kien's Ecoxotic Panorama 36 LED Retrofit review

[kien]

Originally Posted by the marine apprentice

kein whats the price on one of these fixtrures? pm me with details please

Let me know if kein doesn't get you that info, as I can get it to you if he doesn't.

[shrimpchips]

Originally Posted by kien

I don't plan on putting it anywhere on my system at the moment and I don't have a refugium I could see it going over maybe a softy tank or FOWLR in the future.

Maybe a fishroom light?

Have you tried any PAR measurements without the diffuser?

[kien]

Originally Posted by shrimpchips

Maybe a fishroom light?

Have you tried any PAR measurements without the diffuser?

I may try testing it without the diffuser tonight but I would not want to run it long term over saltwater without a cover. Salt creep would likely destroy the LEDs and small reflectors.

[soapy]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Thanks for the review. Decent looking retrofit light.

I'm planning on a a DIY LED build over my next tank and have been purchasing parts for it already. LED's have a lot factors tied to them and their success over a tank, specifically the quality of the LED's used and the optics used. In looking at the Ecoxotic site, I didn't see any indication of the brand of light being used. The difference in lumin output from brand to brand is staggering. They also appear to be roughly 1W LED's and most LED's now being used are 3W.
Interestingly, regarding the PAR output, there have been a lot of comments made on forums, especially RC and NR that suggest PAR meters haven't been giving them results that made sense. People with tanks and multiple 400W lights have found that LED fixtures have overwhelmed their corals, even though the PAR meter gave fixtures similar numbers.

The advantage of the 1 watt LEDs from what I've read is that they are more energy efficient and since they are lower power and it is spread out more on the heat sink they are less apt to require a fan. Most of the newer 3 watt fixtures have fans. No fan equals good to my ears.

I have also read about the par meter issue with LEDs. I suppose a fair model for comparisons remains to be worked out. A less bright looking tank may actually suit me fine, sometimes looking into my yank feels like I am staring into the sun. According to the website this fixture is equivalent to comparable 150 watt plus light sources, whatever that means.

[mseepman]

Originally Posted by soapy

The advantage of the 1 watt LEDs from what I've read is that they are more energy efficient and since they are lower power and it is spread out more on the heat sink they are less apt to require a fan. Most of the newer 3 watt fixtures have fans. No fan equals good to my ears.

I have also read about the par meter issue with LEDs. I suppose a fair model for comparisons remains to be worked out. A less bright looking tank may actually suit me fine, sometimes looking into my yank feels like I am staring into the sun. According to the website this fixture is equivalent to comparable 150 watt plus light sources, whatever that means.

In the instance of the 1W versus the 3W, efficiency is probably not the right word as the new 3W lights are the most efficient...simply run them at lesser current and they still put out way more lumens but don't require a fan. A 3W Cree XP-G can use up to 1500mA but at about 1000mA you are probably getting the biggest bang for your buck and you are only running it at 2/3's the power and heat. Use the right heatsink and no fan is required....cheap out on the heatsink and you need a fan.

[soapy]

Right, hopefully somebody will set up a fixture like that. I am not that keen on listening to a fan grinding away.

[Delphinus]

Great review, although something occured to me this morning. What about watts? I was looking up the unit online and note that it is rated at 42w.

This might put an interesting spin on things.

The PAR results showed as approximately half that of the 250w halide, but if you could run two of these units, tilted slightly so that the distribution of light roughly overlaps the same area, you'd still be only at 30% energy used. The problem of course comes in that this is "two units" compared to "one unit" so there is the additional up front cost there. With a 166w advantage the two units have over the halide, assuming a billed rate of $0.10 per kWh and a 12 hour photoperiod and a 30 day month, it's about $6 per month cheaper to run the two units. Now, assuming upfront purchase costs of LED and halides at say $400 each (ignoring potential cost-cutting measures such as purchasing second-hand, or DIY, or even factoring in potential resale value of either down the road), this works out to roughly about a 5 year/60 month period before your reach financial equivalency. Except that it's not 60 months if you factor in the cost of replacement halides at 12 month intervals. So in actual fact the "TCO" may in fact be not all that hugely different.

But then additional factors may also come into play such as using a combination of light sources. If these could be shoehorned into a light rack between halides it could well be a fantastic early morning/late afternoon photoperiod thus allowing a shortening of the photoperiod for the main halides.

If the cost of LEDs continue to become less prohibitive over time I could well see that they will gain more market share.

For now though I still love my Radiums!

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Now, assuming upfront purchase costs of LED and halides at say $400 each

Yeah $400 will get you one of the units but certainly not two which you'd have to do to try and have equivalent output. I do like the no replacing bulbs idea though that sure sounds nice. We both know radiums aren't all that cheap.

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Thanks for the review. Decent looking retrofit light.
They also appear to be roughly 1W LED's and most LED's now being used are 3W.

Good thread Kien
Mark,
I also looked at their website and I can't find anywhere they state the actual bulb wattage and since the tanks they show as examples don't appear to contain any high light demanding corals I think it's probably safe to assume they use the lower wattage bulbs.