PAR 38 bulbs

[magdelan]

I am looking for a PAR 38 to go over my gigantic 7g tank. I have found two bulbs that interest me. The first one is a twelve LED bulb with six 450nm blues and six 15k whites. The second bulb is a five LED bulb with two Royal Blues and three 12k whites. Would anyone suggest one over the other?

 

[teamdulski]

You certainly want one that is over 15 watts. Also depends on what color you like, an LED that is rated at 20000 Kelvin looks best IME.

 

[cardiffgiant]

I'll share my experiences with par38's later today. What corals are you planning on putting in the tank?

 

[Eastamherstbias]

They rust. I would avoid them.

 

[magdelan]

I want to have a couple sps in there. Maybe a small nem and/or a clam. I probably going to go with an ecoxotic PAR 38. Now I'm not sure if I should go with the 12k or the 20k. I like the blue of the 20k but I want the coral to grow too. Decisions, decisions.

 

[Cptn Spaulding]

They do not rust (at least not nearly as much, and that's just the heat sink part, the bulbs are protected from it) if you have them high enough, and since they usually come with 60 degree optics, that shouldn't be a problem on a 7g. They pump out a ton of PAR. The coral will most definitely grow with a 20k PAR 38. I know because I have some on my 90g. It depends on what spectrum you really enjoy. The 12k for me is too white. The 20k is a great look. It's definitely not too blue and the shimmer is fantastic. How tall is your 7g? Depending on the dimensions, I would probably have it a good 8 inches off the top of the water..possibly higher. I have an acro that is doing very well now but when I first changed them from my 4 bulb T5 fixture it bleached a decent amount... It is about 5 inches under the water and my bulbs are about 5 inches from the surface. I will most likely be raising them soon because it is a bit too spotlight-like.

 

[magdelan]

Cptn, that was very helpful! Thank you for posting. I was leaning toward the 20k bulb because I dislike the white look aswell. When I had my 180g, I was running 3x 250w 20k Radiums and 2x six foot URI VHOs. I loved the color of my tank with them.

 

[cardiffgiant]

I have 2 over my frag tank. I recommend trying to go with 2/3 blue bulbs and the 60 degree optic. The 80 is too direct and gives you areas that are too shades, and a center area where the light is too intense for some corals.

Zoas and LPS do well for me, but I've had issues getting SPS to thrive under them. They grow well, but the color is dull in comparison to what I get with T5. As a result, I use my frag tank mainly for the zoas and LPS and keep most SPS frags in my display.

I have also had rust issues with mine, and I keep them over 15" above the surface of the water.

 

[magdelan]

Where on the bulb did you experience the rust and in what time period?

Does anyone know the actual PAR on these bulbs?

 

[Johnny C]

I recommend trying to go with 2/3 blue bulbs and the 60 degree optic. The 80 is too direct and gives you areas that are too shades, and a center area where the light is too intense for some corals.

It's actually the opposite... the larger the number, the wider the optic. 80° optics are more wide spread vs. the narrow 40/60° optics. I agree though... the tighter optics provide "hot spots" and won't spread your 7G evenly.

 

[magdelan]

With that being said, does anyone know the optics on this bulb? I was reading something about not getting an option to choose the optics on the Ecoxotic bulb, but you can with a brand (that I haven't heard of nor can I find it online) called nano customs. Any help would be great.

 

[Jacwil]

I'm gonna toss another option at ya Mike. http://www.ecoxotic.com/aquarium-led-lights/led-light-fixture/led-arm-light.html

I have this stock unit on my 4.4g rimless. I didn't realize until I was looking at different options for ya that you can add one or two more "strips" to these fixtures to add intensity and to fine tune your color spectrum desires.

 

[teamdulski]

I will one up you Justin, 16watts and made of aluminum $90 retail at most places.

http://www.wave-point.com/Lighting_folder/LEDHOClampLight.html

 

[Eastamherstbias]

I have a ton of rust on mine. It happened 1 month after I bought them and called and complained. The guy told me that they are not coated to protect against rusting. Which still makes no sense.

I did buy a Evolution 120w at the same time and have no rust on it at the same height.

They do grow toadstools and birdsnest well along with a good par.

 

[Jacwil]

How far do you have them mounted above the tank Austin? All 4 rusted?

I've had several brands and never rusted but I also never had any less than 12" from the AWL.

 

[undertai]

Check out boostled also its a par 30. And I using it on a 8 gallon nano tank. I have it about 8 inches above the water. Been a little over 3 months and no rust.

Sent from my ZT ICS using Tapatalk 2

 

[Eastamherstbias]

I have had them between 8 inches and 5.5 inches. The 20k rusted last. They were the ones with the white enclosure. The coating protected a little longer. They are on my frag tank in my basement that no one sees so I don't mind the rust.

 

[cardiffgiant]

Austin and I both have nanotuners evil par38's. I had one that I kept a few inches from the water for 5 months and it is badly rusted. I added a second that has always been 15+ from the surface and it has some rust after about 10 months of use. The rust after 10 months would be unsightly over a display.

 

[magdelan]

Well, that's pretty discouraging about the rust. Now what?

Justin, I like the idea, however, I feel that there just aren't enough watts for what I want to keep... maybe I'm wrong.

Adam, how much does it cost?

Both lights seem nice, but I know that they were both built for rimless tanks. I'd probably have to mod the molding on my tank to accomodate the clamp. Now I'm looking at rapidled . These solderless LED's are right up my alley.

 

[Jacwil]

Yea 2 of mine were NT Par 38s as well..too bad the company folded so quick!

Mike, the DIY route would be your best bet for sure!