chinese led lights

[Zedar]

I bought 2 of them Thanks Ihigh for posting that link.

When I seen the ratio I jumped on it. I was going to wait for apex controllable units, but one of my t5's crapped out so I cant wait.

[kbell2433]

Originally Posted by Stopsignhank

Travis, Thanks!

I looked at the pics and then saw Kbell did the exact thing that I want to do. Our tank dimensions are the same, his tank is just a little taller than mine. I think I am going to place an order for these today or tomorrow.

Kbell, how high above your tank do you have your lights?

1 would work fine on a 20 long. I have mine running at 100% on a standard 29g, 9" above the water.

If i added violet i would do 30blue/21white 4violet and have all the blue on one dimmer and the white and violet on the other. But thats just me.

[Travis1787]

That link above is the best ratio I've seen them make up on there own...

I deff would say the violets belong on the blue switch being there meant from bringing out more colors in your coral so id put them on the blues so when your blues are on your getting the most colors out of your coral. Id consider only using 2 violets on the next d120I get... A little goes along way

[needmorecowbell]

I know this question might be way to broad, but what's the best led color ratio for a sps tank? I have a 30g and the 120w dimmable led unit I have is only rb/cw. I was going to add some supplement but I want the right # of them and the right types.

[ihigh]

Originally Posted by Travis1787

That link above is the best ratio I've seen them make up on there own...

I deff would say the violets belong on the blue switch being there meant from bringing out more colors in your coral so id put them on the blues so when your blues are on your getting the most colors out of your coral. Id consider only using 2 violets on the next d120I get... A little goes along way

make up on their own? cmon travis can't I have some credit? haha! Thats the same one I told them to do with that config for me and they ended up making a post and leaving it!

[ihigh]

Originally Posted by Zedar

I bought 2 of them Thanks Ihigh for posting that link.

When I seen the ratio I jumped on it. I was going to wait for apex controllable units, but one of my t5's crapped out so I cant wait.

no problem my man, we're all in the same hobby so to help someone out after travis helped me out with such great info is how it works!

[reeferheadlouie]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

Just found out reefbreeders can't make their units Apex dimmable. Resistance to 0-10v dimming is not reliable. They couldn't get it to work for mine. That sucks.

Unless these Chinese companies start to offer 0-10v dimmable drivers for Apex dimming, the only way to modify these to do it is to get 2 custom made 55-90v drivers, max current 650mah (they run normally at 500-580mah), and re-wire the fans. Meanwells won't work unless you did some serious rewiring, which is impossible on the d120. 4 meanwell's could work on the Nova with re-wiring.

My attempt made a dimmable Nova, but 0% intensity is still way too bright with the drivers I used. One good thing is that the lights are brighter than stock now, and still not too hot.

I also found out today from Logan at reef breeders that his units were not capable of dimming via apex. I was ready to purchase 2 units when he told me that. Bummer! Well I took that money and purchased 1 mp40 which cheered me up slightly.

How bright would you say your 0% intensity is? Do you think it would be worth it and or possible of replacing those same drivers in my d120?

[Travis1787]

O ihigh that's the one you made? Very cool! Great choice! My bad props to you for making a ratio that stuck!

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by reeferheadlouie

I also found out today from Logan at reef breeders that his units were not capable of dimming via apex. I was ready to purchase 2 units when he told me that. Bummer! Well I took that money and purchased 1 mp40 which cheered me up slightly.

How bright would you say your 0% intensity is? Do you think it would be worth it and or possible of replacing those same drivers in my d120?

About 20-30% of light, which is quite a lot on these. You can notice that it is dimmer than full power, but not enough to justify using the same drivers. They are also too thick for the d120.

[reeferheadlouie]

That's really unfortunate. Has there been any updated news from Sam making fixtures that o-10v

[needmorecowbell]

Couldn't you just manually add that? Instead of the two pots they give you? I would try, but I'm not that good with electricity lol.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by needmorecowbell

Couldn't you just manually add that? Instead of the two pots they give you? I would try, but I'm not that good with electricity lol.

I did. I rewired my whole fixture with 0-10v dimmable custom drivers, but they don't dim all the way down with them.

[needmorecowbell]

Interesting.. Was it expensive? Wouldn't it be like 60$, 2 30$ drivers or something..

I didnt think it would be that hard, you only need to change the two drivers, right?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by needmorecowbell

Interesting.. Was it expensive? Wouldn't it be like 60$, 2 30$ drivers or something..

I didnt think it would be that hard, you only need to change the two drivers, right?

Finding the drivers is the hard part. 2 Meanwells wont work, 4 Meanwells might be able to work, but i'm not sure they'll fit inside the case. You need 2 0-10v dimmable drivers that push close to 90v each. You also need to re-wire the fans.

It was also very messy and not holding well with wire nuts, so I soldered all the wires, which took a lot of time.

I'm eventually going to gut the led boards and drivers, and put 4 meanwells in with 36 Cree XT-E leds, and 12 of violet/red/green/blue on the heatsinks running from 3 to 5 watts each. Beautiful overkill at its finest with Apex dimming... would match the razor at half the price.It is either that or buy a Maxspect Razor.

Nothing out there has what I want, and DIY seems to be the only way to get it at a good price right now. (Apex dimming, XT-E Crees)

[Snausy]

Originally Posted by fetta

I know everyone is talking about controlling these with an apex, how about a reefkeeper

I noticed on my new RKL the new firmware includes lighting controls including lightning storms etc. I'll look into it further when I get my leds.

[ihigh]

Originally Posted by Travis1787

O ihigh that's the one you made? Very cool! Great choice! My bad props to you for making a ratio that stuck!

yeah, hendy just left me an email that they just shipped it! so stoked right now! I'm itching to make a conduit rack like this.

http://reeftools.com/news/building-a...-from-conduit/

[cmantis]

I am getting a new (used) 90 gallon tank that comes with a sunpod 48" 2x150 watt MH's. I would have to get new bulbs for it. Do you think I should just get a LED instead? Would 1 D120 like the one listed above work? Or should I just use the MH for a while and wait for something newer perhaps?

[cmantis]

To the person who just PM'd me I tried to respond but don't have enough posts yet can you PM me your email?

[Trevenator]

Sam just sent me a link for the D120 with DIY Ratio I had him do for me.
37blue+14white+2UV+2Violet
3 to 1 blue to white ratio so it should be 17k to 20k in color.
I have a friend with a D120 with a 2 to 1 blue to white ratio and its way to white. He runs his blue at 100% and his white at 50% to get the color he wants.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/3178...V-2Violet.html

[Chicago]

Bhazzard. Sam said the a6 are linkable. But I need to ask then if all are dim able off the same line

Question. U think a6 nova lengthwise. Normal set up rather than perpendicular will cover 31 inch wide?

Thoughts on if I did go with doing them perpendicular to go with 60 degree optics rather than 90. Tank is 31 inch deep.

Last question. How many violets per unit. 6 to many. that would be one per each grouping on the a6 nova.

I asked sam aboout apex compatible. No answer yet from him

Thanks

[Travis1787]

Yea on an a6 id do no more then 6 violets....

Earlier someone asked me how I ran just one d120 on my tank with the centerbrace well before I set up my tank I cut that brace out and replaced it with a piece of acrylic and some plastic nuts and bolts I post a pic soon to make it easier to under stand..... I've also heard of people using fishing leaders to do this as well......

@cmantis I believe your 90 is 48 long ..if so you will need 2 d120 or one a8 id prob lean more toward the d120s...

[Stopsignhank]

Well I e-mailed Sam and he was honest and said that 120 watt was overkill on a tank my size, which I know, he said go with the 50 watt, which still might be too much. I like the fact that with the D120 there are 2 dimmers so I can play with the lighting to get it how I want it.

However he also threw in this.

120degree LED are not available since last week. We are not going to produce 120degree LED.

So you can throw that option out the window.

[Chicago]

travis.. you think 4 makes more sense. that would be like 16 total ove a 96 by 31 by 31 tank.. will put the violets on the blues.. keep white and blue/violets on dimmers respectively.

think maybe ill order one unit first and see how it penetrates perpendicluar and lengthwise. see if get coverage over the fornt part of the tank when length wise..

thanks for all your helpl guys..

[Travis1787]

Yep I agree 100 percent if it was my a6 id only do 4 per unit.. but 6 would be a maxof what id do but yes id personally only use 4

[cappymrgn]

Originally Posted by dgmanny

When i click on the link, it doesn't have a buy option. it goes to a get updated price, which then requires a registration. Do you have to register to buy? THanks

You may have to register, but that alone will not get you a price. I started by "chatting" with Ada Dong. She can get you the actual price with shipping. I believe you can also click the "contact supplier" and send an email. Keep in mind the time difference...I contacted he late at night when it was morning there. All my emails were responded to promptly.

Hope this helps. I am picking up my lights today (shipped on a friday and I missed delivery on Tuesday). Unfortunately I dont have corals yet to compare before and after, but I am looking forward to starting.