• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

new leds from aquatraders.com what do you think

J

jsciarrino

http://www.aquatraders.com/EVO-48-LED-Reef-Bright-p/56234.htm

ixture Size: 46.50" x 5.00" x 1.00" (Add 0.65" in height with bracket installed)
LEDs Count: 32
4320 Lumens
Super energy efficient 3 watt high output LEDs
24x 10,000K LED
8x Actinic 460nm LED
Use 96 watts


Features:
Best design: slim, light, and yet, contemporary
A three ways toggle on/off switch functions as (1) White/Act. Blue, (2) Off, & (3) Act. Blue as lunar night
Extends up to 51" in length with brackets installed
Individual & replaceable lenses
An external high power transformer
 
Y

yh1185

I'm not sure about these specifically, but from what i've heard about aquatrader's, i'd stay away. i know they're cheap, but their reputation is they sell cheap quality stuff for cheap prices, and rarely offer any support or assistance if something goes wrong. IMO, if your looking for cheap LED's, i'd look into DIY, or some of those Chinese sellers that offer good support(do some research on which sellers to trust, and which not to trust). But then again for that price... it might be worth a shot, just don't expect to be getting any help if something breaks, or doesn't work correctly.
 
J

jsciarrino

I have t5 lights from aqua and have had nothing but good to say about them. the par output is very good and it is made well. i have heard that some people have had problems with there Metal Halide lights in the past. im going to wait for my bulbs to get old and then get 2.The only thing i dont like is it does not have timers
 
Y

yh1185

If you've had good experiences with them, then go for it! You might want to ask them what LED's they are, and see if people have any comments on those LED's(i'm guessing something like epiLED or something and not CREE or bridgelux). You could just put a regular timer if you just want on/off, but if you want to swap between their 3 mode's, you'll have to do it manually, but again at that price, i wouldn't expect too much more then just a functional LED 3w unit, which is a great deal anyways.
 
R

REEFLECTIONS

my experience with aqua trader... i orders 2 36" t5 fixtures for my 125g. at $80 per sounded like a great deal, i just needed them on a very temporary basis. i got what i paid for, the sockets were some slip-on flemmsy things that were not very durable. i personally wouldn't feel inclined to order from them again
 
D

duijver

jsciarrino said:
http://www.aquatraders.com/EVO-48-LED-Reef-Bright-p/56234.htm

24x 10,000K LED
8x Actinic 460nm LED
Click to expand...

The price definitely seems low/good on the surface, but when I've been looking at a DIY kit it seems like some people are recommending more actinics, often called Royal Blue in the LED industry, than your whiter spectrums for optimal coral growth.

I'm still trying to figure out what LEDs to buy, and how to set it up, but now I will need to go back and look since it seemed like a 2-3 royal blue to 1 white.
 
howze01

howze01

NJRC Member
I think one of the biggest problems with these fixtures are that they aren't UL listed. If something happens, you're insurance probably wouldn't cover it.

I don't think that the 2 to 1 blue to white is for coral growth. More for our eyes than the coral. Sunlight is the optimal colored light to grow them and that runs about 6500k compared to the bluer 10-20k most LEDs give you. The corals just look bland at that lower temperature.
 
D

duijver

howze01 said:
I think one of the biggest problems with these fixtures are that they aren't UL listed. If something happens, you're insurance probably wouldn't cover it.
Click to expand...

I think you make a valid point with the UL certification, but I'm not sure you will find many, if any, Chinese fixtures that are UL certified. Also, any DIY fixture would also not be UL certified.. So, pretty much anything within monitary reach is not UL.

So, I guess the better question is how to mitigate that risk for those of us that have purchased those Chinese fixtures or do DIY?
 
J

jsciarrino

What I don't understand is a HO 54 Watt T5 bulb puts out 5000 Lumens but this LED which is 94 W is only putting out 4320 Lumens that really doesn't make any sense I would think it should be putting out somewhere around 20,000 lumens
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top