chinese led lights

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by newe70

Thank you for your feedback bhazard451...I have also concern abt the shipping cost if it goes out during the warranty period. He gave me quote of $113. So the shipping cost back and forth is also equivalent to the unit itself already. But still very tempting to pull the trigger on this so affordable led light.

Last time you mention abt the Maxrespect Razor. That is a really awesome fixture, but the price for a 48" long maybe an issue.

So, I am in between the D120 and this light now.

You would be one of the first here that tried the light. I'd say go with your gut and go for it.

[sdp5215]

FYI,
Just got my Apollo 4 in that I ordered direct from Cidly and I absolutely love it. It was $213 delivered to my door and it came in 7 business days. I did it with 20 White (10K), 20 Blue, 4 Royal Blue, and 4 UV. Ordering direct through them was a breeze and Lin, my sales rep, was excellent to work with.

[jfeva0049]

bhazard, do you think 2 nova A4's would be good enough for my 90 tall (48x24x18) or do you think i would need 2 A6's?

im not sure if the A4 would do it or not but im thinking i would rather run the A4 closer to 100% then run the A6 and 50%, what do you think?

[jason12345]

Originally Posted by sdp5215

FYI,
Just got my Apollo 4 in that I ordered direct from Cidly and I absolutely love it. It was $213 delivered to my door and it came in 7 business days. I did it with 20 White (10K), 20 Blue, 4 Royal Blue, and 4 UV. Ordering direct through them was a breeze and Lin, my sales rep, was excellent to work with.

Do you think they will add a dimmer with a small charge?

[newe70]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

You would be one of the first here that tried the light. I'd say go with your gut and go for it.

This is a ratio that he advised 22 whites, 16 blues, 4 violets, and 6 moonlights. 3w each, but not sure abt the moonlight. What is your advise? I current have softies, LPS and SPS, but planning to add more SPS soon. Is this unit any better interms of the light spectrum than the D120? Quoted at $358 to my door.

[jason12345]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

The linked one is the same thing as the Nova, but not dimmable. The nova is dimmable.

Unless you plan on modding the box in the future, the d120 would be a better value. If you want optics, the nova is the better value.

hmmm... I really dont want light to spill over the sides of my tank, so i think the one i linked would be the best option... Do you think i could easily add a dimmer to this?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by newe70

This is a ratio that he advised 22 whites, 16 blues, 4 violets, and 6 moonlights. 3w each, but not sure abt the moonlight. What is your advise? I current have softies, LPS and SPS, but planning to add more SPS soon. Is this unit any better interms of the light spectrum than the D120? Quoted at $358 to my door.

Horrible ratio. It would look like an 8-10k light.

2blue:1white for a 14k look. 3blue:1white for a 20k look, then add a few violets.

Moonlights are a nice touch. I added a string to the outside of my light because I missed them. Either light and company could do any spectrum you wanted them to.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by jason12345

hmmm... I really dont want light to spill over the sides of my tank, so i think the one i linked would be the best option... Do you think i could easily add a dimmer to this?

No. You would have to rip out the drivers, install new ones, re-wire it, and install potentiometers.

Why not just get the Nova A4 and customize what leds you want? Its the exact same light with dimmers. None of the ebay ones dim.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by jfeva0049

bhazard, do you think 2 nova A4's would be good enough for my 90 tall (48x24x18) or do you think i would need 2 A6's?

im not sure if the A4 would do it or not but im thinking i would rather run the A4 closer to 100% then run the A6 and 50%, what do you think?

Try to find out the length the Nova A8 is. It might be cheaper than 2 A4s and might cover the tank.

My A4 easily covers 24" in length of my tank, so 2 A6s are not needed. You get a small price discount for ordering 2 A4s.

[jfeva0049]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

Try to find out the length the Nova A8 is. It might be cheaper than 2 A4s and might cover the tank.

My A4 easily covers 24" in length of my tank, so 2 A6s are not needed. You get a small price discount for ordering 2 A4s.

if i go with 2 A4's what do you think of this mix;

dimmer 1 =

8 cool white
8 warm white
4 royal blue
4 blue

dimmer 2 =

10 royal blue
10 blue
1 warm white
3 violet

your thoughts?

[tankaddict]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

It was pretty easy to solder right? Who did you talk to for the violets? Still waiting on mine.

Yeah, just use some tweezers to pull the led off the board once you heat the solder, and just solder on the ones you want. I got it from Sam.

[sdp5215]

Originally Posted by jason12345

Do you think they will add a dimmer with a small charge?

Not sure if they will for the Apollo series, I did not even ask. They do have a d120 type model that does have a dimmer though.

[Travis1787]

Yea a lot of people say these units like the a4 and the d120 cover a 24" area but my d120 covers my 36" tank perfectly I was very impressed

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by Travis1787

Yea a lot of people say these units like the a4 and the d120 cover a 24" area but my d120 covers my 36" tank perfectly I was very impressed

You're not using optics though. Standard d120s don't use optics and spread further out, but don't penetrate as deep or strong as the ones with optics.

Novas must use optics by design, and are only 12 inches long and wide. The optics narrow the spread.

[Travis1787]

yea that's true.. but I have two clams in the sand of my 24" tall tank that are happy as can be so far

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by Travis1787

yea that's true.. but I have two clams in the sand of my 24" tall tank that are happy as can be so far

I've noticed some slight growth in my gold maximas as well.

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by newe70

This is a ratio that he advised 22 whites, 16 blues, 4 violets, and 6 moonlights. 3w each, but not sure abt the moonlight. What is your advise? I current have softies, LPS and SPS, but planning to add more SPS soon. Is this unit any better interms of the light spectrum than the D120? Quoted at $358 to my door.

Looks like they have a US distributor.

http://fathomled.com/products/

[bhazard451]

Got the reef breeders fixture in today. I now have a good comparison between the d120, nova, and red/green LEDs.

I won't use a fixture without optics unless I need to cover a wide area now. The d120 spreads light all over my room, where the nova is focused into the tank with the optics. The Nova also seems much brighter. It may be because of the optics and 1:1 ratio. The optics provide better light into the lower areas of the tank. I don't like how the light spills everywhere, but it may work better over my 120 gallon tank on one side.

The red and green LEDs aren't overpowering, but I don't see more pop from it yet. They also are mixed into the white channel. Not sold on if they're really needed.

I'll need more time with it. Pics later.

[bhazard451]

Comparison:

d120 (no optics): Notice how the wall has a ton of light on it



Nova A4 (upgraded driver at 75%):

[glee]

bhazard, is the d120 running at 100%? have you tried lowering the d120 to reduce the spread? what are the dimensions of the tank? how many inches from water line is the a4 at? do you have a link to the reef breeders light? sorry for all the questions. the pic with the a4 looks considerably brighter.

[newe70]

Originally Posted by bhazard451

Horrible ratio. It would look like an 8-10k light.

2blue:1white for a 14k look. 3blue:1white for a 20k look, then add a few violets.

Moonlights are a nice touch. I added a string to the outside of my light because I missed them. Either light and company could do any spectrum you wanted them to.

I totally agreed w/ you that was a horrible ratio.

[newe70]

The second picture looks awesome, man .

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by alanbates12

If you want the Ferrari of LED lights get the Vertex Illumina 260. Contact me via email for details, Alabamareef.com. Great Prices. Wireless programmability easy to upgrade, plug and play and much more. 2 year warranty and 50,000 hours of life. Contact me for details, Alabamareef.com

Sure the Vertex are nice, modular, with controller, but you're right.. you gotta pay ferrari prices for it. Just adding red/green/uv to the Vertex bring the price up to Radion prices.

These fixtures are like getting a ZR1 corvette. Doesn't have the same flash and extras, but the performance is there for half the price or less.

[maroonman]

bhazard,
what optics are on the Nova? thats a pretty big difference?

[bhazard451]

Originally Posted by glee

bhazard, is the d120 running at 100%? have you tried lowering the d120 to reduce the spread? what are the dimensions of the tank? how many inches from water line is the a4 at? do you have a link to the reef breeders light? sorry for all the questions. the pic with the a4 looks considerably brighter.

D120 is running at 100%. It is definitely dimmer than my Nova, but my Nova has more powerful drivers than standard. Whites show up better on camera than blues. The d120 is definitely bright. My whole room is practically lit up. The Nova upgraded is now running closer to a full 3W instead of 2W, and with optics, so it is considerably brighter.

I'm lowering it slowly to reduce the chance of burning coral.

A4 is 10". D120 will be coming down to 4-6" so I don't blind myself.

The reefbreeders light is just a d120 with red,green, blue, and violet bought in bulk to sell. I did notice the red and oranges in my clownfish pop more, so I think having a small amount of red, green, cyan, and violet does look better. This can probably be ordered cheaper from the chinese companies direct.

http://reefbreeders.com/value_led_fixtures.html