Is this LED kit OK?
- Thread starter smyke
- Start date
Sorry to hijack this thread but I have a question for dbosman. I am looking into leds for my 6 foot planted 125 gallon. Does 50 Cree xpg led's sound about right. Or should I go for the 108 bridgelux's http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/108--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html or is that over kill and should I get
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/90--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html ?
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/90--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html ?
Tony, usually I would charge you for/with hijacking but since you are from CT I will let that slide. 
come to find out the kit is $95 with the Meanwell. so with shipping charge of $37 it has just become a $132 kit instead of $75.
I will have to see if I can find the separate components in the US for less so the shipping will not kill me.
I will have to see if I can find the separate components in the US for less so the shipping will not kill me.
That's a difficult and complicated question. On the whole, I'd suggest the Meanwell driver. If you decide to automate later on, my current understanding is that the Meanwell's are more easily controlled. The people at Aquastyle will let you mix and match, by the way. They list kits to help make it easier for customers.
Some shipping charges make life difficult. I like to support vendors when I can justify some premium, but some times one could order most of the same parts from China, pay less, and sometimes have faster delivery. I wanted to get my son some DIY all inclusive electronics kits, but on a $50.00 order shipping was $30 - $40. So, instead I ordered ten of this and a hundred of that from Jameco.
Two sites I'm happy with that you might like to check out are www.dealextreme.com for drivers and www.satistronics.com for emitters. Some sellers on eBay are selling LED emitters in batchs of ten, for $10.00. They may not be as consistent from piece to piece as Cree binned units, but this isn't rocket science anymore.
Dealextrame's web site "catalog" is a pain to navigate, but if you're will to invest time, or use Google to search the site, there are a lot of bargains amongst the dross.
