Apollo leds vs Evolution leds......................
- Thread starter pmrossetti
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_sludgefactory
Valuable Member
Im sold, now I just need some money.
pmrossetti
Community Member
A little clarification and common sense here please.
I'm evaluating the units, not promoting either one.
Chris, God bless him a great guy, is the advocate, not me. I'm just a hobbyist like you looking at 2 products.
1. Build quality.Corrosion resistant aluminum is better than steel in this application. The better units all use it. Steel (even painted) corrodes in a couple of years. Check for yourselves.
2. Heat mgmnt is critical to led performance. Heat sinks are vital here. ALL first class fixtures have LARGE heatsinks. Some have fans AND heatsinks, but NONE have only fans. The Evo heatsinks are a bare minimum to say the least. Check for youselves
3. Circuit Boards--- the Apollo is designed so that if an led goes out the rest don't. This is an incredibly important feature. You can repair it, if you wish, when you have time, not right away if a whole string goes out.
The 3 watt leds driven at 2.2 watts will last longer than the 2w driven at 2w.
Apollo uses 6500k whites which are more full spectrum than the 14k whites Evo uses.
The 60 degree Apollo optics allow you to hang the light higher if you wish for easier access to your tank and to adjust par where you like it. The Apollo comes with an ADJUSTABLE hanging kit.
4. OTHER--the moonlights are seprately timed. When the dimmable version comes out (a few weeks) it will be APEX friendly.
Evolutions have different sizes which is nice. but you pay more for sizes bigger than the Apollo so maybe multiple Apollos is OK too. Depends on your tank size.
Yes, Apollo is fairly new, but so is Evo (notice Evo switched to Bridgelux too now) and any reviews are short term. 1-2 years will tell.
I'm not telling anyone what to buy, I may even go DIY, I don't know yet.
But remember, I'm just a hobbyist like you trying to find the best for my money.
Pick the one you like, but look deeper, like me.
Thank you Evolution for your sponsorship here.
I hope this thread helps us all. God Bless
Later...................
I'm evaluating the units, not promoting either one.
Chris, God bless him a great guy, is the advocate, not me. I'm just a hobbyist like you looking at 2 products.
1. Build quality.Corrosion resistant aluminum is better than steel in this application. The better units all use it. Steel (even painted) corrodes in a couple of years. Check for yourselves.
2. Heat mgmnt is critical to led performance. Heat sinks are vital here. ALL first class fixtures have LARGE heatsinks. Some have fans AND heatsinks, but NONE have only fans. The Evo heatsinks are a bare minimum to say the least. Check for youselves
3. Circuit Boards--- the Apollo is designed so that if an led goes out the rest don't. This is an incredibly important feature. You can repair it, if you wish, when you have time, not right away if a whole string goes out.
The 3 watt leds driven at 2.2 watts will last longer than the 2w driven at 2w.
Apollo uses 6500k whites which are more full spectrum than the 14k whites Evo uses.
The 60 degree Apollo optics allow you to hang the light higher if you wish for easier access to your tank and to adjust par where you like it. The Apollo comes with an ADJUSTABLE hanging kit.
4. OTHER--the moonlights are seprately timed. When the dimmable version comes out (a few weeks) it will be APEX friendly.
Evolutions have different sizes which is nice. but you pay more for sizes bigger than the Apollo so maybe multiple Apollos is OK too. Depends on your tank size.
Yes, Apollo is fairly new, but so is Evo (notice Evo switched to Bridgelux too now) and any reviews are short term. 1-2 years will tell.
I'm not telling anyone what to buy, I may even go DIY, I don't know yet.
But remember, I'm just a hobbyist like you trying to find the best for my money.
Pick the one you like, but look deeper, like me.
Thank you Evolution for your sponsorship here.
I hope this thread helps us all. God Bless
Later...................
Last edited:
Bigdaddy
Active Member
I just have one question what the heck is Corrosion resistant aluminum sounds like painted aluminum to me steel and aluminum will both get corrosion i think if it was stainless steel then i would consider this as a factor in buying a light
_sludgefactory
Valuable Member
Id still rather part a little more for a light that's intense enough for my tank then have to pay double for more than I need.
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
nixer
Valuable Member
corrosion resistant aluminum would be anodized not painted.
stainless steel although having high corrosion resistance does in fact still corrode. also there are many different grades of stainless stell and im sure its not going to the the most corrosion resistant one
In response to your post points:
1. Two years running evos on my tank, not a spot of rust, so I don't know where this is coming from
2.I've opened up my evo cases and I've hit em with a laser temp on em after running for 12 hours straight, never had a hot spot and never seen the temp go over 78 degrees, the original fans on the very first gen lights were loud, but Chris himself offered to replace them with a quieter fan, but the noise isnt even noticeable for me on those, and I can't hear them run on the new ones
3. Show me one study where it says a 2 watt led will burn out faster being run at 2 watts then a 3 watt being run at 2 watts.....haven't had any lights go out either, and that's at 8000+ hours
Optics do allow u to hang ur light higher if u want....but the more angle in the optics means less spread out of the fixture, and I haven't seen the Apollo lights, but if the optics change the spread to where 2 equals one evo I don't see how having to buy two units to do what 1 can do as beneficial
Just my opinion, yes I am a little biased with Chris's lights, I know him and I know what kind of business he is running, and have seen his lights evolve from the first model to what they are now, I for one can't wait to see what he does next
reefkoi
Valuable Member
I cant really reply anymore to you, I can see it would never end, not sure if you own Apollo or what, but you definately are motivated beyond normal arguement 
BTW I've used Bridgelux since day one.
Our leds like most all of them out there still all work if one goes out, thats nothing newsworthy.
I'm glad Apollos are so superior to Evo's, I guess I'll just quit now because no matter what I do I'd never be able to create an amazing led like the Apollo.
God bless You and The entire country of North America Mr Rosetti
BTW I've used Bridgelux since day one.
Our leds like most all of them out there still all work if one goes out, thats nothing newsworthy.
I'm glad Apollos are so superior to Evo's, I guess I'll just quit now because no matter what I do I'd never be able to create an amazing led like the Apollo.
God bless You and The entire country of North America Mr Rosetti
macawmagic
Valuable Member
as for one led burning out and the rest still running. it would only depend on whether they were wired in series or parallel. nothing fancy about it other that a different type of wiring.
but on a side note...I don't know what grudge you have against the EVO or if you are paid on commission from Apollo. Not saying neither is good or bad, but seriously man?
but on a side note...I don't know what grudge you have against the EVO or if you are paid on commission from Apollo. Not saying neither is good or bad, but seriously man?
_sludgefactory
Valuable Member
I'm still buying an evo. I can't wait! You think I would be ok with the
150 on my 54 corner? Remember I want to be able to dial the blue back a bit.
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150 on my 54 corner? Remember I want to be able to dial the blue back a bit.
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk
M&M
Active Member
Not taking any sides here,I bought Apollo fixtures and very happy with them.I think both Evo and Apollo are very similar with minor differences.Price wise about the same as well. Two 120W Apollo over my 120 gal. 24" deep tank hanging about 12" above water level,no problem growing any SPS all the way on bottom.
sreefer
unregistered
I'm not siding anyone here and have no plans of upgrading to LED soon because I am very happy with my ATI PM. Lets be honest here the apollo does have all the advantages I think except for the price base on the new one coming in 3-4 weeks. Just my 2 cents.
reefkoi
Valuable Member
yeah a 150w evo dimmable should be great for that 54g
they are $399 and can be found here: Evo150 Dimmable LED Fixture : REEFKOI CORALS, SPS, LPS, Zoanthids
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