ebay LED fixture?

I got this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Best-Dimmable-165W-LED-Aquarium-Light-Full-Spectrum-Reef-Coral-Grow-Panel/171608813631?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D29386%26meid%3D6cc7d49e18dc4768a68a04a79e79a870%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D331354944363&rt=nc&tfrom=331354944363&tpos=unknow&ttype=price&talgo=origal

i think its the same idea, but yours says the LED's are bridgelux
i think mine would be great over a 40b. the colors on these full spectrum leds are miles nicer to look at than the blue / white. do be aware that the dimmer is a knob, so you can't program a sunset into it or have it ramp up everyday. i dialed in the intensity i like and plugged into lamp timers, but it's nice to be able to adjust it.
 
I have the same light fixture (but from topledseller), and it works just fine. You WILL want two of them on a 40b. You can start with one now, but if you can afford it, go ahead and buy two. Same can be said for most LED fixtures, they generally cover a 24x24 area, so keep that in mind.
 
this tank is not meant to be up forever- I'll have it up around a year before I go back to school (I'm on medical leave right now). I'll try one of these for now, I can live with some shading on the sides; like you said, worst comes to worst I buy a second and probably still spend less than if I'd gone with a T5 or MH unit.

how did you guys hang this?
 
Dont get this light! I hope you didnt buy it already. I had these over my 75g reef....I got them because my old lights had failed at the time and my coral HATED the light. Nothing in the tank changed other then the light and things went down hill fast. There are better lights for around the same price. Also IMO/IME not getting cheap "Full Spectrum" leds is the way to go. Get the White and Blue ones if you are getting a cheap LED. One of the best Aquaillumination LED fixtures is the SOL. People have the best growth with it.
 
cleverbs said:
Dont get this light! I hope you didnt buy it already. I had these over my 75g reef....I got them because my old lights had failed at the time and my coral HATED the light. Nothing in the tank changed other then the light and things went down hill fast. There are better lights for around the same price. Also IMO/IME not getting cheap "Full Spectrum" leds is the way to go. Get the White and Blue ones if you are getting a cheap LED. One of the best Aquaillumination LED fixtures is the SOL. People have the best growth with it.
Click to expand...

I agree that you get what you pay for, like the OP my 20g has been a temporary thing so I didn't go all out. That being said I know a handful of people using these lights and none of us have had issues. People with SPS, giganteas, magnifica's etc. all thriving and growing. My 5" blue maxima is starting to grow again after I stopped slacking on dosing. I believe you had a bad experience but I do not believe it was 100% the lights fault.

Here is my tank thread for reference.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2483760
 
Moonstream said:
this tank is not meant to be up forever- I'll have it up around a year before I go back to school (I'm on medical leave right now). I'll try one of these for now, I can live with some shading on the sides; like you said, worst comes to worst I buy a second and probably still spend less than if I'd gone with a T5 or MH unit.

how did you guys hang this?
Click to expand...

I hung mine from the ceiling.
 
+ 1, mine is hung from the celin as well. The one I got only has 1 power plug, so all lights go one an off at once, no "blue only" timer for mine :( Pretty sure the pics showed two plugs, but still works well.
 
cleverbs said:
Dont get this light! I hope you didnt buy it already. I had these over my 75g reef....I got them because my old lights had failed at the time and my coral HATED the light. Nothing in the tank changed other then the light and things went down hill fast. There are better lights for around the same price. Also IMO/IME not getting cheap "Full Spectrum" leds is the way to go. Get the White and Blue ones if you are getting a cheap LED. One of the best Aquaillumination LED fixtures is the SOL. People have the best growth with it.
Click to expand...


AI's have some of the worst spectrum in the business. Just because something sells well does not mean its good. Most of the people who don't like leds and switch back to t5 or halide fall into two major categories: they either buy fixtures with cool white (known for 5 years in the diy market to wash out color) and royal blue only, this combo has horrible spectrum. Or they have AI, Kessil, or radions. These fixtures also lack spectrum. Multiple stores where I live have stopped putting sps under these fixtures.

Personally, I've been using bridgelux leds, same ones in this fixture, for 4 years in my diy fixtures with no problems and great growth. I did just start supplementing with t5 actinic, but that's because the output of all actinic leds suck, regardless of brand. I'm sure these fixtures are the same as evergrow and reefbreeders, products that have been know to work well. I just ordered one of these fixtures to fill in since upgrading to a larger tank. I haven't received it yet, but based on four years of using bridgelux, I'd say they should work well.
 
Well I have used These, I have used AI Vegas, Hydras and I didnt like any of them, Went to MH/T5 and have 20x the growth and color in my sps corals. Sorry I just didnt have a good experience with them and the Op asked what people thought of them, so I told him what I thought of them.
 
cleverbs said:
Well I have used These, I have used AI Vegas, Hydras and I didnt like any of them, Went to MH/T5 and have 20x the growth and color in my sps corals. Sorry I just didnt have a good experience with them and the Op asked what people thought of them, so I told him what I thought of them.
Click to expand...

FWIW I'm going either t5 or hybrid on my 80g, so I understand your point of view. Some people can compete with the best tanks using LEDs, but I miss my t5s.
 
JoshKy you just have to do it right. Most people replace a full spectrum t5 or mh setup with virtually zero spectrum fixtures and blame leds instead of the fixture. Actinics haven't caught up yet, so I would suggest hybrid.
 
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The chinese black box fictures work great, just depends on what features you want as to the price you pay as they have the 2 knob dimmables for 100 or under and they have full programmable units for 200-250 that do sunrise/sunset/moonlight etc.

I have been running the knob style units for a cpl years now and all corals grow great under them, even sps, the key, especially if you are switching to these from anything else is acclimation, if you run them at 100% from day one your probably going to burn some coral. I run mine at 40-50% white channel and 80% blue channel and everything is happy under these.

That said, I am starting my upgrade from manual to programmable today through 21ledusa.com, pointed out by my brother it seems to be the best light for your money especially those of us on a budget. I will be getting 2 48" full spec pro bars and the ramp timer.
 
I got a similar light over my 40B, and it is enough light span.
I removed the lenses, and it still has lots of shimmer. Shimmer is determined by how much you point your powerhead upward towards the surface.
I retro-fited some 420nm violet leds in, amongst other colors for more actinic spectrum.
I'm very happy. The only thing is it doesn't dim all the way down to 1%...just to about probably 50%, which is fine. I have a thread about the custom led colors that I put in, if you want to know about other colors.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2474827

If you want to solder in some leds, I would recommend minimum 420nm and 495nm.
 
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These lights are very strong, start off slow. I am at 20% whites and 35% blues. I will be working my way up over the next few months to 50% W and 65% B.
 
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