Diy LEDs vs prebuilt

[me & my baby]

what are the disadvantages of diy led kits over the prebuilt ones

 

[mcarroll]

Hm...none so far as your corals will be concerned. Pretty much it's whether you want to DIY or not.

Do you have a couple you're actually comparing or where was your question coming from? There are lots of other factors that WILL distinguish them, such as emitter layout vs your tank footprint; whether you want to suspend the fixture or have it sitting on the tank, etc...but we have to talk particulars.

 

[stupidted]

I have a mix of LEDs from Vertex to China wifi full spectrums, to my latest DIY build. Aside from the cool factor of pointing out how you built the light, it is nice to be able to pick what colors you like, how many channels you have, ease of upgrading in the future, and what size fixtures you will need. I can say though if you start getting into 3-5w LEDs from good bins matched with proper heats inks, optics and drivers they can add up pretty fast. Unless you know exactly what you want that nobody offers for a reasonable price I will recommend just going with a reputable manufacturer. If you like to tinker and want to take on the task it is totally worth it in the long run though. I'm glad I built my three 24" fixtures but in the end they are still just LEDs.

 

[dacianb]

If you know how to build a light, it is great. Will be cheaper than off the shelf lights. If you dont know how to do it, will be more expensive than ones in shops. Leds itselfs are cheap, but everything else you need will build up the cost.
Great advantage of DIY system is that you can change it, upgrade it anytime. If you dont like it, just change something to it. If is an commercial fixture - have to throw it away and buy a new one.
I am working now on version 3 of my lights and each time they get better :) . This is how my V2 lights looks like. V3 will be twice as powerful and with fan inside - so just cosmetics :)