eastcoaster1
03/15/2011, 09:35 AM
I received one of CAD Lights new 24” LED lights the other day and thought I would post pictures and initial impressions. I don’t have a light meter and the fixture isn’t setup over a tank so at this point all I can offer is my subjective opinion.
Disclaimer: this is my first experience with LED lighting. I have a general understanding of the technology but I’m not in a position to debate how the vendor chose to design the light or how it compares to others. That said, please don’t start the ‘it’s a cheap Chinese-made light, my DYI fixtures is way better’ debate. It’s a relatively inexpensive out of the box solution, not a custom DYI project, so from the start it’s unrealistic comparison.
Build Material:
The fixture was lighter in weight than I expected, which initially made me think it was poorly made. However after thinking about it I realized I was comparing it to other halide and T5 fixtures I’ve used, which feel heavier due to reflectors, ballasts, etc. Once I adjusted my frame of reference I took a more objective approach and looked at each component individually.
-‘Shell’ of the fixture is made of aluminum. I don’t know how to tell if it’s simply painted or powder coated, but I would suspect it’s painted.
-End ‘caps’ of the shell are plastic held in place by 6 screws
-Reflector sheet surrounding the LEDs is plastic painted with a shinny mirror-like paint. I’m concerned what will happen when/if this begins to peel off. The fixture does include a full acrylic splash guard, so if that is used then the paint will at least be protected from salt spray and the risk of wear from cleaning will be reduced.
-Mounting legs are plastic. They slide into a grove that runs the length of the shell (which allow for mounting on tanks of varying widths), and include plastic thumb screws to secure it to the walls of the aquarium. Mounting legs are hinged allowing the fixture to be pivoted one like a clam shell once attached to the aquarium.
-Hanging kit is metal. From a design perspective it looks like something I could have made after a trip to a decent hardware store. Other fixtures I’ve owned have used a sleeker, less obtrusive system. I would have liked to see them paint the brackets on top of the fixture black so they blended in better. The brackets come pre-attached using screws, so if not being used you will have 4 holes in the top of the fixture.
-Power cable attaches on the side of the fixture to the right of the LCD display.
-Cooling is achieved using a very small fan mounted on one end of the fixture. Its speed and volume ramps up or down depending on how much the LEDs are dimmed. If the fan becomes too loud over time it would be easy to replace as it’s attached to one of the removable end caps.
-Electrical build quality seems good. I took the fixture completely apart and all wires were neatly soldiered, no loose connection, missing screws or signs of poor assembly.
LEDs:
There are 45 LEDs – 12 blue and 33 white. Each channel can be dimmed using either the buttons on the side of the fixture or the include remote control. Fixture does not include a timer or controller so it’s not possible to automatically create a dawn to dusk effect. To me the purpose of the controls is a one-time adjustment to achieve a pleasing color mix, not something I would mess around with every day.
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t have a way to measure the light output so any statements on the light quality are purely subjective. My initial impression is that I wish it was brighter. Not that it doesn’t hurt your eyes to look directly at the LEDs, but I was hoping to have a bit more power so I could dial it down if needed. Without any PAR measurements to prove otherwise, my gut tells me most people would want to run it wide open if they’re interested in growing medium light coral. Doesn’t seem bright enough to grow SPS.
I haven’t placed it over a tank yet so can’t comment on how it makes fish or coral look.
Light spread is fairly broad so I would guess it will need to be mounted close to the water.
Thats if for now.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28058
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28060
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28059
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28057
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28052
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28050
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28049
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28047
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28056
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28044
Disclaimer: this is my first experience with LED lighting. I have a general understanding of the technology but I’m not in a position to debate how the vendor chose to design the light or how it compares to others. That said, please don’t start the ‘it’s a cheap Chinese-made light, my DYI fixtures is way better’ debate. It’s a relatively inexpensive out of the box solution, not a custom DYI project, so from the start it’s unrealistic comparison.
Build Material:
The fixture was lighter in weight than I expected, which initially made me think it was poorly made. However after thinking about it I realized I was comparing it to other halide and T5 fixtures I’ve used, which feel heavier due to reflectors, ballasts, etc. Once I adjusted my frame of reference I took a more objective approach and looked at each component individually.
-‘Shell’ of the fixture is made of aluminum. I don’t know how to tell if it’s simply painted or powder coated, but I would suspect it’s painted.
-End ‘caps’ of the shell are plastic held in place by 6 screws
-Reflector sheet surrounding the LEDs is plastic painted with a shinny mirror-like paint. I’m concerned what will happen when/if this begins to peel off. The fixture does include a full acrylic splash guard, so if that is used then the paint will at least be protected from salt spray and the risk of wear from cleaning will be reduced.
-Mounting legs are plastic. They slide into a grove that runs the length of the shell (which allow for mounting on tanks of varying widths), and include plastic thumb screws to secure it to the walls of the aquarium. Mounting legs are hinged allowing the fixture to be pivoted one like a clam shell once attached to the aquarium.
-Hanging kit is metal. From a design perspective it looks like something I could have made after a trip to a decent hardware store. Other fixtures I’ve owned have used a sleeker, less obtrusive system. I would have liked to see them paint the brackets on top of the fixture black so they blended in better. The brackets come pre-attached using screws, so if not being used you will have 4 holes in the top of the fixture.
-Power cable attaches on the side of the fixture to the right of the LCD display.
-Cooling is achieved using a very small fan mounted on one end of the fixture. Its speed and volume ramps up or down depending on how much the LEDs are dimmed. If the fan becomes too loud over time it would be easy to replace as it’s attached to one of the removable end caps.
-Electrical build quality seems good. I took the fixture completely apart and all wires were neatly soldiered, no loose connection, missing screws or signs of poor assembly.
LEDs:
There are 45 LEDs – 12 blue and 33 white. Each channel can be dimmed using either the buttons on the side of the fixture or the include remote control. Fixture does not include a timer or controller so it’s not possible to automatically create a dawn to dusk effect. To me the purpose of the controls is a one-time adjustment to achieve a pleasing color mix, not something I would mess around with every day.
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t have a way to measure the light output so any statements on the light quality are purely subjective. My initial impression is that I wish it was brighter. Not that it doesn’t hurt your eyes to look directly at the LEDs, but I was hoping to have a bit more power so I could dial it down if needed. Without any PAR measurements to prove otherwise, my gut tells me most people would want to run it wide open if they’re interested in growing medium light coral. Doesn’t seem bright enough to grow SPS.
I haven’t placed it over a tank yet so can’t comment on how it makes fish or coral look.
Light spread is fairly broad so I would guess it will need to be mounted close to the water.
Thats if for now.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28058
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28060
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28059
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28057
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28052
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28050
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28049
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28047
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28056
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=4080&pictureid=28044