Just orderd the AQUAMANA 156W COB LED

[Jonreefer]

So i thought I would give something new a try and just ordered this for my tank build.
Its like 2 Kessil lights in one unit with the dense LED. its fully dimmable and i am guessing it will give off shimmer like the kessils do.
plus its half the price
Amazon.com: AQUAMANA 156W COB LED Full Spectrum Aquarium Light Panel with Two 78W COB Modules for Coral, Reef & Fish (Full Spectrum): Pet Supplies
I was looking at a radion but I did not want it because its shimmer isnt what i find appealing. thats with most LED out there. Radion, AI and any of the multi LED layouts. its the fast jittery movement and I hate that. I had 2 kessil 15k over my last 30breeder and it was fantastic I just wanted something that i could adjust the color of the light. i didnt want to pay $800 for 2 a350 and i just stumbled on this and well it seems to fit the bill perfect to what i wanted. and if i need more light for my 40B I will just order another and be set for the price of just 1 kessil A150w with goose neck.

 

[SteveySingle]

Checking in on this, how did it turn out? It's been a while now so you should have some long term results by now lol

 

[Softylover]

Jumping on... I was considering same lights

 

[143MPCo]

along for the ride... want to see the end results on this one.

 

[Softylover]

I am getting them and will compare to the d120 full spectrum. I HV 75 and will HV one on each side

 

[Softylover]

Ordered for tue

 

[Softylover]

So the test begins... Give the corals a week to adjust.. Then I will take pictures weekly for several months.. Left side is the aquamana 165w cob led fixture. Right side is the black box 165 watt full spectrum.. Let the test begin... During the next few months I will not be adjusting power or time cycles.. <br /><br /><br /><br />First appearance... Both lights are extremely strong.. At 100% it hurts to look at my tank... <br /><br />Full spectrum d120, (right side) two dimable knobs. One for blue, one for color. Nice for when both lights are running, however, when white are off The blue appears to be over powering.. So far in history had good growth, however spread seams to be an issue, can see were certain colors are in sand bed..<br /><br />Aquamana cob led ,(left side) two dimable knobs, one for white, one for color to include some blues, night time led blues on separate switch... So blues are softer than d120 when main lights are not on. Spread appears to be better, harder to see separate colors, also takes a min to warm up. This fixture also has three fans instead of two.. <br /><br />Both fixture appear to be made very well, both fixtures are "165 watt", at first glance without looking at Tue fixtures, the new fixture puts out light as to appear like two kessil 150. Can't wait for the results.<br/>

 

[Softylover]

Pic

 

[143MPCo]

What type of corals are in that tank?

 

[Softylover]

Mostly softy, few LPs, elegance,

 

[Softylover]

Toadstool. Ricordia, gsp, are on both sides, that way I can gage growth

 

[Vpham]

Have u test for par on that COB fixture? I seen them on ebay for great price, directly factory seller as descript...tempted to buy...

 

[Softylover]

I'm looking into getting a par meter from the local group..

 

[joshbbert]

I run the same fixture I love it everything Is growing and It has great color just no gimmicks but I havent tested par either be awesome to find out. I can tell you for sure tho that this light is pretty strong I never run it over 40%

 

[Defective_Weeble]

Hopping in on this one, as I bought (and then sold) these lights a few months ago. In fact, mine is probably the first review of them on Amazon.

Pros:

- SUPER nice shimmer. Very similar to Kessil. Not surprising with the COB design.
- Quiet, light fixture. Good cooling. Generally well designed.
- Saw significant growth out of all coral types.

Cons:

- The stock reflectors cause color banding. It's an easy fix to remove the reflectors, but it's a stupid oversight and unnecessary.
- The channel setup is white, then blue/red/green. Not ideal, especially for dawn/dusk effects.
- Appears to be missing low (400-420nm) blues so corals don't get the "pop" that we typically see with LED.

Overall - I sold the lights because I was running one over a 40 breeder and went with a 36-inch T5 setup instead. Removing the reflectors narrowed the beam somewhat, but at around 14 inches above the water line I could still get sufficient coverage for a 36 inch tank. It wasn't that I disliked them and, for the price I think they're probably the nicest lights you'll find. My biggest complaint was the lack of a dedicated blues channel. With both channels mixed, I actually greatly prefer the color of these lights to wide-array setups like Evergrow, ReefBreeders, etc. But the wide-array lights have the distinct advantage of the dedicated blue channel.

 

[Softylover]

My d120 is so blue, even turned down its still blue

 

[hart24601]

Nice thing about reefbreeders style lights is you can swap out LEDs if you want. Too white? Swap for violet. Too blue? Put more white in. It's pretty easy with a decent soldering gun.

 

[Vpham]

I'm looking into getting a par meter from the local group..

Please updated once u tested for par, with a bit details would be great, like how high off the water, how deep is ur tank...ect...
Very interested to know....Thank you.

 

[Softylover]

I will give full update, what sparked my interest was the fact no updates on these things..

To be fair, tested perams today, calcium 480, nitrite and nitrate 0, amonia 0, and phosphate .18, so I'm starting the testbin growth out good. I've also dropped both lights to low levels so that I can slowly ramp up the lights at the same time. And reduce pH swings till corals get used tobit

 

[Softylover]

If the local group does not decide on anpar meter soon I may just get aa seneeye to test it out