alibaba led bars vs high end led bars

oreo54 · Apr 17, 2022

Shooter6 said:
The reason the 5 finger shoes went away is they were causing foot issues. We used them for sparring and soon found out they were worse then just being bare foot. .

I'm sorry, just HAD to post this:
Radion of the 5 finger shoe world..Chinese knockoff (?)..

https://www.nordstrom.com/s/balenci...c6HYOBIVnTi4gFBfIVRoCDDUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

"Hippy" version..
https://www.zappos.com/p/vibram-fiv...t=&_ivgu=48d5d69a-03bc-4d28-b15b-c730eb2c1448

ClownSchool · Apr 17, 2022

Bpb said:
Appears to be the same product. I guess the main difference would be who you talk to if there’s a problem. Color layout appears identical. Housing looks basically identical

I bought a German equivalent of a Bluetooth-enabled canister filter once and the devil was in the details. It was a mistake that if the retailer wouldn’t have allowed returns would’ve cost $450 worth of miserable dissatisfaction.

happyhourhero · Apr 17, 2022

Interesting read for sure. I see the UL thing still has some legs. I collected some anecdotes in a thread with decent participation a while back to see which components had the most electrical issues. Those dang non UL lights tho!

What has Shorted/ Caught Fire in Your Tank?

Please vote in poll for items that have either caught fire or shorted or leaked stray voltage into your tank. If this is happened to you in any way, please write a post explaining what happened and the brand of the equipment that failed.

www.reef2reef.com

luxdium · Apr 18, 2022

Hooz said:
If you want an LED that replicates MH, keep your eye on Luxdium. He's developing a replacement puck for the Prime HD and Hydra 26HD/52HD that mimics a MH closer than anyone has attempted to get yet. It's impressive.

As for the Quanta Pro bars, I'm completely sold on them. Yes, they are built by the same Chinese manufacturer that builds all the others, but Luca has really dialed in the spectrum and spread/blending better than anyone else has in an LED bar (and the manufacturer will only build them like that for him, nobody else). My ONLY, and I mean ONLY nitpick is that there is no ability to control or dim them. I'm an LPS and softie guy, so I don't need a ton of PAR, but I do need spectrum and spread. If I could put multiple bars on a tank and them turn them down to what I need, I would jump in with both feet yesterday.

Did someone say luxdium? (just joined R2R)

@Hooz may have provided a brief intro, but what I'm working on is a plug and play LED upgrade system (known as LUX Engine) for AquaIllumination lights (13/26/52/HD) that seamlessly integrates with their optics and electronics to produce a brand new light that can exceed the spectral performance of many lights that are currently on the market, while still retaining the customizability and controllability that smart lights are known for.

Traditionally, LED manufacturers have been trying to emulate lights of the past, such as Metal halides or T5HOs, or even mimicking each other. However, where we differ is we take a research-first approach to lighting. We're not explicitly concerned about mimicking any particular spectrum, but more-so about questioning the status quo and maybe setting new standards along the way. This philosophy is what guides us to help write the next chapter for LEDs.
If an "ideal" spectrum exists, then it should:
-Target Major Photosynthetic Pigments
-Excite All Fluorescent Pigments
-Be Tunable to Visual Preferences

We've been on this quest since March 2019. So far, we've come close, with advanced spectral recipes, custom-binned chips (super hard with a chip shortage), and an improved thermal substrate that allows our LEDs to run cooler.

In addition to data, we also value results. Since June 2020, I've shipped beta-versions of these pucks worldwide for people to install and provide feedback. Given the variety of install options (these can support lights made as far back as 2013), tank conditions, and user preferences, having a large dataset was instrumental in developing and refining the layout.

With the beta over, we can release the final pucks for everyone once our website is up and provide more data.

For now, I attach some of our beta spectra along with some other spectra for reference and our PAR testing rig.

I could go on and on about this and some of our research, but I don't want to hijack this thread.

If you want to see more data and analysis on lighting spectra, we have an Instagram (IG handle: @luxdium) where we publish some of ours and some we crowdsource from others.

Hooz · Apr 18, 2022

minus9 said:
Actually, someone needs to incorporate both in order to create spread with contrast, which none of the current LEDs possess. It’s either one or the other, which has been my big complaint all along. Innovate away my friend!

It's kind of ironic that the two people who seem to be innovating the most in the Reef LED sector (at least with color spectrums) are @luxdium and @Lousybreed - Two hobbyists who just wanted better lights and decided to build them themselves. No real "R&D budgets", no super deep pockets, just a couple guys looking for something nobody else was offering.

The "big name" manufacturers should take notice.

Hooz · Apr 18, 2022

Oh, and also, welcome @luxdium to R2R!

telegraham · Apr 18, 2022

Hooz said:
It's kind of ironic that the two people who seem to be innovating the most in the Reef LED sector (at least with color spectrums) are @luxdium and @Lousybreed - Two hobbyists who just wanted better lights and decided to build them themselves. No real "R&D budgets", no super deep pockets, just a couple guys looking for something nobody else was offering.

The "big name" manufacturers should take notice.

I'd rather they not, and I'd like to throw ReeFi on that list. The mom & pops will get us what we need. The big names just get theirs.

laverda · Apr 19, 2022

Interesting thread. I have been thinking about adding four 48" LED strip lights to me 2 existing 48" AquaticLife pro series LEDs on my 300 gallon. My existing lights give nice shimmer and I like them much better than the 8 Kessils I had for a short time. I just feel I could use a little more light. The disappointing thing I see on these various strip light is they don't have programable diming.

Big E · Apr 19, 2022

telegraham said:
I'd rather they not, and I'd like to throw ReeFi on that list. The mom & pops will get us what we need. The big names just get theirs.

To me Reefi beats Radions in every category.........price, perfromance, build quality, sound, par. Reflectors that drive all the light into the tank and little to no spillage and also no worries of burned out violet lenses. On top of that the warranty is 3 years.

Big E · Apr 19, 2022

Lousybreed said:
Big E, there is a big difference between horticulture and reef lights. First of all for every reef light sold I bet there is 1,000 horti lights sold. So very different scale. Then there is the whole saltwater ant getting electrocuted thing. My regular bars are in fact waterproof so I am not concerned. But the higher powered light bars are tough to daisy chain due to the high amperage. For drivers max out around 220 watts, so finding a big enough driver gets tricky. If you have noticed all high powered lights (Ecotech, sky, kessil, etc) are all low power DC due to it being impossible to make them perfectly waterproof.

with that being said I am working these issues for cord management and looking at it from every angle.

I hear ya...just saying it's being done. Their units are waterproof to some extent for the damp areas they hang in.......... all the wiring is fed though the bars and then to the power source that is set in a dry place of your choice.
All the hardware to connect the bars into one unit are all supplied along with hanging kits. They don't use lenses so I assume a boat load of lower wattage diodes are used instead. I could be talking out of my butt as I don't know all the technical aspects or hurdles.

I'm just communicating my wants for me to leave T5s behind. I feel like a quote from Yoda to Luke to do it not tell how it will fail or won't work

The cheaper types of horti fixtures are similar to Strattons in design.......the diodes have waterproofing films over them and no lenses. They use multiple diodes for coverage and everything is connected into one cord that plugs into the single power source with a dimmer mounted on tip of the unit.
Not really any different than a LET T5 fixture in form and function.

I know it's like comparing apples and oranges but I don't want to deal with 6-8 cords along with all those power supplies. I'll just wait on the sidelines for now as I have no clue how many bars would be needed to match the same in T5 coverage and blending of spectrum. I'll wait for the guinea pigs with dominant acro tanks to work through that.

Dimming would be nice so at least I could match par with a mix of T5s if going for that route.

telegraham · Apr 19, 2022

laverda said:
Interesting thread. I have been thinking about adding four 48" LED strip lights to me 2 existing 48" AquaticLife pro series LEDs on my 300 gallon. My existing lights give nice shimmer and I like them much better than the 8 Kessils I had for a short time. I just feel I could use a little more light. The disappointing thing I see on these various strip light is they don't have programable diming.

Some may have a need for dimming, and I thought I did, but now I turn on the bars when the mains have ramped fully, and turn off the bars just prior to ramp down. You may have to lower your mains' output to compensate for the added PAR of the bars.

Shooter6 · Apr 19, 2022

laverda said:
Interesting thread. I have been thinking about adding four 48" LED strip lights to me 2 existing 48" AquaticLife pro series LEDs on my 300 gallon. My existing lights give nice shimmer and I like them much better than the 8 Kessils I had for a short time. I just feel I could use a little more light. The disappointing thing I see on these various strip light is they don't have programable diming.

Does your current light have dimming?

If it does then the simple solution is either use smart plugs or wall timers on the bars. Have them come on after your original fixture does, and off before hand. You can stagger them to make it nearly invisible.

laverda · Apr 19, 2022

telegraham said:
Some may have a need for dimming, and I thought I did, but now I turn on the bars when the mains have ramped fully, and turn off the bars just prior to ramp down. You may have to lower your mains' output to compensate for the added PAR of the bars.

I was thinking I could do that, as my main light have full ramp up and down functionality. The next thing is what color spectrum should I get.

laverda · Apr 19, 2022

Shooter6 said:
Does your current light have dimming?

If it does then the simple solution is either use smart plugs or wall timers on the bars. Have them come on after your original fixture does, and off before hand. You can stagger them to make it nearly invisible.

I could definatly do that.

Shooter6 · Apr 19, 2022

laverda said:
I was thinking I could do that, as my main light have full ramp up and down functionality. The next thing is what color spectrum should I get.

Need to base that off your color preferences on the display or if you want it to look the same or modify the present appearance

I'm going to add the sun and possibly reef day to add a whiter look to mine for about 4 hrs a day. My goals are only for the added white look not par.

sawdonkey · Apr 20, 2022

I ordered 4 of the 5ft WiFi Herifi bars the OP was asking about. With shipping they were $560 and I should get them any day now. I’ll happily table a video of them when I get them. From what I understand, all four bars work off of one driver.

Shooter6 · Apr 20, 2022

sawdonkey said:
I ordered 4 of the 5ft WiFi Herifi bars the OP was asking about. With shipping they were $560 and I should get them any day now. I’ll happily table a video of them when I get them. From what I understand, all four bars work off of one driver.

Definitely do it. Are they all the same?