[chandigz]

I didn't mean all made in china are bad or anything like that. What I meant is that some of the cheap chinese generic lights that I have seen use cheap voltage regulated transformers not constant/variable current drivers and thin aluminum plate instead of proper heatsinks. You get what you pay for. Constant current/variable current drivers can really make a difference when it comes to high power leds. The current technology in high power leds is changing so fast and you can hardly compare it to led technology 5 years ago. Sort of like comparing lemons to limes. They're similar but different. The sign you have probably uses low power leds which basicaly all use voltage regulated transformers with resistors.

You might not notice a big difference in light output over five years but i'm sure your high light corals would notice a 30% drop in output. A 30% loss of output could really affect coral growth. I actually thought 30% loss was pretty high to wait for to change a bulb/bulbs. If it wasn't for my coral I wouldn't replace my halides/florescents for 8 or more years like my brother. His tank still looks bright and colour is not too bad i guess. Most of us replace any lights mostly for loss of output first and colour shift secondly. So I guess replacing the leds comes down to wether you want "great" coral growth or just "keep" high light coral, grow lower light coral or fish