chinese led lights

[Socals14]

I have a few pics with the lights on...although I just set up my tank.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2028146

[Eshine Robin]

Originally Posted by karsseboom

The problem people are having with those China made led kits is not that there cheap, its that they are not producing the right spectrum needed to grow sps. I know about 3 people who bought a kit just like the one your looking at and all there sps turned brown and things looked horrible.

So may I ask what sepctrum do you think is great for SPS growing? we all know most companies sell the led aquarium light at 50% 455nm blue and 50% 12000K white. is there something wrong with that? for CREE xpg leds, the max color temperature is 9000K, there is still no more than 9000K for CREE leds, and for Bridgelux leds, people could choose 12000K, 14000K, even 20000K cool white. So what spectrum configuration do you think is great for corals?

[allsps40]

Originally Posted by Socals14

I have a few pics with the lights on...although I just set up my tank.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2028146

Again no pics of any corals under these LEDs. I want to see 1 year plus success with these LEDs. Personally I have looked at theses on Ebay a few times but thought no way will those be good to replace my 250w MHs and no way are they are good as the AI units.

[brad]

The CREE LEDs are made in China, so I would not let that stop me. The AIs are much better than much more expensive fixtures made years ago, so you don't always get what you pay for.

A few considerations:
1) If these are cheaper, and no one else is using them, you are taking a risk.

2) LEDs can be driven at various levels, but the higher the wattage, the lower the efficiency. I believe the AIs are actually powered below spec. If I were you, I'd research the spec on these leds, and be sure they aren't over driven.

3) The LEDs in a 70 watt AI fixture cost about $80, overhead, profit, support, and the rest of the fixture make up the rest of the price. Maybe this company is making less profit or doing things more efficiently. My guess is there is a sacrifice somewhere, probably in build quality and support.

4) If you go this route, please post online so others learn from your experience.

[karsseboom]

Originally Posted by Eshine Robin

So may I ask what sepctrum do you think is great for SPS growing? we all know most companies sell the led aquarium light at 50% 455nm blue and 50% 12000K white. is there something wrong with that? for CREE xpg leds, the max color temperature is 9000K, there is still no more than 9000K for CREE leds, and for Bridgelux leds, people could choose 12000K, 14000K, even 20000K cool white. So what spectrum configuration do you think is great for corals?

I can't tell you for sure whats missing cause I don't know. Infact the people I know who bought these don't know ether, there is just something missing from the spectrum with the china made led fixtures.

[Esardog]

Originally Posted by stevercleeze

thanks for all the input. the original link i posted was before i went to the eshinesystems website and began talking with a sales rep. they offer a bunch of options including a few panels with a combo of Cree 3w xp-g cool white 9000k leds with 3w cree xp-e 450nm royal blue leds for dirt cheap and some fixtures have have dimmers. the website isnt the best to navigate but a rep will send you a price sheet. check it out and share with me your thoughts
http://www.eshinesystems.com/led-aquarium-light.html

What is the asking price for these lights (200x3W LED Aquarium Light)?

Eddie

[Socals14]

Originally Posted by allsps40

Again no pics of any corals under these LEDs. I want to see 1 year plus success with these LEDs. Personally I have looked at theses on Ebay a few times but thought no way will those be good to replace my 250w MHs and no way are they are good as the AI units.

There is a big thread on these over at reef two reef...

http://www.*********.com/forums/reef...re-amp-40.html

[karsseboom]

Originally Posted by Socals14

There is a big thread on these over at reef two reef...

http://www.*********.com/forums/reef...re-amp-40.html

The leds you bought are different then the one this thread is about. The one you have are not made for sps at all and be very surprised if you have good success. The one in this thread look a lot better and built a little more like the ai sol.

You have such a nice litttle setup why did you go with those lights in the first place? You could have bought a nice ATI fixture and had a banging sps tank.

[Glazner]

Socals, which lights exactly are u running, what size tank, what corals do you have, and how long have you been using it?

Stever, I appreciate what you are posting. Let us know what you end up going with and how you like it. I think alot of us would be interested in lower priced LED's that work.

[globe]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170750325261...#ht_654wt_1009

was considering these as they have cree leds and a 3 yr warranty, just wish it had moonlights but not a huge deal i guess....I would like to hear if anyone has picked any of these up. I have a lot of other hobbies where the chinese have made cheaper products and have done real well and saved me a lot of money, so Im hoping for more good products from china at cheaper prices.

[noahlito]

Mine have been working just fine. My lps grow like they are on roids, and my sps do just as well as when I had halides. I have had this system up for over a year. I do 12 hours just blue light and 4 to 6 hours with white and blue. I have my lights set up 60% blue and 40% white. You can see them at hrrc.us go to showroom then noahlito 180 mix reef.

[Allmost]

no heat sink = change in width of trnsistors when on = different spectrum as it heats up !

you do not want a floating spectrum.

just cause its from china it doesnt make it bad, all LEDs are made in china ! controllers have their own cost, and are NEEDED with LED fixtures IMHO.

[dropin]

the only thing i would add is to look for one that has optic lenses to limit the spread of light. i have one and the spread is too wide for a 28 gallon tank.too much over wash of light, would like it more directed down into the tank.

[rrasco]

Originally Posted by karsseboom

You have such a nice litttle setup why did you go with those lights in the first place? You could have bought a nice ATI fixture and had a banging sps tank.

See, this is what I don't like. You're implying that he can't have a nice tank with those fixtures, while you have no specific experience with these units. You may be right in the end, but the point is, you're just speculating.

I've bought plenty of "cheap Chinese" products over the years, some of them were crap and some were not. Of course, I've bought several "quality American" products that were crap too.

[karsseboom]

Originally Posted by rrasco

See, this is what I don't like. You're implying that he can't have a nice tank with those fixtures, while you have no specific experience with these units. You may be right in the end, but the point is, you're just speculating.

I've bought plenty of "cheap Chinese" products over the years, some of them were crap and some were not. Of course, I've bought several "quality American" products that were crap too.

I do have experience with cheap leds. Did you read the whole thread? I know about 3 friends who had these on there sps tanks and the coral all turned brown. This is nit the first thread about China leds, people have been trying to find cheaper alternatives to less but all the ones I have heard about so far have Been bad.

[rrasco]

Yes, I read the whole thread. You may have experience with cheap LEDs, but are they these LEDs? There are even differences between LEDs of the same brand. You can't say all the ones you have heard about so far have been bad...there are people in this thread that are reporting a good experience so I'm not sure if you are discrediting those accounts. Like I said, you may be right, but I hate seeing blanket statements that discount cheaper alternatives because of where they are made or simply because they are cheaper.

[karsseboom]

Yeah your right these might be the first set of cheap leds that actually work. Its has nothing to do with them being cheap but there is know fact that the cheaper china leds are not working out for a ton of people. Infact I was just at some guys house that manufacturers these cheaper leds and he swears that his work for sps but they look just like all the other cheesy leds that everyone is buying an having major issues with.

[rrasco]

Finally, someone who agrees with me!

FWIW, I looked at all the places that were selling these type of units (ebay, ali) and decided against them and went DIY instead because I wanted customization and more control.

[karsseboom]

I just did an led DIY setup with a buddy of mine from reefleds.com par was pretty weak buy we will see.

[Socals14]

Originally Posted by karsseboom

I do have experience with cheap leds. Did you read the whole thread? I know about 3 friends who had these on there sps tanks and the coral all turned brown. This is nit the first thread about China leds, people have been trying to find cheaper alternatives to less but all the ones I have heard about so far have Been bad.

Lucky for me I do not plan on having any SPS...more softies and maybe some LPS...mostly softie dominated though.

So your friends had Luke's lights, eh? Disappointed to hear they did not work out. I read the whole thread before I purchased and did not note any comments specfically aimed at SPS.

[biecacka]

the reality is some work and some don't. its that way with all things. yes better built things is theory should last longer. sometimes they do and others don't.. i bought a cheap aquaeuro water return pump that looks like a dart but was much cheaper and it rocks. at the time everyone was against it because it was cheaper that a dart or what not. it works great for me, now that doesn't mean a dart is over priced or bad it just means i got a good deal. maybe i was lucky or maybe the cheaper one isn't always bad.
i mean store brand foods are usually made by larger makers too. a honda is off the acura line to a degree. nissan to infinite toyato to lexus. the cheaper one isn't bad just maybe not as fancy or as many options.
JMO
corey

[karsseboom]

Originally Posted by biecacka

the reality is some work and some don't. its that way with all things. yes better built things is theory should last longer. sometimes they do and others don't.. i bought a cheap aquaeuro water return pump that looks like a dart but was much cheaper and it rocks. at the time everyone was against it because it was cheaper that a dart or what not. it works great for me, now that doesn't mean a dart is over priced or bad it just means i got a good deal. maybe i was lucky or maybe the cheaper one isn't always bad.
i mean store brand foods are usually made by larger makers too. a honda is off the acura line to a degree. nissan to infinite toyato to lexus. the cheaper one isn't bad just maybe not as fancy or as many options.
JMO
corey

Buying a cheap pump and buying a cheap led is way different. Those cheap led are not producing the right spectrum the more expensive one are. In this case is not about build quality its about spectrum.


Honda is Acura. They are the same company. All over the world there all Honda's its just in the us that even have a brand called Acura.. there pretty much Honda from Japan rebadged as Acura in the us to ompete with Lexus.

[stevercleeze]

So I pulled the trigger on the LEDs from Eshine systems. The specs on the lights seem real promising. I'm getting two of the36x3w panels with Cree LEDs. 18 xp-g cool white at 6500k to 9000k and 18 xp-e royal blue at 450-455nm. The units have 90 degree optics, two fans in each panel, aluminum heatsink, tempered glass faceplate. The price for both with shipping was 505$. I look forward to getting these hooked up so I can let people know how it goes. I have a mixed reef and if I can get my blue tipped acro to thrive I'll know Im on the right track

[RDHDDRAGON]

I have had the "Hong Kong" lights on my tank for almost 7 months now. I have four fixtures each with 56 white and 56 blue about 13" over my 220 gallon. I also have two of the same fixtures over my 95 gallon wave tank. So that is 112 1watt chips in each fixture.

In the 220 gallon my old fixture had 3-250 watt MH and 4-96 watt pc.

Par went from 580-880 at 1" under surface and 80-180 at the bottom.

I have lost some of the red in my acans, but not my chalices. THe acan went from red to orange, so still beautiful. My pizza face chalice is just as red as when i bought it. The greens have gone from green to nuclear-glowing out of the tank- green. ALL of my corals are growing like mad. I've had devil's armour polyps go from 2 to 10 in under two weeks.

Below is my link to my milli growth under these leds. The growth has been amazing as far as i am concerned. I have another milli and two acros that are growing just as well if not better. I know 7 months isn't the year everyone is looking for, but in 7 months i think the coral would have suffered and/or died if the lights were bad. Just my opinion, but I absolutely love these lights!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2072657

One word of warning though- When I first put my LED on my tank, everything went pastel. I thought I had screwed up and bleached everything. About a week later they started getting color back and after two weeks everything was brighter than before. I also started with them about 10" off the tank and moved them up.

[biecacka]

RDHDDRAGON.......can you post the link to your fixture?

karsseboom........i agree they are different i was merely saying i was told i was doomed and thus far i have had luck with it. I'm not saying your wrong i have heard horror stories of ppls cheap lights catching fire. I'm only saying cheaper price doesn't ALWAYS mean bad quality. yes sometimes it does others it doesn't.
corey