Not impressed

peacepleasure · 12/15/2013, 10:06 PM

So, I took the dive and bought new lights. I did StevesLED's retrofit kit, custom full spectrum and paid to have them put it all together. They came in yesterday and I am not impressed. I did some research and figured out how many whites and what K along with certain amount of royal blues mixed with warm blues and thru in some greens. Now, what I didn't know is, I had to apparently specify that I wanted the various leds staggered, because I ended up with one heatsink strip with all whites and one green and the other headsink with the blues and greens. Ugh, I am so not happy with this. I am extremely disappointed in the way my corals look. Everything is just so dull and blah, nothing pops. The most depressing part of it is, I spent way too much money to not be happy.

I want to email StevesLEDs and express my feelings on this but not sure if it will get me anywhere but just that...expressing my feelings.

Thanks for letting me vent

Reefer54 · 12/15/2013, 10:12 PM

Thats a bummer....sorry for the headache.

not to insensensitive, but live and learn right.

I have products made in China (not reef related) and if i leave ANY detail whatsoever not specified to the very last T, I, design, placement, decimal point, how big, etc....guaranteed it comes back wrong EVERY TIME> and its all because i wasnt specific. I have learned to be very specific now, often having to double and triple check to make sure there are absolutely no areas of possible misinterpretation.

peacepleasure · 12/15/2013, 10:19 PM

It's ok, it's not insensitive, it's the truth.

pnavarro170 · 12/15/2013, 10:40 PM

for what size/length tank ? how much did two strips cost and how many watts, never heard of stevesleds

peacepleasure · 12/15/2013, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

for what size/length tank ? how much did two strips cost and how many watts, never heard of stevesleds

This is the link to what I bought.http://shop.stevesleds.com/SPS-Grade...-Kit-34-48.htm

My tank is 150G, 48" long. I got the lights for up to 44" because I wanted less light along the tank edges. After all said and done, I paid $500.

pnavarro170 · 12/15/2013, 11:18 PM

dang, any pics of it over the tank ?

peacepleasure · 12/15/2013, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

dang, any pics of it over the tank ?

Not at the moment but I can post some tomorrow.

pnavarro170 · 12/15/2013, 11:24 PM

Please do, i think best and cheapest way for that tank would be this http://reefbreeders.com/photon48.html if not some seperate ebay fixtures. I know fixtures are a pain to mount but im just not a fan of strip led lights.

peacepleasure · 12/15/2013, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnavarro170

Please do, i think best and cheapest way for that tank would be this http://reefbreeders.com/photon48.html if not some seperate ebay fixtures. I know fixtures are a pain to mount but im just not a fan of strip led lights.

I was actually on the fence between the Photon48 and these but after owning 2 of ReefBreeders value fixtures, and noticed that the first light that I bought a year ago was significantly dimmer than the newest one that I bought 4 months ago, I didn't want to spend that much money on something that will loose their intensity in such a short time.

I knew that these (StevesLEDs) were of higher quality and so I put my money where I thought was best. I know I would really love these lights if they were of better color spectrum. I truly loved how my corals popped under my RB lights and thought that if I could copy the light color (minus red) I could get the same "pop" but boy was I wrong.

I think I bit off more than I could chew thinking I could "custom" order my lights when in fact I should have stuck with something that was plug and play.

Snyper19 · 12/15/2013, 11:54 PM

That sucks, I thought about saving for upgrading to Steve's LEDs... I've read so many good reviews about these lights....

peacepleasure · 12/16/2013, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snyper19

That sucks, I thought about saving for upgrading to Steve's LEDs... I've read so many good reviews about these lights....

I think the good reviews are justified and I would highly advise that if your not experienced with customizing your color layout, or know someone that does and can help you, I would suggest going with one of the 3 full spectrum layout options. Unfortunately this feature is new and was not available to me when I ordered my lights on Nov 23.

Snyper19 · 12/16/2013, 12:55 AM

I have an rsm250, and I would like to go full LEDs sometime in the future.... Saw a project of a RSM250 topless with 2 radion xr30w and another with a max spect or however it's called.... Looked pretty neat in my opinion...

I personally would like to get the radion but I'm not sure if I need 1 or 2, these are quite expensive

pnavarro170 · 12/16/2013, 01:00 AM

well the razor i got over my 40b has done well and that covers 36" im sure it would be fine for a rsm250, again there are lots of options, but im still not sold on these choose your own strips. I really want to try the newest kessil though a360w-e

915MANG · 12/16/2013, 09:42 AM

Id lkke Kessil, maybe later.

peacepleasure · 12/16/2013, 11:04 AM

The look isn't horrible, I was just expecting more color pop. I should have had more blue leds than white I think.

E Rosewater · 12/16/2013, 11:48 AM

I have 28 white, 42 Royal Blue and 21 Cool blues, I'm quite happy with the result that came of mine, you could always try to add a 4th light bar with some more RBs.

I have 2 bars, one RB and one White and CB.

peacepleasure · 12/16/2013, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E Rosewater

I have 28 white, 42 Royal Blue and 21 Cool blues, I'm quite happy with the result that came of mine, you could always try to add a 4th light bar with some more RBs.

I have 2 bars, one RB and one White and CB.

I think that is the issue, not enough blues to make it pop. I only have 2 bars with 42 LEDs, that is what the kit that I got came with.

I was thinking about getting a 3rd but I have no idea how to order something like that where I have to order everything individually.

E Rosewater · 12/16/2013, 01:55 PM

It's not terrible, I didn't order mine as a kit, I ordered everything separately after I realized that there was really no discount on the kits.

peacepleasure · 12/16/2013, 03:32 PM

I'm not sure on which driver to get, how to choose which one and if I need another power supply or can I tap into the one that I have for my 2 current strips. If someone could help me that would be great.

E Rosewater · 12/16/2013, 06:26 PM

Look to see the wattage of the power supply. Multiply the amount of LEDs by 3, as long as that number is less than the maximum on the power supply you're good to go. I would give yourself some headroom though and not max out the power supply. As far as the drivers go the single will power 7 double 14 triple 21 and so on.

You would have to do some soldering and thermal pasting if you do it yourself though. I had never done anything like this before and fully assembled mine. I did an absolute ton of research though.

peacepleasure · 12/16/2013, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E Rosewater

Look to see the wattage of the power supply. Multiply the amount of LEDs by 3, as long as that number is less than the maximum on the power supply you're good to go. I would give yourself some headroom though and not max out the power supply. As far as the drivers go the single will power 7 double 14 triple 21 and so on.

You would have to do some soldering and thermal pasting if you do it yourself though. I had never done anything like this before and fully assembled mine. I did an absolute ton of research though.

Thank you for the help!

12/15/2013, 10:06 PM	#1
peacepleasure Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Rolla, MO Posts: 145	Not impressed So, I took the dive and bought new lights. I did StevesLED's retrofit kit, custom full spectrum and paid to have them put it all together. They came in yesterday and I am not impressed. I did some research and figured out how many whites and what K along with certain amount of royal blues mixed with warm blues and thru in some greens. Now, what I didn't know is, I had to apparently specify that I wanted the various leds staggered, because I ended up with one heatsink strip with all whites and one green and the other headsink with the blues and greens. Ugh, I am so not happy with this. I am extremely disappointed in the way my corals look. Everything is just so dull and blah, nothing pops. The most depressing part of it is, I spent way too much money to not be happy. I want to email StevesLEDs and express my feelings on this but not sure if it will get me anywhere but just that...expressing my feelings. Thanks for letting me vent __________________ ~Lisa~ Current Tank Info: future 40B sps w/ 100g sump

12/15/2013, 10:12 PM	#2
Reefer54 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Avon Posts: 1,087	Thats a bummer....sorry for the headache. not to insensensitive, but live and learn right. I have products made in China (not reef related) and if i leave ANY detail whatsoever not specified to the very last T, I, design, placement, decimal point, how big, etc....guaranteed it comes back wrong EVERY TIME> and its all because i wasnt specific. I have learned to be very specific now, often having to double and triple check to make sure there are absolutely no areas of possible misinterpretation. __________________ R54 Current Tank Info: 36 x 36 x 25 Cube, mixed reef, A360WE x 3, A350N x 1, 40GB sump, RDSB, Remote LR Cryptic, 2 WP-40's, ummm....

12/15/2013, 10:19 PM	#3
peacepleasure Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Rolla, MO Posts: 145	It's ok, it's not insensitive, it's the truth. __________________ ~Lisa~ Current Tank Info: future 40B sps w/ 100g sump

12/15/2013, 10:40 PM	#4
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	for what size/length tank ? how much did two strips cost and how many watts, never heard of stevesleds __________________ 150G

12/15/2013, 11:18 PM	#6
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	dang, any pics of it over the tank ? __________________ 150G

12/15/2013, 11:24 PM	#8
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	Please do, i think best and cheapest way for that tank would be this http://reefbreeders.com/photon48.html if not some seperate ebay fixtures. I know fixtures are a pain to mount but im just not a fan of strip led lights. __________________ 150G

12/15/2013, 11:54 PM	#10
Snyper19 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 288	That sucks, I thought about saving for upgrading to Steve's LEDs... I've read so many good reviews about these lights....

12/16/2013, 12:55 AM	#12
Snyper19 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 288	I have an rsm250, and I would like to go full LEDs sometime in the future.... Saw a project of a RSM250 topless with 2 radion xr30w and another with a max spect or however it's called.... Looked pretty neat in my opinion... I personally would like to get the radion but I'm not sure if I need 1 or 2, these are quite expensive

12/16/2013, 01:00 AM	#13
pnavarro170 S.T.A.R.S PRESIDENT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 3,963	well the razor i got over my 40b has done well and that covers 36" im sure it would be fine for a rsm250, again there are lots of options, but im still not sold on these choose your own strips. I really want to try the newest kessil though a360w-e __________________ 150G Last edited by pnavarro170; 12/16/2013 at 01:07 AM.

12/16/2013, 09:42 AM	#14
915MANG Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 950	Id lkke Kessil, maybe later. __________________ Mike O YOUTUBE "915MANG" Current Tank Info: 120 Gal in progress Fish & a few corals 34G Solana

12/16/2013, 11:48 AM	#16
E Rosewater Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 846	I have 28 white, 42 Royal Blue and 21 Cool blues, I'm quite happy with the result that came of mine, you could always try to add a 4th light bar with some more RBs. I have 2 bars, one RB and one White and CB.

12/16/2013, 01:55 PM	#18
E Rosewater Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 846	It's not terrible, I didn't order mine as a kit, I ordered everything separately after I realized that there was really no discount on the kits.

12/16/2013, 03:32 PM	#19
peacepleasure Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Rolla, MO Posts: 145	I'm not sure on which driver to get, how to choose which one and if I need another power supply or can I tap into the one that I have for my 2 current strips. If someone could help me that would be great. __________________ ~Lisa~ Current Tank Info: future 40B sps w/ 100g sump

12/16/2013, 06:26 PM	#20
E Rosewater Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 846	Look to see the wattage of the power supply. Multiply the amount of LEDs by 3, as long as that number is less than the maximum on the power supply you're good to go. I would give yourself some headroom though and not max out the power supply. As far as the drivers go the single will power 7 double 14 triple 21 and so on. You would have to do some soldering and thermal pasting if you do it yourself though. I had never done anything like this before and fully assembled mine. I did an absolute ton of research though.