Be warned! Ecotech

[dedragon]

was a legitimate question, I've only used LED's since getting into the hobby lol seems like a long time to go without changing bulbs though, I had always heard (from the freshwater side anyway) that T5's lose their intensity steadily over time. Didn't think that the timeframe was measured in years though!

Sorry forgot the I, "i change bulbs every year to year and a half" lol, didnt mean it to come off harsh.
I think BRS had a video about t5 degradation at some point as well

 

[MartinM]

I meant to point out that the 50,000 hours that LEDs are often purporting to last is a misnomer, because even though the day is made, the electronics required to drive them almost never does. I use metal halide, LEDs, and T5sso I have a foot in every camp!

 

[outhouse]

I meant to point out that the 50,000 hours that LEDs are often purporting to last is a misnomer,

I would argue that all day long. How many people run leds now a days? a lot. How many are complaining of failure? not many and Its very rare, and the first thing they do is get online in these forums and complain. I think im 25,000 hours on my leds and no hint of degradation yet. I think the 50- to 100k is more accurate for longevity. Thats roughly a decade out of a set of leds.

 

[ArnoldosAquariums]

So I'm pretty bummed with Ecotech right now. I've got multiple lights from them, vortechs, vectra, reef link. Basically the whole lineup.

Well one of my lights a Gen 3 XR15 pro on my frag tank started flickering. I sent it in for repairs and they no longer repair those lights and my only option is to upgrade to the new G5...

It's pretty irritating that we spend a lot of money on these products that are supposed to last and now that it has an issue they won't fix it. they did give me a discount on the new light but its still annoying.

So not sure what they will fix anymore as my other lights are Gen 2 XR 30's.
Hopefully they last...

By any chance are they based out of California? In certain states, California for example, any company must support a product for at least seven years. Not necessarily warranty, but they must have parts available even for post warranty repairs.

 

[outhouse]

the electronics required to drive them

Im over 100k hours on my hamilton drivers and icecaps which still work 100% thats two decades

 

[Reef.]

Time flies, if you think it was maybe 4 years, it could be nearer 5 or 6...how much would a gen 3 go for today? Time you send it away and pay for the repair, I wouldn't think it would make financial sense?

What discount did they offer you? If reasonable I would take them up on it.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

The elephant in the room is the sales job we as aquarium owners do on ourselves when deciding to go the LED route. We convince ourselves that the lack of bulb changes and power savings will offset the much higher cost of the fixtures themselves, when in fact they will not, based on the cost and actual fixture life span. Not to mention the unrealistic coverage claims once your colonies grow which again requires many more fixtures than the manufacturers lead you to believe. If the average person trying to convince themselves that paying $xxxx to go all LED over their tanks were told they are going to need to do it again in 2-5 years, most people would balk.

I recently purchased a horticulture LED fixture, and I feel pretty confident that reef aquarists are getting hosed by LED manufacturers. For horticulture LEDs they don't spec coverage in inches, but in feet, and the PAR levels that they target are way, way higher than reef LEDs.

This coming from someone who uses LED. In fact, I just emailed inquiring when I can expect my 5 Straton's are shipping, lol. These new fixtures are going to be such a game changer ....

Dennis