LED fixture
- Thread starter ragingreefer
- Start date
Good night!? I thought the 4G lights were all 1w LEDs? Guess not. The whole reason I was looking into the 3Gs was the 100 3w bulbs though. Seems like what is missing from all the mass produced units (AI, Maxspect, etc.) is POWER (think Tim "the toolman" Taylor).
NVM... just saw that the 1w units are also 3G.
Sooo... hahaha... which is better... 3G or 4G.
NVM... just saw that the 1w units are also 3G.
Sooo... hahaha... which is better... 3G or 4G.
jjonesrjc
New member
Yeh 4g are going to have cree led and 3g are going to have bridgelux that will basically be the only difference. With the 3g you have optic options of 30,60 or 90 with the 4g only 60 or 90. They will be rolling out 3 more 4g units before next week each with more cree leds in them. They mentioned a 15 day lead time before shipping the 4g units as they are just going in to production. They said they ship via DHL and most people in USA can expect delivery in 7-10 days but they also provide tracking of your package. All of these units now have the option for mounting legs and the ability to work with a soalr simulator.
jjonesrjc
New member
I don't think they will make it compatible with another controller considering they are pushing their own as a package deal with their lights. Snarkes I'm in the same boat as you I know the crees put out more lumen but with the bridgelux your going to have almost double the leds and more spread out. I'm still chatting with them now. They are no longer going to offer 30 degree optics only 60or90 from now on also the best note is that both the 3g and 4g units allow the owner to replace the individual leds should one go out.
Well, i really dont think that the price is going up anytime soon. They're competing with a host of other Chinese units that are even cheaper (though inferior if you ask me) and falling prices in some of the more mainstream units (AI for instance). I think you'll be okay for a bit at least, and I'm def crossing my fingers because I cant justify the expense for a little while.
The only real benefit I see to the 4g units is lower power consumption... typically half the reason people switch to LEDs. They cost more and potentially cover less.
The only real benefit I see to the 4g units is lower power consumption... typically half the reason people switch to LEDs. They cost more and potentially cover less.
jjonesrjc
New member
No we were I just thought you were making a general comment about all the 3g and 4g units but yeh if were comparing those two exact units then your right. But I'm wondering with the solar simulator you could control the power consumption if the lights aren't turned up all the way. I mean on my tank I could never have the lights at max out put but it would be nice to have the fixture if I ever decided to upgrade tanks.
xCry0x
Active member
Mounting legs? Wow a LED manufacturer finally got their head out of their a** for the people who do not want to or cannot hang for the ceiling...
I would love to know the lumens dif between a bridgelux and a cree. The lumen output images they post are confusing for the 3g fixtures as they look to depict the lumen spread due to increasing radius. They allege that the aqua master gets 1120 at the surface.
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xCry0x
Active member
From what I understand most dimmers still use the full power, they add resistance so less power goes to the light... or something like that. So by dimming a 50x3w fixture 50% you are still using 150w, not 75w.
I could be and probably am wrong. Someone with more knowledge of electronics would have to answer that.
jjonesrjc
New member
I'm definitely stuck between the 52x3w crees and the 100x3w bridgelux unit. Reason being is as xcry0x said they confirmed the solar simulator still utilizes the full wattage just regulates it. So I am trying to save money on electricity from a MH fixture that draws 320 watts. I also found out from them that the PAR readings they provide on the fixtures are with the fixture sitting less than 3" from the water line which is not where I plan to have it due to salt creep. So based on that I believe the 52x3w cree would be out of the questions for a 24" tall tank with clams in the sand bed? I would probably have the fixture about 8-10" off the water.
xCry0x
Active member
Par at depth is from better lights with tighter optics..So a cree with no optic might not give light for a clam in 24" of water, but a cree with a 30* optic should. I do not have a par meter so I cant sit and spew off info on the par reading at 24" for something directly under the light, but basically the optic focuses the light so you go from wide coverage to narrow but high par coverage.
I have not seen any info on the par of a cree vs a bridgelux so I cant say oh 1 cree xp-g light gives 1200 lumens while a bridgelux only gives 600 thats why you need 2x as many birdgelux LEDs to generate the same light.
I have not seen any info on the par of a cree vs a bridgelux so I cant say oh 1 cree xp-g light gives 1200 lumens while a bridgelux only gives 600 thats why you need 2x as many birdgelux LEDs to generate the same light.
No that is not correct. LED fixtures use dimmable drivers which reduce voltage/current to the LED strings as you apply the dimming control. This reduces the electricity consumed by the fixture proportionally. Incidentially this is the same way a dimmer works in your household light. When you dim, you use less energy.
jefferzbooboo
New member
Has anyone tried the 3g Bridgelux version yet. The price sheet I got says there's a 25x3w Bridgelux version, but can't find the 3w version on there webpage. Its model #ES-25x3W-3AB and its very moderately priced. Might just have to jump the gun.
xCry0x
Active member
They are supposed to be working on setting that up to be usable with the solar simulator.. once that happens I plan on buying that or if they are releasing the 90w cree I might go with that instead. Right now the 25x3w is not dimmable and the colors are all on 1 channel so its all on or all off. You can get the light mix ratio customized to your liking but that is about it as far as control goes.
Give it 1-2 weeks.
