chinese led lights

[greddy1]

I went ahead and contacted eshinesystems and they were quick to respond. One of the questions I asked them was if they had a dimmable option. They sent me a picture of a manual control on the side of their new CREE LED setup which I thought was kind of stupid. I also asked them if these had individual circuits so if one LED goes out the rest would stay on, they replied that these do not. That is kind of a deal breaker for me. I know these have a long life but if one goes out my whole lighting is out? That doesn't fly well with me

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by Boxfish

Dennis I agree with you on building your own and I do have the time and could do it easy. But to do it for 300? Show me where. Ive called around and to build it out of the nice cree's and make it tunable etc. Just to cover my 62 by 18 by 27 tank every one tells me its like 1000 to 1400 bucks.
Show me show me show me where I can get this stuff for 300!

For your size tank #300 is a little on the tough side. but the 1,000 to 1,400 is unreasonable on the other end of the spectrum.

With a 130 gallon tank I would run 84 of them at 700 ma each. 28 Nuetral White XP-G's at $5.00 each total $140.00 and 56 XP-E Royal Blues at $3.40 each total $190.40. 5 60 Watt Dimmable Drivers at $34.00 each totals $170.00. Using 1 1/2" Channeling for heat sinks and mounting would add about $65.00. So your total for the 130 gallon tank would be $565.00.

This would give you comparable light to an 8 bulb ATI fixture costing $1,100
and using up 432 Watts while only using 250 Watts. Or 4 Sol 75 Watt LED modules totaling $1,700.

Yes we are over the $300 mark but you have a larger tank than most. The $300 mark is very obtainable for someone with a 75 gallon tank.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by greddy1

I went ahead and contacted eshinesystems and they were quick to respond. One of the questions I asked them was if they had a dimmable option. They sent me a picture of a manual control on the side of their new CREE LED setup which I thought was kind of stupid. I also asked them if these had individual circuits so if one LED goes out the rest would stay on, they replied that these do not. That is kind of a deal breaker for me. I know these have a long life but if one goes out my whole lighting is out? That doesn't fly well with me

This is the big advantage of DIY. With a DIY system you have 12 to 14 LED's on a string. If a LED shorts fails open it will turn off the string till you replace that one LED. The other strings will still work for you. If it fails shorted out then only it will go out, and rest of the string will remain functional.

I did not see a price as I looked through Eshines Web Page but it sounds like it sould fall in the range of $150 for the 60 Watt module.

[greddy1]

They send you the prices. The sixty watt module is 180.00 so if DIY could fit there and be more attainable for my 90 gallon, that wouldnt be too bad

[Boxfish]

Originally Posted by TropTrea

For your size tank #300 is a little on the tough side. but the 1,000 to 1,400 is unreasonable on the other end of the spectrum.

With a 130 gallon tank I would run 84 of them at 700 ma each. 28 Nuetral White XP-G's at $5.00 each total $140.00 and 56 XP-E Royal Blues at $3.40 each total $190.40. 5 60 Watt Dimmable Drivers at $34.00 each totals $170.00. Using 1 1/2" Channeling for heat sinks and mounting would add about $65.00. So your total for the 130 gallon tank would be $565.00.

This would give you comparable light to an 8 bulb ATI fixture costing $1,100
and using up 432 Watts while only using 250 Watts. Or 4 Sol 75 Watt LED modules totaling $1,700.

Yes we are over the $300 mark but you have a larger tank than most. The $300 mark is very obtainable for someone with a 75 gallon tank.

Thanks for that info that is definitely a little more reasonable. Wheres the best place to pic up these parts.

[unze]

When getting leds what is the important things to look out for?

what are emitters are the best to get?

[Zman42]

I'm thinking about switching from 250 mhs to leds in the summer. Do you guys think it would be too much for a softy dominated tank?

[BigCountry74]

Chinese lights came today! I will be in daddy mode this weekend, so will prob not be able to get anything mounted until next week. These are the http://www.aquariumleds.com/products...Watt-LEDs.html lights. Shipping was solid and all 3 lights work. 1 year warranty, hopefully they can grow coral. Plan is to mount the lights on the wall via individual adjustable shelving, then measure around the lights and build the box to encase everything.

[BigCountry74]

So something like this,



Then this,

[karsseboom]

Originally Posted by BigCountry74

Chinese lights came today! I will be in daddy mode this weekend, so will prob not be able to get anything mounted until next week. These are the http://www.aquariumleds.com/products...Watt-LEDs.html lights. Shipping was solid and all 3 lights work. 1 year warranty, hopefully they can grow coral. Plan is to mount the lights on the wall via individual adjustable shelving, then measure around the lights and build the box to encase everything.

Those are not the same LEDs this thread it about.

[BigCountry74]

ummm sure they are. Any chinese LED black box is about this thread, and the debate on whether or not to try/buy them. Least that is what I have been reading and posting about over the last few pages. did I miss something?

[Detroit_306]

No idea but do keep up.. I have those exact lights

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by Zman42

I'm thinking about switching from 250 mhs to leds in the summer. Do you guys think it would be too much for a softy dominated tank?

With LED's you can simply build a system to corespond to your needs. With using several drivers you can switch lighting effects to go gradualy from pre dawn to mid day in several steps, rather than having an instant on off effect.

They generaly say LED lighting uses 1/3 the power of MH.s but but I would not go by as a hard rule of thumb. In your case I would go with a starting point of about 24 Royal Blue LED's and 12 Nuetral White LEDs running at 700 ma. Not knowing your tank size I'm just estimating this as the equivelent to the 250 watt mh as a rough starting point.

Remember different people have different color taste in there aquariums that is why they sell 10,000K MH's bulbs as well as 20,000K metal hide bulbs. So once you get the basic system up and running you can then judge by your personal taste if you want it bluer, whiter, dimmer or simply brighter.

They do have some new 5 watt CRI 95 LED's that sound great for whites but I would wait on these till the prices drop. Something new is always premium priced until they build up sales and cover there research costs.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by BigCountry74

ummm sure they are. Any chinese LED black box is about this thread, and the debate on whether or not to try/buy them. Least that is what I have been reading and posting about over the last few pages. did I miss something?

Now the question is what did you pay for them?

What is there wattage? As there are 40 LED's for each module I would hope they are 100 to 136 Watts per unit?

What is the color combination 1 White to 1 Royal Blue? or as I prefer 1 White to 3 Royal Blues?

[BigCountry74]

40 3w leds, 20 white, 20 blue, 120w per box.

I would have preferred 1 white to 3 royals as well. But $479 shipped for 3 boxes, I ran with it versus going down the DIY path.

my budget was 500. it was this or a cheap *** 72" MH/T5 odyssea which I did not want to do...

I have DIY everything outside of lighting. I was just not ready (comfortable) for that at the current price points.

[donald altman]

Originally Posted by karsseboom

Going green? Lol this whole hobby is Totally against going green man.

My point...

Originally Posted by rrasco

I know, but I thought he was referring to all-inclusive fixtures with those capabilities. At least that's what I was talking about.

I was....

Originally Posted by rrasco

That's entirely possible, but with already expensive LED fixtures, it would just drive the cost up even more. When I build my controller I plan to use an Arduino with ethernet capabilities. Hopefully I can run a web server which will allow me to add features you mentioned. I actually work for a stage lighting company, so it will be interesting to see how much cross-over there is. One of my bosses is already ordering a bunch of LED so we can start building some LED ribbons, fixtures, etc, to test out. Partially sparked by the fact I'm messing with all this LED stuff for my tank.

Be careful alot of your stage lighting is RGB (I'm sure you probably know this) the RGB's can make alot of colors that us humans can see without shifting the actual spectrum of light so your making the tank look pretty nice but not doing anything for the corals.

[BigCountry74]

wish this tech was around 13 years ago Don.

I would have built something NASTY for my senior project at UNCC....browser based controlled.....and funded!....something....lol could of walked away with a bad *** light and a years worth of college credit! haha

[gmate]

My corner 55g tank has a small footprint (32x32) and I'm thinking that with one closely-placed light I can greatly supplement my 36" t5 fixture, if not replace it entirely. Under the price range of 200 dollars, I'm still skeptical about these fixtures despite the reviews here.

Should I take the plunge? I definitely want dimmable, 2w or 3w fixtures with blue/white and possibly w/violet.

[Boxfish]

Originally Posted by gmate

My corner 55g tank has a small footprint (32x32) and I'm thinking that with one closely-placed light I can greatly supplement my 36" t5 fixture, if not replace it entirely. Under the price range of 200 dollars, I'm still skeptical about these fixtures despite the reviews here.

Should I take the plunge? I definitely want dimmable, 2w or 3w fixtures with blue/white and possibly w/violet.

Check these out.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Dimmable...item3a7103e40e

New guy on ebay but company has been around awhile. These are 3w running at 2w. Seems legit but you never know. Heres their website http://www.ledbell.com/ for the price of dimmable thats a scream. There bulbs are made by epileds.
Anyway something to look at.

[gmate]

Originally Posted by Boxfish

Check these out.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Dimmable...item3a7103e40e

New guy on ebay but company has been around awhile. These are 3w running at 2w. Seems legit but you never know. Heres their website http://www.ledbell.com/ for the price of dimmable thats a scream. There bulbs are made by epileds.
Anyway something to look at.

Eh, not wow-ed. The feedback on the seller is pretty much nil and the website looks like something I threw together in high-school. I'd prefer reputable if possible. Aquarium LED looks like I'm going for a 14k 3w fixture possibly...

[Boxfish]

Funny you should say the web site looks cheap. I agree but Ive dealt with 500million dollar companies in China and there site looks worse. I will probably go with Aquariumleds also if I dont go DIY. Dont be fooled though AquariumLED is only a middleman(not that Im knocking that) He just orders a pallet and turns it on to check it before he sends it to you and pockets 25 bucks.

[solareclisped]

Where is the best place to get DIY parts?

[submersible]

Anyone with the aquariumleds have a killawatt meter?
Am I missing something... At aquariumleds.com, the specs say the leds are driven at 300-350mA at 3-3.5 volts. Doesn't that equal .9-1.22 watts per led? AmpsxVolts=Watts?

The taotronics are driven at 630mA but don't specify voltage. Anyone have a taotronics fixture and a killawatt?

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by BigCountry74

40 3w leds, 20 white, 20 blue, 120w per box.

I would have preferred 1 white to 3 royals as well. But $479 shipped for 3 boxes, I ran with it versus going down the DIY path.

my budget was 500. it was this or a cheap *** 72" MH/T5 odyssea which I did not want to do...

I have DIY everything outside of lighting. I was just not ready (comfortable) for that at the current price points.

For 120 LED's if they are true Cree LED's that is very comparable to what a DIY would cost. I do like the fact they are using both Blues and Royal Blues but I will agree with you that the 3 to 1 ration would look better if they are using neutral whites. But if they are using cool whites then the 2 to 1 ration should look okay.

Do you have the ability to put at least a Timer on each color? If so you can run the Royals pre-dawn to post dusl, ad the Blues for dawn to dusk, and then add the whites for mid day.

[Boxfish]

I believe Aquariumled uses bridgelux bulbs