Controlling a 165w GalaxyHydro LED light (Chinese Black Box)..??

[BeastMode335i]

So I just sold my 6x54w TekLight in hopes of adding a canopy and some LED's to my 55g, but since I sold my light this morning I need lights ASAP and I'm going to be using Amazon Prime to get expedited shipping so they'll be here by Wednesday.. My LED budget is about $250 and I figured I can get two of these GalaxyHydro's for that price, but I noticed they are just the basic ones with no WiFi control or anything like that.. Just seeing what those of you out there with Chinese Black Boxes use to control yours? There's a YouTube video of SB Reef incorporating an Apex into their CBB for ramping and what not, but that's the only thing I found anywhere.. I didn't plan on selling my light before I had new ones purchased but the guy needed it before this afternoon because he doesn't live around here and was just in the area, and he was willing to give me $200 so I made out pretty good.. Anywho, I'm placing my order here shortly so hopefully I get some feedback before then, thanks guys'..!

PS - Basically just want to know what those of you with CBB's use to control it, and if any of you have modded or DIY to make yours better and more user friendly than how it originally came..

Regards,
Shane

 

[millertyler22]

I just set mine to 75% blue 60% white and put them on a timer works well for my my blues come on at 9am and turn off at 10pm

Whites come on at 10am go off at 8pm

 

[BeastMode335i]

I just set mine to 75% blue 60% white and put them on a timer works well for my my blues come on at 9am and turn off at 10pm

Whites come on at 10am go off at 8pm

I had my TekLights on two timers as well, so I had 2 actinics come on at 12pm and the other 4 bulbs come on at 2pm, I suppose I could just do the same for the LED's.. I was just wondering if I was shorting myself by not getting the WiFi version for $50 more per unit lol..

 

[millertyler22]

I'm not sure because I have the bone wifi lol

 

[millertyler22]

*non

 

[BeastMode335i]

Yeah I ordered the GalaxyHydro 165w off Amazon, same thing, non wifi but got great reviews..

 

[dbrewsky]

yeah stick with the timers no sense spending extra money for advanced control on them.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I bought the 165w galaxyhydro doppelganger off Ebay for $130 with the wifi controlled AqDim3 app. I have the more common one without the wifi, as well. I will say I like the wifi version better.

The wifi version gives you control of 24 individual settings. Not only can you control the white and blue but also the three royal blues which i really like utilizing. I think that by having this advantage i can better mimic sunrise and sunset without shocking any new or existing corals. However, the major con in with the wifi app is you have to disconnect from your normal wifi and connect directly to the controller. Meaning, there isn't any quick light fixes. You'd have to go thru the 1 minute connect process. For $130, thats not a big deal.

 

[BeastMode335i]

I ended up getting the no wifi versions, and they are making all of my livestock very happy so far so I have no complaints..

 

[Roberto Toala]

Hey buddy i just signed to the forum, i have these lights with wifi and had them for some time now. The downside of the is that they go off programing constantly, i am pending on getting an Apex, and will be looking into controlling the lights with it, the wifi is an digital signal, but the manual side uses an analog V10 signal.

 

[reeferfoxx]

The downside of the is that they go off programing constantly,

Before logging into the LED light. While the light is on, press and hold the reset button for about 5 seconds. Wait about 2 minutes for the WIFI transmitter to initiate. Then log into the LED and re-upload your light schedule. Also make sure the #24 slot reads 0 0 0(zeros). Seems like my light acts up when I make frequent adjustments and uploads.

As far as getting those on APEX, you have to make some adjustments.

 

[Roberto Toala]

Thank you very much for that, i will look into the setup on the Aqdim3 app, i saw that video my only concern was the whole digital and analog driver, but i reached out to the manufacturer and they use both, the wifi portion is digital, but the knobs use 10v analog which should work perfect for the Apex mod. I will add a video and pics of my work on that.

Overall those lights are great, my few corals are very happy, my torches and bubbles open up amazing. Im gonna add some sponges and see how they do.

Again thank you!!!!

 

[Psiber_Syn]

I have 3 galaxy hydro Wi-Fi over my 125 no problems at all Sept 1 has a semi loud fan almost drowns out my wave maker pulses lol

 

[Waterjockey]

I have the MarsAqua Chinese black boxes on my apex. Was a pretty simple mod to do with the 0-10v. The hardest part was finding the right pairs of wires in the Ethernet cable I had laying around. If you decide to go that route, I can take a couple of pics and describe the mod if you want.
I had bought a pwm aquarium led module from Steve's leds but turned out it wasn't needed for the cbb I have

 

[Roberto Toala]

I have the MarsAqua Chinese black boxes on my apex. Was a pretty simple mod to do with the 0-10v. The hardest part was finding the right pairs of wires in the Ethernet cable I had laying around. If you decide to go that route, I can take a couple of pics and describe the mod if you want.
I had bought a pwm aquarium led module from Steve's leds but turned out it wasn't needed for the cbb I have

Hey buddy can you send me the Pics you have and your setup, I opened mines up and its extremely confusing and nothing is labeled.

 

[Roberto Toala]

I have the MarsAqua Chinese black boxes on my apex. Was a pretty simple mod to do with the 0-10v. The hardest part was finding the right pairs of wires in the Ethernet cable I had laying around. If you decide to go that route, I can take a couple of pics and describe the mod if you want.
I had bought a pwm aquarium led module from Steve's leds but turned out it wasn't needed for the cbb I have

Also my drivers says they are Digital and Analog, I will post some Pics tonigh,

 

[Waterjockey]

Also my drivers says they are Digital and Analog, I will post some Pics tonigh,

I've had new, hopefully much quieter fans sitting on the shelf for a couple of weeks, never got around to putting them in yet. I'll put the fans in tomorrow and take pics of the mod for the apex, while I have the box open and post them here with a brief description.

 

[Waterjockey]

Forgot tonite was game 7 Will do tomorrow nite