These LED's just aren't cutting it. Or - are they?

[Ron99]

There is simply no comparison between those cheap chinese fixtures and a good quality fixture. Thermal management, drivers, the led emitters themselves will all be better in a better fixture. I would not count on reliability or efficiency from that Taotronics unit. I conducted a side by side test using Cree, Bridgelux, Seoul Semiconductor and cheap no name chinese 3w LEDs and there was a significant difference in output on the exact same driver.

If you want to save money the best approach is a DIY array using Cree emitters and Meanwell drivers.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by neoh

I'll try taking it down by 10 across the blues and see if it makes a difference!

I find the white spectrum is more responsible for high light bleaching but generally you would reduce the entire spectrum to acclimatize the corals to the new light. Most people experience coral bleaching when they make the switch due to running the fixture too high, the visible light is much different.