JCole's box of rocks
- Thread starter JCOLE
- Start date
I guess SBREEF PCBs aren't what they used to be. After 8 months, I will need to replace 50% or more of the diodes. The boards arrived with Chinese characters all over the box, so I assumed it was a direct import. My intuition was correct.
I noticed that several areas of the tank were turning yellow. I discovered why. 75% of the blues were burned out, and the rest of the black boxes were the same after additional inspection. I suppose that 100% on the blue and white channels is too much for those low-cost diodes.
I changed all of the damaged diodes as well as a few whites, and everything looks much better now. I'm waiting for a shipment of diodes, then I'll finish the rest.
So I think all of this is to imply that if anyone is looking forward to getting their hands on these boards, they should plan on replacing the diodes sooner rather than later.
I noticed that several areas of the tank were turning yellow. I discovered why. 75% of the blues were burned out, and the rest of the black boxes were the same after additional inspection. I suppose that 100% on the blue and white channels is too much for those low-cost diodes.
I changed all of the damaged diodes as well as a few whites, and everything looks much better now. I'm waiting for a shipment of diodes, then I'll finish the rest.
So I think all of this is to imply that if anyone is looking forward to getting their hands on these boards, they should plan on replacing the diodes sooner rather than later.
Is there an actual heatsink or just one of those thin sheets of aluminum with hardly a fin?
No heatsink. Just a license plate with diodes. I believe that is my problem. I have two Viparspectras and six MarsAquas. The two Vipars with heatsinks do not have any burned out diodes. All six of the Mars have many burned out diodes. All eight have the SBREEF PCBs.
I ordered some heatsinks and I will install them on the boxes when I change out the rest of the diodes.
Right beside a row of halides. 
Nice. I haven’t had that happen yet in mine
I cleaned the tank last night and snapped a couple phone pictures. The tank is still a little dirty from the miles of Coralline algae I scraped off. The tank is now 9 months old, and things are starting to color up and grow nicely.
I plan on pulling out the real camera this week to get some better pictures.
I plan on pulling out the real camera this week to get some better pictures.
Looking great
Thanks John!
No. The board is what I expected. It's a cheap chinese board with cheap diodes and thermal paste. I replaced the diodes and with top quality thermal paste. I also replaced the fans. The new fans are 3500cfm and really move a ton of air. I will see how that goes.
200 diodes and 16 fans in a week got old real quick. It's done and looks good so we shall see
That's why I gave up on black boxes. Being able to repair them easily enough is nice,but....needing to be repaired often cancels that out for me. Ha
I don't mind repairing them but if it continues to happen then I will switch to T5. I noticed a significant difference in the corals when the blues burned out.
All the corals look very happy
All the corals look very happy
Yes they are. It is the best I have seen them since the old tank. Colors have come back and most are exploding with new growth. Good times right now. Crossing my fingers....
Looking fantastic
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