chinese led lights

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by Bcamp

Sam said they just about have the controllable aspect worked out!

That would be awesome on so many levels.

[NYReef]

Pardon my ignorance but I use the Acan lighting leds and am very happy with them. The lights are powerful and easy to control and the light emitted supports coral growth well. I am suprised they are mentioned more and used more. I am lucky as the distributor is located close to where I live in Commack. The new version does lightning and moon phases as well. Great lights!!

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by NYReef

Pardon my ignorance but I use the Acan lighting leds and am very happy with them. The lights are powerful and easy to control and the light emitted supports coral growth well. I am suprised they are mentioned more and used more. I am lucky as the distributor is located close to where I live in Commack. The new version does lightning and moon phases as well. Great lights!!

I'm sure they're good lights, but starting at $645 for 1w leds and a lightning controller is the reason why this thread is as big as it is.

[bhazard451]

Bought the drivers:

Item NO Description Quantity Unit price(usd) Amount(usd) Lead time Note
DR-12V-2200-33
0-10v dimmable LED driver
Input 110~120VAC
Output: 60w 600~700MA
2 $15.5 $31.0 4~5 days CE Rohs
Shipping fee (DHL) Door to Door $21.0
Paypal Fee 3.9%
TOTAL: $54.03

Coleen at Plus Tech can put together the order for you. Cheapest price I found. coleen@pspcba.com

[NYReef]

Yeah, I'm more of a buyer then a builder.

[WinnipegDragon]

Do you know if they will fit in the NOVA A4 case?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by WinnipegDragon

Do you know if they will fit in the NOVA A4 case?

Looks like this one. Should fit fine

http://pspcba.en.alibaba.com/product...ed_driver.html

[bhazard451]

I'd much rather go with the solution Sam can come up with, but I'm getting these as a backup anyway. Maybe I'll make my own fixture with them if they aren't needed

[pwreef]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

Bought the drivers:
Item NO Description Quantity Unit price(usd) Amount(usd) Lead time Note
DR-12V-2200-33

I am real interested in what you actually get, because it seems that the Chinese use that part number for anything and everything. Did they mention the output voltage range?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by pwreef

I am real interested in what you actually get, because it seems that the Chinese use that part number for anything and everything. Did they mention the output voltage range?

Everything was customized to my spec, as close as possible to the original driver.

Output range had to be within 55~100v. It came to around 69v-86v. Original driver has a 12v fan wired into it somehow, so it should work. 24x3.7fv= 88.8v

[Chicago]

What about these. ?? Compared to the nova units. Thoughts. ?? I'm So confused. Nova a6 or these

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/3178...-lighting.html

[ghrorick]

For those of you that bought from aliexpress did you just pay with credit card or did you use that aliexpress escrow feature? I am just getting ready to order mine and was wondering which is the best way to pay?

[bhazard451]

I should be more clear about the dangers involved with the driver swap. These are very high voltage drivers. If any contact points are exposed or wired wrong, you could very much be killed. I will have an electrician helping me.

Even though you can assume everything is wired correctly, and that you can just swap drivers, your life is worth the extra effort of safety or not attempting it at all.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by ghrorick

For those of you that bought from aliexpress did you just pay with credit card or did you use that aliexpress escrow feature? I am just getting ready to order mine and was wondering which is the best way to pay?

Credit card

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by Chicago

What about these. ?? Compared to the nova units. Thoughts. ?? I'm So confused. Nova a6 or these

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/3178...-lighting.html

Those are the 55x3 ones. The Novas are the newer design

[biecacka]

So what exactly will the new drivers sam is working on do?
Corey

[Trevenator]

Originally Posted by biecacka

So what exactly will the new drivers sam is working on do?
Corey

They are working on drivers that will dim with a Apex or Reefkeeper

[Travis1787]

All right guys I got my light up and I must say......

I'M SO IMPRESSED! I love the light (mines the d120 the 55x3 dimable) its almost exactly color I wanted. Id like it a tad more blue but its close enough and I'm so happy with the buy its great guys.

I replace my 250 halide with this and its not as bright but its still bright enough I can believe it. It covers my 36x18x24 tank beautifuly its crazy. My only prob is I can't take pics that look right any idea on a setting or any professional camera that will help so you guys can see my combo color better?
Any locals are welcome to come see for them self I live fl in holiday not far from tarpon.

Anyone know how long we should be running these things at full power per day?

I'm super happy though I bought this for like 180 total (8 dollars extra for violets plus some tax) and now tomorrow I'm selling my halide and ballast setup for 125 ... So for 55 extra bucks I got this unit and will save monthly on electric and save 85 bucks every 9 months on a radium bulb.

Now let's just hope it holds up just at least 2 years to make it worth the switch!

[bhazard451]

Opened my fixture tonight. Was impressed and a little bummed at the same time.

First, the bad news. The leds are built into a circuit board, which is why they can't just individually swap leds at will. There is no way in hell you are going to remove them individually, so there is no chance of ever replacing these on your own. It does make a driver swap much safer though, since there are no exposed contact points.

Good news is, since they are built into a circuit board attached with a quick connect, you can just buy another board of leds from them if they'll make it for you to buy! Say they sell newer Crees 2 years in the future... I could just ask for 2 boards with them in it, and just connect it in.

The optics are loose under that circle shield. Was a pain in the *** to get back on. Good news is, that means they can be easily replaced (if the shield can hold other sized optics).

Heatsink and optics/shield.



Loose optics (can be changed at any point to other optics)



Circuit board of leds. You can see tracks underneath it, but I didn't want to unhook the board. No exposed wires or contact points

[legg_man]

Originally Posted by Travis1787

All right guys I got my light up and I must say......

I'M SO IMPRESSED! I love the light (mines the d120 the 55x3 dimable) its almost exactly color I wanted. Id like it a tad more blue but its close enough and I'm so happy with the buy its great guys.

I replace my 250 halide with this and its not as bright but its still bright enough I can believe it. It covers my 36x18x24 tank beautifuly its crazy. My only prob is I can't take pics that look right any idea on a setting or any professional camera that will help so you guys can see my combo color better?
Any locals are welcome to come see for them self I live fl in holiday not far from tarpon.

Anyone know how long we should be running these things at full power per day?

I'm super happy though I bought this for like 180 total (8 dollars extra for violets plus some tax) and now tomorrow I'm selling my halide and ballast setup for 125 ... So for 55 extra bucks I got this unit and will save monthly on electric and save 85 bucks every 9 months on a radium bulb.

Now let's just hope it holds up just at least 2 years to make it worth the switch!

I am looking at the same configuration you bought with the violets. How dose the color compare to the Radium bulbs. I love the color of the Radium and wanted something as pleasing.

[Chicago]

Travis. What made you decide on the 55x3 design over the newer nova designs. ?

[AcroBluz]

I just got a notice from my wife saying my lights where delived, unfortunately I am out of town on business so I won't be able to check them out until I get back. Then on top of that I just found out that I am getting a promotion with my company so I have to get ready to move accross the country. It might not be months before I can actually see these in action. Lol

[Mussin]

Originally Posted by Travis1787

All right guys I got my light up and I must say......

I'M SO IMPRESSED! I love the light (mines the d120 the 55x3 dimable) its almost exactly color I wanted. Id like it a tad more blue but its close enough and I'm so happy with the buy its great guys.

I replace my 250 halide with this and its not as bright but its still bright enough I can believe it. It covers my 36x18x24 tank beautifuly its crazy. My only prob is I can't take pics that look right any idea on a setting or any professional camera that will help so you guys can see my combo color better?
Any locals are welcome to come see for them self I live fl in holiday not far from tarpon.

Anyone know how long we should be running these things at full power per day?

I'm super happy though I bought this for like 180 total (8 dollars extra for violets plus some tax) and now tomorrow I'm selling my halide and ballast setup for 125 ... So for 55 extra bucks I got this unit and will save monthly on electric and save 85 bucks every 9 months on a radium bulb.

Now let's just hope it holds up just at least 2 years to make it worth the switch!

Post a pic or two.. Im just about ready to buy 2 boxes just dont know what ones??

[kbell2433]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

Those are the 55x3 ones. The Novas are the newer design

The novas may be new for this company but this design is a copy of an old design by a brand name company (ecotech radion) This design was one of the first LED designs on the market for aquarium LED's. But it is a new design for the cheaper chinese lights... There is another cheaper chinese brand with this design and grid design too with built in controllers earlyier in this thread. just cant remember the name off hand. Some people have posted price lists for them somewhere in this thread. Oh yeah i think e.shine is the name.

Not the exact same but simular in design

[pwreef]

Newer design!? You guys crack me up Underneath that white cover bhazard has taken apart is a circuit board that is used to make these lights:
http://www.rapidled.com/12-led-par38-bulb-actinic/
Well similar ones, since the ones Rapid sells are Cree, but they make these boards for "bridgelux" emitters in China by the million I am sure.
So they took 4 of them, slapped them on some heatsinks inside a powder coated steel box and found the least expensive driver. Presto - new design. And oh wait what does it look like? Lets see two round pucks of LEDs, black box... Ecotech Radion! WOW! So they are basically 6 months behind on it. iPhone -ZiPhone - same thing, right?
BTW the above bulbs are dimmable via regular triac dimmer you can buy at HD. So buy a track light fixture, screw in these bulbs, add a dimmer. Voila - new amazing design. I am not affiliated with Rapid LED, Echotech or Cree. Void where prohibited. LOL