evilc66 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Well, I'm sure some of you knew I have been up to something. Well, the cat is officially out of the bag. UPDATE: I am now going to be offering retro kits for you to retro this into your 2x18W Satellite. Please see the end of this post for details. This started life as a Current USA 1x18W Satellite fixture, but didn't stay that way for long. Inside it's sleek black exterior lies an LED array consisting of 4 Q5 whites (1A), 5 Cree blues (700mA), and one UV (700mA). The amount of light is perfect for a pico, and everyone knows that these fixtures fit perfectly on many different tanks, including JBJ Picotopes, Finnex 4g (pictured), and AGA 2.5g. Everything is fan cooled, and adjustable. You can see the adjustment pots on the side for the whites and the blues. The ability to adjust the color temp and brightness is great. Even with all the LEDs turned all the way up, it gives a very crisp 14K look, but can be adjusted from 6500K to 20,000K+. The blue LEDs do a great job at adding fluorescence to the corals. I even went to the pains of keeping the stock on/off swich and the moonlight. Sorry for the flash. Underside shots The numbers on this are pretty nice too. I did a direct comparison to what most of us use for picos; The Current USA Dual 18W Satellite. Current USA Dual 18W Satellite (@ 14"): Lux: 2080 PAR: 42 New LED fixture (@ 14"): Lux: 4400 PAR: 130 (PAR measurements were taken with an Apogee QMSW-SS Quantum Meter, Sunlight setting) Nice little improvement! It's a considerable upgrade from PCs, and gets close to a 70W MH at that depth, but without all the heat and evaporation. I know that a lot of people love the idea of having an LED setup, but don't have the know how or the tools to get it done effectively. If there is interest for these, I am going to set up a group buy for them in the classifieds section. I'd like to get a minimum of five, but can work with less or more. Asking price is $250, plus shipping. These fixtures will be tested working before shipment. These will be backed by a "warranty" of sorts. I will do whatever is necessary to fix any issues with the fixture. I am not pre building these units (yet), and as a result, there will be a 3-4 week lead time on shipment of these fixtures. Reason being is that it takes that long for the LEDs to get here. As soon as they are here, they will be sent out the door. UPDATE: Retro kits for 2x18W Satellites will now be offered. This will be complete except for the fixture that you will provide. These will be assembled and tested prior to shipment, but I cannot offer the same support that I would for the full fixture. They will be sold as is. If there are any problems with the kit, I will adress them independantly as to what will be done to correct the issue. Instructions will be included for fitment Retro kit for 2x18W Satellite: $190 plus shipping Names will be added to the bottom of this post for the group buy. Feel free to ask any questions. Confirmed Orders ElFabuloso (Fixture) boatbum (Fixture) Sedivec (Retro) DRLenox (Retro) Link to comment
jrgnd Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Could you make something for a BC-29? I would definitely be interested in one...I just can't swallow the $1300-1500 price tag for the other two guys... Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 Very possible, but right now I'm trying to focus on the pico setups. Drop me a PM and we can talk some more about it. Link to comment
brian92 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Can you pm me a price estimate? Link to comment
Xavier613 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Can you pm me a price estimate? I know that a lot of people love the idea of having an LED setup, but don't have the know how or the tools to get it done effectively. If there is interest for these, I am going to set up a group buy for them in the classifieds section. I'd like to get a minimum of five, but can work with less or more. Asking price is $250, plus shipping. Link to comment
Splumph Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Sonova, you done gone and did it...looks awesome, and its a great price too. Link to comment
dtfleming Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 nice evil, but hope current doesnt see you doing this. Link to comment
TheUnfocusedOne Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 what kind of corals do you think you could keep under that? is it enough par to keep clams, sps n such? im not too familiar with leds but am becoming more n more interested Link to comment
oceanahollic Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I am loving this idea of no extra heat and extra evap. Also being able to adjust the kelvins to get a perfect flourecent look like a black light poster. Like the last post above do these lights help corals grow the same way. I have a 24 and a 12 gal aquapod and would like to know the price to have one of these upgraded from my stock lighting. Either the 24 or the 12. Link to comment
Mike Maddox Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Any way you could make an array that would fit inside a biocube 8 hood? I'd buy one in a heartbeat if you did that... Link to comment
Sedivec Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 This is for the 1x18 only? Won't work with the 2x18 36w model? Link to comment
RCfan08 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 This is for the 1x18 only? Won't work with the 2x18 36w model? it says dual 18w... so yeah the 36w total model. Link to comment
clownfish1124 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 darn. If only you posted this a month earlier! Then I wouldn't have put down 160 for my sundial. And evil, what will current do if they find out? Link to comment
Chebon Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 This started life as a Current USA 1x18W Satellite fixture I did a direct comparison to what most of us use for picos; The Current USA Dual 18W Satellite. Current USA Dual 18W Satellite (@ 14"): Lux: 2080 PAR: 42 New LED fixture (@ 14"): Lux: 4400 PAR: 130 Nice little improvement! It's a considerable upgrade from PCs, and gets close to a 70W MH at that depth, but without all the heat and evaporation. Feel free to ask any questions. Let me make sure I understand... You put enough LEDs into the single 18w fixture to more then double the output of the dual 18w (36w ttl) and rival a 70w MH? Besides the stock nightlight is this setup all run off one power cable or are there multiple? I think I know what I'm getting myself for festivus. Link to comment
fsu1dolfan Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Great looking product...its nice to see LEDs taking over slowly!! Once we can get affordable systems to replace the Sunpod for my 29 bio cube....i will be very interested...as mentioned before the $1300-1500 price tag is just ridiculous right now! If you start working on something bigger...please keep us all informed! Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 Wow! Thats all I have to say. nice evil, but hope current doesnt see you doing this. I don't think that Current will be kicking up too much fuss, mainly because of the volume that I'm selling in comparison to what they are, and that I'm still buying these at street value and not cost, so they still get their chunk. Push comes to shove, if they tell me to stop, I'll just offer it as a full retro kit you can build yourself. what kind of corals do you think you could keep under that?is it enough par to keep clams, sps n such? im not too familiar with leds but am becoming more n more interested Don't know about clams, but sps should be fine. Any way you could make an array that would fit inside a biocube 8 hood? I'd buy one in a heartbeat if you did that... Definitely possible. PM me on this. This is for the 1x18 only? Won't work with the 2x18 36w model? This isn't a retro you buy for a Satellite, it's a retro IN a Satellite. Complete fixture. The 1x18W is nice because you don't have to worry about clearance for large filters on the back of the tank. Let me make sure I understand... You put enough LEDs into the single 18w fixture to more then double the output of the dual 18w (36w ttl) and rival a 70w MH? Besides the stock nightlight is this setup all run off one power cable or are there multiple? I think I know what I'm getting myself for festivus. Other than the moonlight, one cable. It's close to a 70W in PAR, but won't beat it. It will still be more than enough for most anything you will keep in a pico. Great looking product...its nice to see LEDs taking over slowly!! Once we can get affordable systems to replace the Sunpod for my 29 bio cube....i will be very interested...as mentioned before the $1300-1500 price tag is just ridiculous right now! If you start working on something bigger...please keep us all informed! Larger sizes are in the works, but I'm trying to focus on the smaller fixtures right now, seeing as they stand to get the most benefits from it. Thanks for all the kind words (and concerns DT) everyone. I'm glad everyone likes my work. Now, any takers? Link to comment
GobyDude Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Wow. If I had a pico, I would jump all over this. Congrats evil. I hope you get some orders. Link to comment
IMaNoob Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 just wanted to say this is amazing....i wish i had a quarter of your diy skilz! i might have to make the wife a pico and get one of these bad boyz Link to comment
Marteen Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 You should post this in the pico section if you haven't already I bet you will get a ton of people. Oh and if you ever do decide to do like a hood mod or something for the BC29 I'd be very interested. Link to comment
acrofish Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 You should post this in the pico section if you haven't already I bet you will get a ton of people. Oh and if you ever do decide to do like a hood mod or something for the BC29 I'd be very interested. I would love to have a fixture over my NC24. Link to comment
not_sponsored Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Nice! The actinic shot is awesome. Do you have any par numbers for the whole tank? Say at the surface, halfway down then at the bottom? I assume that the par you posted is at the bottom (14") Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 That measurement was at the bottom of my tank (14"). I think it's safe to say that the measurement will be higher as you go up Put it this way, the 4g Finnex is taller than most all the other pico tanks, so putting it on a JBJ Picotope will yield better results. I'll see if I can get some more measurements tonight. One thing I forgot to mention about delivery time on this. I am not pre building these units (yet), and as a result, there will be a 3-4 week lead time on shipment of these fixtures. Reason being is that it takes that long for the LEDs to get here. First post will be updated with this also. Link to comment
Sedivec Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I'm possibly interested in one, can you post a pic of the whole underside of the light? Link to comment
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