Thoughts on Evergrow IT2040 LED

[fixerupper]

I've had one of these Evergrow IT2040s over my 45 gallon cube for over 3 months now. Tank has 2 clowns, over a dozen SPS frags and a couple of LPS on the bottom. Here's my take on this light:

Pros:
• Excellent responsiveness and communication from Nick at Reefsupplycanada.com
• FAST shipping. Arrived in 2-3 days after I received my tracking number.
• Solidly built. Quality looks excellent.
• Instructions are virtually unnecessary because onboard controls are very intuitive.
• Included hanging kit is nice. It could be 6-12” longer.
• 90 degree angled power cord is high quality and supple enough for easy routing to the outlet.
• Fans are quieter than any other equipment noise.
• Fixture runs very cool. It must have a good heat sink. Makes you wonder if the fans are even necessary.
• Light is VERY bright with just the right amount and types of colours (for my taste) mixed in on the white channel.
• (*Some* might consider it has too much of a purple or violet tint at 100/100 but after playing around for two hours I think it has the perfect blend for my taste.)
• No spotlighting at my mounting height of 13” above the water of an 18” deep tank. A brief check with a white piece of paper shows visible spotlighting disappears at <12” from the fixture.
• 3 year warranty

Cons are mostly minor nit picking since none can be considered ‘deal breakers’.
Cons:
• DHL needed $12.50 at my door for handling charges (it’s not much, but no one likes these kind of surprises) Update: Once notified, Reefsupplycanada refunded it immediately--thanks
• Box was showed signs of rough handling but the fixture has adequate packaging. If I was purchasing a heavier or larger fixture it would be wise to have these double boxed.
• Instructions are poor if you’re expecting a step by step walk through. They’re ok otherwise.
• Hanging kit could be a bit longer. (My wife sniggered at this).
• Some might consider the air rush of the fans are ‘noisy’ if they test the light without any other common aquarium noises. I have a very quiet display and have to shut everything off to hear the fixture.
• Right angle power cord was angled in the wrong direction for my setup. Ordered a cord from Monoprice.com for $3.50 to have a cleaner routing.


Performance for the dollar is off the charts compared to much of reef equipment I’ve purchased in this hobby.
One might argue that reliability is unknown at this point but with the 3 year warranty and customer service offered by reefsupplycanada.com, I’m confident this is a great buy.
The concerns I originally had were how my corals would respond to the light and perhaps the extra spectrum enhancing algae growth. Both of these concerns are moderated somewhat by the successes reported on several “Chinese lighting” threads over at reef central.
As usual in this hobby, eventually time will tell the whole story.

[Bblinks]

Great review. By chance can I get some pictures of the lights and them on your tank please.

[Karsten]

How much do those fixtures cost?
And what is the spread like?

[msjboy]

I think they are ok but not as good for deeper tanks as the brigelux leds are ran at around 2.5W instead of three. Good for a frag tank though. I saw one in person and decided on a used Kessil a350W instead.. was a bit too blue for me thought one can swap out the leds.... (also check youtube for a guy who went from 2 taotronics type led to 2 kessils - keyword is kessil a350w review).

These lights are moreorless the same as taotronic, reefbreeder... can't tell the difference... a fella on another local forum is selling them new, $175 shipped with taxes.

msjboy

[fixerupper]

Originally Posted by msjboy

I think they are ok but not as good for deeper tanks as the brigelux leds are ran at around 2.5W instead of three. Good for a frag tank though. I saw one in person and decided on a used Kessil a350W instead.. was a bit too blue for me thought one can swap out the leds.... (also check youtube for a guy who went from 2 taotronics type led to 2 kessils - keyword is kessil a350w review).

These lights are moreorless the same as taotronic, reefbreeder... can't tell the difference... a fella on another local forum is selling them new, $175 shipped with taxes.

msjboy

The LEDs Evergrow uses are apparently set to run at around 2 watts. I haven't taken any par readings but according to multiple posts on Reef Central it's capable of growing most SPS on the sand bed of 24" deep tanks and I believe them. My cube is only 18" deep so it's not what I would call a frag tank. I guess it depends on your perspective. I had ramped up to 80% for a week but have dialed back to 74% during a 2 hr peak as I was starting to get some bleaching.

I don't know about them being too blue. I like the ratio I have but a little more blue wouldn't hurt. I think many must have felt the same way as Evergrow slightly increased the blues in their standard offering. There is a bit of a different violet/purple glow that some aren't that jazzed about though. I actually like it

I purchased some frags from Waynemah 7-8 weeks ago and they are really encrusting and taking off. There's also a few "rescue" corals from my 100 gallon that were browning out due to high phosphates. Most of those are recovering nicely. I'll try to post some pics tonight. Naturally, I'll have to tidy up, dust and put out the good china before snapping pics.

[nrosdal]

look forward to seeing pics! and i wanna find out where this guy found these lights for $175 if that is the case i will buy them all

[fixerupper]

I'm just using my iPhone at the moment as I can't find my camera since my trip to Calif. Undoubtedly I put it somewhere safe...

Most of you are probably aware of the pitfalls of iPhone newbie shots but they are: out of focus (camera focuses on the glass not the subject) and show WAY too much blue.

FTS


Rescue corals-moved from my 100g they've encrusted the plug and are doing well. Monti cap 3x the original size taken at 100% white 0% Blue


Encrusting monti secured in place 5 weeks ago


Pic of the light -tank is way under exposed obviously


Green Monti from Wayne more than doubled in size in a poorly lit part of the tank


Interesting disco effect. Re-scaped the rock work and in a small area in almost full shade the light shows this weird disco pattern. Didn't have it before and it's nowhere else in the tank. I need to remove the lenses on the red/green LEDs to see if it disappears. That green monti cap is 3-4" from the bottom and is still a little bleached. Looks white here but in reality it's just a pale green. Gotta try dimming down a notch.

[Karsten]

What size is that light? What is the cost?

[fixerupper]

All the details can be found here:

http://www.reefsupplycanada.com/it20...-led-16-light/

I think I paid 325.00 + GST delivered back in January. The lights have since dropped a bit in price. They've apparently tweaked the lense options and improved the colour mix Too. I'm quite impressed by the lights and the vendor's customer service.

[Cubeman]

For those concerned about the depth these lights are good for - I have a 24inch tall column tank. I transferred some sps frags from under a 250mh and this light bleached some sitting on the sandbed with it set at 60 percent. I'm now running at 40 percent and am slowly dialing it back up.

For perspective my IT2040 sits only a couple of inches above a glass top.