Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Do It Yourself
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 01/18/2018, 04:01 PM   #1
WhiskeyCoffee
Registered Member
 
WhiskeyCoffee's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 98
Upgrading Viparspectra 165w to SB Reef Light PCB DIY Picture Tutorial

Just upgraded my Viparspectra 165w to the SB Reef Light PCBs. This was a fairly easy upgrade, however they use a different shape Molex connection so I had to splice my wires and use my old pin connections. It was nerve wracking but simple when using butt splices.

First thing I noticed was on the side of the box, it says "PCB Board" with Chinese characters. I believe SB orders the boards from China and then retrofits them with their own LEDs. At least I hope this is the case.



Second thing I noticed was a rattle in the box, this was due to light covers coming off. Fortunately they snap back on and they have a layout available on their website so you are putting the lenses back in the correct position.



I was very impressed when I opened the Viparspectra lights. Very clean and organized, didn't seem like they cut any corners. As you can see the SB and VP almost look identical from above, expect VP adds additional heatsinks on top. The effectiveness is debatable and unfortunately I don't own an infrared thermometer.



At this angle you can see that the VP and SB boards are the same thickness, 1/16". Many of the lower end black box lights use boards as thin as license plates (supposedly).



Here I've completed the upgrade and you can see the butt splices I had to use.





Here you can see the SB Reef Light LEDs definitely have more purple (right):



So in my opinion, Viparspectra definitely seems to be on the "higher end" of the black box spectrum. The color and arrangement of the lights seems to be almost on par with SB, with SB having more true UV and better lenses for light distribution. I would say it's almost not worth it to upgrade if you already own Viparspectras and this upgrade would be a better choice for people who bought extremely cheap black boxes such as Mars Aqua, Galaxyhydro, etc.

Time will tell if this was a solid investment, though.


WhiskeyCoffee is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/19/2018, 06:01 AM   #2
RobZilla04
Registered Member
 
RobZilla04's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: St. Augustine, FL
Posts: 1,857
Interesting comparison. I have the VP and wondered about swapping the red/greed LED's to purple (or other color). Not sure I'd have the guts to actually pull them apart and tinker though....


__________________
90g Mixed Reef
RobZilla04 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/19/2018, 03:17 PM   #3
WhiskeyCoffee
Registered Member
 
WhiskeyCoffee's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 98
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobZilla04 View Post
Interesting comparison. I have the VP and wondered about swapping the red/greed LED's to purple (or other color). Not sure I'd have the guts to actually pull them apart and tinker though....
Super easy! I've never spliced wires before but it was very straightforward. Using butt splices instead of soldering makes it very quick.


WhiskeyCoffee is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/19/2018, 03:59 PM   #4
outy
Moved On
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: auburn CA
Posts: 4,021
Color is a preference, not a sign of better or less quality. They are both Chinese and similar to my ocean revives. Same timer you have.

I like blue much better than purple


outy is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/20/2018, 11:41 PM   #5
marinelife
Registered Member
 
marinelife's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Union, Ohio, USA
Posts: 6,590
The boards come from China already set to SB specs. They are 100% Chinese. They are just shipped to a warehouse here in the US to then sent to you. Sometimes they even come direct.
Most Chinese Black boxes are made in the same place and just changed to the specs of the company or person buying them


__________________
I'm a SaltGeek are You?

All LED since 2010.

Current Tank Info: 375 Gallon Reef with siporax, all LED lighting, and Red Dragon 3 and Abyzz A200 on 2 closed loops.
marinelife is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01/22/2018, 10:07 PM   #6
rfgonzo
Registered Member
 
rfgonzo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,280
Good Job, One thing I would highly suggest is putting shrink tubing over your butt splice connections to keep from corroding. You could even replace the cheap pvc butt splice connectors with shrink terminals.


__________________
210 gal reef, 75 gal Refuge with 55 Gal sump mixed reef
100 gal Reef, 75 gal Refuge with 55 gal sump. SPS/LPS &
100 gal Japanese Dragon Moray eel tank with 40 gal sump
75 gal Brazilian Dragon Mor
rfgonzo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/07/2018, 06:17 PM   #7
WhiskeyCoffee
Registered Member
 
WhiskeyCoffee's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 98
Quote:
Originally Posted by rfgonzo View Post
Good Job, One thing I would highly suggest is putting shrink tubing over your butt splice connections to keep from corroding. You could even replace the cheap pvc butt splice connectors with shrink terminals.
That's my plan eventually.


WhiskeyCoffee is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
diy, led lighting, lighting

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.