# OMG, best news EVER on (cheap) LED lighting



## Bayinaung

Guys,

I found this thread on CHEAP LED lighting - it's running close to a year now. These guys have bought LED flood lights from ebay and are having great success. They have had success with fresh water tanks too. The kicker - they are 4-10x cheaper than the current alternatives out there.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/cheap-led-solution-186459.html

I found one ebay seller with perfect record who sells these lights specified by kelvins and spectrum.

http://myworld.ebay.ca/e-global1996

I'm going to re-read the thread and figure out what option is best for the 10G nano I just got.


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## jkoot

Read through the entire thread (....all 45 pages....) and it seems to me that these are not a solution and several who have purchased were not happy with colour, output and failure rate on drivers. Several times it was mentioned that they were not worth the money and users ended up getting a different LED solution or were told in the thread to get something other than these LED floodlights....

Maybe good for fresh or FOWLR setups but not Reefs.

FYI

>jason


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## Bayinaung

Yup. I read through it twice, and I'm following it. Still waiting for a response from the original poster, though I suspect his tank isn't going well. Looking at his tank I just didn't get the vibe that it's the work of someone who has been keeping salt water tanks for years.

I did get the same impression from the posts that things weren't going well for those who put these lights on reefs. I would still like to see them do a reading of these flood lights with a par meter. The reason is, people may not be buying enough of these floods to actually light a reef. a 20 watt LED light is NOT going to be enough for a 75 gallon reef tank, regardless of whether its a flood light or a purpose-made reef light. 

The thing I like about flood lights is that they are made to withstand abuse, unlike the purrty but delicate and expensive aquarium LED lights.


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## wildexpressions

lol, pretty funny.

so I own 11 of these lights and have run them over aquariums since I first ordered one to test some ~3 years ago. Back then they were almost all 6500k and warmer but a little over 2 years ago 10,000k starting showing up and I ordered a couple.

What can I tell you about them... well I've never had one stop working. They cost me $30 + shipping for the first one but now they can be had for $15 with free shipping. The housing is cast aluminum and build like a tank. The screws are supposed to be stainless, they are not. 

Aquarium use? Well the color spectrum is what they claim and they work as well as any LED tuned to a specific single light spectrum which is to say mediocre. I just setup a new coral grow out system and used them but they are just one of the lights I used. It is 3 10 watt 10,000K LED floods, 4 x 4 ft T8 @ 6500k and 2 x 4 ft T5 @ actinic over an 8 ft length. 

I have two out side lighting up my shop sign and they work great. I plan on order another dozen or so and using them as floodlights around the outside of the house. 

I haven't read the thread you linked to but I will do so as I am curious.


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## fesso clown

Bayinaung said:


> The thing I like about flood lights is that they are made to withstand abuse, unlike the purrty but delicate and expensive aquarium LED lights.


Why would you abuse your LEDs? 

Actually the more expensive delicate LOOKING units are built like tanks apposed to the cheap built units that ARE delicate.

If you're looking to save some cash there are some options out there. Personally I would look for a used brand-name unit but here's a thread you should check out:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2211981&highlight=chinese+leds


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## fesso clown

OOOPS, that thread I linked to is the wrong one, here is the (very long) RC thread on cheap(er) led units from China. There is a lot of very valuable info in the thread and is well worth a read.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2211981&highlight=chinese+leds&page=102


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## Bayinaung

OMG! its 100 pages long! LMAO

Hey who wouldn't want to save $$$ especially at these prices. glancing at it, it's similar to the other thread from the same site - which is also over 100 pages long LOL. Nevertheless this is good info. I will read through it in time.


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## arc

May not be the best option, even the person in Toronto who bought these is struggling to keep plants alive with two of these. Maybe some other factors though.

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41361

The problem I see is that these are designed to withstand the outdoors, so the 5mm glass cover and the 100degree spread may be reducing the usable light even if they still seem bright. Take a look at par 30/38 led bulb as they look better, cheaper and have spread/less heat

Par 30

Par 38

If you want to go highend, these are much better than get 6 flood lights


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## Fishyfishyfishy

arc said:


> May not be the best option, even the person in Toronto who bought these is struggling to keep plants alive with two of these. Maybe some other factors though.
> 
> http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41361
> 
> The problem I see is that these are designed to withstand the outdoors, so the 5mm glass cover and the 100degree spread may be reducing the usable light even if they still seem bright. Take a look at par 30/38 led bulb as they look better, cheaper and have spread/less heat
> 
> Par 30
> 
> Par 38
> 
> If you want to go highend, these are much better than get 6 flood lights


The "highend" link that you shared looks promising! 2x120w lights for $245 is great! Other sites just give 1 light for about $180!


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## Bayinaung

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> The "highend" link that you shared looks promising! 2x120w lights for $245 is great! Other sites just give 1 light for about $180!


Hey fishyfishy, may I suggest this seller on ebay (search for it on aliexpress too) - their diodes have proper housing on them, as per photos on the post:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/165W-LED-AQ...817?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aef945ab9


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## arc

Damn, the sale ended. The Highend one I had listed had a 50-60% off so it was at $125 when I looked. Either site is fine, I just find that the Aliexpress has sales more often.


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