Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay)

[DrawnToBeaches]

I replaced 3 blues and the greens with 420 to 430nm diodes and am loving the color. It's on a brackish tank right now so unless you're looking for some washed out algae and Java moss I won't be posting a pic

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

And I also might replace a few cool whites with more violet and royal blue, it's far too white but I like the red in the warm and really like the violet tint in the lighting

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

I think i am going to take the gamble on led and the black box. 2 years ago i woukd have never considered it with the low watts and poor quality of chinw made led lights but now they have come a long way. After considering the cost of the 2 used Hamilton mh pendants $90, new bulbs $45 for ebay bulbs or $150 for Phoenix 14ks and maybe the cost of a replacement ballast since one light takes awhile to fire. After all that im ahead of the game already by buying new black box leds. Plus the heat and power bill savings. I may add some t5 lighting if needed.

You won't need added t5 although Fiji pinks are nice addition

 

[garygonzales]

And I also might replace a few cool whites with more violet and royal blue, it's far too white but I like the red in the warm and really like the violet tint in the lighting

thats what im hoping for to is the purple tint...still wating for mine to come in...i too want to replace the greens with the 420nm voilets.....but you leaving in the reds??....

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

I left the reds for now I like the color currently. I'll replace a few more white with violets I have 5 violet currently and it's still not enough personally

 

[garygonzales]

need more purple...lol...i might just change out the reds and green with the purple...i dont want too much..so maybe ill try just the greens...when they come in...lol....

 

[azcrazy]

nice just order my 2 300w dimmble and should i retired my MH and t12 combo?

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Yeah those lights will be more than enough, throw your mh and t5 on the for sale threads haha

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Personally 2 violets wasn't enough for me that's why I did 5, still not enough. I wish I knew which blues were ro yal blue and which were the regulars. I'll be playing with mine later tonight.

 

[spkennyva]

I have the lights for almost a year now, the acroporas and montiporas are growing fabulous, you get better results with this lights than with MH and you won't have to deal with the heat generated by MH and bulbs every 6mo... If you want a grow schedule you will have to slowly increase the white channel, mine is at 35%-45%and the blue is at 85%, increase the lights for grow slowly, over a long period of time like 6-7 weeks, if you see bleaching crank the white down until coal coral coloration is back to normal and start increasing the whites slower. You can see a video I think on American reef channel I believe. I didn't follow any program, just slowly increased the whites until I got the grow rate I wanted. With blues you can start at 40%. If you go slowly over a few weeks period you will be fine and achieve what you want. The lights will work just fine, it's a bit complicated to hook them to a controller but never the less doable. So if I can grow sps really nice and I am new to the hobby I'm sure you can too...

1) What size tank do you have (LxWxD)?
2) How many fixtures are you running?
3) What wattage are your fixtures (do you have a link to the exact light)?
4) How far above the water are the lights mounted?

 

[garygonzales]

Personally 2 violets wasn't enough for me that's why I did 5, still not enough. I wish I knew which blues were ro yal blue and which were the regulars. I'll be playing with mine later tonight.

cool keep us posted

 

[foste1cc]

I've been following this for about a week now. Decided to become a member of the site just so I can say thanks for all the info and feedback you all have posted. I just ordered 2 of the 165W for my 75g mixed reef to replace an 8-bulb T5HO I've currently been using the past 2 years. Should be here in about a week! Can't wait!

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

You won't regret it, just make sure you start low with the power output or you'll shock your corals

 

[Duff Man]

Mine was delivered yesterday, hung it today. I have both modes set as low as they can go and will gradually increase the power and lower the fixture towards the tank. Currently it's about 16" from the tank, I cut chain to get to 12" above the water. I'm pretty happy with it. Going from a 4 bulb T5 and was used to that color. My only concern is that although there is the dial to adjust the power of the lights, it seems that I only get low, medium, and high. I can't get intervals of 10%. Is this other people's experience, or do you see it dim like you would see an incandescent on a dimmer?

 

[Duff Man]

To clarify, I don't have "clicks" at low, medium, and high, it just seems like as I adjust the knob, I only really see 3 degrees of light.

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Traffic on the way home means no led replacements goodnight

 

[gavinsepanik]

Is it possible to wire a bluefish to these?

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Is it possible to wire a bluefish to these?

People have had success with apex, but I believe it is not straight out of box and requires modding

 

[garygonzales]

i believe the swope2bc did this...i think he has a little write up on this...page 8 post 177 i believe..its to an apex tho....

 

[Swope2bc]

Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay)

i believe the swope2bc did this...i think he has a little write up on this...page 8 post 177 i believe..its to an apex tho....

I'm pretty sure the link is post 230 guys. Page 12 And it is to my Apex. But if the device he is talking about takes a standard 0-10v signal it's basically the same.