Scott_LM February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 In case it helps anyone in the club I bit the bullet and opened mine up today (voided warranty). I can answer questions, take pics or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS February 23, 2013 Author Share February 23, 2013 In case it helps anyone in the club I bit the bullet and opened mine up today (voided warranty). I can answer questions, take pics or whatever. Cool. How hard does it look to swap out LEDs and lenses? Build quality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 (edited) photos have been shared here in the past: http://wamas.org/for...e__hl__evergrow Edited February 23, 2013 by monkiboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott_LM February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Sorry - was unaware of the previous post! Have not tried to replace any of the LEDs yet so can't say for sure. Doens't look like it would be too difficult given the right material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 no worries. replacing LEDs is very simple according to folks that have done it and written about their experience in the RC threads. take a look through them or search the threads for that topic and you'll find photos and experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 I'm happy with the colors of the corals under the standard Blue/White mix of the D120. You can easily adjust the white or blue balance to tweak the color. If you balance it just right, you can get that true 14k MH look. I have not seen any washout or visual color issues using just blue and white. I understand that people will always want things to be 'just right', unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation about the necessity of adding red, green, UV, purple, etc. Having one or two of any particular color isn't going to do anything unless a particular coral that "needs" those colors is directly under that particular led. I'll make this statement- for those of you that buy D120's and don't like them, I'll buy them from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova26 February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 I opened mine also and replaced about 15 LEDs. You need to have a just bit of soldering experience but its fairly easy. You could get some thermal grease for better heat transfer. Also make sure the LEDs are aligned correctly. The emitters only have the (-) on them and its very small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Seeking recommendation, I am only interested in the photon/it series, but I can't decide between 24" (51 LEDs) model or 32" (99 LEDs) model...My first reaction would be 99 LEDs is insane, but then reading people are using two D120s on a similiar sized tank (36" wide x 18" x 20" deep) maybe its not so crazy... Light would be replacing a 250w Halide... Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 I'll make this statement- for those of you that buy D120's and don't like them, I'll buy them from you. +1k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Seeking recommendation, I am only interested in the photon/it series, but I can't decide between 24" (51 LEDs) model or 32" (99 LEDs) model...My first reaction would be 99 LEDs is insane, but then reading people are using two D120s on a similiar sized tank (36" wide x 18" x 20" deep) maybe its not so crazy... Light would be replacing a 250w Halide... Thanks in advance! Do not worry about the LED count only the coverage. The intensity can be regulated not the coverage. Get two D120s or one Photon24. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 Thank You Sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tink February 23, 2013 Share February 23, 2013 So, I have a 24" deep (and 24" wide for that matter) tank. From a PAR standpoint, is it a good idea to use lower (3500-4500k) LEDs in order to balance out the high amount of blue LEDs people enjoy? Will it keep the PAR up, or just serve to wash out the blue more ( making the use of 7500-10000k more reasonable)? Also, what is the general consensus on the blue LEDs, stick with 450, 480, or a mix of both? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRon February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 The SuperNova is not out yet. It will not be Apex compatible, it will be programmable through wifi, or an lcd remote (for those without computers). It will do much more than the apex can do with a light. That quote is from Reef Breeders on reefcentral. Anyone know anything about it. Looks interesting. Monkiboy, Rob asked if you were a part of reefbreeders - are you? Any information on what the SuperNova will be and when it will be available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 (edited) Monkiboy, Rob asked if you were a part of reefbreeders - are you? He is not. Just another passionate hobbyist supporting WAMAS. Edited February 24, 2013 by ridetheducati Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 (edited) Monkiboy, Rob asked if you were a part of reefbreeders - are you? He is not. Just another passionate hobbyist supporting WAMAS. thanks tony, you got it! Any information on what the SuperNova will be and when it will be available? the supernova will be/is a reefbreeders fixture not an evergrow fixture being resold as a reefbreeders. it will be engineered in the USA and possibly built in the USA as well. reefbreeders is not releasing much on the supernova at the moment. it is scheduled to be up for preorder by end of march/early april. it will be 24" and no other sizes are being planned for, for now. evergrow my be contacted to build them in the beginning, but it will absolutely not be available direct from them, or from any other retailers. Edited February 24, 2013 by monkiboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 Sorry Marco, I spoke on your behalf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 For those interested in seeing the inside of the D120, see my build thread. I replaced several LEDs. Where is the easy button? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 Sorry Marco, I spoke on your behalf. no worries. thanks. For those interested in seeing the inside of the D120, see my build thread. I replaced several LEDs. Where is the easy button? nice. on my way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRon February 24, 2013 Share February 24, 2013 Thanks, I was curious when I saw it asked before. I have a pair of IT2040's and love the ability to ramp the lights up/down. I'm torn between getting a couple more IT2040's, waiting on the results of your discussions regarding availability of Apex controllable drivers for the pair of D120's I have, or taking a look at the SuperNova when it becomes available. Amazing how many choices are available now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishcam February 25, 2013 Share February 25, 2013 (edited) Hi all! I intend to participate in the group buy but have the following questions. If anyone would provide feedback on my proposed setup, that would be fantastic: Tank - 40br (36x18 footprint), new build, SPS/LPS, bare bottom Lights - 2x it2080's (photon 32s). Each photon 32 is 32x8in, so two would be 32x16 coverage Optics - Probably 60 degree optics, since there are 2x fixtures LED Layout - the standard Questions: 1) Is 2x way overkill for a 40br SPS? (Additionally, I like having both, in case one fails.) 2) Is the default light pattern the most diverse spread? I dont know much about this, but would want the most even across the tank. 3) Do you agree that 60 deg optics are the best for 2x units, and 90 deg for 1x unit? 4) Related to 3, what is the recommended height above the tank for these units? 5) Are the "drivers" the electronics to power the unit? If so, how much are they for the it2080's? THANKS all for the thoughts! Edited February 25, 2013 by fishcam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country February 25, 2013 Share February 25, 2013 Hi all! I intend to participate in the group buy but have the following questions. If anyone would provide feedback on my proposed setup, that would be fantastic: Tank - 40br (36x18 footprint), new build, SPS/LPS, bare bottom Lights - 2x it2080's (photon 32s). Each photon 32 is 32x8in, so two would be 32x16 coverage Optics - Probably 60 degree optics, since there are 2x fixtures LED Layout - the standard Questions: 1) Is 2x way overkill for a 40br SPS? (Additionally, I like having both, in case one fails.) 2) Is the default light pattern the most diverse spread? I dont know much about this, but would want the most even across the tank. 3) Do you agree that 60 deg optics are the best for 2x units, and 90 deg for 1x unit? 4) Related to 3, what is the recommended height above the tank for these units? 5) Are the "drivers" the electronics to power the unit? If so, how much are they for the it2080's? THANKS all for the thoughts! 1. I think two Photon 32's is way overkill for a 36x18 tank, Just get two photon 16's or maybe two photon 24's for overkill but the 32's would be insane and a waste of money 2. Alot of discussion on different spectrums around here and RC, I'm just going with the reefbreeders standard 3. From my limited understanding 60dg optics are for deeper tanks to tighten them up, with a 40br the 90's will be great 4. I'd like to know this also 5. The drivers power the lights and are built into them, the lights come with drivers installed. Not sure if the extra drivers are the same driver as in all lights or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country February 25, 2013 Share February 25, 2013 Well, I finally got to see one of these lights over the weekend, Ward (Bubblehead) brought one of his lights from the last group buy over to my house and we put it on my 36x18x8 frag tank. One of these lights will absolutely NOT cover this tank, I dont think it even would with 120dg optics. It did good out to 24" wide. The light looked well made, nice and bright, looked like he had pretty close to the reefbreeders setup in the light. Provided a nice color and with a little tweaking we were able to pretty much match the color and intensity of the light to my brand new Radium 20K (Overdriven on M80 ballast) with the LED's only turned up near 50%. Of course that is eyeballing it and I will get a par meter when I get the lights. I'm ordering two units to do this tank and will use them when I upgrade to a Deep Blue 60 or 80 frag tank soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK3 February 25, 2013 Share February 25, 2013 Hi all! I intend to participate in the group buy but have the following questions. If anyone would provide feedback on my proposed setup, that would be fantastic: Tank - 40br (36x18 footprint), new build, SPS/LPS, bare bottom Lights - 2x it2080's (photon 32s). Each photon 32 is 32x8in, so two would be 32x16 coverage Optics - Probably 60 degree optics, since there are 2x fixtures LED Layout - the standard Questions: 1) Is 2x way overkill for a 40br SPS? (Additionally, I like having both, in case one fails.) 2) Is the default light pattern the most diverse spread? I dont know much about this, but would want the most even across the tank. 3) Do you agree that 60 deg optics are the best for 2x units, and 90 deg for 1x unit? 4) Related to 3, what is the recommended height above the tank for these units? 5) Are the "drivers" the electronics to power the unit? If so, how much are they for the it2080's? THANKS all for the thoughts! Hey fishcam, I've read a lot of threads regarding coverage of these units. I'm setting up the exact same size tank (40b) and have decided to go with 1 photon 32 because it will give you the full coverage of the tank. As someone mentioned, 2 photon 32's will be way overkill. I've heard that if you can hang the fixture at least 6-8" above the water surface, you could get by with 1 photon 24 with either 90 or 120 optics. I am planning on having the fixture in a canopy only 3-4" above the tank, so that's why I'm going with the 32 w 90 optics (could probably even go with 60's). You could get 2 photon 16's, but 1 photon 32 is cheaper than 2 16's. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishcam February 25, 2013 Share February 25, 2013 Hmm. I DO Like the idea of saving some bucks, BUT how much overkill are we talkin? As in 2x would cause bleaching and nastiness such that it's just dumb to consider? Sorry for the ignorance, I've just never dealt with LED's before, and I dont want to miss out on the savings or the time spent on the hanging mechanism should I need 2x for SPS. I expect it to be about 3-6in off the top, too, so thanks for the inputs that 90 degree optics should be good for 1x unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK3 February 25, 2013 Share February 25, 2013 Hmm. I DO Like the idea of saving some bucks, BUT how much overkill are we talkin? As in 2x would cause bleaching and nastiness such that it's just dumb to consider? Sorry for the ignorance, I've just never dealt with LED's before, and I dont want to miss out on the savings or the time spent on the hanging mechanism should I need 2x for SPS. I expect it to be about 3-6in off the top, too, so thanks for the inputs that 90 degree optics should be good for 1x unit. I am new to LEDs too but I've been reading up a lot on them. From what I've read, it would be overkill in the sense that a lot of people don't even run a single photon 32 at 100% over a shallower tank like a 40 breeder and have to dim it down a little. The 32 would definitely give you full coverage of the tank and I don't think you'd have any trouble keeping SPS with just the 1 unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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