laxing22
New member
Anyone read much about these or better yet use them? They say one unit is equal to a 250 MH - http://www.petsolutions.com/storefr...l&utm_term=02282011&utm_campaign=Fish-2-28-11
Ecoray 60D High PAR LED Light
- Thread starter laxing22
- Start date
zooman72
New member
Joe at Salt Water Paradise has a couple of them running on cubes at his store, and they don't look bad at all. They are supposed to put out high amounts of PAR (due to tightly focused lenses), but since many LED's put out less lumens than comparable light sources like metal halides, they do not seem as bright in comparison. The corals in SWP's tanks don't look bleached from them last time I looked while in there, but Joe has them off the water a good bit if I remember - now I will have to stop tomorrow to re-acquaint myself!
The Captive Aquatics blog (11/16/2010) did a review of them not too long ago - give it a peek. I remember the reviewer concerned with the relative lack of heatsinking, but they do run fans and do not feel hot to the touch upon first inspection. They do seem ideally suited to a cube setup. It is also mentioned that 2 models exists - one with 1 power cord and one with 2 so that they can be on seperate timers. I think this light might be a little bigger with more coverage than a AI SOL Nano, but Justin is right - the AI's are supposedly among the very best LED fixture on the market, plus they are made in the USA! The larger AI SOL is probably more comparable in terms of coverage.
The Captive Aquatics blog (11/16/2010) did a review of them not too long ago - give it a peek. I remember the reviewer concerned with the relative lack of heatsinking, but they do run fans and do not feel hot to the touch upon first inspection. They do seem ideally suited to a cube setup. It is also mentioned that 2 models exists - one with 1 power cord and one with 2 so that they can be on seperate timers. I think this light might be a little bigger with more coverage than a AI SOL Nano, but Justin is right - the AI's are supposedly among the very best LED fixture on the market, plus they are made in the USA! The larger AI SOL is probably more comparable in terms of coverage.
zooman72
New member
I have no idea, but the price for them makes make get weak in the knees! I am assuming you would need 2-4, depending on your coral choices. Based on the T5 setup listed for your tank description, you may have to go with 4 @ $500 - 600+ each...
It looks like Aquacave has them for $530 (add $74 for controller), while Reefgeek has them for $630 (controller included)...hmmm.
Good luck!
It looks like Aquacave has them for $530 (add $74 for controller), while Reefgeek has them for $630 (controller included)...hmmm.
Good luck!
Johnny C
New member
The EcoRay is nice, but it (and most other chinese-manufactured LED fixtures) can't hold a candle to the quality of the AquaIllumination fixtures. From speaking with Joe at SWP, he told me that the EcoRay fixtures did in fact bleach some of his corals and he had to shade them. He also told me that he was partially dissatisfied with the color temperature of the LEDs (especially the white 'daylight' bulbs).
Ben... finding the AIs in stock anywhere is a chore based on the demand. Based on my limited testing with the AI Sol Blue fixture, I would guess that you can easily sustain a myriad of corals in a 75G tank with (2) of the Sol fixtures. A lot of people are swapping the 40° optics with 70° optics (in lamen terms, takes a somewhat narrow beam of the LED light and spreads it out further) in an effort to eliminate PAR 'hot spots' that promote this common bleaching with LEDs. In your case, changing the optics would be a benefit, because it will eliminate those hot spots while at the same time allowing further spread on each fixture on a longer (in your case 4') aquarium.
I don't have a lot of experience with LEDs, but in my opinion- whether you DIY or buy a pre-assembled off the shelf fixture, buy quality equipment. LED components are constantly evolving and improving, and there is a ton of chinese junk out there mixed in. Rapidled.com is known to be a great source of [quality] DIY LED components
Here is a thread in the Lighting & Equipment forum on the AI Sol Nano fixtures that was recently nominated for RC's Thread of the Month. Even if you have no intentions on purchasing an AI fixture, it's a great resource to get first-hand advice from people who use LED fixtures.
-JC
Ben... finding the AIs in stock anywhere is a chore based on the demand. Based on my limited testing with the AI Sol Blue fixture, I would guess that you can easily sustain a myriad of corals in a 75G tank with (2) of the Sol fixtures. A lot of people are swapping the 40° optics with 70° optics (in lamen terms, takes a somewhat narrow beam of the LED light and spreads it out further) in an effort to eliminate PAR 'hot spots' that promote this common bleaching with LEDs. In your case, changing the optics would be a benefit, because it will eliminate those hot spots while at the same time allowing further spread on each fixture on a longer (in your case 4') aquarium.
I don't have a lot of experience with LEDs, but in my opinion- whether you DIY or buy a pre-assembled off the shelf fixture, buy quality equipment. LED components are constantly evolving and improving, and there is a ton of chinese junk out there mixed in. Rapidled.com is known to be a great source of [quality] DIY LED components
Here is a thread in the Lighting & Equipment forum on the AI Sol Nano fixtures that was recently nominated for RC's Thread of the Month. Even if you have no intentions on purchasing an AI fixture, it's a great resource to get first-hand advice from people who use LED fixtures.
-JC
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teamdulski
The Saltiest!
I agree with the color temperature concern of the white leds, they looked somewhere between 6000 and 8000 Kelvin. Way too yellow for my taste.
laxing22
New member
Thanks JC - gives me a lot to look in to.
The color temps have me a little worried too - most say around 6500 which is way too yellow for me (I really like the blue's) which is where I was thinking about adding a ReefBrite - http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/RB-PM48-B.html?fe_feedid=126 - I would think this may give the whole tank a more 15k look - ???
Those are what got me going the LED thoughts as I can't add one to my current light setup (no room)
The color temps have me a little worried too - most say around 6500 which is way too yellow for me (I really like the blue's) which is where I was thinking about adding a ReefBrite - http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/RB-PM48-B.html?fe_feedid=126 - I would think this may give the whole tank a more 15k look - ???
Those are what got me going the LED thoughts as I can't add one to my current light setup (no room)
husaberg37
New member
two
two
i just bought 2 of them because i got an insane deal at 100 a pop with some motorcycle parts that the fish store owner wanted. i have a 120g tank that is 60in long and 21in deep i placed my leds 20in off the tank bolted tgether with c channel 6 in apart but angled so they are pointing out, and i love them. the color is great and i love the blues an hour before lights out. i would reccomend these they are great. the only mod i did to them was add a couple pieces of heat sink to the board just to be sure.
two
i just bought 2 of them because i got an insane deal at 100 a pop with some motorcycle parts that the fish store owner wanted. i have a 120g tank that is 60in long and 21in deep i placed my leds 20in off the tank bolted tgether with c channel 6 in apart but angled so they are pointing out, and i love them. the color is great and i love the blues an hour before lights out. i would reccomend these they are great. the only mod i did to them was add a couple pieces of heat sink to the board just to be sure.
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