AliExpress A8SE Reef Light

[Shooter6]

Thanks appreciate it! Looking at the A8 Pros with mean well power supplies. Just trying to decide between these or Noopsyches.

My opinion ( just my opinion) view this choice as choosing between noopsyches and radions only with upgraded to wifi instead of the buggy Bluetooth mobius controls.

 

[Shooter6]

oops your right, got that mixed up

Honestly the options seem pretty much what ever you want except the blue version not being avawith Cree YET.

 

[spartanman22]

My opinion ( just my opinion) view this choice as choosing between noopsyches and radions only with upgraded to wifi instead of the buggy Bluetooth mobius controls.

Fair opinion! It seems like the Noopsyches give off more of a shimmer, whereas the A8 Pros (or Radions) are more T5 ish. Both look nice aesthetically, both will perform fine so it seems like a shimmer vs no shimmer debate. I have an ATI Powermodule to fall back on if all else fails. I do like that Noopsyches have been around for a bit with some active support. Always nervouse about ordering from Alibaba.

Two A8 Pros on a 44" x 19" x 17" tank should be sufficient right? Are we at all confident the meanwell drivers are any better/different than what comes with the light? Arent meanwell's made in China? I'm not an electronics guy, but if the chinese power supply fails couldn't you always order meanwell's at a future point? Or is there a risk of power supply failure causing larger failure to the light itself?

 

[Shooter6]

Fair opinion! It seems like the Noopsyches give off more of a shimmer, whereas the A8 Pros (or Radions) are more T5 ish. Both look nice aesthetically, both will perform fine so it seems like a shimmer vs no shimmer debate. I have an ATI Powermodule to fall back on if all else fails. I do like that Noopsyches have been around for a bit with some active support. Always nervouse about ordering from Alibaba.

Two A8 Pros on a 44" x 19" x 17" tank should be sufficient right? Are we at all confident the meanwell drivers are any better/different than what comes with the light? Arent meanwell's made in China? I'm not an electronics guy, but if the chinese power supply fails couldn't you always order meanwell's at a future point? Or is there a risk of power supply failure causing larger failure to the light itself?

In my opinion 2 lights over a 44 inch length should be plenty depending on mounting height. I have 4 over my 8x3x2 display. I have them approximately 14 inches off the water. I ran them long way so the shorter side is covering front to back.

I'll probaly reorient them to run the long side fron to back, and add a couple of bars for extra fill in.

Again I think you will have more than enough light with the 2 units over your dimensions

 

[Shooter6]

Fair opinion! It seems like the Noopsyches give off more of a shimmer, whereas the A8 Pros (or Radions) are more T5 ish. Both look nice aesthetically, both will perform fine so it seems like a shimmer vs no shimmer debate. I have an ATI Powermodule to fall back on if all else fails. I do like that Noopsyches have been around for a bit with some active support. Always nervouse about ordering from Alibaba.

Two A8 Pros on a 44" x 19" x 17" tank should be sufficient right? Are we at all confident the meanwell drivers are any better/different than what comes with the light? Arent meanwell's made in China? I'm not an electronics guy, but if the chinese power supply fails couldn't you always order meanwell's at a future point? Or is there a risk of power supply failure causing larger failure to the light itself?

Shimmer. Now I've got two bars that lessen the Shimmer during peak hrs, which this is.

 

[Shooter6]

Shimmer. Now I've got two bars that lessen the Shimmer during peak hrs, which this is.

 

[Shooter6]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...-with-unbeatable-price.1066019/#post-12791360 vid posted here

 

[Ronnyking]

Has anybody compared the a8se and the a8 (or a8s)? Is the difference worth the price difference?

 

[Reefing102]

Has anybody compared the a8se and the a8 (or a8s)? Is the difference worth the price difference?

@mini-fred has the A8SE and A8S and visually, he states there’s no difference in par or color.

I have both..
I own 4x a8se the cheapest china ones
And i own 1 a8S , cree leds and meanwell psu..

Reasons.. i got 1 a8se defective from factory, wich was handled beautifully from the factory and they sent replacement led boards without any issue, so the after sales has been great (funtronics on alibaba)

So i had 3 working.. then i talked to a big local shop that sometimes sells dropship goodies, and he offered me the only one he had, for 100€.. so he sent that and it turned out to be the a8s (cree/meanwell + x bracket and tank bracket)

Par wise.. or even colour, u cant see the difference.. the meanwell brick is very nice, dont really care about the cree leds itself as they look and measure similar to the chinese ones..


I will try that, im 1200miles from home now..
of that fails ill reset them to factory, and will put them in direct link only, ill take reliability over fancy controlls any day

I think the best combo for the price now.. is the x30.. as they come with the nice power supply.. and are still cheap enough

 

[leblasco]

Yes I believe I've got it figured out.

Step 1 put your phone or tablet to your routers wifi but be sure it's on 2.4g.

Once that is done open the app. Search device.
Click device.

When it ask to direct connect -no.

Switch wifi on ph to the lights wifi. Type in the wifi and password. Once that connects exit out. Put ph back on routers wifi 2.4g.

Open app again. Click the light again.

Now you have to put in the time zone ( does not correspond to your area. I'm in Texas. At 1040 pm I had to put it on -0600 I think to get it to be on the correct timezone.

No I personally modified the ab+ by moving the on and off times and adjusting the whites up to be more 14k mh look for 4hrs. Also the ramp down I stretched out an additional hr at a very low light deepblue period. I saved it and it's been working perfectly.

When the next 3 lights arrive within the next week all connect them to the same group.

Hello, I tried several times and nothing, I don't know what I'm doing wrong or if light fixture has any problem. I'm desperate. I need to turn on and off every day

 

[Shooter6]

Hello, I tried several times and nothing, I don't know what I'm doing wrong or if light fixture has any problem. I'm desperate. I need to turn on and off every day

Ok can you tell me what steps you have done so far to set the light up. I will review and try to make a video for you.

 

[Shooter6]

Has anybody compared the a8se and the a8 (or a8s)? Is the difference worth the price difference?

My understanding is the se has chinese brand driver and leds the S is a meanwell brand name driver and Cree leds.



Meanwell is made in China but is a known and respected manufacturer worldwide. Does not mean the chinese brand isn't as good.

Cree leds are select picked from the production line for performance. The chinese brand ones are made in the same place, same line, just not chosen for the Cree brand lots. May be exactly identical or may have a slight variation that kept it from passing the Cree standards. Still not anything that would keep me from getting them.

The blue version does not have the Cree leds or meanwell driver. I'd still use those as well if blue was my preferred color

 

[RoanokeReef]

The Blue does have Meanwell. I wouldn’t worry about Cree leds as I doubt you’re getting them.

 

[Shooter6]

The Blue does have Meanwell. I wouldn’t worry about Cree leds as I doubt you’re getting them.

My understanding is the diodes ate marked and when the lights were opened up you can see they are stamped Cree on the ones sold with Cree leds.


Cree leds are made in China as well, just held to higher scrutiny. Many of the products using Cree LED diodes are made in China. Do not under estimate these lights have Cree leds if they are being sold with the claim they have them. I mean the Cree licensed leds are made in the same country as these lights ( as well as most of the name brand lights as well) .

 

[Shooter6]

The Blue does have Meanwell. I wouldn’t worry about Cree leds as I doubt you’re getting them.

Did you buy the blue? How does it look over a display? Does it have the 6 channels or 8 like the pro?

 

[RoanokeReef]

My understanding is the diodes ate marked and when the lights were opened up you can see they are stamped Cree on the ones sold with Cree leds.


Cree leds are made in China as well, just held to higher scrutiny. Many of the products using Cree LED diodes are made in China. Do not under estimate these lights have Cree leds if they are being sold with the claim they have them. I mean the Cree licensed leds are made in the same country as these lights ( as well as most of the name brand lights as well) .

I understand the difference, my point was people are buying a "clone" light from China with no manufacture holding them accountable. I wouldn't spend the extra money as they are either Cree Leds that didn't make the cut or are clones of Cree themselves. I'm not saying a "clone" manufacture would lie but they are already being shady but copying the look of XR30. In the end it's not my money so really, I don't care 

Did you buy the blue? How does it look over a display? Does it have the 6 channels or 8 like the pro?

I did (6 channel) and also have a buddy that has the regular 6 channel. They look identical over the tank as they only took the 6 green LEDs and changed them to Blue.

 

[Shooter6]

I understand the difference, my point was people are buying a "clone" light from China with no manufacture holding them accountable. I wouldn't spend the extra money as they are either Cree Leds that didn't make the cut or are clones of Cree themselves. I'm not saying a "clone" manufacture would lie but they are already being shady but copying the look of XR30. In the end it's not my money so really, I don't care 


I did (6 channel) and also have a buddy that has the regular 6 channel. They look identical over the tank as they only took the 6 green LEDs and changed them to Blue.

I truly do not believe these are clones, after the side by side teardown.

I believe these are assembled using the same parts being produced for ecotech,( the ones with Cree and meanwell at least) and the big difference is the wifi controller vs ecotechs Bluetooth ( which they buy from another manufacturer).

Cree does not manufacture leds. They buy them from manufacturers, with mandatory performance specs. They test lots and only buy lots that are certified to pass their standards. Those leds are then sold under the Cree brand name.

I believe it was telegram that tested these next to the radion version, and found slightly better performance with these . (Cree LED version)

I agree the Cree LED and meanwell driver versions are probably not needed, but are also a comfort factor having name brand parts in it.

 

[RoanokeReef]

They're not clones, the PCBs are different. What they did is copy the aesthetics of the fixture and the layout. Second picture borrowed from a FS post as my XR30 is mounted. They're good fixtures for what they are but they are not using Ecotech PCBs.

 

[Shooter6]

They're not clones, the PCBs are different. What they did is copy the aesthetics of the fixture and the layout. Second picture borrowed from a FS post as my XR30 is mounted. They're good fixtures for what they are but they are not using Ecotech PCBs.

I'm not understanding where you see a difference? The first pic the pcb is installed in the fixture, with just the external housing removed, the second and third are the g6 upgrade pcb's right? Taking out the pcb from the a8 and taking one of the g6 upgrade boards out of the box to compare them would be the way to verify. Side by side comparison, with a g5 and a group of us could not see a difference in performance. Color ect.

I can only go by what others have posted here and the reef builders vid on the xr15 clone version.

 

[Shooter6]

Chihiros Nova 1 is a Seminal Entry into Saltwater Aquarium Lighting | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Chihiros Nova 1 is a new LED light from a company which will be unknown to reef aquarium keepers but which has come to mean excellence in another side of the hobby. For several years now Chihiros…

reefbuilders.com

Took a few to find it but this is the xr15 clone. I'll see if I can find the video for it as well