Wellpar (black box) LED lights - a study in real life

[lysaer]

Ok, so. In the interest of SCIENCE! and my own budget, I purchased 2 of the Wellpar "brand" (I use that word very loosely here) LED lights from Ebay.

I went ahead and made the purchase based on the numerous reports of them working out for the budget minded that I found online.

They arrived pretty well packed, a good dense foam surrounding each light in its own individual box, the two boxes then tightly packed into another box. I fired them up to make sure both channels on each light worked, and they do. I do have one dislike to report already. I chose these particular lights based on the promise of 4 UV leds in the full spectrum channel, but they're just blue led's. I can't complain too much, because in the listing it says "UV (420nm)" and 420nm is not UV. It's about as close to UV as you can get with an inexpensive LED, though.

These lights come with a basic dimmer switch, so you can't get super schedul-y and program-y with them, but I do have two multi-event timers (the coralife reef timers) that I'm going to use to run them, with each FS channel on one "day" timer, the blues on the other "day" timer. I've added pictures and will describe them below.

Second Dislike: The right-angle plugs both plug in the same direction, this could cause wiring issues. I may end up ordering new, longer power cables for them anyway. My stand is 3 feet tall, with a center divider, and my timers will be in the stand. With the lights hung 12" above the tank, any kind of cable management I do to minimize wire impact means the plugs won't reach the timers in the stand. If you have a canopy over your tank this won't be an issue for you, I'd imagine.

Coming up next: The installation and tank shots. They come with cables to hang them with, that connect to the four gold studs you see on the top of the lights, and the cables all meet on a carabiner to hook into whatever you're using to hang them. I'm still debating the best option for hanging them...either shelf brackets on the wall, or hang them from the ceiling over the tank...either way, there's a trip to Lowe's in the works for me tomorrow and then I'll get them installed in over the tank and we'll see how they work.

First image: Full power to the full spectrum channel - doesn't translate from my phone camera very well but those suckers are *bright*. I used to be a DJ and I didn't have stage lights that bright.
Second: Full spectrum at minimum power. Still bright enough to hurt my eyes while I take the pic.
Third: Blues at minimum power.
Fourth: both channels at 25% power.
Fifth: Top of unit - 4 mounting posts, 2 fans, 2 dimmer controls, 2 plugs.
Last image: Bottom of unit with lights off.

 

[lysaer]

After breaking out the stud finder on the wall where the tank is, I think I'm going to go with a drop from the ceiling. The studs do not line up properly to use shelf brackets, unless I use curtain rod brackets and that'll just look weird. Now I have to decide if I'm going to use cable or deco chain, and that's going to be a "price at the store" time decision.

 

[lysaer]

Ok! Installation attempt one: Semi-successful. I opted to go with screw-in hooks in the ceiling over the tank, which was fun lining up because that's where the stairs to the second floor go, so the left light is a couple inches too far out. The other one is a bit too much to the left, but both are up. I used a 20lb test decorative chain to hang down to the carbiner with the cables.

And even before I plugged the power cables in, the problem with the single-cable hang became evident. They twist and won't line up correctly over the tank. Some fiddling with the placement of the 4 wires to the lights, and I ended up putting another screwhook in the wall behind the tank and a short bit of chain to the carabiner to pull the light back more centered over the tank and keep it from twisting as much. Adding the power cables, though, pulls them crooked thanks to where I have to have the plugs. So this method of installing the lights is pretty much a wash. Thankfully I got the decorative chain on clearance at Lowes, so I'm not out much money.

This method with some duct tape to hold things in place better will work for the short term, but I think long term solution is to go with the shelf/rod hanger bracket and put a decorative rod across over the tank. I'll pull the carabiner off the cables and slip them over the rod, so that there are two points of installation for each light (left and right) instead of one. I ended up doing this at like midnight, so no pictures just yet. I'll get some tomorrow when I figure out how to tape everything into place for proper positioning and when the timers kick the lights on.

 

[lysaer]

Well, here we go, lights hung up and mostly aligned. Placement might actually work out with that shadowed back right corner for some less light-demanding future inhabitants. Anyway. This is the blue channel running at 50% power.

Note to self: Get a second heater.

 

[SPSREEFS]

lysaer,
Nice job! They look shockingly similar to the reef breeders basic led lights. I have had the reef breeders over my tank for close to 18 months and love them. They grow SPS corals superbly, due to their heavy violet spectrum.
Yours look to have even more violet leds in them. Not sure the brand leds they are, but for the price looks like a great deal!!

 

[SPSREEFS]

I love these Chinese names...............................Well-PAR They must have well enough par for corals......lol

 

[lysaer]

The LEDs are Epistar. To be honest, there are supposed to be 4 different spectrums of blue in these lights and I can't see a difference. But, the blues definitely make some of the colors in the corals pop.

 

[SPSREEFS]

I bet they really do! Its the violet in the "PUR" range that really excites the zoo's in the coral tissue. That was the main reason why I went with the reefbreeders. Did yours come with a spectral output at all?

 

[lysaer]

Channel 1: 27 total - 20 Blue 460nm, 7 Royal Blue 450nm
Channel 2: 28 total - 8 Cool white 12k, 6 Neutral White 6.5k, 6 Warm White 3.5k, 2 Deep red 660nm, 2 Green 520nm, 4 UV 420nm

 

[lysaer]

Channel 2 (full spectrum) up and running at 25% (to acclimate things). To be totally honest, at 25% it's almost as bright as my compact flourescents were.

 

[SPSREEFS]

lysaer,
ohh nice! Yes, be careful. They are very deceiving and you can fry everything in the tank. Mine only run at 45% and 45% for 4 hours at peak. And I have all SPS corals. That's with the fixture 14 inches off the water surface. And...... with 1/2 acrylic covers on the tank top! They are really powerful!

 

[Harold Green]

I have similar lights over my 210 and I was fortunate to have some old track lights. The track was aluminum so I painted it black and screwed it to the ceiling and then dropped black jack chain down to the lights allowing me adjustments. If you need to add more cable length to reach into the stand get two short extension cords and plug both blue feeds into one and both white feeds into the other, then you only have one cord to plug into each timer. I ended up with quite a few lights and had to use two plug strips so I could get them all plugged in to the timers. Your tanks looking good so far but I would suggest if your circulating pumps only push water you get some type of wave maker or pump controller to get a wave action. You'll see the difference in the corals over time.

 

[lysaer]

I have similar lights over my 210 and I was fortunate to have some old track lights. The track was aluminum so I painted it black and screwed it to the ceiling and then dropped black jack chain down to the lights allowing me adjustments. If you need to add more cable length to reach into the stand get two short extension cords and plug both blue feeds into one and both white feeds into the other, then you only have one cord to plug into each timer. I ended up with quite a few lights and had to use two plug strips so I could get them all plugged in to the timers. Your tanks looking good so far but I would suggest if your circulating pumps only push water you get some type of wave maker or pump controller to get a wave action. You'll see the difference in the corals over time.

That's what's hanging on the wall over the tank. Hydor wavemaker controller. It's controlling 2 of the 3 powerheads.

 

[lysaer]

Also, thanks mod for the move. I realized *right* after I created this thread I put it in the wrong place.

 

[KDawg0623]

Very interesting thread! I am currently trying to learn more about lighting for a tank I am working. I like the idea of LEDs but afraid they might not have enough power.. Apparently not in this case lol

 

[lysaer]

SO not a problem with these!!!! They are *super* bright even at half power.

 

[lysaer]

A few days in with these lights and I've been very carefully bumping the dimmers up a little over the days. Blues are currently running about 60% and full spectrum at 40%. Noticeably brighter than my CF lights were, and I think I'm going to leave them where they're set for a while. It'll be really nice once I can afford a controller (or optionally, a smart power strip) that can power them up for a full sunrise-to-sunset cycle.