Chaeto lighting VIPARSPECTRA Reflector-Series 300W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum for I

lousybreed · 02/15/2017, 07:57 AM

$89 on amazon. Seems like it has some serious par punch for growing macros. Anyone ever used one?

https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-...Led+grow+light

Ron Reefman · 02/16/2017, 06:40 AM

Don't get fooled by the name saying 300W. It's a name not the wattage rating! It's only 136 watts. Read it in the specs. It's called shady marketing.

It doesn't have any dimmers, just an on/off switch.

If it had dimmers I'd give it serious consideration for a refugium fixture. But without them... naw.

L8Braker · 02/16/2017, 07:47 AM

60 5 watt LED's...Ron is confused by the power consumption. I just got one yesterday after reading lots of good reviews. My PH swing stopped, but I've only had it 24 hours so no other reports to give.

Ron I'm curious... why would you want a dimmer on a refugium light? That seems odd. I thought everyone simply used them on some form of a timer apex/manual etc for about 18 hour a day.

lousybreed · 02/16/2017, 02:03 PM

I am going HPS as the growth people get with hps is out of control. Ron in the Amazon link it talks about actual wattage. They call it 300w because that is the max theoretical wattage and all the Chinese black box LED's do the same thing.

lousybreed · 02/16/2017, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L8Braker

60 5 watt LED's...Ron is confused by the power consumption. I just got one yesterday after reading lots of good reviews. My PH swing stopped, but I've only had it 24 hours so no other reports to give.

Ron I'm curious... why would you want a dimmer on a refugium light? That seems odd. I thought everyone simply used them on some form of a timer apex/manual etc for about 18 hour a day.

Keep me posted on how it performs. It kicks out the PAR!!

ca1ore · 02/16/2017, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L8Braker

60 5 watt LED's...Ron is confused by the power consumption.

Add me to the 'confused'. How is a light that consumes 136 watts a 300 watt light? 300 incandescent equivalents? Just because there are 5 watt LEDs doesn't mean they're driven that high. Care to explain?

I've had all sorts of problems with these Amazon Chinese grow lights. No more for me!

lousybreed · 02/16/2017, 05:03 PM

60x5w is 300watts. Meaning if you drive these at max power it would make 300w. I don't know why they do it either. It's stupid.

Ron Reefman · 02/16/2017, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L8Braker

60 5 watt LED's...Ron is confused by the power consumption. I just got one yesterday after reading lots of good reviews. My PH swing stopped, but I've only had it 24 hours so no other reports to give.

Ron I'm curious... why would you want a dimmer on a refugium light? That seems odd. I thought everyone simply used them on some form of a timer apex/manual etc for about 18 hour a day.

If it were 300 watts, and it isn't, it could cook the algae or plants in your refugium. It's a plant grow light and they figure you can move the light further away from the plant. But most refugiums are inside a stand with very little space to move the light away. How much would a dimmer have cost?

It may have 60 leds rated at 5 watts each, so with the right driver it could be a 300 watt fixture. But it doesn't say it has a 300 watt driver, it says it consumes 136 watts. If you want to think it's a 300 watt fixture, be my guest.

lousybreed · 02/17/2017, 09:17 AM

Ron in my fuge I have a 150w HPS floodlight on my chaeto. Most macro algea can take more light than you can throw at it. Most fuges I see are way underlit and their macros look like ****. Chaeto for example can handle 700-800 PAR no problem. Not only can it handle it, it can utilize it.

lousybreed · 02/17/2017, 09:19 AM

If you want to get rid of algea in your main tank, your fuge lighting must be more desirable. Chaeto prefers the wavelengths of HPS compared to 14k MH.

L8Braker · 02/20/2017, 08:23 AM

Ok guys 5 day update.... My Chaeto has doubled in size! Wish I had taken a before picture. My Orp is rising again, phosphates are down and tank is looking perfect! I had a 16watt prior and it didn't work for my 300. This light at whatever wattage you choose to believe is certainly working and my chaeto is growing like I've never seen personally. I'm happy and the dimensions fit over my trigger 39 refugium perfectly.

lousybreed · 02/20/2017, 09:32 AM

That is awesome!!!! Great to hear!!

DamonG · 02/20/2017, 09:35 AM

I use the 300 on my scrubber and a 600 on my cheato tub.. They are very strong lights and perform well.. I have used the 150 sodium, the Mars led, the unit you have, and now the 600.. The leds by far blew away my sodium growth, which indeed was substantial.. I have my buddy my old Mars, and his red dragon is amazing(the color is utterly insane), massive, and growing like crazy..

The only thing I've actually found that I had to do, over time, was to cut the hours down, so that they both, don't pull my nutrients down to zero, and then, to balance between the two.

But you will love it, just watch your nutrients, as with the accelerated growth (highly accelerated), you can strip easily..

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

L8Braker · 02/21/2017, 07:44 AM

Good to know! I'm adding more fish soon, and will be feeding more as well. I had dialed my feedings back after my phosphates and orp kept dropping. Ammonia/nitrate/nitrite all fine, but I had a small diatom outbreak on my sand which clued me in something was off/building even with water changes. Skimmer and old daylight 16 watt LED recommended by MarineDepot did nothing. My chaeto took 3 months to double in size. I assumed due to lack of nutrients and boy was I ever wrong. I could see this new setup dropping nutrients to zero as mentioned, but with an increasing bioload I'm not there yet.

Out of curiousity how is your bioload and lighting schedule DamonG ?

DamonG · 02/21/2017, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L8Braker

Good to know! I'm adding more fish soon, and will be feeding more as well. I had dialed my feedings back after my phosphates and orp kept dropping. Ammonia/nitrate/nitrite all fine, but I had a small diatom outbreak on my sand which clued me in something was off/building even with water changes. Skimmer and old daylight 16 watt LED recommended by MarineDepot did nothing. My chaeto took 3 months to double in size. I assumed due to lack of nutrients and boy was I ever wrong. I could see this new setup dropping nutrients to zero as mentioned, but with an increasing bioload I'm not there yet.

Out of curiousity how is your bioload and lighting schedule DamonG ?

Right now it's pretty light.. I only have 4 fish (not counting the 6 plus babies in my little pond ), and an eel.. So pretty low for my tank size (245 total water). And I actually, right now, have them both coming on at 10pm and going off at 11am, which is down from the 10 to 3 schedule I had them on.. That lowering of the photo allowed me to get a. 025 nitrate reading, where I never had nitrate before..

And that's the main thing people always say before they go to the higher powered lights.. I said it myself.. But it's an amazing difference once you do move to it..

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

lousybreed · 02/21/2017, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamonG

I use the 300 on my scrubber and a 600 on my cheato tub.. They are very strong lights and perform well.. I have used the 150 sodium, the Mars led, the unit you have, and now the 600.. The leds by far blew away my sodium growth, which indeed was substantial.. I have my buddy my old Mars, and his red dragon is amazing(the color is utterly insane), massive, and growing like crazy..

The only thing I've actually found that I had to do, over time, was to cut the hours down, so that they both, don't pull my nutrients down to zero, and then, to balance between the two.

But you will love it, just watch your nutrients, as with the accelerated growth (highly accelerated), you can strip easily..

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Good to hear on the red dragon, I want to begin selling that stuff soon!

DamonG · 02/22/2017, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lousybreed

Good to hear on the red dragon, I want to begin selling that stuff soon!

Lol, I do too.. I need to get another piece from him.. His, from what I've seen, grows extremely fast, and as mentioned, his color is simply awesome!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

lousybreed · 03/03/2017, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L8Braker

Ok guys 5 day update.... My Chaeto has doubled in size! Wish I had taken a before picture. My Orp is rising again, phosphates are down and tank is looking perfect! I had a 16watt prior and it didn't work for my 300. This light at whatever wattage you choose to believe is certainly working and my chaeto is growing like I've never seen personally. I'm happy and the dimensions fit over my trigger 39 refugium perfectly.

Any more progress updates?

Coral Dilema · 03/03/2017, 09:48 PM

I've got one of those growing some nice tomatoes and lettuce currently. VERY BRIGHT!!

02/15/2017, 07:57 AM	#1
lousybreed Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sunny USA Posts: 196	Chaeto lighting VIPARSPECTRA Reflector-Series 300W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum for I $89 on amazon. Seems like it has some serious par punch for growing macros. Anyone ever used one? https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-...Led+grow+light

02/16/2017, 06:40 AM	#2
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Don't get fooled by the name saying 300W. It's a name not the wattage rating! It's only 136 watts. Read it in the specs. It's called shady marketing. It doesn't have any dimmers, just an on/off switch. If it had dimmers I'd give it serious consideration for a refugium fixture. But without them... naw. __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

02/16/2017, 02:03 PM	#4
lousybreed Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sunny USA Posts: 196	I am going HPS as the growth people get with hps is out of control. Ron in the Amazon link it talks about actual wattage. They call it 300w because that is the max theoretical wattage and all the Chinese black box LED's do the same thing. __________________ Keep your tank visitor ready. If you are not giving your tank the attention it needs, there is a 100% chance it will show. Cut through the data and figure out what are the critical key performance in Current Tank Info: 70 gallon mixed reef tank, 2x250w Radion 20k, chaeto tumbler

02/16/2017, 05:03 PM	#7
lousybreed Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sunny USA Posts: 196	60x5w is 300watts. Meaning if you drive these at max power it would make 300w. I don't know why they do it either. It's stupid. __________________ Keep your tank visitor ready. If you are not giving your tank the attention it needs, there is a 100% chance it will show. Cut through the data and figure out what are the critical key performance in Current Tank Info: 70 gallon mixed reef tank, 2x250w Radion 20k, chaeto tumbler

02/17/2017, 09:17 AM	#9
lousybreed Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sunny USA Posts: 196	Ron in my fuge I have a 150w HPS floodlight on my chaeto. Most macro algea can take more light than you can throw at it. Most fuges I see are way underlit and their macros look like ****. Chaeto for example can handle 700-800 PAR no problem. Not only can it handle it, it can utilize it. __________________ Keep your tank visitor ready. If you are not giving your tank the attention it needs, there is a 100% chance it will show. Cut through the data and figure out what are the critical key performance in Current Tank Info: 70 gallon mixed reef tank, 2x250w Radion 20k, chaeto tumbler

02/16/2017, 07:47 AM	#3
L8Braker Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 143	60 5 watt LED's...Ron is confused by the power consumption. I just got one yesterday after reading lots of good reviews. My PH swing stopped, but I've only had it 24 hours so no other reports to give. Ron I'm curious... why would you want a dimmer on a refugium light? That seems odd. I thought everyone simply used them on some form of a timer apex/manual etc for about 18 hour a day.

02/17/2017, 09:19 AM	#10
lousybreed Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sunny USA Posts: 196	If you want to get rid of algea in your main tank, your fuge lighting must be more desirable. Chaeto prefers the wavelengths of HPS compared to 14k MH. __________________ Keep your tank visitor ready. If you are not giving your tank the attention it needs, there is a 100% chance it will show. Cut through the data and figure out what are the critical key performance in Current Tank Info: 70 gallon mixed reef tank, 2x250w Radion 20k, chaeto tumbler

02/20/2017, 09:32 AM	#12
lousybreed Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Sunny USA Posts: 196	That is awesome!!!! Great to hear!! __________________ Keep your tank visitor ready. If you are not giving your tank the attention it needs, there is a 100% chance it will show. Cut through the data and figure out what are the critical key performance in Current Tank Info: 70 gallon mixed reef tank, 2x250w Radion 20k, chaeto tumbler

02/20/2017, 09:35 AM	#13
DamonG Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 873	I use the 300 on my scrubber and a 600 on my cheato tub.. They are very strong lights and perform well.. I have used the 150 sodium, the Mars led, the unit you have, and now the 600.. The leds by far blew away my sodium growth, which indeed was substantial.. I have my buddy my old Mars, and his red dragon is amazing(the color is utterly insane), massive, and growing like crazy.. The only thing I've actually found that I had to do, over time, was to cut the hours down, so that they both, don't pull my nutrients down to zero, and then, to balance between the two. But you will love it, just watch your nutrients, as with the accelerated growth (highly accelerated), you can strip easily.. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

02/21/2017, 07:44 AM	#14
L8Braker Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 143	Good to know! I'm adding more fish soon, and will be feeding more as well. I had dialed my feedings back after my phosphates and orp kept dropping. Ammonia/nitrate/nitrite all fine, but I had a small diatom outbreak on my sand which clued me in something was off/building even with water changes. Skimmer and old daylight 16 watt LED recommended by MarineDepot did nothing. My chaeto took 3 months to double in size. I assumed due to lack of nutrients and boy was I ever wrong. I could see this new setup dropping nutrients to zero as mentioned, but with an increasing bioload I'm not there yet. Out of curiousity how is your bioload and lighting schedule DamonG ?

03/03/2017, 09:48 PM	#19
Coral Dilema Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Central NC Posts: 953	I've got one of those growing some nice tomatoes and lettuce currently. VERY BRIGHT!! __________________ Build a man a fire and he is warm for a night. Set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life. Current Tank Info: 20 inch cube running, Looking for a good place to get a 36 X 20-24 X 18-24 tank.