Chinese LED Lights

[livingseas]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

28white to 24blue is a lot of white. When the lights are dimmed to 60% blue to 80% white in my layout, it almost has a power compact type crisp white that overpowers the blue, and mine used more blue. This is where it is most apparent that you need the reds/greens for better color, as some colors look dull instead of crisp like I would have thought. It reminds me of my old Red Sea Max Power compact white bulbs alot.

actually its 26 to 24.. two reds are in there. I'll also be adding some green when there get here. so about even. 24-24.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by jefftse

bhazard, can you pm me for your email? do you have the tutorial for the driver installation for dimming?

I can no longer PM for the time being. Search my posts on the old thread for "driver swap" or "apex". It'll give you the specs of the drivers you would need to buy, which I also bought from another chinese company. The drivers may not be able to fit inside a d120 however, they were pretty thick, and a standard Meanwell wont work the way things are wired.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by nasoisking

Im looking at buying a couple cheap leds for my 120 (4x2x2). I have a mixture of sps,lps, and softies. I am currently running 8 4ft t5s overdriven with icecap 660s. I was wondering what you guys thought of this fixture conpared to aquariumleds or taotronic? http://www.ebay.com/itm/120W-Dimmabl...item43b357181e

I would like to avoid needing to add additional lighting to suppliment if possible, but I dobt want a washed out,look. What do you recommend?
Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by 1mbrews8

what would the layout for a d120 look like with your specs and the "added" red and green like you were talking about above? thanks!

Mike

That light is basically the d120 and every other chinese standard black box. Aquarium shops buy them in bulk and resell them from the chinese companies. You could buy from them, or buy directly from the chinese company itself.

The leds used would look good. I think it might lean towards 16-18k with the amount of cw and blue used. I personally prefer warm white and neutral white.

My layout with 2 red 2 green instead of the 10k whites per say would look 14k like at 100% with color pop.. which would come across on clownfish and zoas at first glance.

[marco_1962]

Just ordered an IT2040. With red and green leds like reefbreeders layout. Two questions for Bhazard
Moonlight as a 28 days cycle? Fans are termostatically controlled?

Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 con Tapatalk 2

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by marco_1962

Just ordered an IT2040. With red and green leds like reefbreeders layout. Two questions for Bhazard
Moonlight as a 28 days cycle? Fans are termostatically controlled?

Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 con Tapatalk 2

Unsure of the 28 days cycle, I doubt it. The light basically returns to defaults if you unplug it, so I can't tell. You can manage how bright they are however, all the way down to 1%.

The fans might be thermo controlled, or preset for certain brightness. They are basically off under 50%, and they kick in when it gets brighter. It explains why I couldn't hear them much. The fans are audible when on, but not distracting.

[nasoisking]

Bhazard,

Do you think two of those fixtures would be equivalent to my current t5 lighting? Do you think the colors would be good enough not to need to suppliment in order to get my colors to "pop"? What overall color temp do you think I would end up with? Would it look look an xmas tree with the different color leds? Do you think it would be bright enough?

[psusocr]

Hi guys,

Ive been running three LEDS over my tank for ove a year now with amazing results but i just ordered and got three more...i was goign to use 5..but i also have the option to you all six. my question is this.

my tank is 72x31x31 but i have black braces at 2 feet from the left and right of the tank( typical bracing for a 72" tank). should i put two leds in each section so i miss the braces or can i spread all 5 out and not worry about the braces? they sit only 4 inches from the brace though so i assume it would block alot of light.


Also i have three with no optics and three with 90 degree optics.. any opinions how i should set them up alternating? 90 on the inside? no optics on the outside??

Any help is appreciated

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by nasoisking

Bhazard,

Do you think two of those fixtures would be equivalent to my current t5 lighting? Do you think the colors would be good enough not to need to suppliment in order to get my colors to "pop"? What overall color temp do you think I would end up with? Would it look look an xmas tree with the different color leds? Do you think it would be bright enough?

It depends. There are lots of variables here. You can create any color temp you want and choose your own layout, which is one of the cool things about these lights. If you space out the leds evenly, and only use a few reds, greens, and violets, it blends evenly.

Are you currently happy with your T5s? Would you want to run T5s and leds together? With T5s, you know what you are getting, it is tried and true. With leds, everything is so experimental and new that I myself learn as I go along, as there are so many different ways to go about things. If you are unwilling to experiment a bit, or to have to replace a led or two to be 100% happy if you use your own layout, you might want to stick with T5s.

T5 supplementation would look and work great with the leds, but it is not needed. It can give that extra bit of growth and color, but one of the main reasons I switched to leds was to not worry about bulbs anymore.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by psusocr

Hi guys,

Ive been running three LEDS over my tank for ove a year now with amazing results but i just ordered and got three more...i was goign to use 5..but i also have the option to you all six. my question is this.

my tank is 72x31x31 but i have black braces at 2 feet from the left and right of the tank( typical bracing for a 72" tank). should i put two leds in each section so i miss the braces or can i spread all 5 out and not worry about the braces? they sit only 4 inches from the brace though so i assume it would block alot of light.

Also i have three with no optics and three with 90 degree optics.. any opinions how i should set them up alternating? 90 on the inside? no optics on the outside??

Any help is appreciated

This is tough. Are the lights in a canopy? If not, you really should think about putting optics on the ones that don't have them with 31" of water. You'll get very little PAR to the sandbed without them, and it would even things out a bit better.

[RiddleEagle18]

Bhazard - That new grid unit you got. Do you know how they are dimming the lights. Are they using a PWM driver. Could their display be unhooked and hook up an APEX right the the driver?

[jefftse]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

I can no longer PM for the time being. Search my posts on the old thread for "driver swap" or "apex". It'll give you the specs of the drivers you would need to buy, which I also bought from another chinese company. The drivers may not be able to fit inside a d120 however, they were pretty thick, and a standard Meanwell wont work the way things are wired.

Nope~dc

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by RiddleEagle18

Bhazard - That new grid unit you got. Do you know how they are dimming the lights. Are they using a PWM driver. Could their display be unhooked and hook up an APEX right the the driver?

I'm not 100% sure, but they look the same as the drivers used for the d120 and Nova. Those drivers were neither 0-10v or PWM. They used resistance dimming.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by jefftse

bhazard is right~dc

I wouldn't have the time, and no. It is probably against forum rules to even mention it.

Reefbreeders will do it though. They offer the ability if you purchase the light from them. You could buy the Apollo Reef Led light as well.

[RiddleEagle18]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

I'm not 100% sure, but they look the same as the drivers used for the d120 and Nova. Those drivers were neither 0-10v or PWM. They used resistance dimming.

thanks

[psusocr]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

This is tough. Are the lights in a canopy? If not, you really should think about putting optics on the ones that don't have them with 31" of water. You'll get very little PAR to the sandbed without them, and it would even things out a bit better.

I have been running three lights with the no optics for over a year now and grow sps,acans,chalices etc on my sand bed with great color.. i figured adding 2 or 3 more with the 90 degree optics would just be a plus for me..im just worried about the configuration moreso,,should i alternate the ones with and without optics ?? or put the ones with optics all in the middle etc..

Im assuming i will put the 90 degree optics on the outside since they are more focused and the no optics in the middle

TIA

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by psusocr

I have been running three lights with the no optics for over a year now and grow sps,acans,chalices etc on my sand bed with great color.. i figured adding 2 or 3 more with the 90 degree optics would just be a plus for me..im just worried about the configuration moreso,,should i alternate the ones with and without optics ?? or put the ones with optics all in the middle etc..

Im assuming i will put the 90 degree optics on the outside since they are more focused and the no optics in the middle

TIA

I would probably alternate.

A year with great color and growth? Definitely would love to see pics of the tank.

[psusocr]

ill try to grab some good pictures tonight

[Dapg8gt]

Subbed for round 2

[marco_1962]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

...

I also think a lighter blue led would be better for the moonlights. The 450nm royal blues can get very purpleish when dimmed 5% and under.

Damn, i try to ask to Sunny if i'm on time to change the moonlights from 450 to 470...

[skyrne_isk]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

I'm actually interested in how the first light is too, but no one has tried it. The price was a bit high when I got a quote, especially for Crees. Like you, I wasn't willing to gamble and didn't see the value. The leds are spread a bit far for my liking too.

96 3W leds will not match up to two 400w halides. You would need nearly 180watts of leds per 36" of length. My DIY is 180watts over 24" and just about compares to 400w MH.

Thanks, bhazard. Would you think that even 3W CREE LEDs would not be able to match two 250w halides? The question for me isn't necessarily about matching the current 400W x 2 that I currently have (as it is probably a little overkill) but whether or not that fixture - with BL or CREE LEDs would provide enough light in the middle 4 feet of tank.

So are you saying the the four D120s would be the way you would lean?

What would those you who have bought these say offer the best combination of digital spectrum control as well as the ability to daisy chain? I am looking for something like a D120 that has a little slicker control interface. I love the idea of only running one power cord (if you are like me you have way too many cords all over the place - hate it).

[ecfarr]

I am quite dissapointed. I was an hour away from making a purchase on the evergrow d120's based on bhazard assuring me that they would be great for growing sps.

Then I read a new thread titled ~"Leaving LED's for metal halide after 9 months." Bhazard posted the following in that forum
"The only fixture on the market I would even use would be the Maxspect Razor, but even that is missing some red LEDs that I feel add a lot to a led fixture. They are far too costly to not be 100% happy with.

I consider the d120 as a fixture on the market. Bhazard; if you are reading this, can you clarify if you consider the d120 or any of these chinese lights as a fixture on the market?

[Azreefer77]

As someone who is new to this site and rapidly trying to get up to speed on these black boxes, I am very confused by this above statement. I did not see the post but thought the feedback on these units were pretty good. What to do??

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by ecfarr

I am quite dissapointed. I was an hour away from making a purchase on the evergrow d120's based on bhazard assuring me that they would be great for growing sps.

Then I read a new thread titled ~"Leaving LED's for metal halide after 9 months." Bhazard posted the following in that forum
"The only fixture on the market I would even use would be the Maxspect Razor, but even that is missing some red LEDs that I feel add a lot to a led fixture. They are far too costly to not be 100% happy with.

I consider the d120 as a fixture on the market. Bhazard; if you are reading this, can you clarify if you consider the d120 or any of these chinese lights as a fixture on the market?

I mean't something that you can basically go into a store and buy, or order from major sites. In that case, yes, the only store bought fixture I would get right now is the Razor.

Although these lights are sold commercially obviously, they aren't major brand names like AI or Ecotech. Not yet anyway... but in the future, who knows with the amount of interest in them

.. and I do have one fuzzy acro from the very start of my tank that is definitely growing. I've never had much success keeping SPS long term in the past, so this one will be my reference.

[skyrne_isk]

Originally Posted by ecfarr

I am quite dissapointed. I was an hour away from making a purchase on the evergrow d120's based on bhazard assuring me that they would be great for growing sps.

Let me throw my .02 in on this:

A couple months ago, my LFS swapped out their 4 DE 250W metal halides w PC actinic bulbs for a rigged together lighting scheme consisting of alternating colored strips (3 x 460nm and 4 x 10K) of Reef-Brite LEDs from one end the tank to another. I believe they are running 7 continuous strips from front to back (though it could have been as few as 5) running down the length of a 8 foot long 240G. I have personally seen SPS frags brought in dying or in bad shape from customers that have encrusted and are growing. The system grew SPS fine under halides as well, to be sure. I do not believe Reef-Brites have CREEs, I believe they were 3W bulbs ran @ 1.5W.

LEDs can grow SPS.


Can I get some feedback on the following light layout?


I have been running Reeflux or Radiums on E-Ballasts and like the look.

[bhazard451]

This is my lone acro frag that i got maybe 2 months ago, not sure. It has about 2 new branches since it was put in. It survived an ATO incident and a cyano bloom where some others didn't.

One thing about using high power WW Crees, reds and greens.. if your water is in good shape, you won't notice much algae growth, but if nitrates/phosphates are up, it can grow cyano a little quicker.