Apollo fixtures are the same chinese import everyone sells. Theres a version of them out there that have 4 power cords for 4 lighting temps. Thats the best bang for the buck with great options for color. If you really want to spend some cash grab 2 maxspect g2 110's or 160's. I've had leds from jbj, ecoxotic, current, azoo, maxspect, blue moon aquatic knock offs, no ai sols tho. Maxspect was definately my favorite. They have external digital controls, timer, independent lighting, upgradable if you want to add optics. And they look sick to if your not using a canopy.
Sorry to butt in here but misinformation should be corrected. I personally compared two lights that someone claimed were the "same' as Apollo's just this past weekend using an Apogee MQ200. One of the lights had been claimed to be made from CREE the other from Bridgelux. They bought them from a Chinese website. At 24" The PAR was
half of what the Apollo was putting out from the one claiming to be 3W CREE LED and the colors of the so called same light were off causing reds to disappear. His other light claiming to be Bridgeulux 3W was 1/3 the PAR of the Apollo. If they are the same under the hood then there is no way the PAR would be that different.
The meter doesn't lie but the sellers do.
The housings looked similar but what was under the hood is completely different. The supposed CREE LED were not CREE at all. The heat sinks were facing the wrong way not allowing the fans to cool all of the LED strings. Sorry but its not the exterior that makes the light. Just like Cree Royal Blues are not all the same, LED looks exactly the same but depending on what bin the LED is from that Cree Royal Blue may or may not make your corals pop. For Cree bin D316 is the one to request for Royal Blue. Reef LED Lights can offer that one for a DIY kit.
As for Orbitek patent you do realize it was the legal fees that put PFO out of business? I mean if we think for a minute that the Orbitek patent is valid then
anyone who even mounts an LED on a heatsink to be used over an aquarium even as part of a DIY kit is violating their patent. Likewise for any sales of any LED lights in the US for that purpose, doesn't matter where they are made, Orbitek could always have the FTC step in. See info below.
Lastly as for Chinese Imports, I would like to ask you, what in your home is NOT Chinese import? TV? Iphone? Computer? Anything other than your food? The Chinese can also build to contract specifications for companies willing to invest $$. Labor is cheap which is why nearly every manufacturer of electronics and home products, APPLE and many other well known names, have their manufacturing done overseas.
Does that mean Ipod is the same as every other MP4 player because it is made in China as well? Sorry but I had to put my two cents in.
Heres some info from a patent attorney.
Aquarist and Intellectual Patent Attorney, Mike Clifford, sat down again with GBD to go over the basics of Patents and help answer some questions and rumors that have been passing around in regards to the Orbitec v PFO case. For any attorney time is money, and we thank Mike for taking the time to help create a simple, but informative Q&A on patents.
Q: What effect do patents have on DIYers? Do I infringe if I make a patented product at home?
A. This is another area I?ve seen much misinformation. Many comments have been made to the effect that, assuming a Solaris unit infringes the Orbitec patent, you could make a DIY Solaris at home or buy/sell a DIY kit of parts. These assumptions, however, are incorrect.
As for building a patented product yourself, the patent laws prohibit making, using, and selling a patented invention. So if you build a patented LED light in your basement, you infringe because you made the patented invention. In fact, you technically infringe for even using an infringing product that you purchased, regardless of how reputable the company manufacturing or selling the product might be.
Q: So I could be sued for a DIY project or use of a Solaris?
A. Technically yes, but in the real world, it is unlikely. As the damages would likely be very small compared to the cost of bringing the suit, it is not a financially viable lawsuit. (However, please don?t think of this as a license to go building patented products ? in the often analogous realm of copyright law, think about what happened to unsuspecting Napster users who downloaded music and were sued by the RIAA for infringement. There is always an exception?)
In case you missed Part 1 of this Patents 101 series, you can find it here: Patents 101 | Benefits, Faults, & Recourse.
Disclaimer: The following is provided for informational purposes and should not be relied on as legal advice. If you have a patent-related question, you should contact an attorney.
Part 2
Q: I?ve heard you can ?get around? a patent by manufacturing a product abroad and that U.S. patents don?t affect foreign companies, is this true?
A: I?ve seen a lot of misinformation spread on this topic on blogs and message boards, probably more than any other aspect of patent law. As far as U.S. aquarists are concerned, the answer is no, you can?t get around a patent by manufacturing abroad and foreign companies are not immune to U.S. patents. The confusion likely arises, because the general rule is that U.S. patents are only enforceable with U.S. borders. However, because patent laws prohibit the making, using, and selling a patented invention, you could manufacture a product abroad, but as soon as you sell it in the U.S., you are liable for infringement. And while it may be difficult to actually get a foreign corporation into court, there have to be U.S. importers, distributers, retailers, etc., are just as easy to file suit against as any U.S. company. So the practical effect is that if a product is sold in the U.S., and you have a patent covering the product, you can prevent its sale in the U.S., regardless of whether the product is built in China or Hong Kong or made by a Taiwanese company. Thus, the concept that a patent can hurt a U.S. company, while leaving competing foreign companies untouched ? which for some reason seems to have become ?common knowledge? on the forums and blogs ? is simply false.
