LED lighting not DIY what should I get??

[mason90]

So I know a lot of people have been doing DIY LED fixtures but have seen a lot of people getting the pre made ones. I would like to get factory made LEDs because I don't exactly trust my electrician skills to leave it on all day while I am not there for much of the day. I'm looking for good sources for pre- fab LED lightings people who have them I would love your input on where to go and others your advice from research. Thanks a lot mason

 

[PSU4ME]

I've heard people have reached out to Eshine directly to purchase units. I can't personally speak to it but others have had some positive things to say (obviously they are still new). They are sold on ebay but I would suggest going right to the manfacturer for it. I think they are $200 a unit.

 

[mchartier]

Depending on what you are looking to spend there are a couple of members that have the AI Sol LED lights.

Ronnie - http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?92342-The-Green-120-Tech-Softy-s-Tank-Upgrade/page10

ReefKeeper2 (Paul) - http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?106575-Got-my-LEDs!

Bobbofin had the Acan Lighting http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?96311-New-LED-lighting-review&highlight=Acan+Lighting

If I had the budget I would do the AI Sol, but I dont so I am looking into DIY

 

[PSU4ME]

The AI Sol is awesome if you can swing it

 

[mason90]

I was really thinking the AI Sols my self do you think I would be able to pull it off with just 2 units on my 90 mixed reef wanna be able to do all kinds of coral....

 

[FOXYB]

I've been considering these
http://shop.reeffiltration.com/product.sc?productId=54&categoryId=5
But I'm at the very beginning stages of my led research

 

[MrReefer]

+1 on AI Sol. I sit countless nights where I put that sucker in the cart but not dare click the checkout button

 

[Yanni]

I recently swithched my aquamedic halide for 2 sol blue bricks, the up front cost was pretty high but after debating for months to buy it or not i am glad i did. They are absolutly amazing, they are well built and the conroller allows you to do just about anything. At the turn of the knob you can go from 6500k to full on liquid blue..its nuts. I slowly aclimated the tank by raising the intesity little by little over the last month and every coral looks amazing. The color under the royal blue and blue mix can make your eyes bleed!! Its intense, I have two units over my 70 cube, they cover an area of 30x30, two units over a four foot tank is a bit of a strech for these cuz of the way the reflectors are. I think you would need three to pull it off, Ronnie has three over his 120 and it looks great.

 

[kams56]

I say alot of it depends on the size of your tank. I have two PAR38 Bulbs, on is an ecoxitic and the other is a 7 led Rapid Led PAR38 bulb. I love both bulbs and will most likely be getting one more. I love the color and the look. My Corals are all happy, and I got great growth especialy on my sps, atleast before my clown goby demolished em. That being said, if your tank isn't that large or if you are planning getting enough of them to cover a larger tank than they are deff a great option.

 

[bossreef]

I have an AI SOL Blue over my 34gal. I would have tried the PAR38s like kams56, because the PAR38s would have cost less, but I don't know if I would have been happier in the end. I kind of like the spot-light effect of the PAR38s, but the other half wasn't having any of it...

I must admit that I am quite pleased with the AI SOL + the hanging tree light stand. They really look nice together and the AI SOL is a great light.

 

[EdR]

I recently went through the same thing. I wanted to dump my MH and VHOs and save some on my electric bill. As much as I liked the idea of saving some money on a DIY project, reading up on the subject made my head spin. So not knowing any better I bought one of the units on ebay for $200 or something like that. Made my tank look like it was full of windex. I shipped it back and went to my LFS to see what they were using and hopefully get some advice. (Krystal Clear Aquatics in Auburn MA). They have several different LED systems that they have set up over the past few years. The one they settled on is EcoRay. Looked great in the store. Very natural looking, and they said the coral do very well under it. So I bought two of the 112 units for my 210 gallon tank and bagged my MH and VHOs. That was about a month ago. I could use another 60 (about half the size of the 112s) to fill out the tank, but they look great. They don't have some features that I might have liked like dimming, but I didn't have that on my MH either. They have two plugs per unit, one for blue, one for white, that can be put on individual timers. Very happy with them so far.

 

[Prack]

wow those LED are AMAZING! i never even knew they existed

 

[highpower9979]

i got the 2g 200 watt 14k evolution this thing is sick no pics yet just set it up yesterday but i love it

 

[robbous]

Led

I have the pacific sun 160w pythons 1 master and 2 slaves for my 150 gal reef and love these things. they are bluetooth run via computer. i have had these for exactly a yr now. here is the link on these.
http://www.aqua-digital.com/pacific-sun-led/pacific-sun-black-python/
http://www.pacific-sun.eu/

 

[Jimnen]

i got the 2g 200 watt 14k evolution this thing is sick no pics yet just set it up yesterday but i love it

Do you have any pics you can post? how big an area does it cover? I have been considering these any input will be appreciated

 

[mason90]

would love to see some pics as well there web site isnt that great...

 

[dcforester1]

The AI Sol is awesome if you can swing it

It would have been cheaper for me to buy 2 of those than build my own. I figured if I blow an LED, or driver I can replace it. If I buy a fixture I am done once the warr is up.

 

[Bobbofin]

I went back to halide/T5. SPS did great under LEDs, some other stuff did so-so. Gonna wait a little bit longer until everything pans out. Within two-three years the price should come down a lot. Once LEDs become mainstream for home and retail they'll start working on niche markets such as aquarium and hydroponics. Right now they're using 6500k cool white LEDs. LEDs do not emit any UV which is needed by corals. These LEDs we're using weren't made for that purpose. Once we have a 10,000k LED we will be there. Also the price will plummet once they start putting them on silicone like CPUs. We are not there yet.

 

[SteveDola]

have you guys seen these?

http://www.sh-ne.com/cpzt/e-cpzt.htm
Key industries - K3 models
Theyre dimmable and controllable using Cree chips. They look nice.

 

[Ruge13]

I have an AI SOL Blue

I have the same, 2 blue pods. I loved them... until.... this weekend I had one of the two just stop working. No idea why. I wasn't even home at the time so it wasn't me messing with them. So now I am down to 1 pod (

But... here's the thing...
I have left phone messages, and emails... I can't get a response from C2 in 4 days. I sent the pod back overnight shipping....

I'll reserve final comments for if/when I ever hear from them about the cause/fix.