Eco-lamps LED fixture review (pics) (UPDATED PICS: pg3)

[QbnSuperman]

So I took the plunge. No one has really seen much of this light outside of the website and youtube videos. So far I am thoroughly impressed. I paid $223 with shipping (Hong Kong to S. FL) for a custom sized 15” unit. As you read, please keep in mind that I have kept a few marine aquariums in the past, but this is the first one with the intention to keep coral. Therefore, I don’t have any experience with halides or such. Also keep in mind that it’s a royal pain the butt to get the white balance right when photographing LEDs. And.. lol also; in my childlike glee, I didn’t bother swapping lenses on my camera so the pictures aren’t all that fabulous.

 

The build quality of the unit is fantastic. It’s a couple of chunks of aluminum. Very high quality. It’s actually quite attractive in person (I have an obsession with all things LED). The driver (psu) is great. It is also a nice aluminum heat-sink (not that I’ve noticed it get warm at all).

 

 

The LEDs are not normal 5mm LEDs. They seem to possibly be some sort of SMD LEDs. Very bright. One row (front) is blue and rear is white (apparently, 18” and longer units have 3 rows). There is a cover over the rows (seems acrylic) and the unit continues to be aluminum on the lower surfaces as well.

 

 

Here are a series of Comparison pics. Color reproduction is not accurate. I wasn’t willing to take the time to make it perfect (once again because of my excitement) but it’s not horrible.

 

Stock BC14 lights, both:

 

Stock actinic:

 

Eco-lamps daylight (as you’ll see in later pictures, it is brighter than it looks here):

 

Eco-lamps blue (white balance is slightly off):

 

 

The unit has an electrostatic switch on top that cycles between all-blue-night-off. There is no individual power supply for the different settings so I’m considering adding (white) moon lights so I can still have night viewing while continuing to use my timer.

The sink gets warm to the touch but not even close to uncomfortable. The surfaces of the heat sink are impeccable. Nothing looks cheap. Nothing except the mount that is. The mount is a coated plastic piece which (once I get properly mounted) will get the job done. The hinges are at the back and the fixture flips up.

 

 

Light quality:

The look of the display area is quite different now. It went from a washed out fluorescent look to a more “finding nemo” vibrancy (I know I know… so sue me). The colors don’t mix perfectly, you can see that the top of my rockscape has more white light. Anything blue or green glows tremendously. Green fluoresces. I have a little half-dead polyp in there with green in the center and the brightness of the fluorescing green looks fake because it’s so intense (no picture right now).

 

 

I really don’t know if I would say it’s brighter than stock. In person, it’s just too close to call. In my opinion and according to my tastes; it looks better.

 

Couple of shots of it in my bedroom for light brightness comparison:

 

 

 

 

All in all, I am impressed and happy with the fixture. Within minutes of plopping it on top of my tank, my sole mushroom opened up completely and seemed quite content. It has now been on there all day and I have a tad more algae growth on the glass than I usually do around this time. I hope to add some zoa’s or something similarly easy soon. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[chazde3]

Nice write up. Fixture looks pretty slick. I'd see if you could borrow a par meter to test this out against the stock lighting.

[QbnSuperman]

thanks, I appreciate it.

 

Unfortunately I don't have a par meter nor know anyone with one :-\

[ajmckay]

Hmm... Where do you live? I'm sure there's someone around there with access to one... Good writeup... I like all the pictures. I'd love to know what kind of LED's it uses... You said they aren't 5mm, but from what little I know about LED's, even the high power 10mm ones aren't really sufficient to light a reef, however, I'm sure you already knew that so I'll stop there.... Also I don't think I'm overly fond of having one row of white and one row of blue... Do you agree that this light would be better with a W-B-W-B-W-B... pattern?

 

On the bright side the unit looks fricken sexy imo... I also like the low profile look... You'll definitely have to keep us updated especially on the condition of your corals as time progresses... Maybe some before pics are in order?

 

Good luck!

[QbnSuperman]

i'm in the S. Florida area (southwest ranches).

Yeah, i'm aware of what LEDs are typically used for this application. I was worried about that too when I ordered this thing. I think thats one of the reasons I have been presently surprised. It really does illuminate the tank well. Whether its good enough for coral: only time will tell.

 

I definitely agree that alternating the diodes would be better. Like i said, the colors don't blend completely and I wish they would. It's only a small issue though when looking at the tank, overall.

 

yeah, i agree. the unit is sexy. the old biocube canopy looks very dated but this fixture brings it into the modern era and it matches the contemporary design of my bedroom as well.

 

I have some pics for comparison of my lonely mushroom lol. In time, we'll see how he progresses.

 

thank you for the kind words!

[QbnSuperman]

... its the morning now and i'm just realizing the immense difference in evaporation without the canopy.

[adinsxq]

nice!

[evilc66]

Good looking fixture. It certainly looks like a die-on-pcb setup, which could have some advantages. Basically, they get the die from the manufacturer (could be Cree/Luxeon/Other) before it goes into bulk packaging and gets bonded directly to the pcb. This makes it very cheap to produce. Major downer here is that making optics becomes very difficult and will have to be custom designed for this application.

 

Is the color banding as noticable in real life, or is it the camera exagerating things?

[QbnSuperman]

yep, I agree evil. they are directly on a PCB.

 

I'd say the color banding is about 60% as pronounced as it looks in the photographs. In person, its more 'dynamic' you could say. the photographs accentuate the effect because they aren't stereoscopic. There are many overhangs in my rockscape which cast a shadown from the white light but not the blue light. from the front, much of the visible surface area is under these shadows so you see more blue surfaces.

 

What seems to be the strength of this is how pronounced fluorescence is. This fixture will really shine (pun) when there are some 'neon' corals or fish in the aquarium. In the coming weeks i plan on adding something 'purty' and i'll post pics.

[evilc66]

Thats what royal blue LEDs are all about. Fluorescence

[QbnSuperman]

any suggestions on certain zoas and such easy for a coral-n00b but will look radioactive under the royal blues?

 

(btw, i have an mju900 instead of the standard pump so there is a little extra flow over stock)

[weeber]

any suggestions on certain zoas and such easy for a coral-n00b but will look radioactive under the royal blues?

 

(btw, i have an mju900 instead of the standard pump so there is a little extra flow over stock)

Radioactive dragon eyes will look really green under the lights and their cheap.

[subielover]

Radioactive dragon eyes will look really green under the lights and their cheap.

Agreed, and you could try a frogspawn, torch or a hammer. They should look really fluorescent under blue lighting, just not sure if your lighting would sustain it.

[QbnSuperman]

thanks for the suggestions. those dragon eyes look good. do the torch and hammer corals need more light than a typical dragon eye? I'd like to start off at more robust corals with lower lighting needs then later experiment with more advanced and demanding species.

[weeber]

thanks for the suggestions. those dragon eyes look good. do the torch and hammer corals need more light than a typical dragon eye? I'd like to start off at more robust corals with lower lighting needs then later experiment with more advanced and demanding species.

their realtively hardy but id try the dragon eyes and other soft corals first but torches and hammers should be fine under that lighting.

[evilc66]

Green candy canes will glow nuclear under royals

[Tanque Verde]

electric neon gsp would look amazing, but you'll want to contain it or it will groooooowwww.

[QbnSuperman]

i think i'll head to the LFS this weekend and find me something shiny and green.

[QbnSuperman]

quick question: do people buy/sell stock biocube canopies? Can't stand the thought of a decently new canopy sitting in a cabinet for all eternity without use.

[Tanque Verde]

quick question: do people buy/sell stock biocube canopies? Can't stand the thought of a decently new canopy sitting in a cabinet for all eternity without use.

 

there's a market for 'em. Do a search through the marketplace forum for canopy and I'll bet you find some listed. OTOH, I saved my aquapod hood and about a year later the thought struck me to scavenge its parts for a fuge light. Parts are good to have if you've got storage room.

[The Propagator]

This would be an ideal candidate for a redo with higher powered LED and lenses IMHO.

Cost about the same or a little more for the needed pieces though probably.

 

Not that this isnt a nice light ! I like it !

[QbnSuperman]

there's a market for 'em. Do a search through the marketplace forum for canopy and I'll bet you find some listed. OTOH, I saved my aquapod hood and about a year later the thought struck me to scavenge its parts for a fuge light. Parts are good to have if you've got storage room.

i think you are right. it is full of good spare parts I can hold on to.

 

This would be an ideal candidate for a redo with higher powered LED and lenses IMHO.

Cost about the same or a little more for the needed pieces though probably.

 

Not that this isnt a nice light ! I like it !

i could see where you are coming from. i'm happy with output for now though. but yes, looks-wise, this thing is great.

[QbnSuperman]

so i got some stuff today. couldn't find the things that were suggested, but hopefully this will be a good start.

pulsing xenia:

 

and 2 rics. they were cheap little frags that didn't have a rock. shotglasses FTW.

i'm getting them to stick to some LR chunks i put in there under them.

 

this one looks good:

 

this one really clumped itself into a ball with all the handling. Should I assume he will successsfully open up and blanket himself on the rock?

 

they look very nice under the lights. The xenias are pulsing happily. The rics GLOW under the blue LEDs. unfortunately, I need to figure out how to get the white balance right for photographing under only blue. Under the blue lights, the rics look orange. crazy, radioactive orange.

[becact]

If you are handy at SMT soldering maybe you could rearrange those LEDs into a WBWB configuration. Of course, you need to find out if each strip is getting the same exact power and voltage first.

[QbnSuperman]

If you are handy at SMT soldering maybe you could rearrange those LEDs into a WBWB configuration. Of course, you need to find out if each strip is getting the same exact power and voltage first.

I think i'll leave them be. i'm pretty happy with them so far. they seem to be built into the PCB anyways.