Are Chinese Box LEDs any Good?

[gonioporagirl]

Hey all. I recently acquired a 100 gallon reef tank via craigslist. However, the lighting they have isn't sufficient to grow the corals I have. Since I am on a somewhat low budget, I am trying to stay away from LEDs that cost many hundreds of dollars, so I thought about purchasing Chinese box light LEDs. I eventually want to grow sps coral like acros or montis. Are these lights strong enough to support demanding corals? On Amazon it says that it reaches 858 PAR. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/WillsLed-Aqu...07DFLPJY4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8

 

[Amoo]

A lot of people use them, a lot of people refuse to use them. BRS honestly did one of the better breakdowns I have seen on the pros and cons.

 

[wesman42]

If you are on a segway to a better lighting system (whether soon or in the distant future) black boxes are a great way to ensure that there's enough light but also hold you over until you decide on your long-term lighting solution.

This is what I'm currently doing...I have a ViparSpectra 300W over my 75 gallon. I'll be upgrading to radeons when I save enough up....so if you're going to go for a black box, I'd go for the ViparSpectra because they're digital and have timers etc for each channel.

 

[gonioporagirl]

After watching the BRS video I am pretty sold on them, I am just worried about the risk of fire.

 

[Amoo]

pros and cons, like I said. Only you can decide, but it's at least good to know everything about them. Like I said a lot of members use them successfully, but do be aware that the risk is there.

I have seen stories of people talking about "friends" who have had fires, but I can't recall actually seeing a member post. Probably worth a forum search on your part.

 

[Amoo]

@redfishbluefish Paul, Are you one of our resident China Box users or do I have the wrong red name?

 

[Matthew Frost]

Nothing wrong with BB LED's just understand you're essentially buying a disposable product. They will work, they will grow coral but they are going to be cheaply made, you will have zero customer support and if you do have a fire in your home from a non UL listed product you may have an insurance nightmare on your hands.

 

[cracker]

Iv'e had these lights for some time hey work for corals just fine i my op . I have them over a fish only now, they work great ! Like Amoo said Ya get what Ya pay for. I have not heard of anyone that had a fire. If your bucks are tight great buy . T5's are in between .

 

[dantimdad]

Yank the lenses.

It will even out the color and PAR on them.

I am sure there are many people on here who will attest that they work.

BTW, you can replace the drivers with UL listed ones for about $40 if you want to sink money into it.

Many have done this and changed up a few of the blues to UVs for further improvement.

All in All, they are a good jump point.

But, it is completely unfair to pit them against an $800 light. But, interesting how well they faired given the disparity.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

If you are on a segway to a better lighting system (whether soon or in the distant future) black boxes are a great way to ensure that there's enough light but also hold you over until you decide on your long-term lighting solution.

This is what I'm currently doing...I have a ViparSpectra 300W over my 75 gallon. I'll be upgrading to radeons when I save enough up....so if you're going to go for a black box, I'd go for the ViparSpectra because they're digital and have timers etc for each channel.

They are a great light I have the 165watt version.

 

[Crabs McJones]

They're a great light that can undoubtedly grow coral. Getting them tuned in can prove to be a bit of a challenge without a par meter. @saltyfilmfolks @redfishbluefish @Flippers4pups all use the black boxes or some version of them and all have amazing tanks

 

[redfishbluefish]

@redfishbluefish Paul, Are you one of our resident China Box users or do I have the wrong red name?

Yes, I am a devout Chinese Box user....with great success. I started with T5's overdriven by IceCap ballasts, and the $130 yearly bulb costs, heat and electrical usage started to get to me. So I went LED. I had them when they first were introduced....$300 for a white "box" with uncontrollable blue and white channels...very basic. This was followed by TauTronics, Apollos, Mars Aqua....and now what I'm currently running, SBReef Lights. I've seen tremendous improvement in quality over this roughly 10 years. They are built very well with great aluminum cooling fins, fans, controls, and nice combination of LED colors. I can grow anything!

You can find very nice 55 LED fixtures for roughly 80 - 130 bucks.

Here's what I've got now:

 

[larrysy]

I grew this from the frag on my avatar with the Chinese black box light.

This is what I used - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sto...lgo_pvid=7cf987a5-d9ed-4848-a161-e657ee52c13a

 

[4FordFamily]

I used them on a FOWLR and they were sufficient. I didn’t find a color “temperature” that reduced algae growth but that of course wasn’t the only factor.

 

[Subsea]

Hey all. I recently acquired a 100 gallon reef tank via craigslist. However, the lighting they have isn't sufficient to grow the corals I have. Since I am on a somewhat low budget, I am trying to stay away from LEDs that cost many hundreds of dollars, so I thought about purchasing Chinese box light LEDs. I eventually want to grow sps coral like acros or montis. Are these lights strong enough to support demanding corals? On Amazon it says that it reaches 858 PAR. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/WillsLed-Aqu...07DFLPJY4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8

I looked at the link. For SPS, you would probably need three of these. Start out with two and see what you think.

https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dim...pID=51X60W-FteL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Mars Aqua is well made in USA. I have used them for ten years. There color rendition is a little less than 14K. Both 300W and 165W are good work horses with no frills.

 

[Amoo]

Thanks @Crabs Mcjones I knew Paul and Our Cali hippie we BB users. I didn't know @Flippers4pups was part of the dark side as well.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I bought the ViparSpectra off of Amazon with a 3 year warranty for less than 100 gbp and 1 of the ballast started making a noise, so I emailed them about it after having it for over a year and they said if I was happy to change it then they would send the part. Which they did and when I went inside it was just very dusty, (and well wired considering the price) so a bit of a clean out and all was fine.
Plus I still have the replacement part. Been using it for 21 months with no problems. So if choosing a black box just read lots of reviews about the one you're thinking of getting.

Also keep in mind you will see pros and cons, which even the high end lights also get. You get Kessil,radions, t5 and even old school metal halide etc. It's all down to you and your current budget. But it's a new tank to you and I assume not set up and cycled yet you won't need a light for a bit so you can save up a little more in the mean time.

 

[Beefyreefy]

I use the previously mentioned Viparspectra programmable leds off of Amazon. Excellent lights for the money and the build quality is significantly better than the light used for the BRS video, which I believe was a Marsaqua. They grow coral just as good as my expensive T5’s they replaced. I wholeheartedly recommend them.

 

[zcedric]

Definitely. I could overlight my corals with the black boxes. I run my black boxes not even over 40% and have awesome grow.

 

[naoki]

The description in the Amazon (linked by the OP) can't be possible; the ad says:

"HIGH PAR VALUE - Scientifically engineered to keep the PAR/Lumen Output and Coverage balanced. The PAR Value can reach 858 at 24" height while others just 377."

Or they are trying to be deceptive. They don't specify what unit is used for the Photosynthetic Photon Flux density (PPFD) of Photosynthetic Active radiation (PAR). We usually use micromol/m^2/s for the unit of PPFD. Achieving 858 micromol/m^2/s from 165W (which is probably not the real output) of LED is not simply possible at the current technology (or it is physically impossible).

Photosynthetic Photon efficacy of the current high-end LED fixtures are around 2.5 micomol/J. But those cheap LED fixtures are just slightly better than T5HO, and it is probably close to 1 micromol/J. So even if we assume the highest efficacy, the total Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF) is going to max out at 165 * 2.5 = 412.5 micromol/s. To covert this value into PPFD, it requires the beam angle, but unless it is using an extremely narrow beam angle, it is not possible to achieve the claimed PPFD.

In general, most of Chinese LEDs have low Photosyntetic Photon efficacy, and it becomes more expensive after a couple years (due to higher cost of electricity). Obviously, if efficiency (and cost) doesn't matter, it will give enough light if you use enough of them.