Eco-Lamps New KR91 w/ Timer Tech Review - PICS

[c_k_kuehne]

I recently purchased an Eco-Lamps KR91-14" LED lighting system. This was bought to go above a CADlights 9 gallon Nano tank(14 3/4" x 11" x 13".) Since this is the new new KR91 unit w/ programmable timer I thought I would give it a separate review. I tried to make this a technical review as much as possible without interjecting to much of my personal opinion.

 

There is one other review of KR91's, although that unit was built before Eco-Lamps added the programmable timer. This review can be found at:

 

Original KR91 Review

 

 

I rated the items on a 1-10 basis.

 

Website: 10

The Eco-Lamps.com website appears to be a professionally built website. Eco-Lamps is a Hong Kong based company that sells many LED products world wide. The web site was easy to navigate and easy to find what your looking for. It had a lot of extra information about ordering, shipping, contacting etc.... Although they accept most forms of payment they prefer a PayPal checkout for easy US processing. Checkout included accurate shipping costs.

 

 

Customer Service: 10

Although I only had limited contact with Eco-Lamps they appear to have excellent customer service. I sent them 2 separate e-mails each containing numerous very specific questions. On both accounts I received a reply the next day with each question answered in the order I asked the questions and no extra sales pitches throw in -- just the facts.

 

 

Ordering and Shipping: 10

I ordered on their website with PayPal through a straight forward shopping cart. I received a confirmation page to print along with a follow up confirmation e-mail. The e-mail contained all the pertinent information along with order number, order date, transaction reference number etc....

 

The cost for this unit (KR91-14") was $260.58 + $60.37(shipping) for a total of $320.95 This price does not include Customs Charges/Tariffs and they were very clear about that. They claimed 7-10 business days turn around after ordering. I received my package in 7 business days. It's final delivery service was via UPS Next Day Air Saver. I had it sent to a business address so UPS should bill me (at that business address) for the Customs Charges/Tariffs within a few weeks (from past experience). Will post what those charges are once I get the bill. Not sure how UPS handles these charges if sent to a residence.

 

 

Packaging: 10

The box that arrived measured 24" x 12" x 4" and weighed 11 lbs. It was wrapped in blue plastic to keep out any unwanted natural elements and was marked fragile. Box arrived intact with no dents. When I opened the box the unit was wrapped in standard shipping foam held in place by custom cut styrofoam inserts. This was very professional packing. You can tell this company knows what they are doing with international shipping.

 

 

What Came in the Box:

Packing invoice, PAR data sheet, instructions, mounting accessories, LED unit w/ built in timer and remote ballast.

 

 

PAR Test: ??

A friend is going to mail me his PAR meter next week and I will finish this part of the review after I get some readings.

 

The rating review will be based on my actual PAR readings compared to what the company published readings are(per PAR data sheet.) The PAR needs for your particular setup is a personal choice and I make no claims along those lines.

 

Actual PAR -- Company PAR -- Inches of Water Depth (approx)

 

--- ??? -------- 470 ----------- surface

--- ??? -------- 310 ----------- 7 3/4"

--- ??? ------- 230 ---------- 15 1/2"

--- ??? ------- 110 --------- 23 1/2"

 

 

Instructions: 9.5

Instructions came as a foldout sheet similar to what you would get as new computer setup instructions. They were written in English, fairly concise and easy to follow. For the most part the instructions were written with proper English grammar.

 

 

Mounting Accessories: 9

There are 2 mounting options:

 

Tank mount is achieved by an adjustable mounting system that clamps to the side rim of the tank via two clamps screws on each side. The tank rim can be up to 3/4" in diameter. My unit is the 14" model and measures 14 3/8" but the tank mounting brackets can accommodate a tank that has a maximum outside to outside length of 15 1/16". These brackets can be adjusted to a shorter tank length of any dimension less then 15 1/16" The brackets allow for the light to be tilted up to a 90 degree angle for easy tank access. The light will stay at the 90 degree position but make sure all the clamp screws are tight so the unit does not fall off the backside of the tank while in this position. Once the mounting brackets are adjusted for proper tank length a set screw on each bracket can be tightened to hold that adjustment. An allen wrench is supplied to tighten these set screws. The mounting brackets are made out of plastic but fairly robust plastic so I don't really have a problem with that although time will tell. My only real complaint is the set screws for the tank length adjustment could have been much bigger.

 

Pendant mounting is achieved through a 2 cable system. All Hardware is supplied and seems to be a decent cable mounting system. I did not try this out as I wanted to keep everything in it's new condition as I am planning on using the tank mount system. My only complaint here is the two small screw nubs on the top of the unit for accepting the pendant mounting hardware. If you are tank mounting then why have the nubs sticking out?

 

 

LED Unit: 10

The LED unit is one sleek, sexy looking unit. I ordered mine in black and it has a nice consistent finish. Its main component appears to be made from once piece aluminum. The unit itself is 14 3/8" x 8" x 1 7/8" but the tank mounting hardware needs a tank with a minimum width of 9 1/4". There is a programmable timer mounted at the front in the center of the unit. The cable going to the remote ballast comes out of the right hand side (at the back) and is a little over 6' long with a water proof connector.

 

There are 3 light strips of LED's. Two 12,000K strips with one true actinic blue strip in the middle. Each strip contains 66 LED's for a total count of 198 LED's. Dang it, that's a lot of LED's. LED's appear to be in groups of 6. Obviously these are not high powered LED's since the unit is rated 36w @ 24v DC and there are 198 LED's running off that...... but if the lights are on and you tilt the fixture up to access the tank you might want to wear sun glasses. The light strips are mounted under 3 individual glass panes.

 

The unit gets mildly hot to the touch on top but just barely noticeable heat radiating down to the tank. How this unit performs to grow corals only time will tell but it looks really promising.

 

 

Remote Ballast: 10

The remote ballast is in a metal box 6" x 2 3/4" x 1 3/4". It is labeled as such:

 

Input: 90-130V AC

Output: DC24V +- 0.5V 2.5A 60W max

Water Proof Electronic LED Driver

 

It is filled with some type of plastic(?) resin to make it water proof. It radiates only a very minimal amount of heat. It has a 3 prong power cord over 5' long and a 10" pigtail with water proof connector to meet the LED unit's power cable. It has screw slots on each side of the ballast for mounting. It is gray in color.

 

 

Timer: 9

It really has a nice front panel, raised push button, programmable timer. The timer clock is a 24 hour clock and settings are made on the hour. There is an auto mode and a manual mode. Lighting options are actinic only, day light/actinic combination or moon cycle(group of 6 actinic LED's.) It has 4 programmable lighting modes so you can have the following if you so choose:

 

Dawn -- actinic only

Daylight -- actinics and daylight(12,000k)

Dusk -- actinics only

night -- moon lights

 

If you don't account for a full 24 hours you could have a completely dark mode making 5 separate lighting modes possible. It has a nice blue display showing the current time. It is easy to program or put into manual mode. It has some kind of backup so it doesn't loose time or settings even with a power outage.

 

The group of 6 LED's for moon light are outset to one side on my unit. This probably has to do with the short overall length(14"). I imagine a longer unit would have multiple groups of 6 spread along the length but can't confirm that. Even with the group of 6 offset it seems there is a decent spread of moonlight through out the appropriate sized tank. The moonlight seems a little bright for my liking but on a deeper tank that wouldn't be a problem.

 

Although the unit has basic dawn to dusk settings it is not as fancy as other units on the market that have a dawn to dusk cycle where the LED's are dimmed and brought up to full strength and then dimmed back down again. This is really why I gave it a rating of 9.

 

 

Shimmer Effect: 9

Simmer effect is a very subjective rating. There are factors that affect the shimmer effect including distance from point source and surface turbidity. Being in the hobby for over 20 years I have had every different type of lighting setup including many different MH/flouresent/combination setups. With that said this rating is my personal opinion.

 

LED's are point source lights(like MH) but this setup has 198 of them so they tend to wash out the point source effect slightly compared to one point source MH above the same space.

 

Surface turbidity has a big affect on the shimmer effect. With minimal surface turbidity you get minimal shimmer. With a decent amount of surface turbidity you get a reasonable shimmer effect.

 

The farther from the single point light source(greater tank depth) the less the shimmer effect. On a reasonable tank depth(12") where a lot of the LR is within 8" of the surface the shimmer effect is very acceptable. Up close to the surface it is very similar to MH but the MH shimmer effect reaches a deeper tank depth, which is why I gave it a rating of 9. IF you are only use to florescent bulbs(any flavor) then this would seem like a huge improvement in the overall look of the tank.

 

 

Overall Rating: 9.5

I am very pleased with this product overall. Eco-Lamps obviously takes pride in their product, workmanship and company. I normally like to buy American Made but have no problems giving my money to a Hong Kong based company that has such an excellent product. I was a little worried about buying direct from Hong Kong but this was such a smooth transaction I would highly recommend Eco-Lamps to anyone. The final proof will be in how well corals grow and thrive under these lamps and only time will tell.

[c_k_kuehne]

Here is some pictures

 

Blue Packaging as it arrived.

 

 

The Box

 

 

Packaging inside the box.

 

 

Instructions Side 1

 

 

Instructions Side 2

 

 

Mounting Accessories

 

 

LED Unit

 

 

LED Light Strips

 

 

Timer Panel

 

 

Ballast

 

 

Well thats all for now folks until I get a PAR meter and/or get this tank setup

[remember4me]

how much would this be equal to MH?

[dsn112]

Did you get that customs bill yet?

 

Also any tank shots with it on?

[c_k_kuehne]

how much would this be equal to MH?

 

well I bought there KR91 unit which I believe will be more of a T5 equivalent. This is going on a tank that will have a maximum water depth to sand of around 11"

 

There KR92 unit is configured differently and they say that is the equivalent of a 250w MH.

 

A PAR test should tell all. I am still trying to borrow a PAR meter to get this done.

 

 

Did you get that customs bill yet?

 

Also any tank shots with it on?

 

Still have not got the customs bill. I'm sure is coming. Here is a couple of full tank shots. The actual build will not be up and going till early Jan but I did the pics with water and a piece of base rock in the tank.

 

Sexy tank and Sexy light

 

 

 

The 14" unit fits the CADlights 9gal (or 12gal) really well

 

 

 

The unit in the up position for easy access into the tank.

 

[Dustin C Mills]

Where are you going to put the filter with that light on your tank? And ...where did you buy it? How much does it cost to replace those bulbs?

 

This is kinda like the Prius of Aquariums...great idea, but expensive to fix and expensive to buy.

 

I hate that.

[dsn112]

Where are you going to put the filter with that light on your tank? And ...where did you buy it? How much does it cost to replace those bulbs?

 

This is kinda like the Prius of Aquariums...great idea, but expensive to fix and expensive to buy.

 

I hate that.

 

What are you talking about??

 

The tank is a cad 9 gallon, whole deal light and tank is under $500

 

There is no cost to replace bulbs as they are leds. They have a 50,000hr life expectancy. You essentially replace the fixture after 10 years and the upfront cost more than pays for itself in bulb cost and energy.

 

This vs. a 70w MH, the led will be cheaper in the long run by far

[Paleoreef103]

Neat. PAR test yet?

[c_k_kuehne]

Where are you going to put the filter with that light on your tank? And ...where did you buy it? How much does it cost to replace those bulbs?

 

With slight modification an AC110 would fit but ......... I am leaning towards drilled and corner overflow with in-stand sump and refugium.

 

Lights came from Eco-Lamps.com and CADlights 9 gallon tank I got from Reeflections.com --- right at $420 for both which included shipping. As dsn112 pointed out with 50,000 hours burn time you get over 11 years at 12 hours per day. LED's are defiantly a higher upfront cost but are cheaper in the long run.

 

Unfortunately I still have not been able to get my hands on a par meter.

 

And still no customs bill yet.

[Dustin C Mills]

My bad, I thought he was using it on that JBJ 3 gallon in the picture.

 

Those LEDS are going to have to be replaced before 10 years. I've never seen any LED that lasted 10 years....and it's not like they have had these around for 10 years so how do they know. I bought a lot of house bulbs quoted at 20,000 hours that burnt out and dimmed within the first month.

 

So you pay $350 for the light fixture then when it burns out you have to buy another whole fixture? That doesn't seem right at all. How can they call it Eco-Lamps if you have to throw the whole lamp away everytime a bulb burns out.

[c_k_kuehne]

My bad, I thought he was using it on that JBJ 3 gallon in the picture.

 

Those LEDS are going to have to be replaced before 10 years. I've never seen any LED that lasted 10 years....and it's not like they have had these around for 10 years so how do they know. I bought a lot of house bulbs quoted at 20,000 hours that burnt out and dimmed within the first month.

 

So you pay $350 for the light fixture then when it burns out you have to buy another whole fixture? That doesn't seem right at all. How can they call it Eco-Lamps if you have to throw the whole lamp away everytime a bulb burns out.

 

That is NOT a JBJ 3 gallon in the picture --- that is the CADlights 9 gallon

 

So lets say you only get a reasonable 25,000 hours of burn time (1/2 of what all the LED manufactures spec out). That still equals almost 6 years at 12 hours per day. I spent $320 on the fixture shipped.

 

Compare that to 1 x 70w MH w/ 1 x 28w PC supplement. Bulb replacement for this setup is going to run approximately $80 per year x 5 years (1st year came with the fixtures) = $400 in bulb replacement. Over the 6 years of life you have already spent $80 more just in bulb replacements and that doesn't count the cost of the MH/PC fixture and also the extra $40 or so per year of extra electricity.

 

There are 198 LED's total in the fixture in groups of 6. If one LED goes bad you actually loose 6. IF this happened a few times spread out under the fixture you wouldn't even notice the difference.

 

Of course we haven't touched on the heat issue in a small tank with MH and that can be a big factor especially if you end up buying some kind of chilling device. Also the Eco-Lamps is a more cleaner look sitting down on the tank (IMO) instead of a MH fixture somehow sitting 6 - 8 inches above.

 

I guess it all depends on what you want out of your tank. LED lighting is not for everyone.