pdnyc69

acan and zoa master
Location
yonkers ny
Rating - 100%
55   0   0
felix i think that you have taken what aznt1217 said the wrong way. everyone is a little bit leary of laying out a lot of money on something that is to good to be true on something that came from overseas with a long wait period. the only reason that i didnt buy is the same as him. 0 feedback and 0 donations. i didnt know if you could be trusted.
 

aznt1217

Forever Noob
Location
Bayside
Rating - 100%
191   0   0
Now lets not make a good thing sour. First and foremost we are here to help fellow reefers. Thats the whole idea behind supporting LED technology, saving money from power consumption and bulb replacements. What Rafal said is true about the Master Slave units coming in 2010. We are working on a method of making true modular units. At the same time, pricing deals will be put in place for purchasing multiple units. We want these units to be competitive in the market and ultimately affordable.

What some people don't realize is that 24 months pass by very quickly. Thats the amount of time we estimate the cost difference between these lights and MH or premium T5 fixtures would take to recoup. After 2 years, your really saving a lot of money and the cost of the fixture has paid for itself.

We are also working on a Pre-Launch sale to offer everyone, waiting for approval from the manufacturer. It won't be as astronomical as the groupbuy price, but MR members will be able to save a good amount. Stay tuned for the post in the Marketplace.

Hey Felix,

Hope you didn't take anything to offense. Only things I like sour are the kids (the candy--corny joke). Believe me, I am already "staying tuned" for your release of the units now that we know it's the real deal.

I already do think the units were affordable/competitive relative to the technology and what's currently in the market. Also I concur with the fact that LED's are the best for the environment and our wallet. Not arguing with any of that. I appreciate the fact that you are working with this company because I am sure they make a fantastic light with all the videos and what not.

All I wanted to do was point out the facts for Rafal because he seemed to take Russ' comment too offensively and assumed that he was "bashing" you versus providing advice to a member to make a sound financial tank upgrade (if that even exists) and providing context for timing.
 

Chiefmcfuz

Old School Reefer
Location
Westchester, NY
Rating - 100%
47   0   0
Bottom line is that for most people ALL LED fixtures are too expensive. For some they are affordable and truth be told they have not proven themselves in my eyes. 1400 for a light is great if we know for sure it is going to last for 15 years. These technologies are fairly new and unproven in the long run and to spend this amount of money on something that might need all of the lights to be replaced in a few years because they cannot take the use that reefing requires/demands is senseless.
 

rafal07013

Advanced Reefer
Location
new jersey
Rating - 92.3%
24   2   0
I appologize to Russ - if my comments seemed too harsh - thats not the intent. but the cost of 3 modules to cover 72" never was over $3000 and never will for MR members if bought from Aloha Tropics.

as far as unknown product and unknown vendor - I must to agree with you - I do not believe many of you follow closely european reef forums simply because of the language barrier and we all know Felix is a new vendor. I had received numerous PMs and calls from different people in that regard during the group buy in period and my advice was always the same - use your credit card to pay for the item/s via Paypal even though it may cost you 3% more.

My appologies to Russ.
 

April

Reefer
Location
Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello all, I had a question on LED lighting fixtures as I will be upgrading to a 210 soon enough and would like to go all LED if possible. I recently won the 24" LED fixture from Acan Lighting at the swap and I must say it is very impressive, thank you so much for giving me the chance to own such a remarkable piece of technology. But anyways, not too long ago I saw a Solaris I5 fixture for sale and was interested in purchasing it until I came to find out that Solaris went out of business. My question now is are there any other big companies such as the former Solaris, that makes LED fixtures for reef tanks? Thanks, Fortunato

congratulations, you are lucky man, i saw it, very bright, maybe brighter than Solaris I5. I don't know Acan Lighting before, and can not find review on A102 :smash:
 
Rating - 99.1%
225   2   0
Acan lighiting has a new version that increase the par value for the same amount of power consumption. I know the owner of the Acan lighting and he does his business right plus his company size can survive big hits. He supports his products full heartedly and will provide excellent after-sale services including(need to verify) advance replacement.

As a note so that you guys won't shoot me for thinking I am siding with Acan Lighting due to business. They do contact me as to provide a repair location in Main Street Flushing in case of emergency. Well, I also do repair for Solaris. If Pacific Sun invites me to be their servicing center, I will willing to as well. So I am not siding with anyone one company/former company. I am just mentioning some factors to consider the purchase of an expensive fixture.

If you can get an I5 fully working now and at a very great price, it's also a way to go, The market has many 3rd party companies repairing the bulbs and power supply for them. The only thing no one service is the controller though.
 

aznt1217

Forever Noob
Location
Bayside
Rating - 100%
191   0   0
No those are the EcoExotic fixtures. Those are no Pacific Sun. They were introduced at Reefopalooza.

Drs Foster & Smith carries them as well. Evil66 will have PAR readings from them soon.

Wingo--who owns Acan Lighting? I contacted who I thought owned it and didn't hear a response.
 
Rating - 99.1%
225   2   0
James with DickensCD is the person but I think he wants the authorized dealer to take care of general sales call or information inquiry.


BTW, if James does not mind, I am going to ask him to let me review it in the LIRA meet Jan 8th when I speak about LED there.

If Pacific Sun wants me to run the same test too, I will be more than willing to test both at the same time.

Wow I will have my hands full of great toys :inlove::tongueani:tongue1:

No those are the EcoExotic fixtures. Those are no Pacific Sun. They were introduced at Reefopalooza.

Drs Foster & Smith carries them as well. Evil66 will have PAR readings from them soon.

Wingo--who owns Acan Lighting? I contacted who I thought owned it and didn't hear a response.
 
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aznt1217

Forever Noob
Location
Bayside
Rating - 100%
191   0   0
Ah. I figured it was dickensd that's who I PM'd lol. Didn't want to "call him out."

Anyway, I wanted to check out what Acan Lighting had to offer. A lot of other companies are coming out with LED lighting fixtures and it's just a matter of time before they reach the western hemisphere, so it would be interesting to see where prices head.

The makers of Aquaray also made LED's as well.
 

rafal07013

Advanced Reefer
Location
new jersey
Rating - 92.3%
24   2   0
Wingo - I think it would be nice to compare the products but what criterias for comparison are you going to use?

both fixtures use different led bulbs, different focus lenses, different controllers, and have different capabilities.

since you admitted to have business relationship with Acan Lighting ? I think in order to provide honest valuation you should come up with a list of comparison points.

I would like to avoid the situation that occurred few weeks ago when James (DickensCD) went on group buy in Aloha Tropics thread and posted links/pics to Chinese lookalike hood units and advised people basically not to buy pacific sun and few weeks later to my big surprise he became US dealer for ecolamps and promoted ecolamp LEDs at the swap. i mean you can see whats wrong with this situation.

If your intent is to give a fair review for specific points ? I am all for it.

James with DickensCD is the person but I think he wants the authorized dealer to take care of general sales call or information inquiry.


BTW, if James does not mind, I am going to ask him to let me review it in the LIRA meet Jan 8th when I speak about LED there.

If Pacific Sun wants me to run the same test too, I will be more than willing to test both at the same time.

Wow I will have my hands full of great toys :inlove::tongueani:tongue1:
 

regal

Advanced Reefer
Location
New Rochelle
Rating - 100%
28   0   0
I have considered switching to LED a year ago when wingo offered his customed design and fixture. I even read up on the DIY led thread in another site. But there are just too much variables and uncertainty where you have people using 3W led vs the 1W, not to mention the different led manufacturer and oh the optics, driver issues etc. My situation is a little different bc my tank is 36" tall and I don't have space for a chiller. My tank takes a "hit" during the summer months. To me, if I get a chance to see how these LED look on my tank compare to my MH, it will seal the deal. If you are to spend 2-3K on a bike, a used car or lawn mower, you should at least be able to check it out before paying, no?
 
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Rating - 99.1%
225   2   0
Acan Lighting website just went online. The guys at reefbuilders have no idea it's eco-lamps lol.

The guys in Reefbuilders know what they are talking about. When the lights are marketed here in US with local support/waranty and may be modification to suit the US market, the product could be named anyway the marketer wants it.

Brightlux did not explicitly mention their supplier is Cree either when they market their products under their own Brightlux name. I do not really want to expose this fact until there were couple forum owners asked me about it.
 
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Rating - 99.1%
225   2   0
Well I will draw up couple things that I will test for and in the open. I think it will be simply, PAR meter within different spots of the tank and a chart of final data so that people interested can see for themselve if that's what's suitable for them.

As for James advise couple weeks ago, I don't think he advises anyone not to buy Pacific Sun but just not to buy Pacific Sun(or any new items)ALL AT ONCE. I re-read his post couple times and seems to me that he said it's safer to try one first. I feel that he actually advise you out of kind heart to make sure you don't fall for the common mistake of rushing into something from his other company's business relation experience with Felix in the past.

Finally, as for my business relations with Acan Lighting, I said "they contacted me" about tech support things but we did not do any business as of yet nor neither side has confirmed nor signed anything. I only repair couple Solaris power supplies for James, the person. So never mind my business relations with Acan Lighting as nothing is signed.

Wingo - I think it would be nice to compare the products but what criterias for comparison are you going to use?

both fixtures use different led bulbs, different focus lenses, different controllers, and have different capabilities.

since you admitted to have business relationship with Acan Lighting – I think in order to provide honest valuation you should come up with a list of comparison points.

I would like to avoid the situation that occurred few weeks ago when James (DickensCD) went on group buy in Aloha Tropics thread and posted links/pics to Chinese lookalike hood units and advised people basically not to buy pacific sun and few weeks later to my big surprise he became US dealer for ecolamps and promoted ecolamp LEDs at the swap. i mean you can see whats wrong with this situation.

I can assure you my intent is 100% fair because the test is so simple that every light owner would have done the same when they got their hands with a PAR meter.


If your intent is to give a fair review for specific points – I am all for it.
 
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rafal07013

Advanced Reefer
Location
new jersey
Rating - 92.3%
24   2   0
Wingo - I thought you want to review the lamp, but it seems to me that based on your answer it is all about PAR.

I hope you can explain the difference between 40 degree focus lenses used by eco lamp versus 120 degree focus lenses used by Pacific Sun and how they influence PAR results.

As I mentioned earlier - if you want to do full fair review - I am all for it, but if only 1 aspect, Pacific Sun has its PAR numbers on YouTube.

Well I will draw up couple things that I will test for and in the open. I think it will be simply, PAR meter within different spots of the tank and a chart of final data so that people interested can see for themselve if that's what's suitable for them.

As for James advise couple weeks ago, I don't think he advises anyone not to buy Pacific Sun but just not to buy Pacific Sun(or any new items)ALL AT ONCE. I re-read his post couple times and seems to me that he said it's safer to try one first. I feel that he actually advise you out of kind heart to make sure you don't fall for the common mistake of rushing into something from his other company's business relation experience with you in the past.

Finally, as for my business relations with Acan Lighting, I said "they contacted me" about tech support things but we did not do any business as of yet nor neither side has confirmed nor signed anything. I only repair couple Solaris power supplys for James, the person. So never mind my business relations with Acan Lighting as nothing is signed.
 
Rating - 99.1%
225   2   0
Wingo - I thought you want to review the lamp, but it seems to me that based on your answer it is all about PAR.

I hope you can explain the difference between 40 degree focus lenses used by eco lamp versus 120 degree focus lenses used by Pacific Sun and how they influence PAR results.

As I mentioned earlier - if you want to do full fair review - I am all for it, but if only 1 aspect, Pacific Sun has its PAR numbers on YouTube.

I will review both lamps in the future with more tests and details if and only if I have enough time to play with both. Not sure which company is nice enough to lend them to me for some period of time.

In the mean time, I think the fastest and easiest tests would be PAR at various spots in tank because that the first concern all reefers want to know-what coral can I grow with LED and where should I put my coral within a tank.

Whether lens, reflectors or plain vanila are used has no bearing on the end user's choice because, they should consider the results with respect to the coverage. For example, if a 40 degree lens helps to focus the light to an area but cannot cover a tank of 18" depth, then the PAR numbers will reflect that. On the other hand, a 120 degree LED may provide better coverage but less intensity over a certain area or it may even waste all the light by spilling them outside the tank. Therefore, the most important factor would be, for an end user, is the final PAR numbers at the spot they want to put the coral.

Color is an objective issue even though some spectrum may be more suitable for certain coral, but unless I own a lab or some coral scientists release their data, we never know which is better.

Durability is only good when we run it long enough to tell. Not sure how much time either company can lend the lamp to me.

Craftsmanship, we can tell by examining them ourselves.

Power supply reliability requires long duration test plus opening it up which will void the warranty. Not sure whether all participants want to allow me to void the waranty of their products.

.....

Note: I am not interested in finding which is a better light over all. I am only interested in which light is more suitable for which application. For example, I have a 20G long, 29G, 75G ...., which light has better PAR average and less dead spot for a particular tank dimension.

So when I set up my testing platforms, I will invite you guys.

Hmm, I might as well invite other LED manufacturers to join.
 

AlohaTropics

Advanced Reefer
Location
Long Island
Rating - 100%
48   0   0
Sorry, I was away most of the day for this thread. Aznt & Pdnyc, you guys miss understood the direction of my comments earlier. I was referring to the "beef" that Rafal and Russ were about to get into. That was what I meant by lets not turn things sour. Like I said in my earlier comment, although we are running businesses, we are also foremost here to help. I would rather not see people arguing about which light is better (I mean us vendors). Its just silly. The fact is, we will run our tests.

Wingo, you are right with the idea that each light might be better for different needs based on the PAR tests. Acan Lighting may be more suitable to raising the most intensive SPS directly under the focal lenses. PacificSun might give you an all around better PAR average around the tank. There are preference options in the controllers as well. Either ways, this is not a Macho contest so lets all be civil about things.

Wingo, we should talk about the servicing of the units here in the US...makes sense to me. Ultimately, theres much more than one T5 fixture in the market. There are many different Halide fixtures as well. Nobody should think that there is only room for one LED fixture in our market. It all depends of the needs of the individual tanks.

Wingo, you haven't been to my place yet, why not come by and run some tests on the lights setup here? I'll buy the beer...Tsing Tao?
 

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