.

The teacher received donations of coral, fish and equipment and built her own sump, overflow and skimmer to bring the reef experience to the children in her classroom. Needing a light, she turned to eBay and picked up a couple of 35W LED pendants for around $75 a pop and all was fine until the fixture caught on fire setting off the building's sprinkler system. The fire was not that large thanks to the sprinklers, but the water damage to many of the classrooms threatened to shutdown the school and community center for months. Thankfully, the local community banded together and with donations was able to open in a matter of day instead of months.

We feel for the teacher who was only trying to bring a new, positive experience to the children only to have the fixture cause havoc to the situation. According to her posts on an aquarium forum, the LED flood light was similar to the one pictured above. We can see how she feels guilty about the incident and hopefully the aquarium community can come together and provide some alternatives for bringing the reef experience closer to growing children.

By Brian Blank on rb

No and no. The only similarity is that the lights used in that case were made from China. There are absolutely no similarities to the lights being used here, unless you can dissect the light and tell us what was inside it. These have already been through that.

Was that light CE certified? These are. As for a UL listing, very few fixtures have them, so you would have very few options to light your tank with. I didn't see one on the $900 american assembled Radion Pro, but I may be mistaken.

I also looked at the ebay link to that light from that thread. It was a multichip led pendant that had false specs and claims, and no active cooling on the fixture. Multichips create a lot of heat, and the fact it has almost no cooling on it makes it prone to failure. Who knows what the wiring inside looked like. These are red flags to not purchase a fixture, but a new hobbyist would not know this.

The seller should take some responsibility in this, as he marketed and sold a fixture that caused a fire. It is stupid to blame all of China's manufacturing on it.

 

[ganjero]

It was a Chinese LED light and I thought this thread was called "Chinese LED Lights" discussing all different options. The popular ones are being discussed more but the one that caught on fire still falls under this category.

The only thing missing from that post is that it should have listed specifically what light caught on fire or show pics.

 

[bhazard451]

It was a Chinese LED light and I thought this thread was called "Chinese LED Lights" discussing all different options. The popular ones are being discussed more but the one that caught on fire still falls under this category.

The only thing missing from that post is that it should have listed specifically what light caught on fire or show pics.

That's true. I get this thread confused with the others.

 

[bhazard451]

It was a Chinese LED light and I thought this thread was called "Chinese LED Lights" discussing all different options. The popular ones are being discussed more but the one that caught on fire still falls under this category.

The only thing missing from that post is that it should have listed specifically what light caught on fire or show pics.

Search (Aquarium Reef LED Lamp 30W 14000K White (250W Metal Halide alternative Light) for the ones that caught on fire. This was the original thread on it.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2250637

 

[ganjero]

Search (Aquarium Reef LED Lamp 30W 14000K White (250W Metal Halide alternative Light) for the ones that caught on fire. This was the original thread on it.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2250637

I was about to post that, good job :thumbsup:

 

[Tek]

Look around at the things that do work well and see where they are made. 100% of the electronics I use to make a living are made in China or Mexico. My VIOP office phone, wireless headsets, notebook, monitor, mouse, keyboard, cell phones.

People want cheap prices and that means cheap labor. No one in the US will work for less than a dollar a day. They use the same equipment and parts anyone assembling in the US would.

The Chiense made lights via Taiwnese parts I have are great quality and I have no fear of them causing a fire. SE Asia supplies most of the electronics for the world including Apple products.

The fire could have been caused by water going getting into the wrong place, old/damaged equipment, or other reasons. Electronics have a known failure rate and unless it has happened at an alarming rate it is hard to point at one reason.

 

[Travis1787]

Yea most of the eBay specials are never a good thing... these lights are not the same at all...

This thread and the first one before this that was over 100 pages started out as a " Chinese led thread" but really it has turned into an evergrow/reefbreeders led thread because there the main company in china whom most of us have found to make reliable and good quality leds light .. you can by them through ever grow directly or the company REEFBREEDERS who resells evergrow units at a great price as well ...

 

[ganjero]

Do the evergrow fixtures have any branding (do they say evergrow anywhere on the fixture)?

 

[humaguy]

No and no. The only similarity is that the lights used in that case were made from China. There are absolutely no similarities to the lights being used here, unless you can dissect the light and tell us what was inside it. These have already been through that.

Was that light CE certified? These are. As for a UL listing, very few fixtures have them, so you would have very few options to light your tank with. I didn't see one on the $900 american assembled Radion Pro, but I may be mistaken.

I also looked at the ebay link to that light from that thread. It was a multichip led pendant that had false specs and claims, and no active cooling on the fixture. Multichips create a lot of heat, and the fact it has almost no cooling on it makes it prone to failure. Who knows what the wiring inside looked like. These are red flags to not purchase a fixture, but a new hobbyist would not know this.

The seller should take some responsibility in this, as he marketed and sold a fixture that caused a fire. It is stupid to blame all of China's manufacturing on it.

The point of the article is to be careful...nothing more...I wouldn't generalize as I have no idea which ones or what people are purchasing...these cheap ones led to a fire that could have been a lot worse than it was...this is something I personally am not willing to risk...there is a lot of trash out there on various sites and some of these sites seem reputable...just be careful that the product being purchased and using is not a potential risk...

 

[Ron Reefman]

Do the evergrow fixtures have any branding (do they say evergrow anywhere on the fixture)?

I have 3 EG D120's, 1 IT2040's and 2 IT2080 and I don't see their name on them anywhere. But if you are getting an IT series, you can probably ID it by the look of the control panel... and the quiet fans (but others will get the fan thing cured soon enough).

 

[Reef_Breeders]

I just replaced my 250 mh with a 120 watt led unit.It doesn't look as bright as the 250,but what I am hearing from others that this is decieving.This unit is on a 28 jbj nano,about 6'' from water surface.Right now the blues are about 80%,and the whites are 60%.

Light angle makes a HUGE difference in our perception of brightness. My theory is that it is shadowing. When you have 90 or 60 degree optics, andy shadows are going to be small, and at a very small angle, like at noon time. With 120 degree optics, the shadows are longer, and the lighting is more diffused, like at sunset, so your perception is off. However, if you take out a par meter, the values will be similar, even though the light looks dimmer.

 

[Jeff3D]

Light angle makes a HUGE difference in our perception of brightness. My theory is that it is shadowing. When you have 90 or 60 degree optics, andy shadows are going to be small, and at a very small angle, like at noon time. With 120 degree optics, the shadows are longer, and the lighting is more diffused, like at sunset, so your perception is off. However, if you take out a par meter, the values will be similar, even though the light looks dimmer.

Hi Logan, what type of PAR measurements are you seeing from the 120 watt fixtures?

 

[Reef_Breeders]

Hi Logan, what type of PAR measurements are you seeing from the 120 watt fixtures?

With 90 degree optics 6" over the water, you will get about 300 24" down through water, 550 through air.

 

[megadeth72]

those numbers seem pretty high for 24" on 3w leds

 

[Ron Reefman]

those numbers seem pretty high for 24" on 3w leds

My IT2080's are 8" off the water and have 90 degree lenses. At 22" and 100% on both channels, I'm getting between 250-275 PAR with an Apogee meter. So not far off from what Logan quoted. And I don't use carbon in my system, so my water probably/likely isn't as clear as it could be. :thumbsup:

 

[overkill1125]

I had a quad T5 fixture with 6 moonlight LED's. After 1 year, the moonlight led's have dimmed so much that it barely shows when it on at night.

I know that LED's will lose its brightness with time but I just hope that my IT2060 led's will keeps its brightness for at least 2-3 yrs.

Don't know the led brand on the T5 fixture and I'm sure its the cheapest led that you can find.