02-25-2017, 05:46 PM
Well I think you know I have a bias opinion. :) Forgetting about my controller this is my opinion on those lights, please don't hate me. :)
I assume you're getting 5 Growbeam 600 Ultima Single as you mentioned they have 12w which matches that light. $615 for 5 singles seem expensive to me considering you still need a $400 controller to do anything with them. I guess its easier to justify the cost because of 5 year warranty but it sounds like that's what they're charging for.
I think these are the LED's it uses, it says 5 of them ($10) a dummy driver ($3) and a case. That's all you get for $123 and still can't control it.
http://www.cree.com/LED-Components-and-M.../XLamp-XBD
I thought most good LED lights put out 20-30w and had a controller built in or at least a knob to dim that's why these seem expensive to me. Maybe they are worth it, I don't know a lot about LED's or fixtures but I think about my DIY light, it uses Cree LED's, the LDD drivers and only cost me $150 to make and it would take at least 10 of those Growbeam 600 singles to match it. Also been running about 2 years without an issue. I can get away with a DIY because I have a canopy over my tank so the mess is hidden. :) That's the nice thing about the factory lights, they look good which is definitely worth something.
And honestly that's not my opinion because it could mean no controller from me. :) The fact is there isn't too many lights that connect directly to Robo-Tank because not many have external ports so the user typically has to do this. So I don't have any recommendations at this time but I'm happy to check out any lights anyone might be interested in using. This is something I need to make as well, I've been wanting to do that for over a year now but no time. Last night I tried to convince a friend to design one for me, fingers crossed lol...
I assume you're getting 5 Growbeam 600 Ultima Single as you mentioned they have 12w which matches that light. $615 for 5 singles seem expensive to me considering you still need a $400 controller to do anything with them. I guess its easier to justify the cost because of 5 year warranty but it sounds like that's what they're charging for.
I think these are the LED's it uses, it says 5 of them ($10) a dummy driver ($3) and a case. That's all you get for $123 and still can't control it.
http://www.cree.com/LED-Components-and-M.../XLamp-XBD
I thought most good LED lights put out 20-30w and had a controller built in or at least a knob to dim that's why these seem expensive to me. Maybe they are worth it, I don't know a lot about LED's or fixtures but I think about my DIY light, it uses Cree LED's, the LDD drivers and only cost me $150 to make and it would take at least 10 of those Growbeam 600 singles to match it. Also been running about 2 years without an issue. I can get away with a DIY because I have a canopy over my tank so the mess is hidden. :) That's the nice thing about the factory lights, they look good which is definitely worth something.
And honestly that's not my opinion because it could mean no controller from me. :) The fact is there isn't too many lights that connect directly to Robo-Tank because not many have external ports so the user typically has to do this. So I don't have any recommendations at this time but I'm happy to check out any lights anyone might be interested in using. This is something I need to make as well, I've been wanting to do that for over a year now but no time. Last night I tried to convince a friend to design one for me, fingers crossed lol...
