New Chinese LED fixture

[ReefOcean]

I just received my LED lights from China.
The unit is a 120W 1:1 blue/white fixture of 1W LEDS

(excuse the photos, they were taken on my Nokia)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/bmcmvox/08252010062.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/bmcmvox/08252010064.jpg
My first impressions are that the fixture is well built. It is very solid. I didn’t take it apart but looking through the slots you can clearly see a large aluminum heat sink, grounding wires and the power supplies. The light has 2 switches, on for the white and one for the blue. I am not sure how they wired it but the lights seem to slowly progress out in a about 3 seconds after the button is pushed.
There is a warning sticker that says “no submerge in water” and considering the vents on the side are just slots, I would heed their advice.
The fans are super-super quiet. I requested “quiet fans” and said OK but I figured they would just send me whatever. (According to the Aussies, the fans were quite loud.) The fans I received are quiet. About 3 times more quiet than my Red Sea Prism skimmer and a whisper compared to my Coralife fixture.
There are 3 fans in total which coupled with the heat sink should provide excellent cooling.
The fixture has been running for 12 hours and it is room temperature, the bottom seems to be giving of no heat.
The company was very helpful and you can customize anything. It isn’t like here in North America where you get it how it’s made and any special requests are met by angry sales people who don’t want to help you out. In China anything is possible (as I have found since I bring in stuff from alibaba.com quite often).
You can customize the LED layout, the colours, the amount of power chords, whether to have a timer or not, the colour, the fans (apparently).

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/bmcmvox/08252010066.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/bmcmvox/08252010068.jpg

The light is bright; it creates a nice shimmer effect in the tank. My only regret is that I didn’t have a 2:1 white/blue ratio since the light is a little too blue for my liking, but it is really making the colors pop in some of the corals.



As for cost, with duty, wire transfer fees, tax, brokerage fees and shipping it came to $352. The light has a 3 year warranty and according to the guys at Australian Reef they actually honour it. (somebody’s power supply broke so they sent them 3 for free.)
Here is a giant 37 page thread on the LEDS
http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=209183&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

As for Par, i don’t plan on testing it. Many people who bought the light have already done so:
http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=209183&start=180
Judging by their reading, it seems pretty good.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/bmcmvox/08252010065.jpg

I built a special canopy (that still needs stain) that the light can rest on (frankly, I do not trust shady hanging systems). This will make it so only the acrylic lens over the light is exposed to the water.


In conclusion, I and very happy with this lighting system. I have only had if for a day so I will see how long it lasts. Even if it only lasts the extent of the warranty I will still be uber happy. Since my tank is 30long, I feel that one is adequate. Any longer, I would suggest 2. Since the light is 16 inches long (total) 2 would be perfect over a 36 and 3 over a 48.
If you would like any more information feel free to PM me.

[mseepman]

Very interesting...you don't mention where you bought it or a brand name...but I would love to know.

[ReefOcean]

Very interesting...you don't mention where you bought it or a brand name...but I would love to know.

Woops. The comapny is called Shenzhen Baisheng Semiconductor Lighting Co., Ltd.

http://www.bsled.com/

http://bsled.en.alibaba.com/aboutus.html


Edit; i bought it on Alibaba.com.

[mseepman]

would love you to take some more pictures of this. If i get the gyst of your links...this light is a scaled down version of the Pacific sun light?

[ReefOcean]

Yeah, i will post more pictures when i have a chance.

I do not believe it is a dumbed down Pacific Sun. There is a Polish company that has almost the exact same light but added blue tooth and dimming features for around 800 a unit.

Maxspect is probably the closest comparrison.

[ReefOcean]

actually I am wrong, this is probably a dumbed down versian of every LED system on the market without a dimmer and a computer. :lol:

[mseepman]

So what are your thoughts now that it's been running a few days?

[StirCrazy]

The PAR output seams to be about 1/2 of a good 3 watt system, but havign said that if your not keeping SPS and you have a tank under 16" deep it should be good.

Steve

[mseepman]

The PAR output seams to be about 1/2 of a good 3 watt system, but havign said that if your not keeping SPS and you have a tank under 16" deep it should be good.

Steve

Steve, do you have one as well? Is it just the generic one shown in this thread?

[Ron99]

Wish you had asked about these before buying one. They are not well built. The heatsinks are very thin and barely adequate for the job, hence running three fans for such a small unit. These units run on the ragged edge of thermal reliability and if your ambient temperature gets to high or a fan goes out or they start to plug up from dust you can easily overheat the LEDs reducing their output and shortening their useful life.

Also, the driver circuitry is not very good AFIK. I believe these are voltage driven rather then current driven which is a less reliable (but probably cheaper) method of doing the job but can also make these prone to early failure.

But I guess they are inexpensive :) I wouldn't compare these to Maxspect. The Maxspect are much much much better then these.

[ReefOcean]

The PAR output seams to be about 1/2 of a good 3 watt system, but havign said that if your not keeping SPS and you have a tank under 16" deep it should be good.

Steve

Many people keep SPS under this secific light. A 3 watt system (I am assuming you are talking about the defunct polaris, the aquaillumina and the vertex) are better at busting out PAR, but depending on the light placement and coral placement it can easily match a 250 halide.

[ReefOcean]

So what are your thoughts now that it's been running a few days?

I like it. Nothing bad has happened yet. No explosions, dead fans, rust, electic shocks, failed LEDS, heat issues, no communists jumping out and taking away my voting privillages.

I guess time will tell.

[StirCrazy]

Many people keep SPS under this secific light. A 3 watt system (I am assuming you are talking about the defunct polaris, the aquaillumina and the vertex) are better at busting out PAR, but depending on the light placement and coral placement it can easily match a 250 halide.

that won't come any where near the output of a 250 watt MH. if you look at the link you put up there PAR at 40 CM was 125, frankly this sucks. my 250 watt MH have a PAR of 400 at 60 CM so saying this comes close to 250 watt outputs is streaching it if not a blatient lie. I supose if you had a 2 year old MH bulb driven off a probe start ballast and a junky reflector it would be close. in fact the readings you are using for reference say older bulbs with salt creep on them.

I wasn't refering to the solarius or any others, but rather to all the home made ones that have been comming out int he last year using cree 3W LEDs and good drives. thoes ones with optics are meeting or exceding 250 watt MH levels at 18" (45cm)

people keep SPS under NO tubes also, they grow real slow, are close to the top and are for the most part brown.
If you keep your sps in the top 8" of the tank with that light they will do ok, in the top 4" they will do good, but they arn't going to be a show piece under that light plain and simple, but there are always the exceptions.

Steve

[ReefOcean]

Wish you had asked about these before buying one. They are not well built. The heatsinks are very thin and barely adequate for the job, hence running three fans for such a small unit. These units run on the ragged edge of thermal reliability and if your ambient temperature gets to high or a fan goes out or they start to plug up from dust you can easily overheat the LEDs reducing their output and shortening their useful life.

Also, the driver circuitry is not very good AFIK. I believe these are voltage driven rather then current driven which is a less reliable (but probably cheaper) method of doing the job but can also make these prone to early failure.

But I guess they are inexpensive :) I wouldn't compare these to Maxspect. The Maxspect are much much much better then these.

I assume you owned one?

Yes, heat sinks are thin, the fans could get jammed with dust but so could any fan. As far as current/voltage goes that is over my head but wjhen i was researching a dIY LED fixture I was under the impression that all LEDS ran on current.

Seeing how i have never held a maxpect i cannot comment. i was just linking the country of origin of the 2 fixtures.

But yes, it is a cheap unit. This is why i bought it. I have heard good things about the company and their product. So far i cannot complain. I don't have the cash to blow on a Vertex or an aqua Illuminations. Frankly, I can't see myself ever spending 1500 plus on a lighting system when there are cheaper alternatives to try.

...I have a feeling this fixture will be Odyssea MH fixture of the 2010's LOL. I am waiting for the fire.

[mseepman]

haha....well only time will tell. I hope that you've found a diamond in the rough for yourself.

I'm looking into doing LED on my new build but can't come to grips with the ugly pricing. The Maxspect looks decent but I haven't heard back from Eric on what he thinks I need in terms of units for the size of my future tank. I would also be interested in what the Cree version of the Maxspect costs.

The Key LED's don't look as polished as the Maxspect but at half the price and with CREE XP-E LED's...they don't sound terrible either. The Pacific Sun units look awesome but their pricing (even with the sale that is on right now) is still way out to lunch. I think everyone agrees that the AI units are also amazing but I'm not planning a second mortgage just to get lighting for my tank.

[StirCrazy]

...I have a feeling this fixture will be Odyssea MH fixture of the 2010's LOL. I am waiting for the fire.

bah, I don't see a fire in the future, but hey. while it may be a lower output unit, you can still use it. just keep an eye on things and be honest with yourself when making the desisions.

now don't be so honest like I was that you end up spending over 10K on lighting in 3 years :mrgreen:

Steve

[ReefOcean]

that won't come any where near the output of a 250 watt MH. if you look at the link you put up there PAR at 40 CM was 125, frankly this sucks. my 250 watt MH have a PAR of 400 at 60 CM so saying this comes close to 250 watt outputs is streaching it if not a blatient lie. I supose if you had a 2 year old MH bulb driven off a probe start ballast and a junky reflector it would be close. in fact the readings you are using for reference say older bulbs with salt creep on them.

I wasn't refering to the solarius or any others, but rather to all the home made ones that have been comming out int he last year using cree 3W LEDs and good drives. thoes ones with optics are meeting or exceding 250 watt MH levels at 18" (45cm)

people keep SPS under NO tubes also, they grow real slow, are close to the top and are for the most part brown.
If you keep your sps in the top 8" of the tank with that light they will do ok, in the top 4" they will do good, but they arn't going to be a show piece under that light plain and simple, but there are always the exceptions.

Steve

according to Lukeys second reading, the par at 10cm in 365, crossing that with the 250 MH data posted on the sames page that matches, if not betters the 250 at that depth. Obviously, the led has some penetration issues and the par drops off at about 20cm. For my purpose, it matches. Not for a 30 inch tank though. If my coral was at 30 inches, it would be 15 inches below my tank. I think you are being a bit over dramatic about the whole sucking issue... old salt covered bulbs and whatnot.

[ReefOcean]

haha....well only time will tell. I hope that you've found a diamond in the rough for yourself.

I'm looking into doing LED on my new build but can't come to grips with the ugly pricing. The Maxspect looks decent but I haven't heard back from Eric on what he thinks I need in terms of units for the size of my future tank. I would also be interested in what the Cree version of the Maxspect costs.

The Key LED's don't look as polished as the Maxspect but at half the price and with CREE XP-E LED's...they don't sound terrible either. The Pacific Sun units look awesome but their pricing (even with the sale that is on right now) is still way out to lunch. I think everyone agrees that the AI units are also amazing but I'm not planning a second mortgage just to get lighting for my tank.

I heard good things about the aqua illuminations. I havent looked at them for a while but last time they were sitting at 650 a fixture. you get free firmware updates for the timers when the do upgrades. I have a box of LED supplies in my closet. I was planning on a led build but got lazy. but yeah, the XREs and xpgs are definately the best....but Im rambling.

[ReefOcean]

bah, I don't see a fire in the future, but hey. while it may be a lower output unit, you can still use it. just keep an eye on things and be honest with yourself when making the desisions.

now don't be so honest like I was that you end up spending over 10K on lighting in 3 years :mrgreen:

Steve

I think I was being pretty honest with myself. I have never heard of a par rating of 400 at the depth you mentioned. Maybe I was looking at odyssea data when I was making my pre purchase comparrisons... maybe I am retarded..who knows. all I know is that the par seemed pretty good when remembering the other data I have seen over the years.

[Ron99]

I assume you owned one?

Yes, heat sinks are thin, the fans could get jammed with dust but so could any fan. As far as current/voltage goes that is over my head but wjhen i was researching a dIY LED fixture I was under the impression that all LEDS ran on current.

Seeing how i have never held a maxpect i cannot comment. i was just linking the country of origin of the 2 fixtures.

But yes, it is a cheap unit. This is why i bought it. I have heard good things about the company and their product. So far i cannot complain. I don't have the cash to blow on a Vertex or an aqua Illuminations. Frankly, I can't see myself ever spending 1500 plus on a lighting system when there are cheaper alternatives to try.

...I have a feeling this fixture will be Odyssea MH fixture of the 2010's LOL. I am waiting for the fire.

I don't have one but did have a look at them when i first got interested in LEDs. EvilC66 over on nano-reef (a major LED guru) has had a look at them and their build and commented about the poor thermal management and the driver circuitry. Can't remember exactly when he posted, maybe 5 or 6 months ago.

There may be nothing wrong with this fixture for a fish only tank or one with low light softies and LPS but I suspect SPS will need to be very near the top of the tank leaving little room for a nice looking colony to grow out. They will likely grow fairly slowly and the colours may lean towards the browner end. Generic Chinese 1 Watt LEDs without optics simply cannot throw out the PAR that a good 3W SemiLed, Edison Opto, Cree or LuxeonRrebel can. My own experiments comparing generic emitters to Cree XR-Es using the exact same driver etc. show the Cree has something like 3x greater PAR output. Once you throw optics into the mix it makes even more of a difference. Without optics you will have a very rapid drop off in PAR at depth. May not be an issue in a very shallow tank but once you get past 12 inches or so in depth it can become important.

I wouldn't spend the money on a Vertex or many other commercial fixtures right now. They are generally overpriced for what you get. You can DIY a fixture as good or better for half the cost. The AI is about the only one I think is not grossly overpriced for what it is. The Maxspect looks to be decent for it's price range too and they have made many improvements to their lights recently (individually replaceable LEDs, optics options).

Also, I wouldn't worry about fires but mainly about relatively low output from the 1W LEDs and rapid degradation in output due to overheating of the emitters. You may find your PAR has decreased significantly in just a year or two with these.

[ReefOcean]

I don't have one but did have a look at them when i first got interested in LEDs. EvilC66 over on nano-reef (a major LED guru) has had a look at them and their build and commented about the poor thermal management and the driver circuitry. Can't remember exactly when he posted, maybe 5 or 6 months ago.

There may be nothing wrong with this fixture for a fish only tank or one with low light softies and LPS but I suspect SPS will need to be very near the top of the tank leaving little room for a nice looking colony to grow out. They will likely grow fairly slowly and the colours may lean towards the browner end. Generic Chinese 1 Watt LEDs without optics simply cannot throw out the PAR that a good 3W SemiLed, Edison Opto, Cree or LuxeonRrebel can. My own experiments comparing generic emitters to Cree XR-Es using the exact same driver etc. show the Cree has something like 3x greater PAR output. Once you throw optics into the mix it makes even more of a difference. Without optics you will have a very rapid drop off in PAR at depth. May not be an issue in a very shallow tank but once you get past 12 inches or so in depth it can become important.

I wouldn't spend the money on a Vertex or many other commercial fixtures right now. They are generally overpriced for what you get. You can DIY a fixture as good or better for half the cost. The AI is about the only one I think is not grossly overpriced for what it is. The Maxspect looks to be decent for it's price range too and they have made many improvements to their lights recently (individually replaceable LEDs, optics options).

Also, I wouldn't worry about fires but mainly about relatively low output from the 1W LEDs and rapid degradation in output due to overheating of the emitters. You may find your PAR has decreased significantly in just a year or two with these.

Fair enough. I am going to take your guys advice and move the coral higher in the tank. As it stands, it is about 9 inches from the light. I will try to get it within 6.

I would LOVE a Cree based light but as it stands it isn't in the cards. About 4 months ago I bought so initial supplies from LEDsupply (10 royal blue XREs and 10 cool white XPGS, a few dimmable buck pucks (350ma but i probably shouldhave got 750ma) , 2 power supplies, some optics in varying degrees, wiring, etc)..about 350 dollars worth but after considing the light I would truely want to make, it would cost me about 600 just for the LEDS. Not to mention, it would be uber ghetto, with wires hanging all over the place etc. I still needed a canopy, an extruded heatsink, more buckpucks, a soldering gun, solder, more lenses, the list goes on. I since abandoned the project but am holding onto my supplies. Perhaps, when my light fails I can use the housing as a canopy for a DIY. The height of it would be perfect for the standard height heatsink found at heatsinkusa

But thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate them.

[gobytron]

I'd love for you to just keep doing what you're doing an keep us up on this lights performance based on your experiences with it and not others opinions based on others opinions...

[Ron99]

I'd love for you to just keep doing what you're doing an keep us up on this lights performance based on your experiences with it and not others opinions based on others opinions...

I'm all for hands on reviews and first hand experience. Just trying to moderate expectations. Just because a fixture has LEDs or a certain total wattage does not make all LEDs equal. It's like saying all 250W MH bulbs and fixtures are the same. Obviously there is huge variation in MH and it is no different in LEDs.

What I don't want to see is people generally getting down on LEDs and perpetuating the idea that LEDs are no good and won't grow corals etc. because of negative experiences with lower end fixtures.

ReefOcean, are you in the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows area? If so I may be able to come out and do some PAR readings for you. Would be curious to see the unit in the flesh.

[ReefOcean]

I'd love for you to just keep doing what you're doing an keep us up on this lights performance based on your experiences with it and not others opinions based on others opinions...

No prob.

The frags I just got (a few types of milli and a green plating monti are going as well as can be expected due to me attaching them to the rocks awkwardly. The monti is bright green with growth tips and the milli is starting to get much of their colour back and the polyps on most parts are fully extended during peak times.

It is important to note that I have to get a few things non-light related issues completed before I can fully gauge the lights affect. I have to get my convict tang out to get nitrates under control, I have to raise my rock work about 4 inches (in a 30gal tall bare bottom this is hard) and I have to wait for my DKH to rebalance with my calcium (it is sitting at 13 but has gone down from 21 in 3 days.

On the bright side, I think I almost have my cal, mag, dKH fully balanced in the first time in 8 years. Mind you, I never had SPS and never really cared. I will be going to JL this weekend to dump my tang, pick up some landscaping putty and a few other things.

As soon as i see some real results, I will get ahold of a digi camera and take some snaps

Cheers

[ReefOcean]

I'm all for hands on reviews and first hand experience. Just trying to moderate expectations. Just because a fixture has LEDs or a certain total wattage does not make all LEDs equal. It's like saying all 250W MH bulbs and fixtures are the same. Obviously there is huge variation in MH and it is no different in LEDs.

What I don't want to see is people generally getting down on LEDs and perpetuating the idea that LEDs are no good and won't grow corals etc. because of negative experiences with lower end fixtures.


I agree, ever since I read about the Solaris I knew LEDs were the future.
People are starting to come around. I remeber all the nay saying a few years ago but that comes with any new inovation. I find with a hobby like reefing, people tend to just parrot and believe what others say and use that as the ONLY way to do things.

ReefOcean, are you in the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows area? If so I may be able to come out and do some PAR readings for you. Would be curious to see the unit in the flesh.

Yeah, of course. In a few weeks after I get everything under control with the other thigns I need to do we can work it out. :razz:

[ReefOcean]

Update


ALright, I have been running the light since September and I figured I would post an update.

No electical or mechanical issues. No rust and no signs of wear - of course I meaintain the light rather well.



The SpS frags I bought are still alive. The plating monti has grown anought an inch around the sides, the mille has grown about a CM, the random great branching thing as not grown much, maybe a half centimeter. Overall, the growth is nothing to right home about but the important thing to note is it is growing.

As for colour, the monti was put in the tank dark green, it didn;t take long to turn light green in which it as been for 4 months. The mille, is a redish, orangish brown. I am not sure which colour it was but it was either orange or brown since that is what millipora maniac had at the time. So when it comes to sustaining deep and vibrant colours, the light is not so great.

All the softies love it, the toadstools have pretty much doubled in size, the most growth has happened in the last 4 months than has happened in 4 years. So the light is definately better on softies than my 180 watt PC.

Conclusion, definately not comparible to any MH. The light will sustain and grow SPS. (the SPS is now 12 inches from the light). Better than any PC fixture though. If you lived in China, the light would be a killer deal (190usd) but when you add in shipping, brokerage, taxes, and wire transfer fee not so much. I still am satisfied with my purchase.

[mseepman]

Thanks for posting your update. Maybe what you might want to do is get some U-channel and try mounting a few of those LED's you previously got to it and running those bolted onto the current light fixture in some way. It's very easy to do and you can run the wiring alongside the current wires. It would really boost what your light is putting out now. My advice would be to order a Meanwell LPC-35-700 from Rapidled or somewhere, forgo the buckpucks and the wiring headache they represent and it would look even cleaner.

[paddyob]

ReefOcean, are you in the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows area? If so I may be able to come out and do some PAR readings for you. Would be curious to see the unit in the flesh.

Yeah, of course. In a few weeks after I get everything under control with the other thigns I need to do we can work it out. :razz:


Did you ever let Ron come by and test the PAR? I am interested to know the results.