Spschampion Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Hi, I have two of the mars aqua Chinese black LED I inherited from the previous owner. When I got them the blue channels were not working on one and the other had some diodes burned out. I decided to have a go at replacing diodes. During my research, I found that a ton of people were changing bulb colors for better spectrum? I ended up finding a diode color spectrum layout from sbreef. I copied it. Anyone played with these at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 For the one fixture that has the entire blue channel out, most likely the driver or the ac/dc power supply is dead for the entire channel and would have to be replaced. As for the other fixture that has select diodes that are out, they should be easy to replace if you have some minimal soldering knowledge as well as can get the correct LED to replace them with. I haven't messed with those specific fixtures myself but have seen one that a biddy of mine has. They look like they use 3 watt led chips. The blue are all the same spectrum, I'm guessing around 440nm or so. If I was to mod the light, I'd get a couple low uv led chips to add to the fixture. The uv radiation is a key factor in color enhancement of sps corals and why people say that t5s are better at coloration for coral than led because alot of fixtures (if not most) back when they first came out, didn't use very low uv LEDs, which ment potentially less color for sps. As for the sbreef color spectrum, it looks pretty good, though, I would probably instead of using all those 450nm wavelengths, I'd do like 60/40 of 440nm and 470nm just to add a little more wide spectrum coverage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 (edited) I’ve redone several black boxes. I would be willing to bet the one with the whole blue channel probably has 1 or two bad diodes (totally out) and the driver is likely fine. You’ll need a multimeter to find which one is bad. The one I use (Fluke...forgetting model), will actually illuminate the LEDs individually so you can check if the diode is still good. Only hard part about replicating a layout is gathering all the different wavelength diodes you want. Is this already a full spectrum black box? You may just want to start swapping a few out here and there and play with it till you like it. Also, my advise on ordering 3w leds from China (off eBay or elsewhere) is to get more then you need. Every batch has a dud usually, some may not last as long due to QC, etc. also, I’ve bought some and the seller is gone and even though many will say they have the same wavelength, they won’t be exact so always good to have extras (from the same batch). Good luck and if you get stuck and want a hand, you can bring them by and I’ll take a look. Edited May 21, 2019 by Blue Z Reef 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spschampion Posted May 21, 2019 Author Share Posted May 21, 2019 Hi, You are right. Several of the diodes were out and since they’re in series, took out the whole channel. I replaced the diodes several months ago. Was very easy! I switched out the 3500k for U.V.. just was unsure how many U.V. Bulb were necessary? Also, I added a few 20000k diodes. I was curious if anyone else had changed out diodes for better spectrum and what the results were? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spschampion Posted May 21, 2019 Author Share Posted May 21, 2019 I used sbreef’s diodes layout since a lot of people were ranting and raving about how well they performed. However, when I bought the replacement diodes they were always given a range for example “royal blue” 440nm-450nm. So, I’m unsure that I got the exact spectrum I was looking for? I was researching the other day and found a par/spectrum meter called a seneye, I think. I might have to buy one to see where I am. Be cool to create ideal spectrum/par of the high end LEDs at a fraction of the price! Also had a hard time finding 14000k epistle style diodes. Anyone have a line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimusprime3605 Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Hey ChampI have about 8 BB's. 6 of the 8, I replaced the PCB's with sb's boards, which has the full spectrum, specifically for sps. They're great in growing and coloring up sps. As a matter of fact, I still have one board, brand new in the box. They're $69 from sb.Just a thought... Sent from Atlantis 🤙 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotdrop Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 Are they using constant voltage drivers? If entire channels are burning out that makes me suspect thermal runaway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spschampion Posted May 30, 2019 Author Share Posted May 30, 2019 I agree, It’d be a lot easier to just replace the mars aqua light get panel with the sbreef but when I go on sbreefs website they have none in stock. It’s been that way for quite sometime. Something I’m missing? Thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 I used sbreef’s diodes layout since a lot of people were ranting and raving about how well they performed. However, when I bought the replacement diodes they were always given a range for example “royal blue” 440nm-450nm. So, I’m unsure that I got the exact spectrum I was looking for? I was researching the other day and found a par/spectrum meter called a seneye, I think. I might have to buy one to see where I am. Be cool to create ideal spectrum/par of the high end LEDs at a fraction of the price! Also had a hard time finding 14000k epistle style diodes. Anyone have a line?If you're a supporting member you can get on the list to use one of the par meters. That's what I did, I just bought a 32" SBReef light and I love it. Was thinking about buying one of the replacement myself for one of my black boxes.Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spschampion Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 Hi, about a year and a half ago, I replaced a bunch of the LEDs in my mars aqua. I tried to match the LED layout of the SB reef lights. I noticed the other day that many of the UV spectrum diodes have blackened the lense. I also noticed that sbreef lights claims they use a different lense for their UV diodes that is supposed to last longer. Anyone have much experience with the board retro fit kits? I am also considering just getting an entirely new lights. I think the ones I have are likely 5+ years old. Not sure how long the drivers are good for. Just noticed YouTube has a bunch of negative reviews of the sbreeflights failing after about a year and it taking several months to get a replacement. Anyone have experience with this? I would like to use sbreeflights products since I have had great results using their spectrum. Plus, I feel I kind of owe them since I did copy their spectrum. Thanx Pete 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Hi, about a year and a half ago, I replaced a bunch of the LEDs in my mars aqua. I tried to match the LED layout of the SB reef lights. I noticed the other day that many of the UV spectrum diodes have blackened the lense. I also noticed that sbreef lights claims they use a different lense for their UV diodes that is supposed to last longer. Anyone have much experience with the board retro fit kits? I am also considering just getting an entirely new lights. I think the ones I have are likely 5+ years old. Not sure how long the drivers are good for. Just noticed YouTube has a bunch of negative reviews of the sbreeflights failing after about a year and it taking several months to get a replacement. Anyone have experience with this? I would like to use sbreeflights products since I have had great results using their spectrum. Plus, I feel I kind of owe them since I did copy their spectrum. Thanx PeteI don't have experience with the retrofit kits but I have an SB Reef 32 Pro and I love it, I like that it comes with a 2 year warranty too. I'm on the SB Reef Facebook page a lot and people say they have excellent luck getting through in Facebook to the company, I have never needed to contact them for any reason so I can't really help you there. They really do have great lights in my opinion, I plan on buying more when my lights need an upgrade on my other tanksSent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcorbo Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 (edited) any idea where I can buy new drivers and 0-10v dimmers and fan controller Edited September 11, 2020 by jcorbo Add picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted September 12, 2020 Share Posted September 12, 2020 Usually I source that stuff off eBay from China. Down side is it takes like a month to get here lol. given what all you need, you may be able to get ahold of someone’s old black box for parts. They usually sell for around $50 working or less. By the time you get a few drivers, dimmers, and fan control you might be into it $30 anyway and a month of waiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumby Posted September 12, 2020 Share Posted September 12, 2020 I think i have a few old boxes. Let me look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 12, 2020 Share Posted September 12, 2020 22 hours ago, jcorbo said: any idea where I can buy new drivers and 0-10v dimmers and fan controller Check out Rapid LED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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