New Chinese LED fixture

[Ron99]

Originally Posted by ReefOcean

I assume you owned one?

Yes, heat sinks are thin, the fans could get jammed with dust but so could any fan. As far as current/voltage goes that is over my head but wjhen i was researching a dIY LED fixture I was under the impression that all LEDS ran on current.

Seeing how i have never held a maxpect i cannot comment. i was just linking the country of origin of the 2 fixtures.

But yes, it is a cheap unit. This is why i bought it. I have heard good things about the company and their product. So far i cannot complain. I don't have the cash to blow on a Vertex or an aqua Illuminations. Frankly, I can't see myself ever spending 1500 plus on a lighting system when there are cheaper alternatives to try.

...I have a feeling this fixture will be Odyssea MH fixture of the 2010's LOL. I am waiting for the fire.

I don't have one but did have a look at them when i first got interested in LEDs. EvilC66 over on nano-reef (a major LED guru) has had a look at them and their build and commented about the poor thermal management and the driver circuitry. Can't remember exactly when he posted, maybe 5 or 6 months ago.

There may be nothing wrong with this fixture for a fish only tank or one with low light softies and LPS but I suspect SPS will need to be very near the top of the tank leaving little room for a nice looking colony to grow out. They will likely grow fairly slowly and the colours may lean towards the browner end. Generic Chinese 1 Watt LEDs without optics simply cannot throw out the PAR that a good 3W SemiLed, Edison Opto, Cree or LuxeonRrebel can. My own experiments comparing generic emitters to Cree XR-Es using the exact same driver etc. show the Cree has something like 3x greater PAR output. Once you throw optics into the mix it makes even more of a difference. Without optics you will have a very rapid drop off in PAR at depth. May not be an issue in a very shallow tank but once you get past 12 inches or so in depth it can become important.

I wouldn't spend the money on a Vertex or many other commercial fixtures right now. They are generally overpriced for what you get. You can DIY a fixture as good or better for half the cost. The AI is about the only one I think is not grossly overpriced for what it is. The Maxspect looks to be decent for it's price range too and they have made many improvements to their lights recently (individually replaceable LEDs, optics options).

Also, I wouldn't worry about fires but mainly about relatively low output from the 1W LEDs and rapid degradation in output due to overheating of the emitters. You may find your PAR has decreased significantly in just a year or two with these.