chinese led lights

[xfactor1315]

Also any pics anyone has would be awesome.

[uf_gators]

I have been reading this , and now I am really interested in getting some leds. So my question is, would I need 2 units or just 1 for a 40 Breeder .I have softies, lps, and sps ? Also to factor in is I have a 6 bulb t5 , and I love my color combo which is 3 ATI blue+, 1 ATI Coral Plus, 1 ATI Aqua Blue Special, 1 ATI Pure actinic 420 for that neon pop...

So with my color combo on my t5's, what led combo do I need to get close to the same as my t5's ? Also if I need 1 or 2 of these units also.

Thanks a bunch,
Chris

[Travis1787]

My blue are all royal blues but you can mix them if ya want some blues some royals....

And to uf gators I'm not sure about which colors matching your t5 combos but one will be pleanty for the breeder....you in florida? If so where at?

[Stopsignhank]

OK, I started reading this thread from the beginning, got to about page 25 then started skipping to the end. After being completely confused, excited, then burned out and ready to quit I finally think I know what I want.

I have a 20 gallon long that is 30 inches long, 12 inches wide and 12 inches deep so I want a long skinny light that may only need 1 watt lights since my tank is so shallow. I just e-mailed Sam and we shall see what he says.

Travis, I forgot to give you credit for e-mailing him but I definitely mentioned RC.

[JJIM]

Originally Posted by maroonman

Jamey..

Do you have any pics of your tank with these lights? http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/54...ium_light.html
I like the idea of both red/green .

And I have to pull the trigger on a light fixture this week,
Thanks for any input.

See some contradictory info with the type of lighting brand. It states Cree in a couple places and then Bridgelux under the Led type specification chart. Just wanted to make that note unless anyone has reservations and needs clarification.

[Travis1787]

@hank no worries about my name I don't get anything out of it as long either way. As you mention rc that's cool at least they know where there being heard about...

[bhazard451]

I DID IT!

I swapped the drivers on the NOVA with 0-10v dimmable ones, and they fired up via the Apex. I have them at 75% and they are just as bright as they were at 100% via the regular drivers.

I just programmed in sunset and will be testing it in a few min.

[bhazard451]

So I got sunrise/sunset dimming to work, and the effect is pretty cool, but... the minimum voltage of the drivers seems to be too high. At 0% intensity, the lights are still putting out 30% of light or so, and 30% is still pretty bright.

Lesson learned. I'm gonna try the reef breeders next, or jump to the maxspect razor, unless Sam and the guys come out with something

[uf_gators]

Originally Posted by Travis1787

My blue are all royal blues but you can mix them if ya want some blues some royals....

And to uf gators I'm not sure about which colors matching your t5 combos but one will be pleanty for the breeder....you in florida? If so where at?

lol, no I am from knoxville, tn. but I got a color chart to give colors of my t5 bulbs.

[uf_gators]

But not sure if led bulbs are the same kind of color spectrum....

[ryanb91]

here is a pic of my 180 with 3 of the D120's that are 30 blue/25 white.....forgive the bubble wand in back. Iam running a dose of chemiclean

[Travis1787]

This tank is bad@ss the pics do no justice I'm sure

[ryanb91]

Thanks Travis....Iam sure if I could find my camera instead of a phone camera it would look alot more real to life....but its pretty close

[hockey00]

Anyone else having problems with credit card company not letting payment go through? They are telling me there has been many cases of fraud in the area.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by hockey00

Anyone else having problems with credit card company not letting payment go through? They are telling me there has been many cases of fraud in the area.

You have to call your CC company to allow the payment. Use paypal if possible.

[bhazard451]

If reefbreeders can modify the d120 black boxes to work with Apex dimming, it should be extremely easy, much easier than what I went through with the Nova units.

I can help anyone looking to add apex dimming to both units.

[bhazard451]

This is a good reference for those looking for certain colors.

"A ratio of one Cool White to Royal Blue is approximately 10-12K, 2 Royal Blue for every Cool White is between 12-15K 3Royal Blue for every Cool White is between 17-20K."

[kbell2433]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

If reefbreeders can modify the d120 black boxes to work with Apex dimming, it should be extremely easy, much easier than what I went through with the Nova units.

I can help anyone looking to add apex dimming to both units.

I thought that Nova unit was suppose to be the New Modifiable Model. haha

There has got to be an easier way than swapping the drivers being the ones in there are dimmable already.

[ghrorick]

Ryan, the d120s look like they do a good job lighting the tank, are the enough to keep corals doing well? I ask because Sam keeps suggesting 3 of the nova 6s for my 180 (which I finally found and bought this weekend, bye bye 135). Now I could see 3 nova 4s for the tank, or 3 d120s, but if I have to get 3 a6s I might as well stay with my t5s, they would use less electricity. I could even live with an A6 and 2 a4s, but 3 A6s sound overkill for a zoa/poly tank. I do have 2 A6s ordered for my 120, but I probably won't see them until next week.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by kbell2433

I thought that Nova unit was suppose to be the New Modifiable Model. haha

There has got to be an easier way than swapping the drivers being the ones in there are dimmable already.

Nope. The drivers are not 0-10v dimmable. They are special made drivers that differ from a meanwell, which makes it harder to modify. They use resistance dimming via a non-standard connector attached to a pcb board with the pot. In theory, someone can cut the dim- dim+ wires off from the connector while it is attached to the pcb, but the wires are tiny and hard to work with. It also wouldn't be true 0-10v dimming.

The optics, heatsinks, and led boards are easily changeable. Everything is wired with quick connects.

[Anselth]

Originally Posted by ihigh

Here you go

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/3178...te-9-blue.html

I liked my dimmers that way, so if you're content just get it.

Edit: Since I'm doing mainly lps, zoas, shrooms, rics, and other softies I decided to use one fixture for a 48inch long 75g. Someone on another forum has done it and raised it roughly 8-10inches to get a good spread and his stuff are already growing and more colorful then his MH (according to him). I'll let you guys know how that pans out in a month or so for me. lol

Starting to work my way through this thread, but I'm thinking that if I pull the trigger on LEDs this looks like a good color combination to my eye. Can these be mounted inside a canopy easily and safely? Second, will they swap out the optics on these units? I'm thinking 2 over a 110H (48x18x30) would be better with 60 degree optics from the research I've been doing. Third, they look like pure on/off, so would they work with an ACIII?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by Anselth

Starting to work my way through this thread, but I'm thinking that if I pull the trigger on LEDs this looks like a good color combination to my eye. Can these be mounted inside a canopy easily and safely? Second, will they swap out the optics on these units? I'm thinking 2 over a 110H (48x18x30) would be better with 60 degree optics from the research I've been doing. Third, they look like pure on/off, so would they work with an ACIII?

- Adding a small amount of violets near 410-420nm is beneficial. 4 works great.
- A few members have mounted in canopy with no issues.
- you can request different sized optics or color combos
- These are dimmable via knobs for each channel. You can use two outlets on timers to automatically turn them off/on. Would need to be modified to do Apex auto-dimming.

It is the best value fixture available to me. Quite a few chinese companies offer it.

[Anselth]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

- Adding a small amount of violets near 410-420nm is beneficial. 4 works great.

4 per unit, or 4 total? What would you suggest you remove to add those?

- A few members have mounted in canopy with no issues.

Cool. It seemed like that would work fairly well

- - you can request different sized optics or color combos
- These are dimmable via knobs for each channel. You can use two outlets on timers to automatically turn them off/on. Would need to be modified to do Apex auto-dimming.

It is the best value fixture available to me. Quite a few chinese companies offer it.

Great. I don't know that I'll ever need more than pure on/off, so it looks like these would work well for me. I still have to do some more research before I pull the trigger, but I appreciate the input. They really do seem like a good value, especially since these would basically cost what my next two bulb changes would (2x54w T5, 2x250w MH), so they'd pay for themselves in less than a year.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by Anselth

They really do seem like a good value, especially since these would basically cost what my next two bulb changes would (2x54w T5, 2x250w MH), so they'd pay for themselves in less than a year.

3-4 per unit.

That's what my line of thinking was. A yearly bulb change of my 250w MH + T5 would be around $100. It would pay for itself in electricity and bulb savings within a year.

[ryanb91]

Ryan, the d120s look like they do a good job lighting the tank, are the enough to keep corals doing well? I ask because Sam keeps suggesting 3 of the nova 6s for my 180 (which I finally found and bought this weekend, bye bye 135). Now I could see 3 nova 4s for the tank, or 3 d120s, but if I have to get 3 a6s I might as well stay with my t5s, they would use less electricity. I could even live with an A6 and 2 a4s, but 3 A6s sound overkill for a zoa/poly tank. I do have 2 A6s ordered for my 120, but I probably won't see them until next week

Yes they are perfect for the 180....I have an SPS dominate tank and all corals are great. I had one in the middle since Febuary. Was doing kind of an experiment vs halides. The leds grew sps just fine and in fact they colored up the sps way nicer than MH. If I wanted something colored up I would stick it in the middle of the tank. If you just have a zoa/paly tank....3 d120's will be more than enough. Just make sure you get the 90 degree optics (not the 90 degree LED angle) You must clarify that you want optics and not just angled leds. I think they are $.15 a piece.