Par38 led?

Sharksfan94 · 02/07/2013, 03:45 PM

Hello all.

I am looking at getting a PAR38 LED to upgrade my lighting. But I am fairly new to saltwater tank keeping so I am looking for some input. I am currently looking at this light:

http://www.ocreef.com/ocreef_dimmabl...tegory_id=5084

And then this one:

http://www.ocreef.com/ocreef_par38_1...tegory_id=5084

So my questions is: which light would you recommend? Down the road I am looking at keeping some zoas, an anemone, and possibly some LPS or SPS. I'm not sure which at this point though. But I do know that I want zoas and an anemone for sure at some point down the road.

unkel j · 02/07/2013, 04:05 PM

What size tank do you have?
I put a par 38 bulb on a 10g and it lights it up pretty good but I would say a 10g is the largest tank that a single par 38 can handle.

Sharksfan94 · 02/07/2013, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unkel j

What size tank do you have?
I put a par 38 bulb on a 10g and it lights it up pretty good but I would say a 10g is the largest tank that a single par 38 can handle.

Oops. I can't believe I forgot to mention that.
I have a 25 gallon tank. Everything I have read has said that 1 par 38 14,000k would be good enough for a tank up to 28 gallons.

unkel j · 02/07/2013, 05:39 PM

I have the 12 led par38 from rapid. Mine is 19w and those are 24w so they look like they might be brighter than mine but I still think you might need two. You can allways buy one, see how it does and add another if needed. It all depends on the dementions of your tank (rectangle needs more light than cube because leds dont spread very far), mounting hight, and the livestock you want to keep.
I run about 4.5" from the water surface with the optic plate off. When the optics are on the sides of the tank are dark. The more I raise it the more even the spread gets but the dimmer it gets too.
This is just my experiance with an older style rapid par38 on my 10g. Maybe someone else can chime in.

unkel j · 02/07/2013, 05:43 PM

I forgot to mention that the soft and lps growth in that tank is awsome. Sps growth is close to nothing but I think that is a water quality issue.

Sharksfan94 · 02/07/2013, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unkel j

I have the 12 led par38 from rapid. Mine is 19w and those are 24w so they look like they might be brighter than mine but I still think you might need two. You can allways buy one, see how it does and add another if needed. It all depends on the dementions of your tank (rectangle needs more light than cube because leds dont spread very far), mounting hight, and the livestock you want to keep.
I run about 4.5" from the water surface with the optic plate off. When the optics are on the sides of the tank are dark. The more I raise it the more even the spread gets but the dimmer it gets too.
This is just my experiance with an older style rapid par38 on my 10g. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Hm. That is all good info. I think I will just start off with one PAR 38 14K LED and if need be I will add a second one. Thank goodness they are not too expensive! And I am definitely more interested in LPS and softies than I am SPS. Thank you very much for your info unkel j!

unkel j · 02/07/2013, 06:12 PM

Your welcome. Good luck!

hambone_smith · 02/07/2013, 10:23 PM

where is a good place to buy a fixture for the par38?

unkel j · 02/08/2013, 09:30 AM

I got mine from rapidled.com

ontop27 · 02/08/2013, 09:41 AM

Definitely need Atleast two.. I have one on an eight gallon

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Sharksfan94 · 02/08/2013, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ontop27

Definitely need Atleast two.. I have one on an eight gallon

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Thank you sir! I will be ordering two instead of one then!

yarrick · 02/13/2013, 06:41 AM

Any news of your light solution?

02/07/2013, 03:45 PM	#1
Sharksfan94 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 103	Par38 led? Hello all. I am looking at getting a PAR38 LED to upgrade my lighting. But I am fairly new to saltwater tank keeping so I am looking for some input. I am currently looking at this light: http://www.ocreef.com/ocreef_dimmabl...tegory_id=5084 And then this one: http://www.ocreef.com/ocreef_par38_1...tegory_id=5084 So my questions is: which light would you recommend? Down the road I am looking at keeping some zoas, an anemone, and possibly some LPS or SPS. I'm not sure which at this point though. But I do know that I want zoas and an anemone for sure at some point down the road.

02/07/2013, 04:05 PM	#2
unkel j Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: prescott,az Posts: 325	What size tank do you have? I put a par 38 bulb on a 10g and it lights it up pretty good but I would say a 10g is the largest tank that a single par 38 can handle.

02/07/2013, 05:39 PM	#4
unkel j Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: prescott,az Posts: 325	I have the 12 led par38 from rapid. Mine is 19w and those are 24w so they look like they might be brighter than mine but I still think you might need two. You can allways buy one, see how it does and add another if needed. It all depends on the dementions of your tank (rectangle needs more light than cube because leds dont spread very far), mounting hight, and the livestock you want to keep. I run about 4.5" from the water surface with the optic plate off. When the optics are on the sides of the tank are dark. The more I raise it the more even the spread gets but the dimmer it gets too. This is just my experiance with an older style rapid par38 on my 10g. Maybe someone else can chime in.

02/07/2013, 05:43 PM	#5
unkel j Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: prescott,az Posts: 325	I forgot to mention that the soft and lps growth in that tank is awsome. Sps growth is close to nothing but I think that is a water quality issue.

02/07/2013, 06:12 PM	#7
unkel j Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: prescott,az Posts: 325	Your welcome. Good luck!

02/07/2013, 10:23 PM	#8
hambone_smith Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Iowa Posts: 41	where is a good place to buy a fixture for the par38?

02/08/2013, 09:30 AM	#9
unkel j Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: prescott,az Posts: 325	I got mine from rapidled.com

02/08/2013, 09:41 AM	#10
ontop27 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 150	Definitely need Atleast two.. I have one on an eight gallon Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

02/13/2013, 06:41 AM	#12
yarrick Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 11	Any news of your light solution?