The Cost Of LEDs (1 Viewer)

[decimal]

Sports cars for sure

 

[soymilk]

its very much what the market can bear. But tooling costs for molds and other various things can add up really quick. 3d printing really does reduce the prototyping stage nowadays.

That being said, the sky light build quality is not confidence inspiring. For a 800 dollar light, I want to say I expected a bit more.

 

[Tenny]

Back in the "day" I was building 100w chip LED's for about $50-60 per... that's at consumer prices. I've also worked on some LED stuff for the government and will be going to space soon...

Eventually I got my business license and made agreements within the industry (I've been to the coral/fish warehouses, etc). A $1000 LED probably sells to a wholesale company for $550-650. Of that it's probably $75-100 in parts.

I think the biggest reason for the mark-ups is the R&D. Tuning that LED spectrum is the "special" sauce from most of these manufacturers. Of course programming apps requires servers (most) so all that stuff eventually adds up. With that said I just buy my fixtures, it's not worth my time and effort to build something. Plus they look nicer than everything I built.

Attached are a few shots of my stuff I built for reefing...

(Easiest of the builds, this was really just to supplement my COB LED's with other colors / uv)


(So this was the components I used for most. COB LED's on the left (60 white, 40 blue). Surplus intel heatsinks w/ fans, and then LED Drivers) The only thing missing is the 12v PSU for the fans)

Fully assembled and hanging.


Turned on.

 

[foos]

Some of these companies spend a lot on support as well. I had a Hydra 64HD where the whites on two pucks died and they cross shipped me a replacement. Been a while but if I remember correctly it was a very easy RMA with no $ out of pocket for it.

I also had a Vectra L1 die, got a rebuilt replacement, that died, got a brand new in box L2. I think they also covered shipping and the process was really easy.

 

[R-BallJunkie]

Trying to figure out how i ended up at 50 lbs to support. I think im a good judge of weight, seems right on.

 

[Cody]

Trying to figure out how i ended up at 50 lbs to support. I think im a good judge of weight, seems right on.

Dang. 50 pounds for that fixture?

 

[decimal]

Yeah… 51.99lbs. you’re going to have to tear your luggage apart at the counter to relocate 1.5lbs to another suitcase or pay an overweight fee of 1/4 cost of your ticket. Have a great day.

Seriously though.. those lights are heavy. It’s the passive cooling

 

[R-BallJunkie]

Dang. 50 pounds for that fixture?

yeah, had to extend the frame out, from 36" to 48" for the new tank. became a PITA to do the fitment above the tank so decided to pull it all down to redo. After lugging it to the garage, was struggling a bit. Feels every bit like hauling a 45lb plate. maybe i need to get my soft arse back into the gym.

 

[RR-MAN]

Also the mark up % is insane on Ecotech/Neptune products.

 

[SCUBAFreaky]

Somehow I missed this thread when it started last week. $1000 certainly seems outrageous for a LED light especially when you compare it to other electronics that do way more than just make things shiny and turn on and off. You can buy game consoles, a descent laptop and a pretty good flat screen LED TV for less than $1000 these days. All three of these are FAR more complicated than a reef aquarium LED light. Something DEFINITELY doesn't add up other than consumers are willing to pay the price and not educate themselves that this price is actually pretty ridiculous. Not sure how to address this @Cody other than to show people that there are far cheaper Chinese black box options. And to further complicate the market, big warehouse companies such as BRS and Saltwater Aquarium refuse to sell anything like that with the claim that they are too cheap. I believe there's a double meaning in that last statement.

 

[RR-MAN]

And imagine big tank you need 3-6 fixtures that’s a lot of $$$

 

[decimal]

By now, buyer price / value resistance has been thoroughly tested and established. There is a sweet spot of what people consider reasonable and what the upper limit of that is. That’s where the price sits.

 

[Cody]

Somehow I missed this thread when it started last week. $1000 certainly seems outrageous for a LED light especially when you compare it to other electronics that do way more than just make things shiny and turn on and off. You can buy game consoles, a descent laptop and a pretty good flat screen LED TV for less than $1000 these days. All three of these a FAR more complicated than a reef aquarium LED light. Something DEFINITELY doesn't add up other than consumers are willing to pay the price and not educate themselves that this price is actually pretty ridiculous. Not sure how to address this @Cody other than to show people that there are far cheaper Chinese black box options. And to further complicate the market, big warehouse companies such as BRS and Saltwater Aquarium refuse to sell anything like that with the claim that they are too cheap. I believe there's a double meaning in that last statement.

That’s a really good point you bring up about comparing them to over consumer goods. I can buy a 70” 4K smart TV that can surf the web, download apps, and function as a computer for $700. An LED light that can decently light a 24”x24” surface area? Nah, that’s gonna be $1,000.

Doesn’t add up.

Should we start lighting our tanks with smart TVs?

Edit: I want to try to start growing corals with TVs. What shows do y'all think will grow the best? National Geographic? Disney?

 

[Cody]

Looking at grow lights (for plants, our corals utilize the same chlorophyll though) that you can buy on Amazon and they’re insanely cheap.

 

[soymilk]

Uh oh

- making an enclosed area to control humidity
- have multiple tanks of c02 at the ready
- researching grow lights

I think someone is growing Mary j at their house! Fish room?!? Pfft. More like Kush room.

 

[decimal]

Uh oh

- making an enclosed area to control humidity
- have multiple tanks of c02 at the ready
- researching grow lights

I think someone is growing Mary j at their house! Fish room?!? Pfft. More like Kush room.

i think about this sometimes. All the stuff we have running in out tanks, high intensity lighting at all hours of the day, online orders for high accuracy scales, lab grade powders and ingredients… I am surprised that aquarium people don’t have raids happening on a regular basis. Isn’t high energy usage a tell? A 150g reef tank must use at least half of what a grow room uses. maybe 2 150g tanks? We probably have 50-75% of reefers ready to jump into hydroponics at a moments notice

 

[RR-MAN]

Looking at grow lights (for plants, our corals utilize the same chlorophyll though) that you can buy on Amazon and they’re insanely cheap.

We started with tube lights from HD - then moved on to VHO/T5/MH/LEDs

 

[Erin]

Looking at grow lights (for plants, our corals utilize the same chlorophyll though) that you can buy on Amazon and they’re insanely cheap.

Yes, and they grow algae like champs! Lol

 

[Erin]

Uh oh

- making an enclosed area to control humidity
- have multiple tanks of c02 at the ready
- researching grow lights

I think someone is growing Mary j at their house! Fish room?!? Pfft. More like Kush room.

Nah, it's just an "herb garden"

 

[frankc]

Edit: I want to try to start growing corals with TVs. What shows do y'all think will grow the best? National Geographic? Disney?

Probably the "off the air" show when it just shows a blue screen.