Bridgelux or Cree?

[mrhasan]

So there seems to be never-ending debate between Cree and Bridgelux in DIY leds in reefcentral and nano-reef. I was thinking what you people think and if you are doing or have DIY leds, which LED emitter do you use?

Keeping Cree at 50-70% while running Bridgelux at 100% (with fan) seems to be of the same thing. But people still say running cree at lower rating expands its life. But I am not pleased with the justification since I am pretty sure a DIY running for 5 years and another for 10years doesn't make a difference; since you will obviously change it at some point well before 10 years.

Opinions please

[msjboy]

Cree is owned by General Electric.... Toshiba just bought Bridgelux....and throw in Philips Rebels too. Cree is the more expensive ones with newer technology coming out every few months it seems ( see latest XM-L2) with a large capital to fund its R&D. Some people say the rebels ( see Stevesleds (on sale right now) , & nano-box-reef lights) are actually better in terms of the spectra though... I would go with a mix as some companies are doing it ( eg. Crees & Philips by http://www.marinedepot.com/Maxspect_...FILDTN-vi.html ). Nowadays on the DIY front, people are doing the full spectrum layouts as opposed to blue and white offerings though.

Also, Epistar, a taiwan based company, shares some of the same patents as Cree and is the cheapest of the 4.

regs
msjboy

[sphelps]

I've run both and I prefer the Crees, IME SPS respond better under them, no idea why but they just do. Lower output also means higher efficiency as in you're using less power. Not too many LED fixtures out there using bridgelux either, from a manufacturing point of view I would conclude the Crees are the favorite by far. Crees are also pretty cheap now, not much point using budget LEDs these days unless you have a fairly large build. I also like the Luxeon's in terms of spectrum for the cool blues and royal blues.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I've run both and I prefer the Crees, IME SPS respond better under them, no idea why but they just do. Lower output also means higher efficiency as in you're using less power. Not too many LED fixtures out there using bridgelux either, from a manufacturing point of view I would conclude the Crees are the favorite by far. Crees are also pretty cheap now, not much point using budget LEDs these days unless you have a fairly large build. I also like the Luxeon's in terms of spectrum for the cool blues and royal blues.

That's where my catch lies. My tank will not be able to sustain fancy SPS and hence I was wondering whether the Cree will be worthwhile.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by msjboy

Cree is owned by General Electric.... Toshiba just bought Bridgelux....and throw in Philips Rebels too. Cree is the more expensive ones with newer technology coming out every few months it seems ( see latest XM-L2) with a large capital to fund its R&D. Some people say the rebels ( see Stevesleds (on sale right now) , & nano-box-reef lights) are actually better in terms of the spectra though... I would go with a mix as some companies are doing it ( eg. Crees & Philips by http://www.marinedepot.com/Maxspect_...FILDTN-vi.html ). Nowadays on the DIY front, people are doing the full spectrum layouts as opposed to blue and white offerings though.

Also, Epistar, a taiwan based company, shares some of the same patents as Cree and is the cheapest of the 4.

regs
msjboy

Never heard about nanobox but they are expensive :O Who would spend $400 for a fixture from there when they can easily get a AI SOL for that money. LED industry is so confusing!

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

That's where my catch lies. My tank will not be able to sustain fancy SPS and hence I was wondering whether the Cree will be worthwhile.

I guess you have to consider worth while in terms of what exactly? A 20 gallon tank won't require very many LEDs and you can use less crees for the same amount of light given by more bridgelux. I don't think you'll have much potential for any money savings. So why limit yourself to bridgelux?

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I guess you have to consider worth while in terms of what exactly? A 20 gallon tank won't require very many LEDs and you can use less crees for the same amount of light given by more bridgelux. I don't think you'll have much potential for any money savings. So why limit yourself to bridgelux?

I can get 24bridgelux from aquastyle (along with heatsink, hanging kit, glue, etc.) for $75 (I already got 2 meanwell 48D drivers ) while for Cree, I will have to spend like $120 for 24 emitters. No heatsink included since I cannot find Cree kit (everyone sells bridgelux kits). That's where my thoughts are stuck

[sphelps]

Pretty hard to buy a kit without drivers but Cree LEDs can be purchased for around $3.50 which would be $84 for 24 plus if you only need 70% or less to achieve the same output you only need 16 LEDs which would be around $56. Rapid LED also sells pretty nice anodized heat sinks that accept splash cards and hanging kits for around $30. Realistically you're talking about $20 max in savings.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Pretty hard to buy a kit without drivers but Cree LEDs can be purchased for around $3.50 which would be $84 for 24 plus if you only need 70% or less to achieve the same output you only need 16 LEDs which would be around $56. Rapid LED also sells pretty nice anodized heat sinks that accept splash cards and hanging kits for around $30. Realistically you're talking about $20 max in savings.

Well you busted me. Yah the savings will not be significant :P

I really like their heatsinks. They are the cheapest that I found and look so sleek !

Some of the LEDs that I am planning to use (3up and true violet for full spectrum) are building up the cost actually.

I am just thinking whether the whole thing will worth it. I am not into SPS so colors of coral is not the best strength in my tank...but I just need the current corals to pop up.

I know, I am one confused lad :P

[Stones]

+1 for Crees.

I've used both Crees as well as built a fixture soley from aquastyle LEDs and parts. I had to use almost twice as many bridgelux LEDs run at 700 mA to get approximately the same coverage/intensity as Crees ran at ~1000 mA so in the end, the cost works out to be about the same when you take into consideration the LEDs, optics and drivers. Plus shipping from aquastyle is MUCH more expensive than shipping from Rapidled or LEDgroupbuy.

I figured less LEDs on the heatsink spread a bit further apart is better for heat dissipation as well so you can get away with running a smaller fan or in some cases, no fan at all on your heatsinks. Less LEDS also means less power consumption but the savings here would be miniscule as well.