Chinese LED Lights

[Mr Neon]

Originally Posted by Zedar

UV is from 240 - 400 nm The bridgelux UV LED's are 420 nm. So were talking violet not UV. 420 is the same wavelength of actinic bulbs. So I wouldn’t worry about harming corals with 420 nm LEDS.

Actually, the UV leds I got from Sam are not 420. I tested them and they barely light so I was just thinking they may be useless. The marking on the bag they came in was 400 but then it could be something else.

As it is right now my D120 with the WW, reds and violets seem to be a bit better for color but I have a couple more Violets I may put in and more reds too. I am just curious if the reds will grow algae over time.

4 months into the D120 and I have gotten great growth. I am truly impressed with LED's over MH and T5's. I never had this much response in all the years so fast. I am still waiting to see in 6 months or more how well the lights do and hopefully years down the road. I am holding off on buying the newer unit until more feedback is known. I think by tweaking the lights and switching led's out to get the best spectrum all around is the key before ordering a newer version for me.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by Mr Neon

Actually, the UV leds I got from Sam are not 420. I tested them and they barely light so I was just thinking they may be useless. The marking on the bag they came in was 400 but then it could be something else.

As it is right now my D120 with the WW, reds and violets seem to be a bit better for color but I have a couple more Violets I may put in and more reds too. I am just curious if the reds will grow algae over time.

4 months into the D120 and I have gotten great growth. I am truly impressed with LED's over MH and T5's. I never had this much response in all the years so fast. I am still waiting to see in 6 months or more how well the lights do and hopefully years down the road. I am holding off on buying the newer unit until more feedback is known. I think by tweaking the lights and switching led's out to get the best spectrum all around is the key before ordering a newer version for me.

UV 400nm is very dim. Just because it looks dim doesn't mean it isn't there. I prefer 420nm actinic however. Using reds sparingly won't spur algae growth. Using too much of it would.

Despite using a similar ratio in my Cree light and IT2040/120, the Cree light has a warmer, slightly more pleasing look to it, but it also grows cyano like crazy... most likely due to wattage and spectrum differences. Algae is under control with the new light, even with red/cyan added.

[soul4surfin]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

The only thing different seems to be no optics. It also looks like they use resistors for each led, so I'm not sure you can just swap leds at will like you can with the Evergrow version. Led swapping is a huge deal for me, as I change leds nearly weekly until I hit perfection. I just added 3 reds into my fixture last night and liked the effect.

They may have quoted the price without shipping as well. Shipping would be another $60+ per unit, otherwise it looks like a good deal. Would need to know the current they run the leds at, and if they're a good bin (actually bright).

Is there anyway to tell if they are a good bin besides actually seeing them?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by soul4surfin

Is there anyway to tell if they are a good bin besides actually seeing them?

Ask. See if they'll tell you how many lumen per watt lm/watt the whites are. I've seen huge variances from different companies. The twilight group epistar whites were dim, even at a higher current, compared to the Evergrow Bridgelux whites, which are bright as can be.

[soul4surfin]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

Ask. See if they'll tell you how many lumen per watt lm/watt the whites are. I've seen huge variances from different companies. The twilight group epistar whites were dim, even at a higher current, compared to the Evergrow Bridgelux whites, which are bright as can be.

What are the lumen per watt lm/watt for each one of those?

[marco_1962]

Originally Posted by marco_1962

Sunny send me two pics of my IT2040 now in testing...

My IT2040 was picked up for shipping and i have a tracking number!

[boxer385]

Originally Posted by soul4surfin

Yes he said it was customizable (DIY) and sent me a chart. It also has moonlights. Brian also responded saying that it does too come with the remote and hanging kit. Going to get mine soon.

please post pics if you order i'm looking at this also.

[overkill1125]

Originally Posted by skyrne_isk

So here is the final quote I got:


48" x 10" x 2.5" fixture - 88 x 3w Bridgelux


Color Temp #
White 10K 14
Cool White 14K 16
Blue White 18K 8
Moon Blue 453 14
Royal Blue 460 28
Actinic Purple 427 8
Total Leds 88

Around $550, shipped. So two issue I am on the fence on:

1) Is one of these enough for a 60" x 30" 24"? or do I need two? I am getting differing opinions on whether or not the hanging height that will give me enough spread will give me enough intensity

2) There is a built-in auto dim timer function that I think I would rather not have. I believe it will be a pain to program to work in conjunction with the rest of the controller I have (Apex or ACIII). The only downside is that I will also lose the remote control that allows the blue and white channels to be adjusted - instead it will be manual potentiometers. I do not believe it can ramp the colors up or down throughout the day (even with the built in timers) and it saves $50 off the cost. I am not sure I care about anything other than being able to tweak the color, but changing colors seems to be something you tweak as the light is first set up, and then forgotten about. Do any of you with LEDs that brighten throughout the day find it to be a big feature? Coming from the world of MH, it seems to be but a bells and whistle thing.....

These are the operating instructions, you will probably need to view the attachment to read it:


What do you all think?

What's the verdict on these lights? I'm very interested but not willing to throw a couple of bills for being the guinea pig. Everyone seems to be talking about the other led lights. I find this fixture looks better since it can have the same lenght as your tank width.

[keywestcoralboy]

Does anyone know where I can get a comparable replacement driver for a 120W fixture?

[Azreefer77]

I do not have that light but my only worries would be having the LEDs at each end so close to the side of the tank. Would def need to have a canopy so to not allow tons of spillage. Because of the size of the light, not sure I would hang it. I would use legs like in a coralife t5 fixture which means most tanks cross beam supports would block some of the LEDs. Last issue is also size related, if you had to do work on it or if it breaks, you will have to wrestle around its size or order a whole new fixture. With the D-120's and the IT 2040 everything is more convienient and cost effective in my opinion

[biecacka]

Glad this thread is back!
Corey

[visuvius]

So hazard, do you still like the razor and radions better than these units overall? These seem to have awesome flexibility but are those still the superior fixtures?

[phragger]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

I'm not sure. It could be a pot resistance type thing being different or underpowered driver maybe? Probably isnt the driver if it gets just as bright at 100%. Talk to Sam or someone aside from sunny, and see what they say.

How can I get in touch with Sam? I have a question and haven't had a response from Sunny.

[nbgen12]

I would definitely like to see what bhazards rankings are of all the LED fixtures he has used (chinese + non-chinese leds)

[keywestcoralboy]

Replacement drivers? Anyone know where I can get one for this light on eBay 150811673072 ?

[keywestcoralboy]

The only thing it says on the driver is 520ma

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by keywestcoralboy

Replacement drivers? Anyone know where I can get one for this light on eBay 150811673072 ?

You would have to ask the seller. Despite the boxes looking similar, the drivers are different per company.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by soul4surfin

Gehl Led Lamps
Sales Rep: Brian Sun

I got a quote for the equivalent for two of IT2040 (programmable and DIY) 90 degree plug, 3w, 120w (still checking on remote and hanging kit) for $420. Seems like they are beating the competition by $180. WOW. This seems like an easy choice. These are the images hey gave me when I asked.

You were right. I was quoted $430 + free shipping for 2 lights, with a 2-3 week wait. The current is 600mah too, so they get plenty of power.

The only unknown is if it is wired in series for easy led swapping, or parallel. That is substantial savings if it works just as well.

[keywestcoralboy]

The problem Is I got the light second hand and there are no brand names on it.. I'm stuck at this point without at least an idea of what I need

[alvaro_ec]

Guys, what do you think about this full-spectrum layout for the IT2040?
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1348258556.633083.jpg
Anybody know when the cree model will be available?

Thanks!

[psusocr]

alright so i borrowed an apogee with sumbersible sensor( thanks dan) and got my par numbers with the different lights/optics. im running 5 lights.. three 90 degree and two 120 alternating pattern. the 120 are 6500K white and 454 nm blue. the 90 are 10-12K white and 460 blue. I also run two 6 foot VHO super actinic tubes. these par readings where with all of my lights on at full power since thats how they always run. i havent tested just blues or just whites yet. The numbers are +/- 30 since its very hard to hold the meter steady with LED beams.. the tank is 72x31x31 and the lights sit 8 inches off the water surface. Ill try to take pics with the meter in the tank but its impossible to do with one person. i took somereally bad quick iphone pics to see my setup. The colors look a bit different in person..
The first reading is 8" down on top of the water and the second reading is an inch under the water.. any closer and thelights read well over 2000-2500

At first i was a little dissapointed with the par numbers, then i looked at my corals. They grow quick( could be quicker) but more importantly i have great PE and awesome color, so regardless of the numbers( which i think are fine) they do their job.

[soul4surfin]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

Ask. See if they'll tell you how many lumen per watt lm/watt the whites are. I've seen huge variances from different companies. The twilight group epistar whites were dim, even at a higher current, compared to the Evergrow Bridgelux whites, which are bright as can be.

So they say that that lm/w for the whites on these Gehl lights are 90 to 100 and the others are low. I don't know if the latter is to be expected. They are on back order now for around a month. and apparently have only one fan versus in the IT2040 which I think has two. I am still waiting for confirmation on what brand the LED's are (Bridgelux, Epistar, etc..). But for the savings you get with these I can live with that.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by soul4surfin

So they say that that lm/w for the whites on these Gehl lights are 90 to 100 and the others are low. I don't know if the latter is to be expected. They are on back order now for around a month. and apparently have only one fan versus in the IT2040 which I think has two. I am still waiting for confirmation on what brand the LED's are (Bridgelux, Epistar, etc..). But for the savings you get with these I can live with that.

90/100 is good for bridgelux/epistar. Other colors like blue are measured mostly in mW instead so that is ok. I might get one to try out and see if it has the same quality... heatsink, etc. The price is attractive.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[2hi4u2c]

If this has already been gone over I apologize, has anybody modified the LED's in the "black boxes"? I just received 2 TaoTronics 28B-27W. I would like to swap out some of the white for red and UV (420) has anybody done this, or found a good source for the chips not mounted on stars?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by visuvius

So hazard, do you still like the razor and radions better than these units overall? These seem to have awesome flexibility but are those still the superior fixtures?

Originally Posted by nbgen12

I would definitely like to see what bhazards rankings are of all the LED fixtures he has used (chinese + non-chinese leds)

The new Radions coming out are going to be nice lights, its just they are way, way too overpriced for me to even consider them, especially since I already own a DIY Cree XT-E light that has more power than the Radion will.

The Maxspect Razor is the biggest Cree XT-E bang for the buck right now. It is sleek, powerful, uses violets, and 2 can cover my 120 gallon for less than $1000. No word on any upgrade path though.

These chinese boxes with a full spectrum of leds are the best value wise. If the Gehl version of the Evergrow controllable light is the same quality, it is the best value right now. $430 for 2 lights with controllers is an exceptional deal as of now, beating Evergrow in price by quite a bit.