Do black boxes get worse with age????

[saltlife97]

So I have bought this black bloc with my tank about 2 years ago and it was already used for an unknown amount of time.
My corals used to grow but now it seems only my softies/leathers have been still looking some what normal. I’m thinking it must be the lighting if these boxes loose there intensity over time ??? It’s. 75 gallon and I’m going to look into new lighting assuming this if anyone has any suggestions for new lights ( size and amount of lights for 4’ by 2’ by 1.5’

 

[Jcar]

I Also would like to know anyones experience with these. Also what type of maintenance have you done or recommend to keep them working long term?

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

All lights lose PAR over time. Even the overly expensive Ecotechs. So short answer..yes. They get worse over time.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

One easy way to tell is to look at the diodes (off of course) and see if they have burnt spots on them or are cloudy. If they do, you can order diodes and replace them, or just get new lights. I have quite a few old black boxes I have put new diodes in and they now work as they used to. Not hard to do and can save ya some money.

 

[piranhaman00]

All leds go out, people think they last forever, nope

 

[rtparty]

All lights lose PAR over time. Even the overly expensive Ecotechs. So short answer..yes. They get worse over time.

Dang. You already beat me to it and now I have to agree...ugh not the Saturday start I wanted.... ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious just playing!

To the OP, LEDs lose PAR and spectrum like every other artificial light. It's somewhere around year 4 or 5 for most fixtures. Some longer, some shorter.

What light to get is based upon your budget, coral requirements, how high you need to mount them, etc. Couple new black boxes might be best or a couple Neptune Sky fixtures might work best for you.

 

[X-37B]

I ran one on my 18" nano for 3 years. Whites at 20% blues at 75%.
I now run it on my 30g remote fuge at 30% white and 100% blue.
It grows macro well and the one coral thats in the tank is growing and doing well.
As others have said all lights lose intensity over time.
Sounds like your do for an upgrade, imo.

 

[oreo54]

There seems to be a lot of lens browning (unfortunately common) soo yes you could be losing a lot of light if not also diode fading. Check your secondary lenses and the lenses on the diodes themselves.
As to "normal" output decay.. obviously depends on diode quality and the design.

What does L80 B10 mean for LED Lights? – Light Adviser

With the use of LEDs, as with any electrical device, the lighting tends to gradually decrease. There is a standard called L80 B10 that determines the lifespan of LEDs. We will inform you what exactly this means and what you can pay attention to when choosing your LEDs. The specification L80B10...

lightadviser.com

 

[jda]

One of the locals saw like a 8-10% drop over 2 years in his LEDs - Hydras, I think. This incorporated all things no related to diode burnout like lenses, diode degradation, etc. He used my Apogee 510, so a decent meter, but still a hobbyist type of deal. However, I have no idea how this matters since most people do not use them at 100% anyway and can just turn them up which could account for this for at least a few years if everything else works. I still think that 5 years of use out of a panel is a good expectation.

 

[outhouse]

Lots of misinformation. Your problem more than likely is intensity too high. After 5 years at 80% And no growth, I turned mine down to 8% blue andv1% white and now growth is through the roof. My lights 6 to 7 years old. I don't have any lens browning, and not a single led burned. Most people don't understand how powerful these lights are. YES par can go down if your running lights at 100% but these last longer than most people think

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I have bought this black bloc with my tank about 2 years ago and it was already used for an unknown amount of time.
My corals used to grow but now it seems only my softies/leathers have been still looking some what normal. I’m thinking it must be the lighting if these boxes loose there intensity over time ??? It’s. 75 gallon and I’m going to look into new lighting assuming this if anyone has any suggestions for new lights ( size and amount of lights for 4’ by 2’ by 1.5’

Yes they do as their heat sinks begin to become less effective as well as diodes losing radiance

 

[Jekyl]

Keep in mind that black boxes are made as cheaply as possible to begin with. 2 years is probably a good run. In extreme cases there have been some that caught fire from what I've read.

 

[outhouse]

Keep in mind that black boxes are made as cheaply as possible to begin with. 2 years is probably a good run. In extreme cases there have been some that caught fire from what I've read.

Same for quality name brand lights. Many use the same leds. And most were built to be workhorses.

 

[rtparty]

Lots of misinformation. Your problem more than likely is intensity too high. After 5 years at 80% And no growth, I turned mine down to 8% blue andv1% white and now growth is through the roof. My lights 6 to 7 years old. I don't have any lens browning, and not a single led burned. Most people don't understand how powerful these lights are. YES par can go down if your running lights at 100% but these last longer than most people think

Posting extremely anecdotal information does not prove your point of "lots of misinformation." There is way more evidence saying your situation is such a one off, it's borderline questionable. But I won't question what you and your tank have done.

However, many of us will relay information from the biggest names and experts in the industry that test and build these lights.

 

[outhouse]

Posting extremely anecdotal information does not prove your point of "lots of misinformation." There is way more evidence saying your situation is such a one off, it's borderline questionable. But I won't question what you and your tank have done.

However, many of us will relay information from the biggest names and experts in the industry that test and build these lights.

Non sequitur. Both major reef shops in Sacramento use black box's, on their showroom. Black box's outsell all other lights hands down and have the least amount of issues. Then you can take into account most name brand parts come out of China, are there better lights, sure. These are vanilla. The negative remarks here are by people mouthing off, not actual owners.

 

[Jekyl]

Non sequitur. Both major reef shops in Sacramento use black box's, on their showroom. Black box's outsell all other lights hands down and have the least amount of issues. Then you can take into account most name brand parts come out of China, are there better lights, sure. These are vanilla. The negative remarks here are by people mouthing off, not actual owners.

I've owned them. I got rid of then due to looks though. The spectrum was awful. Made it seem like the glass needed to be cleaned from everything being washed out.

 

[oreo54]

However, many of us will relay information from the biggest names and experts in the industry that test and build these lights.

Example other than Tuillo?
What did Phillips say?

What is the lifetime of the CoralCare fixture?
The CoralCare fixture should be suspended in a ventilated area with a maximum ambient temperature
of 35°C/95°F to ensure the lifetime of 25,000 hours at 100% light output. Any reduction in the light
output or ambient temperature will help to prolong the lifetime. After 25,000 hours 90% of all fixtures
still deliver more than 80% of their original light output.

5.7 yrs at 12hr/day @ 100%

 

[outhouse]

I've owned them. I got rid of then due to looks though. The spectrum was awful. Made it seem like the glass needed to be cleaned from everything being washed out.

Should have turned them down. And looks are so personal. I just added 2 UV lightbars, you really can't see the difference until the blues turn off.

 

[Jekyl]

Should have turned them down. And looks are so personal. I just added 2 UV lightbars, you really can't see the difference until the blues turn off.

Like I didn't do my homework or something. They weren't for me. I don't recommend getting them had owned them. Simple as that.

 

[GoVols]

So I have bought this black bloc with my tank about 2 years ago and it was already used for an unknown amount of time.
My corals used to grow but now it seems only my softies/leathers have been still looking some what normal. I’m thinking it must be the lighting if these boxes loose there intensity over time ??? It’s. 75 gallon and I’m going to look into new lighting assuming this if anyone has any suggestions for new lights ( size and amount of lights for 4’ by 2’ by 1.5’

If you can find them, I've watched other members replace the leds on their old block box units.