SteveHash-fish20 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Anybody have any good input or advise on the LED front...??? Go to nano-reef for more info I'm on there often as that's all I have but most seem to run par38's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 +1 on the PAR38's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Flenderson Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I love the par 38, but I've seen a few tanks recently with mini hoods and DIY LEDs inside. I saw a really nice one at barrier reef not long ago. Great build so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 Im leaning toward doing something in a mini hood. Anybody had any experience with the ecopico stunner led strips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 Or does any dody have rough dimentions on the par 38? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 *anybody... duhDOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHash-fish20 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Or does any dody have rough dimentions on the par 38? They come in different optics, commonly 90, 60degree But there are some that are 40, (I think boosled) Skulls and sparrows is selling a bunch, he might know more as he's used them, Also, you can google it. The par38 will be stronger than the LED strips IMO. But that's just me. I'm going par38 on my 4g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramy Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Talk to kenny "epic1" He has the best par38 I have ever seen =) Also has par56 but that may be to big for this tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Par38 would be easy and likely a bit cheaper, but i'd say a 12 LED rapid solderless kit would be really nice. Snag one here: http://www.rapidled.com/12-led-plug-n-play-retrofit-kit-dimmable/ Plus a small heat sink, you'd be in less than $150 after all shipping and you can customize your LED colors to your liking. I'd do 1 red, 1 green, 2 UV, 4 White, and 4 Royal Blue. Would be a killer combo. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Light bulb size - dims on par38 get bigger (diameter and height) the more LEDs it has. Dimmable with a wall switch, no wiring. If you are going with a hood and have the dough, and since you seem handy enough, BlueZReef's color combo sounds like the ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Par38 would be easy and likely a bit cheaper, but i'd say a 12 LED rapid solderless kit would be really nice. Snag one here: http://www.rapidled.com/12-led-plug-n-play-retrofit-kit-dimmable/ Plus a small heat sink, you'd be in less than $150 after all shipping and you can customize your LED colors to your liking. I'd do 1 red, 1 green, 2 UV, 4 White, and 4 Royal Blue. Would be a killer combo. Just my 2 cents. Thanks for the link! This is exactally the kind of thing im looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 The thing with a par 38 is you have to have a fixture or gooseneck or something of the like. My whole goal is to keep the entire setup as compact as possible. Lets keep in mind also this is going to be a pest tank with a mantis and "junk" coral so the "best" lighting isn't exactally nacessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHash-fish20 Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 The thing with a par 38 is you have to have a fixture or gooseneck or something of the like. My whole goal is to keep the entire setup as compact as possible. Lets keep in mind also this is going to be a pest tank with a mantis and "junk" coral so the "best" lighting isn't exactally nacessary. This is true, what your doing will be awesome still, I look forward to the build man keep up your good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Flenderson Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 The latest issue of reef hobbyist "the one with the magnificent anemone on the cover" has a step by step pictorial about small scale DIY led pico hoods. Building from scratch. Looks super nice. Here's a pic of a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 The latest issue of reef hobbyist "the one with the magnificent anemone on the cover" has a step by step pictorial about small scale DIY led pico hoods. Building from scratch. Looks super nice. Here's a pic of a pic. This is exactally along my line of thought. Something clean and compact without all the external do dads and gizmos. Simply simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Flenderson Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Let me know if you want the issue as a reference. Got it here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHash-fish20 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 If you got the money they are selling these nanobox.com LEDs fit under a hood easy. But I as well have that issue of reef hobbyist and if you go that route it's gonna be a nice little tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Holy smokes! those are way pricey for how small they are. I've been looking around alot and am leaning toward doing something with the rapid led stuff. The question i would have at this point is that i notice the White Cree led bulbs have a 5,000- 8,500k color temp. Im used to running 15,000- 20,000k on my larger display, is this how the led stuff is? I have not been able to find an led in a temperture that high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Also an an update; I finally put some water in the tank on tuesday. It held of course. The temperature it runs at seems to be pretty close to the ambient temp of the house. It's been running at about 75.7 pretty steadily. I am a bit surprised at just how much evap there is. So much so the water line in the pump chamber drops to the point of bubbles reaching the pump in just about a day and a half. To combat this im draining the tank today and am going to add another baffle to create a bubble trap. Hopefully this should rectify this problem. Sorry for the blurry pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Par38 would be easy and likely a bit cheaper, but i'd say a 12 LED rapid solderless kit would be really nice. Snag one here: http://www.rapidled.com/12-led-plug-n-play-retrofit-kit-dimmable/ Plus a small heat sink, you'd be in less than $150 after all shipping and you can customize your LED colors to your liking. I'd do 1 red, 1 green, 2 UV, 4 White, and 4 Royal Blue. Would be a killer combo. Just my 2 cents. So i was just looking at this one again. If i understand this correctly with only one driver i will not have the capability to dim the blue seperate from the white? right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Or does any dody have rough dimentions on the par 38? I'm pretty sure most par38 bulbs are roughly the same dimensions as most outdoor flood light bulbs. You would want some distance between the bulb and the tank unless you are going with mostly sps corals. My boostled par30 on my two gallon tank is bright enough to bleach out palys and zoas at 4" from the water surface. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHash-fish20 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I'm pretty sure most par38 bulbs are roughly the same dimensions as most outdoor flood light bulbs. You would want some distance between the bulb and the tank unless you are going with mostly sps corals. My boostled par30 on my two gallon tank is bright enough to bleach out palys and zoas at 4" from the water surface. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 Geeeez, ya I know they can keep sps, ill be getting a gooseneck so I'm looking at 5-8" above water at least Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHash-fish20 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Oops wrong thread lol. My bad for hijacking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 So i was just looking at this one again. If i understand this correctly with only one driver i will not have the capability to dim the blue seperate from the white? right? That's right, the smaller kits just come with 1 as they are usually intended for supplemental lighting. Drivers are around $30 but you need the solder less stuff to unless you want to solder them. If you want a moonlight effect, just buy a moonlight kit separate for 20 or whatever they sell them for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 I'm pretty sure most par38 bulbs are roughly the same dimensions as most outdoor flood light bulbs. You would want some distance between the bulb and the tank unless you are going with mostly sps corals. My boostled par30 on my two gallon tank is bright enough to bleach out palys and zoas at 4" from the water surface. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 So I guess im missing the difference between the par 38 fixture and the 12 led kit that blue z reef pointed out. Why is it i could put the 12 led kit inside a hood which would obviously be inches off the surface but a par fixture would be too much at the same distance with less led? Not that im looking into something like the par 38 but i want to have something i could run fairly close 3-4 inches at max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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