JBJ 28 Gallon LED Cube

milano07 · #1 09-09-2010, 06:10 PM

Does anybody have any feedback on this new JBJ 28 Gallon LED Cube? It looks pretty cool with the new LED lighting. Looking forward to hearing what people have to say about this set up.

JBJ 28 Gallon LED Cube
http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod-28g-nano-led.html

Check it out and let me know what you people think!
Cheers

NanoHuman · #2 09-09-2010, 06:55 PM

I own this tank. At the current sale price for the system with the stand at Ocean Aquatics it is a great deal, almost 50% the price that I paid for it in March.

The LEDs are cheap chinese, 5 strips of 5 "3W" screwed down to a heatsink with thermal paste. When I took the system apart a few of the lighting stats did not add up. The driver pushing the 466nm blue lights is only 600mA, when they rate it at 700mA. The white lights, that they rate at 14k are more like 10k. The whites are also only running at a reported 700mA.

In May after my cycle and setup was complete I built a custom CREE XR-E based LED system using the existing hood and heatsink. I did modify the cooling to use two blowers instead of their odd 24v 50mm fans. MY tank is entirely SPS and Clams and this is the reason. I have no confidence in the lighting for this application.

If you are going for softies and fish, I would say it is still not sufficient since the amount light in the blue spectrum is lacking. I would supplement it with one of those blue LED strips that are a dime a dozen on the market now.

Sean · #3 09-09-2010, 06:56 PM

I got the HQI a few years back as my second attempt at starting a reef tank. I'm starting to think that the redsea was the way to go. Lots of parts in my tank broke and ordering replacement parts seems kind of shady.

I'm not too sure about the LED, the lights on my hqi didn't break and are working fine, but the casing around them for the canopy did. Gotta say the 24/hr light cycle sounds really cool!

globaldesigns · #4 09-10-2010, 01:21 AM

I can't comment on the LED, but this tank was my first SW tank with MH. I tank tell you that it is top notch quality. I would assume the LED's are of the same calibre.

milano07 · #5 09-10-2010, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NanoHuman

I own this tank. At the current sale price for the system with the stand at Ocean Aquatics it is a great deal, almost 50% the price that I paid for it in March.

The LEDs are cheap chinese, 5 strips of 5 "3W" screwed down to a heatsink with thermal paste. When I took the system apart a few of the lighting stats did not add up. The driver pushing the 466nm blue lights is only 600mA, when they rate it at 700mA. The white lights, that they rate at 14k are more like 10k. The whites are also only running at a reported 700mA.

In May after my cycle and setup was complete I built a custom CREE XR-E based LED system using the existing hood and heatsink. I did modify the cooling to use two blowers instead of their odd 24v 50mm fans. MY tank is entirely SPS and Clams and this is the reason. I have no confidence in the lighting for this application.

If you are going for softies and fish, I would say it is still not sufficient since the amount light in the blue spectrum is lacking. I would supplement it with one of those blue LED strips that are a dime a dozen on the market now.

Yeah, I noticed that Ocean Aquatics has this LED set up on sale. At 359.99 before taxes, this is a great deal. However, judging by what you said above, the LED lights are not of great quality which sucks.

I wonder if anybody else has any experience with this exact set up. It would be great to get more reviews on it.

NanoHuman · #6 09-10-2010, 06:14 PM

Even if you have to put some more money into it, it is still a killer deal.

For 100 bucks you could easily supplement with blue LEDs to make the corals and fish happier.

Before replacing my lighting with my own custom lights I placed a xenia colony in which at least doubled in size over the course of a month and a half on the standard lighting. It was also enough to maintain a large hammer coral.

milano07 · #7 09-10-2010, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NanoHuman

Even if you have to put some more money into it, it is still a killer deal.

For 100 bucks you could easily supplement with blue LEDs to make the corals and fish happier.

Before replacing my lighting with my own custom lights I placed a xenia colony in which at least doubled in size over the course of a month and a half on the standard lighting. It was also enough to maintain a large hammer coral.

I am sure I would be interested in this set up if I had to modify it. The appeal of this all in one set up is that it's suppose to have all one needs for a healthy reef. So it would not be that attractive anymore if I had to do a bunch of changes.

Just out of curiosity, what type of blue leds you think I could get to improve the stock lighting

NanoHuman · #8 09-10-2010, 06:30 PM

A healthy reef is a matter of perspective.

With any AIO you are ready to start something, but how healthy and great it is is a matter of the users opinion and what you want to keep in the tank.

I was not happy with the capabilities, and modifying it was more fun than a hassle.

The fact remains that the blue spectrum is the most important in reef life, and it is weak in this tank. 4 poorly placed 600mA LEDs don't cut it. Not to mention the appearance also suffers.

If I didn't want to build my own LED fixture I would have just supplemented with something like

http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/i...&productId=357

15" will fit in the hood, though I suspect you would have to do a bit of modifications. The Exotic strips would also do just fine.

http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-s...s/EX-8010.html