Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay)

[Bryan]

There are particular situations that allow us to take the optics off.
1: a tank that is 18 inches deep or less.
2: Any tank that is 36 inches long. (Any longer I would suggest 2 units even with the optics off
3. If the tank is longer than 36 inches but shorter than 72 inches than 2 165w units will be ok for tanks 18 inches deep or less.

Any tank deeper than 18 inches I would suggest leaving the optics on regardless of the length of the tank.

From 18-24 inches you lose a significant amount of PAR.
This is all from my personal experience and testing.

From my discussions with the mfg, the whites without optics are 120 degrees, while the blues and the rest are 90 degrees with no optics, so optics off won't get you a spread any better than 90 degrees except the whites. Might make sense to add 90 degree optics to the whites. Think it would be a good compromise.

 

[iced98lx]

Thinking about supplementing my DIY Cannons with 3 of these over my standard 180 or maybe just going with 6 of them over my 180. Torn between adding these (Seeing them as low as $82 per) or adding some T5 for some additional par/punch.

 

[Bryan]

Just received my 2 today and noticed that all the blue appear identical to my eyes yet the camera tells a different story

I noticed the same, when viewed at a angle some of the blues have a slightly different hue to them, I think it might be the optics, or maybe just poor quality control on the leds. Although slightly different spectrum shifts probably is a benefit.

 

[OllieNZ]

I noticed the same, when viewed at a angle some of the blues have a slightly different hue to them, I think it might be the optics, or maybe just poor quality control on the leds. Although slightly different spectrum shifts probably is a benefit.

The pattern appears to be too specific to be poor quality. I've just redone a different unit with cree xre leds and I can't tell the difference between blues and royal blue but iirc according to the spec sheet the peak wavelengths were quite close maybe even overlapping and it may be the human is not sufficiently sensitive enough to spot the difference.

 

[Bryan]

Something that concerns me with the Mars Aqua is the potential danger of shock/electrocution. I assumed with the 120volt model the 220v sockets would be disconnected. Nope they are at mains potential, it would take some small fingers to access the contacts but still. What is more of a concern are the users of the 220v model exposed to mains voltage on the 110v holders. These prongs are definitely accessible by a finger.

 

[OllieNZ]

Something that concerns me with the Mars Aqua is the potential danger of shock/electrocution. I assumed with the 120volt model the 220v sockets would be disconnected. Nope they are at mains potential, it would take some small fingers to access the contacts but still. What is more of a concern are the users of the 220v model exposed to mains voltage on the 110v holders. These prongs are definitely accessible by a finger.

Those are universal sockets so you can daisy chain multiple units together. They are simply wired in parallel with the two ac inputs.

 

[Bryan]

The pattern appears to be too specific to be poor quality. I've just redone a different unit with cree xre leds and I can't tell the difference between blues and royal blue but iirc according to the spec sheet the peak wavelengths were quite close maybe even overlapping and it may be the human is not sufficiently sensitive enough to spot the difference.

I pulled off my optics today and I noticed that a few of them were ready to fall off, barely hanging on and there was a definite gap between the optic holder and the board on one side tilting the optic slightly, this slight deviation in angle and leakage of light may explain the slight color difference when viewing from the eye. With the optics off they all look the same.

Certainly noticed the drop in intensity with the optics off, no fancy par meter, just using a lux meter on the iPhone, almost 1/4 the intensity vs having the 60 degree optics on. Think I will hunt around for some 90 degree optics.

 

[Bryan]

Those are universal sockets so you can daisy chain multiple units together. They are simply wired in parallel with the two ac inputs.

Yes, obviously wired in parallel, but quite dangerous if one is a 220v user. The 110 plug pins are easily accessible by a finger and would be at the 220v mains voltage.

 

[OllieNZ]

Yes, obviously wired in parallel, but quite dangerous if one is a 220v user. The 110 plug pins are easily accessible by a finger and would be at the 220v mains voltage.

There is no difference between the 120 and 220 both use the same input sockets.

 

[Bryan]

That doesn't make sense, why would they include 220v plug holders if the 110v plug holder is used to connect to 220v.

 

[OllieNZ]

That doesn't make sense, why would they include 220v plug holders if the 110v plug holder is used to connect to 220v.

They aren't 220 plug sockets they're completely universal like a travel adapter, try plugging something into one it should fit. I don't have ane American plug on hand to test.

 

[fishbox]

Those are universal sockets so you can daisy chain multiple units together. They are simply wired in parallel with the two ac inputs.

I was not aware that you could daisy chain these together. That's pretty cool. If you do daisy chain these together does that eliminate power cords from multiple units? Would you just have the power cords from one main unit?

 

[OllieNZ]

I was not aware that you could daisy chain these together. That's pretty cool. If you do daisy chain these together does that eliminate power cords from multiple units? Would you just have the power cords from one main unit?

Not really as you still need the power cords to daisy chain them but you'd only have two going to the wall outlet.

 

[fishbox]

Not really as you still need the power cords to daisy chain them but you'd only have two going to the wall outlet.

That's really what I meant lol. Thanks.

 

[Swope2bc]

Mars Aqua Chinese LED review (Ebay)

:furious:what ?? really...i don think so....maybe you a bot.......

Lol, sorry Gary... That guy was a bit though... They pop up from time to time.

For clarification, I wasn't implying you are a bit Gary, it was the guy you tried to answer a question for. His post has since been removed by admin.

 

[garygonzales]

oooo ok its all good..

 

[deancoxx]

I'm setting up a 20G long and wondering what you think. It's an awkward length (30inches) so 1 165W would cover a bit under half and a 300W would be about an inch and a half longer than the tank... I want to keep SPS and wondering if this fixture was even an option with a tank that size

 

[Coelli]

I just have one really important question... is this big enough for a cat to try to jump on from the taller tank next to it? I went with Kessils for that tank and that reason but funds are limited for the new system.

 

[OllieNZ]

I just have one really important question... is this big enough for a cat to try to jump on from the taller tank next to it? I went with Kessils for that tank and that reason but funds are limited for the new system.

Not sure...... I think it would depend on the cat and how you suspended them

 

[Coelli]

Not sure...... I think it would depend on the cat and how you suspended them

The cat is a monster. She's skinny and agile and gets into/onto everything. She's regularly on top of my current tank. Her 14 pound sister has not been up there since she fell in. (This is why I'm a dog person.)

Was thinking about doing an EMT mount similar to the ones we made for the Kessils. How much does the 165w weigh, anyone know? Would EMT be sufficient?