That $$ for a 12 LED fixture is way low. Unless you take lots of short-cuts (low watt LED), iffy drivers etc you should expect to spend more around $300 - $400 for a 12 LED High Output system. I've got one on my 12g Nano-Cube and LOVE it.IT's actually a 14 LED system but 2 of them are UV and the jury is still out on UV LEDs. I'm running 6x3w Royal Blue Cree and 6x3w White Cree. My tank is thriving under LED and I've got softies, LPS and one SPS (actually the SPS bleached immediately so...??).
The Ecoxotics do not use the same output LEDs (Cree XR-E, XP-E, XP-G) most are using for DIY builds. They are 1w emitters I believe (unknown origin. No published specs). Besides wattage ratings (which only gives a very rough idea of relative output), other important factors to consider when shopping for LEDs are lumen maintenance, drive current, and efficiency. The above mentioned Cree emitters rate amongst the highest currently in the industry in terms of superior lumen maintenance and efficiency (more lumen per watt). If you were to compare the 12 emitter Ecoxotics with a 12 emitter Cree XR-E based rig for example, the Cree based rig's output would be significantly more than the Ecoxotics. If you are interested in prebuilt commercial LED solutions, I recommend checking out the AquaIllumination units, as they use Cree emitters which are properly cooled to ensure Cree's spec'd maximum useful life (11 years running 12 hours a day). Even after 11 years, you are still left with 70% of original output. -Robert
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