Sunbrite LED's - Help Me Pick Tubes

[thewackyreefer]

So I'm considering purchasing one of the Sunbrite LED fixtures and 4 tubes to start out with. You can find info on the fixture here.

Vivid has been running some of these on their tanks for a few month's now and they look pretty sweet, plus each tube can be independently controlled.

Anyways, going to start out with 4 tubes and increase if needed.

Tank is 20" deep and I'll be keeping SPS up at the top and acans and favias at the bottom. Which 4 tubes would you choose? I do want a pretty blue look but also want to make sure the SPS thrive up top.

36" 6500K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 10K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 12K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 16K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 22K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 440 nm Actinic Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 470 nm Actinic Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" SPS UVA Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 530 nm Green Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)

 

[reefhead]

wow those are cool. how much do the tubes run?

 

[thewackyreefer]

Tubes are about $200 and $299 for the UVA. Pretty expensive, but if you take everything into consideration it's not too bad.

 

[lifeform]

Pm sent.

So I'm considering purchasing one of the Sunbrite LED fixtures and 4 tubes to start out with. You can find info on the fixture here.

Vivid has been running some of these on their tanks for a few month's now and they look pretty sweet, plus each tube can be independently controlled.

Anyways, going to start out with 4 tubes and increase if needed.

Tank is 20" deep and I'll be keeping SPS up at the top and acans and favias at the bottom. Which 4 tubes would you choose? I do want a pretty blue look but also want to make sure the SPS thrive up top.

36" 6500K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 10K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 12K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 16K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 22K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 440 nm Actinic Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 470 nm Actinic Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" SPS UVA Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 530 nm Green Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)

 

[Glenn]

wow - even in today's market of LEDs being expensive, IMO that is above and beyond

 

[subielover]

Hmm, I haven't seen these. Pricing seems to be pretty close to the Reefbrite bars which everyone always raves about. If you are using these as your primary lighting, I would probably go with 1 or 2 of the 12k bars, 1 of the 22k bars, and a 470 actinic bar. Just depends on how much blue you like, what size tank will you be using this on.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Hmm, I haven't seen these. Pricing seems to be pretty close to the Reefbrite bars which everyone always raves about. If you are using these as your primary lighting, I would probably go with 1 or 2 of the 12k bars, 1 of the 22k bars, and a 470 actinic bar. Just depends on how much blue you like, what size tank will you be using this on.

Definitely want it pretty blue at least at night. This will be going on a 60g (36" x 20" x 20").

 

[MimicOcto8]

thats a lot of green backs. I really wish the price would come way down. till then i'm with the T5 group.

 

[thewackyreefer]

How much are you guys spending on T5 bulbs that last 9 months? These tubes last YEARS. It may be a big investment up front but trust me, it does pay off in the long run.

Another benefit of this fixture is that the bulbs are swappable, similar to T5's so I can adjust the color to meet my own needs. I appreciate your guys comment on the price, but really that's not what this thread is about.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Just placed the order for the fixture, here's what I went with after checking out the bulbs over another reefers system last night:

36" Sunbrite Fixture
36" 12K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 22K Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" 470 nm Actinic Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)
36" SPS UVA Sunbrite LED Tube (20 watts)

 

[ksc]

"These tubes last YEARS."

How on earth are those going to last "years". They're encased in a tube with no cooling whatsoever. I'd be suprised if these lasted as long as a t5 bulb. That's probably the worst led fixture I've ever seen.

 

[thewackyreefer]

"These tubes last YEARS."

How on earth are those going to last "years". They're encased in a tube with no cooling whatsoever. I'd be suprised if these lasted as long as a t5 bulb. That's probably the worst led fixture I've ever seen.

You've seen one? Where?

I personally felt one last night and there was absolutely no heat. They have a two year warranty on them which is still cheaper than replacing T5's for two years, isn't it? Thanks for your comment, but you obviously pulled it out of your butt.

 

[Viva'sReef]

One side of the entire tube looks like it is a heatsink so I dont think heat would be an issue if the fixture has a fan blowing on them

 

[ksc]

I think you got the wool pulled out of your butt.... How did you feel the junction temperature when the bulbs are encased in some sort of tube? They might "last" 2 years, but so will a t5 tube...

 

[thewackyreefer]

One side of the entire tube looks like it is a heatsink so I dont think heat would be an issue if the fixture has a fan blowing on them

That is correct, the top of the bulb is a heatsink.

 

[thewackyreefer]

I think you got the wool pulled out of your butt.... How did you feel the junction temperature when the bulbs are encased in some sort of tube? They might "last" 2 years, but so will a t5 tube...

Obviously you've done no research on LED's so I'd appreciate you keeping your comments to yourself.

I felt the tube, which includes the heatsink and it was cool to the touch. If you're running T5's for two years you've got a lot to learn.

I should also add that there are some pretty reputable retailers using these fixtures and bulbs whom I have spoke to and they had nothing but good things to say about them.

 

[ahvrivera]

Nice find. Now to think of a sales pitch to give the wife so i can replace my MH....HMMMM cant wait to see pic of them on your system. good luck with them.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Well, after a week of dealing with Vivid and trying to find someone to answer an email at Sunbrite here's my suggestion:

DO NOT BUY SUNBRITE FIXTURES OR TUBES (unless you want terrible customer service)

You will NOT get ANY service from them. For some reason Vivid can't get an answer from the owner of the company as to when the fixture / bulbs will ship. One would think that after a customer spends over $1k on a fixture they'd be able to get some answers but apparently that's not the case. The excuse I've received is that "the owner (Tim) is traveling". Well ya know what I say? If you can't support your products you probably shouldn't be selling them!! I couldn't imagine what would happen if I had an issue with the fixture, I've got to assume it would take WAY too long to even get a phone call so I'm getting a refund.

Time to go with a couple AI SOL blue's.

 

[Luwe2008]

Yup. Ive heard of the tubes dying out in about an Year and at the moment Sunbrite is getting sued by someone so if the other company wins you have to deal with the Sunbrite company in China which will be such a hassle. I personally wouldn't go with the AI SOL blue's either. LED just isn't there yet. Did a lot of research and ended up switching from Halides to the ATI T5s. I love it.

 

[RonMidtownStomp]

What devices are they using? I find it hard to believe that they produce enough light and are cool to the touch. 3W LED's are hot, and I don't believe we're seeing enough light from anything else to be worth the investment.