# LED for dirt prices



## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

hey,

so i was browsing on ebay.ca today and found a bunch of LED lights from Taiwan that are dirt cheap.

this one for example, is 20 white LED of 10,000K for $30... theyll pay for shipping as well.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/LED-CLIP-LIG...809?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca49e6d21

anyone tried anything from taiwan or think this is a good deal?


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

General consensus is; You'll get what you pay for in LEDs.

In a reef tank, lighting is not where you want to cut corners, you'll pay more for it later. Don't be tempted by the cheap asian ebay products, you'll toos them in the garbage by 6 months in, if they last that long. Many will fade in brightness by 50% after only a few months.


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## loonie (Mar 29, 2008)

I check the website, anyone have ordered plants from them, did it get thru without any custom problem, just curious.

Yes I agree with Will but almost everything today is made in china. I took a gamble when I bought my T5 lights from china, its been more then a year, it works fine todate and its worth the price including shipping since locally I will pay double.


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

Will Hayward said:


> General consensus is; You'll get what you pay for in LEDs.
> 
> In a reef tank, lighting is not where you want to cut corners, you'll pay more for it later. Don't be tempted by the cheap asian ebay products, you'll toos them in the garbage by 6 months in, if they last that long. Many will fade in brightness by 50% after only a few months.


I agree too with Will, you get for what you pay but if you decide to buy them let us know how it goes


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

the reason why im considering is because i realise my compact fluorescrnt are almost identical to their design. though designs are imitated easily, my filter n lights r from china with no brand n has been working great thus far. i understand the stigma attached to china products but since china's reform (sorry getting a lil historical), FDI has flooded the south and east with labor-intense and low-value added productions... this being one of them. the technologies are easy to learn and worker standards/skils have gone up. plus, these were probably designs of taiwanese firms who jnvested in china so technically its worth a try. 

n also, i c many DIY LED setups are equipment ppl buy online off from china websites too.

but i definitely know where you're coming from Will and its definitely good advice. so ill take further consideration beforr i jump at it... im not in a rush to setup anyway, just planning in advance n sharing my findings on this forum so others could poteentially benefit.


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## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

i bought 4 MR16 LED from Hong Kong on ebay. they get so hot that glue gun glue would start melting. There would be smoke coming out. 
One time, i kid you not, it burn out right in front of my eyes... there was literally flames INSIDE the bulb. Luckily I was right there, it could have taken out the fish tank.


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

lol holy **** thats pretty bad.

what brand/model was your hong kong lighting?


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## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

i have no idea. sorry. The seller was actually very helpful. it's just that I am not sure anymore about the quality of these "cheap" LED. With light you probably get what you paid for?


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

In the most part i agree with the statement "you get what you pay for".

I was told the same thing when i was buying LEDs.

I bought Reef Brites for my 135, My tank is 100% reef brites and EVERYTHING is growing. 

Ive had them for 4 months or so, And they still look great.


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## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

oh i forgot to mention that I am hanging these led like 2 inches above water due to the design of the tank. So the LEDs not being made for aquariums definately had omething to do with it. The evaporation alone have most likely caused many of my cheap LED to stop functioning


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

oh cuz there r a few ther ones wwith splash protection screens. otherwise i was planning on making an acrylin/plastic cover.

my main concern is whether these lighs will actually grow anything...

what do u think is better...

1.) 21-10,000K
2.) 3-12,000K & 18-8,000K


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

ninjaturtle said:


> oh cuz there r a few ther ones wwith splash protection screens. otherwise i was planning on making an acrylin/plastic cover.
> 
> my main concern is whether these lighs will actually grow anything...
> 
> ...


like this one?

I got it for $20, and I haven't try it out yet, because I don't want to setup a nano tank.

It got 30 tiny little led @ 10,000k.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Saveup and get a PAR30 with wide optics man.


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

Without optics or reflextors, I wouldnt try LEDs


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

No light should be without a quality reflector! You loose huge effectiveness. Like running a light at 60% strength.


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

As ninja requested, showing him how bright the LED is...

the optics are integrated on the splash lense

30 LEDs @ 10,000k (2w) over a 48" x 24" (l x w) tank


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