Review of Chinese made LED Panels on eBay

[drhyne]

I purchased 3 12x12 50w LED panels off eBay for $279. I decided to just take a chance. My halide and CF fixture was in need of new bulbs. Also, I had never had much luck with SPS corals like Acropora.

The fixture is very cheaply made. Basically it is a PC board with a ton of LED float soldered to it. There is a cheezy plastic reflector under the LEDs. I am not sure how effective this is. All this is housed in a thin plastic frame with hardboard as the backer. The PC board measures EXACTLY 12 inches but the frame adds 1/4 inch to that. This caused me a problem. I needed to cover a tank that measures exactly 36 inches to the outside of the frame. I ended up removing the boards and attaching them to a plastic and aluminum rail that lays directly on top of the tank.

My first impression was that these were EXTREMELY bright when I tested them in the garage. After placing the fixture over the tank I was less than impressed with the light output. VISIBLY they were not even close to my old fixture. Also, the beam is very direct. Areas not directly under the fixture seem to be in the shade. They talk alot about temperature of the lamps and PAR rating - Blah, Blah, Blah. I wasn't convinced.

Now here is where it gets really weird! My corals now tell the true story. I have a hand full of frags that had't done hardly anything. Some I assumed were dead. Those corals are thriving. The "dead" corals are actually coming back to life. I have NEVER seen the amount of growth I an now seeing in the tank. Even little things like Yellow Polyps in the very bottom of the tank are getting tall and fuzzy. I am SHOCKED!

In conclusion, I am very impressed with the LEDs and my growth. I am not impressed with the quality or the visible light output. I am considering getting a single 55W 6500K CF bulb to help with that problem.

 

[Anonymous]

Pics?
Link for ebay?

It is true that LEDs do not appear as bright to the eye, but the PAR per watt is far better.

 

[drhyne]

This is the eBay store. I got the white-blue panel

http://stores.ebay.com/Mix-Wholesale

 

[Anonymous]

Pics?
Link for ebay?

It is true that LEDs do not appear as bright to the eye, but the PAR per watt is far better.

They "spill" less light as well, which fools your eye into thinking they are less bright.

 

[Anonymous]

True Gresham. The lights is not dispersed at 180 degrees, without optics 120 degrees, and 40, 60, 80 degrees with optics.



As for that panel I believe that it is imported by LED wholesalers, who stated to me a year or two ago that they do not last long, use cheap LEDs, and do not give off enough light for corals(not high power LEDs). By using low watt LEDs without optics that are not high power LEDs you will not be able to support corals.

 

[drhyne]

Zen Lux or something is the manufacturer. These LEDs are not the typical low power ones you see on the 15w panels. They are they size of my thumb nail. As for supportinng corals, they work better than my old fixture with 2 - 200W halides and 2 - 55w CF's.

One more note. I disconnected my chiller and actually had to buy a heater. My tank stays at a constant 76.

D_.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem is that the PAR of those LEDs will severely decrease in a short time. I am glad they are working for you, but I do not believe they will be able to provide the necessary strength as time goes on. Those LEDs usually only have a 20,000-30,000 hour life span as opposed to better LEDs that last 50,000-100,000 hours. JMO

 

[drhyne]

Hey, wadda ya want for under $100

 

[Anonymous]

I'm intrigued by these and would be willing to give them a try like you have. Any photos of the tank? Can you give me an idea of the color temp produced by this combination?

 

[drhyne]

Nothing good. My camera has no manual focus so everything I try to take is just my own reflection in the glass. The color is equivalent to only using actinic bulbs. Very blue but the colors on the corals look like a black light. They plenty of options for light combinations. You might want to consider an all white panel for shallow areas

 

[drhyne]

Update: Problems!

With the warmer temperatures my hood temps increased to over 100 degrees. This caused the regulators in the panel to put out too much voltage. It caused a handful of the LEDs to burn and go out. The eBay vendor was nice enough to replace the burned out panel. Within 2 weeks the other 2 blew. They were unwilling to do anything even after I explained the cause of the problem. I was able to use the good LED's to replace the bad ones but the panels have been severly damaged. I would say that half the LEDs in the panels are putting out only a fraction of the light that the undamaged ones are.

Bottom line is that they could have eliminated this problem with a 50 cent heat sink!