atoll Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 A few days ago I asked if anybody had any experience of using the relatively new full spectrum LEDs on their tank. Well a good friend of mine has been running such unit a 120w Chinese one for a month on his tank and he reports its doing great and really likes it. I have been running my 120w Chinese unit now for over 2 years with good results until the driver on the white LED's failed a few days ago (the blues still work).This unit had just whites and blue LED's and had a very white light with a hint of blue to the colour. Last week I decided to take the plunge and buy the same unit as my friend and from the same company within the UK for a very reasonable £125 inc postage. I installed it yesterday and I really like the colour it gives to the tank and corals. I am going to repair the old LED unit if its not too expensive to buy a new driver. I have already made enquiries to the guy I bought it off in China as to the cost of a replacement driver. The new LED unit does not come with a controller but that's not a problem at all as I will just run it on some plugin timers I have. The unit does cor lights off and control the brightness. I will be monitoring the tank over the coming weeks of course and report back as and when of course. Here are a couple of stock pic's of my new unit. And the specification from the listing of the unit. Product Features Suitable for a 24" Long Tank Hanging Recommendation: 12" Above Water Voltage: AC86-264V (Can be used worldwide) 55 x Bridgelux 3W LEDs Dimmer One(28 LEDs): 8 x Cool White 12,000k, 6 x Neutral White 7500k, 6 x Warm White 3500k, 2 x Red 660nm, 2 x Green 520nm, 4 x Violet 420nm Dimmer Two(27 LEDs): 7 x Royal Blue 450nm, 20 x Blue 460nm 90 Degree Lenses Dimensions: 40cm x 21cm x 7cm Weight : 4Kg Cooling Function : Aluminium PCB + 2 Quiet Cooling Fans Life Expectancy : 50,000+ Hours Total Power: 120W 1 Year UK Warranty + Free UK Delivery Package Contents 1 X Dimmable LED Aquarium Light 120W (55x3W with 90 Degree Lenses) 1 X Light Hanging Kit 2 X UK Plug Delivery Information We take great care when packaging each item to ensure that your orders arrives to you in mint condition. All items are dispatched within 1-2 working days. All items are dispatched from the UK via ParcelForce or equivalent Courier. Please allow up to 5 working days to receive your item/s. Warranty Information This item comes with a 12 month manufacturers warranty. The warranty excludes any damage caused by the user. In the event that your item develops a fault, simply contact us. We guarantee a quick turnaround on any warranty repairs. All repairs are undertaken in house at our UK office. Any questions just ask. Les. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 A few days ago I asked if anybody had any experience of using the relatively new full spectrum LEDs on their tank. Well a good friend of mine has been running such unit a 120w Chinese one for a month on his tank and he reports its doing great and really likes it. I have been running my 120w Chinese unit now for over 2 years with good results until the driver on the white LED's failed a few days ago (the blues still work).This unit had just whites and blue LED's and had a very white light with a hint of blue to the colour. Last week I decided to take the plunge and buy the same unit as my friend and from the same company within the UK for a very reasonable £125 inc postage. I installed it yesterday and I really like the colour it gives to the tank and corals. I am going to repair the old LED unit if its not too expensive to buy a new driver. I have already made enquiries to the guy I bought it off in China as to the cost of a replacement driver. The new LED unit does not come with a controller but that's not a problem at all as I will just run it on some plugin timers I have. The unit does cor lights off and control the brightness. I will be monitoring the tank over the coming weeks of course and report back as and when of course. Here are a couple of stock pic's of my new unit. And the specification from the listing of the unit. Product Features Suitable for a 24" Long Tank Hanging Recommendation: 12" Above Water Voltage: AC86-264V (Can be used worldwide) 55 x Bridgelux 3W LEDs Dimmer One(28 LEDs): 8 x Cool White 12,000k, 6 x Neutral White 7500k, 6 x Warm White 3500k, 2 x Red 660nm, 2 x Green 520nm, 4 x Violet 420nm Dimmer Two(27 LEDs): 7 x Royal Blue 450nm, 20 x Blue 460nm 90 Degree Lenses Dimensions: 40cm x 21cm x 7cm Weight : 4Kg Cooling Function : Aluminium PCB + 2 Quiet Cooling Fans Life Expectancy : 50,000+ Hours Total Power: 120W 1 Year UK Warranty + Free UK Delivery Package Contents 1 X Dimmable LED Aquarium Light 120W (55x3W with 90 Degree Lenses) 1 X Light Hanging Kit 2 X UK Plug Delivery Information We take great care when packaging each item to ensure that your orders arrives to you in mint condition. All items are dispatched within 1-2 working days. All items are dispatched from the UK via ParcelForce or equivalent Courier. Please allow up to 5 working days to receive your item/s. Warranty Information This item comes with a 12 month manufacturers warranty. The warranty excludes any damage caused by the user. In the event that your item develops a fault, simply contact us. We guarantee a quick turnaround on any warranty repairs. All repairs are undertaken in house at our UK office. Any questions just ask. Les. Well that sounds like a real interesting one Les, and I hope it works out well for you ... Sorry the driver on the other one failed, but drivers should not be all that expensive but if course it depends on which one exactly you need. I have seen them for anywhere from $14+ to just over $100 for the more expensive ones, not sure of course which one your ex-light needs but I am sure they will let you know. And that new one sure has a lot of LED's of a number of different colors ... Good luck with it and I am sure you'll keep us posted Feeling a bit better today .. but Flu is not gone yet .. but the fever seems to have dropped considerably ... took lots of Vit C .. seems to have helped. Hopefully I will get over it quickly. Had a flu shot a few months ago and that is supposed to heal the flu faster so let's hope it does. Oh and here is a driver supplier in the US : http://www.ledsupply.com/led-drivers?gclid=CK742pmW8bsCFTJp7AodJFcAtw Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Glad to hear your on the road to recovery Albert. Thanks for the links to the drivers but non look like the one I need to replace my duff one. Mine is long and slim and needs to fit in quite a tight space so I am hoping I can get a direct replacement for it from the guy in China. When fixed I might then sell it on if my new unit does as well as anticipated, we shall see. Take care of that flu Les. 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 My new light does look more natural and not as harsh if you know what I mean. The new light has the faintest hint of pink and is softer (best way I can describe it) I guess. That will be due to the 3 red Led's installed. when compared to my old unit with just white and blue LEDs. The rotary controls are very positive and work very well. The LED's are Bridgelux same make as my old unit but doubt they are the same LED's used as LED's have moved on in the last few years. My new light also has 90 degree lenses installed while my other have no lenses and give a 120 degree spread so my new unit is more focused. My friend has 2 of these units on his new TMC 3' signature tank and is very pleased with the results esp given the price we paid for them. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Glad to hear your on the road to recovery Albert. Thanks for the links to the drivers but non look like the one I need to replace my duff one. Mine is long and slim and needs to fit in quite a tight space so I am hoping I can get a direct replacement for it from the guy in China. When fixed I might then sell it on if my new unit does as well as anticipated, we shall see. Take care of that flu Les. Thanks Les and sorry the link did not have the one you were looking for I suspect you will hear from the original supplier about it ... How's the tank doing btw .. ? P.S. Trying to do some more work on the next Nano -Reef Newsletter, but taking it was today ... Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I had an outbreak of short turf algae not helped by my failure of the white LED's in my light unit. I have changed my exhausted phosphate media to Rowa in my reactor and topped my bio pearls up and of course have now installed my new LED unit so we will see how things improve.. Thanks Les and sorry the link did not have the one you were looking for I suspect you will hear from the original supplier about it ... How's the tank doing btw .. ? P.S. Trying to do some more work on the next Nano -Reef Newsletter, but taking it was today ... Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 My new light does look more natural and not as harsh if you know what I mean. The new light has the faintest hint of pink and is softer (best way I can describe it) I guess. That will be due to the 3 red Led's installed. when compared to my old unit with just white and blue LEDs. The rotary controls are very positive and work very well. The LED's are Bridgelux same make as my old unit but doubt they are the same LED's used as LED's have moved on in the last few years. My new light also has 90 degree lenses installed while my other have no lenses and give a 120 degree spread so my new unit is more focused. My friend has 2 of these units on his new TMC 3' signature tank and is very pleased with the results esp given the price we paid for them. Well based on the description of the features that light offers it certainly sounds like a real interesting one, especially since the price ws certainly right ... And yes with the additional colors in it the harshness you describe should be less or gone ... and then you have the adjustments you can make on top of that ... Great acquisition I would say Les Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I had an outbreak of short turf algae not helped by my failure of the white LED's in my light unit. I have changed my exhausted phosphate media to Rowa in my reactor and topped my bio pearls up and of course have now installed my new LED unit so we will see how things improve.. Well hopefully all of that will take care of it Les .. sorry to read you ad an outbreak of them and hopefully it was not a large one. Somehow nutrient levels must have been a little high and with the change in lighting the algae took off ... Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
Paul.b Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Those LEDs are very cool. I am going to see if I can get those LEDs and build myself a new fixture. 2 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Paul. You can buy themfof course and if you follow the spec I posted above you won't go far wrong. Brideglux may not be as good as Cree but they are good non the less. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 The Best 10 Products for 2013 according to Reef Builders http://reefbuilders.com/2014/01/06/reef-builders-editors-choice-products-2013/ Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Is WYSWYG ... when buying coral online ..... read this interesting story : http://reefbuilders.com/2014/01/06/reef-builders-editors-choice-products-2013/ Albert Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I guess this question will have been asked before but it's always worth revisiting IMO. http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/reefs/146438-do-we-over-complicate-our-tanks.html Albert I have asked the question about UK rather than EU companies and innovative products for the marine hobby on Salty box. The biggest UK company as far as I am aware was Waterlife research. The market their own brands of additives, salt and treatments but not sure they do much else like lighting or filtration etc. Anyway here is the link to my question. . http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/reefs/146501-uk-companies-products.html 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I guess this question will have been asked before but it's always worth revisiting IMO. http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/reefs/146438-do-we-over-complicate-our-tanks.html Albert I have asked the question about UK rather than EU companies and innovative products for the marine hobby on Salty box. The biggest UK company as far as I am aware was Waterlife research. The market their own brands of additives, salt and treatments but not sure they do much else like lighting or filtration etc. Anyway here is the link to my question. . http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/reefs/146501-uk-companies-products.html Both interesting questions of course and with many varying opinions on the second one ... on the first one though it would be interesting to see what answers you get as when I looked there were none yt. On the overcomplicating I would say that it depends on a few situations : time, personal preference, willingness to perform a lot of the tasks manually, tank conditions and how their fluctuation of parameters occurs : fast or not, and so on. It is therefore not an easy one to give a one-fits-all answer too IMO ... but let's see what others here have to say .. Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 When you consider the minimal equipment we used years ago then what is often considered "essential" by many today makes me wonder how we kept Marines at all. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 When you consider the minimal equipment we used years ago then what is often considered "essential" by many today makes me wonder how we kept Marines at all. That is very true .. of course what we kept then was not a hard to keep as what some keep nowadays, which in turn affects what may be needed to keep the water quality at a much higher level ... I guess a better understanding of what certain corals and certain fish really require also adds a few layers of complexity to the equation but you are right when we go back 10 or15 years it is indeed a fact that with the little equipment we used in those days that we were able to keep all of it alive and thriving Very good point indeed Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 That is very true and we mostly kept fish with bleached corals. I remember being told you could not grow caulerpa when I had a tank full of it however lol. I kept H..magnifica anemone when they were considered impossible to keep for any length of time in fact the same one on the front cover of one of your books. I had that for many years until I had to brake the tank down. Soft corals were the first corals to be kept successfully by and large in most hobbyists tanks as I am sure you will agree. Most hard corals success coming much later esp in the UK and USA while in some parts of Europe like Germany they had managed to keep SPS with the likes of the Berlin method. That is very true .. of course what we kept then was not a hard to keep as what some keep nowadays, which in turn affects what may be needed to keep the water quality at a much higher level ... I guess a better understanding of what certain corals and certain fish really require also adds a few layers of complexity to the equation but you are right when we go back 10 or15 years it is indeed a fact that with the little equipment we used in those days that we were able to keep all of it alive and thriving Very good point indeed Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
Paul.b Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Atoll, I see the spec, but can I just buy the individual LEDs. I can build drivers and all that for practically nothing. I have been wanting to upgrade my LEDs. I will also use my LEDs but I will add some of those also. 2 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I am sure you can buy various colours of LEDs Psul either Bridgelux or Cree. I have seen a number of DIY LED builds using them. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 That is very true and we mostly kept fish with bleached corals. I remember being told you could not grow caulerpa when I had a tank full of it however lol. I kept H..magnifica anemone when they were considered impossible to keep for any length of time in fact the same one on the front cover of one of your books. I had that for many years until I had to brake the tank down. Soft corals were the first corals to be kept successfully by and large in most hobbyists tanks as I am sure you will agree. Most hard corals success coming much later esp in the UK and USA while in some parts of Europe like Germany they had managed to keep SPS with the likes of the Berlin method. Oh yes I remember those days very well Les and went through the "oh you cannot keep that alive" when asking for a particular organism or an alga or other life form. I guess the LFS 's in those days did not know anything about them so the standard answer was NO you cannot keep that alive .... And on anemones ... exactly the same experiences in my early days in the Marine Hobby (long time ago though as you know) And true, in the early 80's even Germany especially was far ahead of the US, and even the UK was based on my recollection of visiting stores in both those countries in the late 70's and very early 80's .... amazing differences in some cases Albert 1 Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Just found out I have been diluting the peroxide in my Oxydator down to 2or3 %. I had forgot I had already diluted the 35% to 9% and then diluted that further to 2or3% DOH! Now I am not saying this is the reason for my outbreak of short turf algae but I would suggest its not helped at all. Anyway I have just refilled my Oxydator with 9% peroxide and along with new Rowa in my reactor and the addition of a top up of Bio-pearls in my other reactor and I hope to combate the algae outbreak. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Just found out I have been diluting the peroxide in my Oxydator down to 2or3 %. I had forgot I had already diluted the 35% to 9% and then diluted that further to 2or3% DOH! Now I am not saying this is the reason for my outbreak of short turf algae but I would suggest its not helped at all. Anyway I have just refilled my Oxydator with 9% peroxide and along with new Rowa in my reactor and the addition of a top up of Bio-pearls in my other reactor and I hope to combate the algae outbreak. Well that sure could have done it, or if not the only reason it would certainly have contributed to it IMO. Glad you caught it ... And how do you like working with the Bio-Pearls ? Albert Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks and the pearls work just fine for me Albert. Never had a problem with them and they do keep nitrste real low however I did let them run down too much before topping them up. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks and the pearls work just fine for me Albert. Never had a problem with them and they do keep nitrste real low however I did let them run down too much before topping them up. Thanks for letting me know ... I guess I will have to try them ... there are so many XYX-pellets on the market right now that it becomes a bit of a problem to try them all .. I appreciate it Albert Quote Link to comment
GHill762 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Atoll, I see the spec, but can I just buy the individual LEDs. I can build drivers and all that for practically nothing. I have been wanting to upgrade my LEDs. I will also use my LEDs but I will add some of those also. you can buy everything you need at ledgroupbuy.. they are also one of our sponsors here.. 1 Quote Link to comment
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