Aquatic Life LED reviews?

[11f150]

I'm trying to figure out why this light has nothing to be found on the forums, from what Ive seen anyway. American made Cree led light that looks nice and fully controllable. What are your thoughts?

Aquatic Life

AquaticLife 3.0W LED Marine Light Fixture | thatpetplace.com




You can get the 14" model for under $400 at some places now. Not much more than a Chinese fixture.

 

[11f150]

Heres a article on it. Let me know what you guys think.

http://www.chromisreef.com/2012/11/aquaticlife-impresses-reefers-with-new.html?m=1

 

[Ron Reefman]

It looks like it might be a nice high end fixture. But $523 for just 24 3 watt leds is a bit pricey to me. Sure, they are Cree leds, not that that is really a big deal (to me). I didn't read all the fine print, but it didn't say it's made in the USA, it implied that idea when they stated,"AquaticLife Expert Series High Output LED Marine Light Fixture features 24 American-made red, white and blue Cree 3.0W LED’s..." So I'm guessing still made in China or some other low cost manufacturing country, and there is nothing wrong with that. It's the fact that they imply that the fixture is made in the US that does bother me a little bit. It's just marketing and I worked in marketing for 20+ years, so I know they lead with the "American made..." and people read it as the fixture is American made. It's not what they say, but it's what a lot of people will read. That just seems like a bit of slimy double talk for a company that is trying to sell a high end fixture. It makes my radar go off and say 'Be careful here. All may not be as it appears'.

These may be very nice fixtures and I don't mean to knock them... except maybe on the price. I'm also a bit suspect that their specifications only tell me red, white and blue leds. And a bit curious that they say red, white and blue, sounding so patriotic, rather than blue, white and red, in order of most to least leds (is this another marketing hook?). And they don't tell you which Cree leds (all Cree leds are not the same) or the specific wavelength either. Are the 14 blue leds all one wavelength? I'd much rather have a mix of 400-420nm, 440nm, 460nm and 480nm.

But then I'm happy with my Chinese made EverGrow fixtures with a basic built-in controller and 99 Bridgelux 3 watt leds for just $350 in a group buy vs 24 leds for $523 and covers twice the square footage. I have 3 EverGrow fixtures over 2 tanks that have been growing corals like crazy for over a year now without a single issue. To do the same 2 tanks with these fixtures would have cost me almost $2100 vs the $900 I spent on EverGrow fixtures. I don't see the extra value I expect for the extra cost. Just my 2 cents.

 

[11f150]

Thanks for the reply Ron. Heres a pic I found that someone was selling one of these units. I tried to crop the pic but right on the light it says "made in usa". I know the newer Chinese fixtures are pretty nice with a lot of features. But I would pay a little more for a higher quality product that is made in the usa. That link I have says $523 but Ive seen them for sale under $400 on retail online stores. At under $400, I think it should be pretty popular. Now with the color of the LEDs, Im going to say..I don't know. I don't know if these are a good combo for growth and color. That's the main concern I have with the light.

 

[11f150]

I would love for more people to chime in on this if they know or seen this light before. Im considering it but want some type of user feedback on it.

 

[Ron Reefman]

At $400 it's not so bad. If it's really made in the USA, that's cool to.

But if it's just 3 colors of led, one shade of blue, one shade of red and one shade of white... I wouldn't touch it. You still do better with Chinese. Just because they are Cree leds, three colors is just not near enough to be a quality fixture. Three colors is what I'd expect in a $100 Chinese fixture. An EverGrow U120 has 7 colors and costs $142. The IT2040 has 7 colors and a controller and costs $258 on sale.

 

[TJ's Reef]

Hey Matt, sorry so late to the game.... I concur with Ron's posts above as there are several other lower priced, higher powered full spectrum units of known colors available. Some of them from our Sponsors here on R2R even........... sent you a pm

Cheers, Todd