AliExpress A8SE Reef Light

[galantra]

Wondering where is the official place to purchase so many price variations out there Ali express seems to better price wise so where have many others purchased there lights from and how do you know for a fact it’s the pros?

 

[LittleMaui]

@galantra I purchased from BreezeAqua and YZY Aquarium Store. Both delivered as promised. Honestly, I'm not certain it matters, there seems to be a of sellers, but the lights come from the same plants (I think). I have also purchased pump equipment from AquaDirect Store.

 

[jackson6745]

Wondering where is the official place to purchase so many price variations out there Ali express seems to better price wise so where have many others purchased there lights from and how do you know for a fact it’s the pros?

I would deal with this company.i have lots of these lights, but I had 3 of these light go bad last year and this seller send me new led boards. Been flawless since.

 

[galantra]

Thanks, but why do the prices vary so much very confusing wanna grab pros

 

[jackson6745]

Thanks, but why do the prices vary so much very confusing wanna grab pros

Shipping prices are usually an equalizer when you go to checkout

 

[ElectricEel]

Shipping prices are usually an equalizer when you go to checkout

Not fully true. Some charge $100 some charge $20, others free. Its a wild wild west with these light prices. From $155 to $350…for the exact same light.

 

[LunchboLobster]

Can someone help me, what's the correct screw thread size for the main mounts on top? It's not M6 standard.

 

[LunchboLobster]

Can someone help me, what's the correct screw thread size for the main mounts on top? It's not M6 standard.

Figured it out, good ole American 1/4". Wouldn't have bet money on that.

 

[Reefing Qs]

Throwing my hat in this ring - I ordered 3x A8 Pro II MAXs with Meanwell drivers and X mount kits.

The lights were $283.5 each (discounted for qty 3 from $315 each)
Shipping to USA was $24.13.
Sales tax $55.54.
Grand total $930.17 for the three lights.

They've given a 4+ week delivery estimate, but the lights already shipped so I have a feeling they may show up a lot sooner. Happy to wait at this price point either way.

 

[LittleMaui]

Throwing my hat in this ring - I ordered 3x A8 Pro II MAXs with Meanwell drivers and X mount kits.

The lights were $283.5 each (discounted for qty 3 from $315 each)
Shipping to USA was $24.13.
Sales tax $55.54.
Grand total $930.17 for the three lights.

They've given a 4+ week delivery estimate, but the lights already shipped so I have a feeling they may show up a lot sooner. Happy to wait at this price point either way.

Who did you order from? Mine came quickly, but every seller is different

 

[Reefing Qs]

Who did you order from? Mine came quickly, but every seller is different

I ordered from Xiamen Hui Xin New Energy Technology Co., Ltd

I also ordered the GMP-65 and GMP-75 powerheads and they are from the same seller. I only realized when they sent me a picture of the box being packaged and it was the same guy.

Looks like they're already on a boat over - but definitely coming from China and not a US-based reshipper.

 

[LittleMaui]

I ordered from Xiamen Hui Xin New Energy Technology Co., Ltd

I also ordered the GMP-65 and GMP-75 powerheads and they are from the same seller. I only realized when they sent me a picture of the box being packaged and it was the same guy.

Looks like they're already on a boat over - but definitely coming from China and not a US-based reshipper.

The lights have a bit of a learning curve but it is most certainly worth it for the price. I have been running three over my water box 190 for over a year. Only a few minor problems mostly to do it language barrier in the app. They seem to be updating firmware occasionally.

 

[Areseebee]

Not fully true. Some charge $100 some charge $20, others free. Its a wild wild west with these light prices. From $155 to $350…for the exact same light.

Aliexpress in particular is tricky to navigate. I can know the name of the product I'm looking for and the vendor and not be able to find it but instead find 30 other offerings for a huge range of prices. I think the search being this way is a feature rather than a bug.

 

[Reefing Qs]

The lights have a bit of a learning curve but it is most certainly worth it for the price. I have been running three over my water box 190 for over a year. Only a few minor problems mostly to do it language barrier in the app. They seem to be updating firmware occasionally.

Yeah I should be able to navigate the Chinese app without much issue thankfully - it seems that as long as you have the language set to Chinese a lot of the quirks go away. Either way, I think I'll end up just creating a schedule on one and then QR coding them to the other lights. I barely ever adjust my light schedule so they'll be set and forget.

I have a Noopsyche light that I have a feeling is going to be very similar setup/config.

Also FWIW, I used Alibaba and not Aliexpress. Shipping and any duties/fees were very clearly labeled as included and broken down. I have not received any additional bills after delivery for other recent items, but we'll see for electronics! I do understand the difference, but I've used Alibaba for some other things recently and had a fine experience so didn't see a reason to create an account just to use Aliexpress instead for these orders.

Looking forward to seeing what they will put out for PAR!

 

[LittleMaui]

Yeah I should be able to navigate the Chinese app without much issue thankfully - it seems that as long as you have the language set to Chinese a lot of the quirks go away. Either way, I think I'll end up just creating a schedule on one and then QR coding them to the other lights. I barely ever adjust my light schedule so they'll be set and forget.

I have a Noopsyche light that I have a feeling is going to be very similar setup/config.

Also FWIW, I used Alibaba and not Aliexpress. Shipping and any duties/fees were very clearly labeled as included and broken down. I have not received any additional bills after delivery for other recent items, but we'll see for electronics! I do understand the difference, but I've used Alibaba for some other things recently and had a fine experience so didn't see a reason to create an account just to use Aliexpress instead for these orders.

Looking forward to seeing what they will put out for PAR!

I found this helpful.

Thread 'A8 Light Help Guide Version 2' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a8-light-help-guide-version-2.1132876/

 

[Nestorjose4]

For me light works well and has been on a schedule for a few months, I have had 2 instances now though where the light doesn't turn on when it's supposed to and I come to find out when I get home from work, manually go in the app and update it....

When it has happened the app has a new software update that needs to be installed but maybe thats coincidental? is there a workaround for this? Anyone else run into this issue... Quite detrimental for a light to potentially turn off while I'm away

 

[Patx]

I rarely update, im on version 3.1.2.3
0 problem.

 

[LittleMaui]

For me light works well and has been on a schedule for a few months, I have had 2 instances now though where the light doesn't turn on when it's supposed to and I come to find out when I get home from work, manually go in the app and update it....

When it has happened the app has a new software update that needs to be installed but maybe thats coincidental? is there a workaround for this? Anyone else run into this issue... Quite detrimental for a light to potentially turn off while I'm away

Do you turn the lights off, or shut off the power to the lights? I ramp them up and down on a schedule, but they only go down to 2% blue at night. Never had the same problem. I have had an issue when I turned them off and back on and one turned on to 100% and full fan. Turning off/on again corrected.

 

[Nestorjose4]

Do you turn the lights off, or shut off the power to the lights? I ramp them up and down on a schedule, but they only go down to 2% blue at night. Never had the same problem. I have had an issue when I turned them off and back on and one turned on to 100% and full fan. Turning off/on again corrected.

I do not turn them off, although they do run on a schedule that has them completely off by 11pm.... generally it's not an issue and they come back on at the scheduled time but again have had a couple instances when they simply don't

 

[CjGemini315]

For me light works well and has been on a schedule for a few months, I have had 2 instances now though where the light doesn't turn on when it's supposed to and I come to find out when I get home from work, manually go in the app and update it....

When it has happened the app has a new software update that needs to be installed but maybe thats coincidental? is there a workaround for this? Anyone else run into this issue... Quite detrimental for a light to potentially turn off while I'm away

I've noticed when this has happened to me, the lights internal clock has reset at midnight. AM becomes PM, it's either a software or firmware bug to circumvent it, when i'm home I'll randomly open app and connect to light to make sure time is staying synced or if I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I have made the seller aware of the issue with video proof and screen recording of the time in app requiring resyncing.

There was a app and firmware update recently so I'm not sure if they have fixed it but it hasn't happened again to confirm.