Aquastyle or RapidLED?

So I've been thinking about taking the plunge into a DIY LED kit and Ive been contemplating on whether to just go with the 48 LED kit from RapidLED or get a 72 LED kit from aquastyle.

These are the DIfferences

Aquastyle:
Bridgelux LED:

White 10000K
Royal Blue 452-455nm
Kit includes:

72 x 3 watts Bridgelux LED
72 x 60 degree optics
4 x Maxwellen dimmable LED driver (100V-240V)
4 x potentiometer (control dimming)
4 x heatsink plaster
2 meter wire
16 x wire connector
4 x power cord

Cost (including shipping):$221

RapidLED:
24 Cool White Cree XP-G R5 LEDs
24 Royal Blue Cree XP-E LEDs
48 Cree XP-E/XP-G Lenses (Choose from either 40, ~60 or 80 degree lenses)
4 Mean Well ELN-60-48P dimmable drivers or 4 Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable drivers
1 Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive or 1 tube of Thermal Grease
8 water resistant wire nuts
4 power cords (US + Canada orders only)
47 pieces of pre-cut wire

Cost (including shipping):$385

the main differences I have found with bridgelux and cree is that Cree is slightly more efficient and are rated a couple more PAR. with that being said I feel that the bridgelux kit with more LEDs will more than make up for the little less par and im not too worried about efficiency since its more efficient than my current lights anyway.

the other main difference is in the drivers. both are dimmable but maxwellen is not compatible with a controller(not that i have one). Also the meanwell is more efficient and runs cooler and is quieter...that being said my TV is on almost 24/7 so the noise really isnt an issue and my tank is right by a window and I could easily place the drivers on there for better ventilation or i could point a fan at it etc.

I have read good reviews from happy customers on both ends with both sets of LEDs.

Now what I am trying to get at is there anyone out there with bad reviews of either or if anyone can debunk one or the other.

Other than the drivers I dont see any real major problems, for the price of the kit though I figure I'll give the Aquatyle a shot and worse case scenario eventually in the future I may wind up switching to meanwells and selling the maxwellen drivers but before I pull the trigger I'd like to be corrected or reassured...Cosmo and Reefaholic have done a ton of research on these and sent me some links on it and Ive done some reading on the issue so its not an unresearched thing.

 

Why dont you buy the aquastyle kit and buy the rapid led drivers?

 

That's one of the things I've considered in my planning for a new build. Plus, if you lack a controller, you can always look into the rapid led controllers.

 

Well I know its the best of both worlds because not only do they have their own controller, i believe the dimmable ballasts are compatible with the apex. I read it on a thread but cant find it as of the moment.

 

well the kit includes the maxwellen drivers so might as well try them out before automatically giving them a bad rap but worst case scenario I could always change out the drivers somewhere down the line which probably will but I figured I might give the Maxwellen ones a shot and save up for a different set of drivers because i cant afford both this kit plus 6 meanwell drivers(thats how many are needed) so anyone else have anymore comments or concerns?

by the way long time since hearing from you bruh, any new updates on the build going on?

 

I have some Bridgelux LEDs from aquastyle, with meanwell drivers running them. These LEDs are MUCH less powerful than Cree 3w. I would guesstimate that it would take 3 Bridgelux to equal the PAR that Cree provides. I would stay away from the Bridgelux. You get what you pay for.

 

i dont remember where i had read it but someone had compared the par readings between the two if them and it wasnt a huge difference something like a difference of ~10 par

 

I would strongly contest that testing. The brightness to the eye is huge. I had 48 Bridgelux running, and it was a lot dimmer than 12 Cree 3w running around 60%. Good for FOWLR tanks, but not for LPS, and certainly not for SPS.

 

thank you for your input

 

with all due respect look into reefkoi and boostLED they both have pretty good fixtures and both use bridgelux

as for the brightness from my understand thats from the older 2w bridgelux compared to the newer 3w

with everything said I spoke to rapidLED and they were pretty positive that I would only need their 36 LED kit to light my 55 well enough for softies and lps with some sps in the upper half of the tank and same with a clam....now double the amount of LEDs, i was planning on the 72 kit I feel it would just about make up for the less efficient LED and also give a little better coverage in the tank, also I am skeptical to believe 3 bridgelux=1 cree although I do think crees are much more powerful that is probably a bit of an exaggeration...ive seen other people make similar claims but no concrete evidence or evidence data wise to prove this. After reading your review I went and did another 3 hours or so of research and the happy consumers outweighed the unhappy probably almost 10:1 with no exaggeration. I saw pictures of similar set ups with corals and everything looks happy and thriving. Most everyone had no issue with the actual LEDs however commented on the drivers not being the best quality and if I agree and dont like the drivers I can always upgrade to meanwells or another driver further down the line.

Alsoas for brightness for corals I feel that is a little off...just about any coral can grow in most conditions if acclimated properly....right now I only have 2x65w PCs on my 55 and my zoas grow like crazyand my other softies have shown growth, all my LPS is happy and slowly growing, I even have a few pieces of purple monti cap all at different heights and amounts of flow and all 3 pieces seem to be doing well although growth rate is at a crawl which is understandable so an upgrade to these LEDs would be a big difference

This is not a bash on you I was just putting some more of my research and my educated opinion out there. I really do appreciate your input and it made me research a little bit more and reassure myself a bit. worse comes to worse I could always supplement with my old PC lighting or with a couple t5s