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Unread 06/26/2013, 02:59 PM   #1
oscarmeir
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 114
Screw in spotlight LED

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the world of reefs, although i do have experience with fresh water aquariums. I would like to turn over my freshwater 90gallon to salt.

One of the parts needing an overhaul is the lighting. I was thinking about building a hanging light fixture using these spot LED bulbs. My tank is 120cm long, and about 50-60 cm deep.

There is a fellow on EBay offering the following: (Yes, I'm trying to keep costs affordable)
Star-18x3w LED aquarium light :
LED Chips: 18PCS 3W Bridgelux LED chips
Wavelength: Blue:440nm-460nm, Cold white 12000K(We also have Red , IR, UV, Orange, white color LEDs , and we can customize color and wavelength on your request)
Voltage: universal voltage: 85-265V
Dimension: diameter:123mm (4.84inches); height:135mm (5.32inches).
Warranty : 3years warranty, 90 days no question asked money back guarantee
Lifespan : > 50000H


More details :
Blue light(440-460nm)and cold white light(12000k) combination can provide very comfortable lighting environment for aquarium creatures , you can raise coral reefs : nona coral , pico reef , freshwater fishes and saltwater fishes with this LED aquarium light , which can perform very good and outperformance traditional LED aquarium lights .
Exclusive Bridgelux aquarium LED chips(blue: 440nm-460nm, cold white:12000K) which is outperformance traditional LED chips , high effiency and long last .


What types of corals would I be able to keep with such bulbs and how many would you recommend, i was thinking about using 6, two rows of three. Is this a worthwhile route to take?
Is 54W an overkill for this size tank, is it better to go with more smaller bulbs?

Thank you all for your input, I appreciate it.
Oscar


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Last edited by oscarmeir; 06/26/2013 at 03:02 PM. Reason: More questions!
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Unread 06/27/2013, 05:31 AM   #2
Ron Reefman
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It's really hard to say much... you see how many people have jumped in here to help with advice. My first question is, how much are you paying for 6 of these bulbs? And then how much more for a fixture to put them all in? Are they dimmable? I see variable voltage, do they mean dimmable by that? And you are looking at blue & white only. I see they offer other colors, do those bulbs cost more? They don't give any PAR values, but with Bridgelux leds they are probably good quality. But if I was going that way, I'd buy one bulb and find somebody with a PAR meter to test it before I committed to 5 more bulbs and other build hardware.

PAR38 bulbs like that were a lot more popular a while back (like a year or more) with people who didn't want to do full blown DIY fixtures, but didn't want to pay $500-$750 for one good led light. I think since EverGrow, Reef Breeders and OceanRevive have come out with full spectrum led fixtures that are dimmable, Par38 bulbs are used a lot less. Two D120's from EverGrow or 2 Arctic S026's from OceanRevive will allow you to keep any kind of coral you want for $360-$420 total ($180-$210 each). Since you are just starting you could do just one with 120 degree lenses and just keep very easy low light corals at the ends.


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Unread 06/29/2013, 02:16 PM   #3
oscarmeir
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Ok thanks for your imput


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Unread 06/29/2013, 05:42 PM   #4
asid61
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Location: Cupertino, CA
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2 reefbreeders value fixture would cost $160 shipped.


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Unread 06/30/2013, 05:55 AM   #5
oscarmeir
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Reefman View Post
It's really hard to say much... you see how many people have jumped in here to help with advice. My first question is, how much are you paying for 6 of these bulbs? And then how much more for a fixture to put them all in? Are they dimmable? I see variable voltage, do they mean dimmable by that? And you are looking at blue & white only. I see they offer other colors, do those bulbs cost more? They don't give any PAR values, but with Bridgelux leds they are probably good quality. But if I was going that way, I'd buy one bulb and find somebody with a PAR meter to test it before I committed to 5 more bulbs and other build hardware.

PAR38 bulbs like that were a lot more popular a while back (like a year or more) with people who didn't want to do full blown DIY fixtures, but didn't want to pay $500-$750 for one good led light. I think since EverGrow, Reef Breeders and OceanRevive have come out with full spectrum led fixtures that are dimmable, Par38 bulbs are used a lot less. Two D120's from EverGrow or 2 Arctic S026's from OceanRevive will allow you to keep any kind of coral you want for $360-$420 total ($180-$210 each). Since you are just starting you could do just one with 120 degree lenses and just keep very easy low light corals at the ends.
Ok so here's what I'm thinking, I don't live in the US so the proper lights u mentioned aren't realistic, at least not at those prices. So yes, I'm working with "last years" lights.
Back on EBay I found some PAR38 bulbs,
Base Type E27
Voltage 85-265 AC/DC
Chip Power 18x2W
Actual Power 30w
Lumens 1900-2020 LM
Size (D*L) 120mm*130mm<
Dimmable Dimmable
Non-Dimmable Available
Color Warm White(2700K-3200K)
Cool White (5700K-6500K)
Beam Angle 60 degrees Available.
(If you want other angles, contact us via message. We offer 90 degree and 120 degree)


These bulbs are $30 a piece shipped. I was thinking of putting in 3 of them, left right and center. Is that an overkill for a 4 foot tank? (They are dimmable).

I was going to build a simple wooden canopy, shouldn't be more then $50. Then I was going to add two T5 blue bulbs. The whole deal will be $150-175.

Can this work?


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