Par 38 LED spotlights
- Thread starter goodtimes
- Start date
Anemonebuff
New member
I ordered these and they ship on 10/01. I will let everyone know how they are. I got the 12K version.
Anemonebuff
New member
heres my system with the new OC ICE CooL.E.D XPE spotlights driven at 750ma (9 emitters, 5RB, 4CW) with 60degree optics and it is plenty bright compared to my MH i had before. The only thing now i need to do is borrow a PAR meter to check out the levels.
Looks great. The colors sure are poppin'!
my 200g DD is only lit by PAR38's
you can find it here in this thread towards the front, or in the large tank forum or on Nano-reef.com
right now i have 20 PAR38's
8 12k PAR38's with 40 optics
4 20k PAR38's with 40 optics
4 custom 60 optics All royal blue
4 custom 60 optics 4 cool blue and 1 neutral white per bulb
So far i love it, it will be another 2 weeks before i can take pics though i'm waiting on all my stuff to adjust to the new bulbs and i also rearranged my rockwork so things are still adjusting to that as well
So far so good
the most recent pics have only 12 bulbs over the tank in 2 weeks i will have new pics
you can find it here in this thread towards the front, or in the large tank forum or on Nano-reef.com
right now i have 20 PAR38's
8 12k PAR38's with 40 optics
4 20k PAR38's with 40 optics
4 custom 60 optics All royal blue
4 custom 60 optics 4 cool blue and 1 neutral white per bulb
So far i love it, it will be another 2 weeks before i can take pics though i'm waiting on all my stuff to adjust to the new bulbs and i also rearranged my rockwork so things are still adjusting to that as well
So far so good
the most recent pics have only 12 bulbs over the tank in 2 weeks i will have new pics
I wish you could put those 12 on a random light mover.
BennyFrank
New member
10W PAR30 20,000K LED Spotlights from RapidLED. 60 degree optics. Really happy with the bulbs thus far and a great company to work with.
BennyFrank
New member
Just kidding, none that I am aware of are dimmable.
greech
New member
10W PAR30 20,000K LED Spotlights from RapidLED. 60 degree optics. Really happy with the bulbs thus far and a great company to work with.
What size tank is that and what are your stocking plans?
Looks great BTW!
BennyFrank
New member
Thanks Graham. It's a standard 29g. Here's a shameless link to my build thread if you'd like to see more;
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1912391
greech
New member
Excellent, will take a look. Much appreciated!
kmu
New member
Im setting up a 48x48x24 240g Cube and thinking of adding T5s or LEDs...
The tank is eurobraced and has a 36x36 opening on top, I got 20" from the tank to the ceiling...
What par38 LED set up do you guys recommend for a mixed reef set up? its not SPS dominated (just a small amount of SPS) it will be LPS, softies and anemone dominated.
Would 9 Par38s work each covering a 12"x12" area since the eurobrace opening is 36"x36"?
THX
The tank is eurobraced and has a 36x36 opening on top, I got 20" from the tank to the ceiling...
What par38 LED set up do you guys recommend for a mixed reef set up? its not SPS dominated (just a small amount of SPS) it will be LPS, softies and anemone dominated.
Would 9 Par38s work each covering a 12"x12" area since the eurobrace opening is 36"x36"?
THX
Anemonebuff
New member
A quick review of the Boost LEDs.
I received the PAR 30 LEDs today. I do not have the Hood ready for them yet, but I do have the track lighting. I tested them with 3 over each 2' area over the 125 gallon.
First I did three of the 12K PAR 30's over each and the color looks very similar to my 20K XM halides. Obviously, not as scattered, but seemingly as bright to the eye. The color was great IMO . I am very pleased with the color rendition.
Then I used 1x12K PAR 30 + 1x6500K PAR 38 + 1x12K PAR 30 per 2' and the color was OK. The white was a little overpowering IMO. The 3x12K's looked much better, but it was obvious that the 6500k bulb(36 watts=12x3watt cool white CREE) are going to be PAR blasting bulbs. The PAR from these may be necessary to carry the light requirements of my SPS corals. The spotlighting is also noticable this way, as it wasn't with the other combo.
I am very impressed with BOOST LED. I am so glad I did not go 20K, they would be far too blue and the color would not blend as well(as you can see in their pictures).
I want to add photos, but Image Shack was infected with a virus and I cannot post the limited photos I have there. If someone would like me to email them to them I will. I will borrow a PAR meter soon and will post my readings once they are available.
I received the PAR 30 LEDs today. I do not have the Hood ready for them yet, but I do have the track lighting. I tested them with 3 over each 2' area over the 125 gallon.
First I did three of the 12K PAR 30's over each and the color looks very similar to my 20K XM halides. Obviously, not as scattered, but seemingly as bright to the eye. The color was great IMO . I am very pleased with the color rendition.
Then I used 1x12K PAR 30 + 1x6500K PAR 38 + 1x12K PAR 30 per 2' and the color was OK. The white was a little overpowering IMO. The 3x12K's looked much better, but it was obvious that the 6500k bulb(36 watts=12x3watt cool white CREE) are going to be PAR blasting bulbs. The PAR from these may be necessary to carry the light requirements of my SPS corals. The spotlighting is also noticable this way, as it wasn't with the other combo.
I am very impressed with BOOST LED. I am so glad I did not go 20K, they would be far too blue and the color would not blend as well(as you can see in their pictures).
I want to add photos, but Image Shack was infected with a virus and I cannot post the limited photos I have there. If someone would like me to email them to them I will. I will borrow a PAR meter soon and will post my readings once they are available.
Chrisrush
New member
Any updates AB?
Logzor
New member
I am pretty sure the Par 38's are only 21 watts. I am not sure what each pulls on a kill-o-watt, though. That's only 126 watts.
The AI module uses a newer, more efficient (more lumens per watt) Cree LED, I believe. This could definitely make a difference in PAR levels.
Most importantly, the AI comes with a controller, which can be used with the APEX (maybe some others, too) to simulate clouds, storms, lunar cycles, etc. I think the stock controller can do lunar cycle and sunrise/sunset on its own.
I recommend looking at the AI thread, if you compare a tank using 1-2 AI modules to a tank using 6-12 PAR 38 bulbs the difference in brightness is significant, in favor of the AI fixture.
I probably need to see the PAR 38s in person but the larger tanks using them look dim (corals and colors look great, though) and spotlighted. I don't see myself dropping 2 grand for zero control over lighting and dealing with a ton of wires. I am a big fan of the longer narrow tanks using 5-6 PAR 38s, though.
Last edited:
I currently have the 12k and all blue Ecoxotic bulbs and get mixed results for certain animals. My clownfish and sun corals look brilliant and perfectly rendered (to my taste ...) under the 12k bulb. On the other hand, my purple frogspawn and red zoas are completely washed out.
The all blue bulbs are great for most of the coral, but the fish look like they are swimming around in the dark.
Mixing the two helps, but the 'banding' is so pronounced it is unpleasant.
Would the Nanotuners 20k bulbs fall somewhere in the middle of these?
Thanks!
The all blue bulbs are great for most of the coral, but the fish look like they are swimming around in the dark.
Mixing the two helps, but the 'banding' is so pronounced it is unpleasant.
Would the Nanotuners 20k bulbs fall somewhere in the middle of these?
Thanks!
Jstdv8
New member
I have the nano-tuners 20k and its pretty sweet. Ive only got it over a 10g frag tank but the colors are amazing and its defiantley not too blue for me. I put the light over my 120g just for fun and its amazing how different the corals look comapred to my t-5's and the shimmer is spectacular.
Only complaint I have is I don't know how high to place the light over my frag tank to give the bulb the correct power, right now I have a big rock full of fire and ice zoas and leathers and then I have another rock that has leathers and purple digitata and a bleached out sour apple monti I got for cheap.
Just not sure what height to put the light at to make sure I have enough light for the monto and the digi and not burn the zoas if thats a problem.
Only complaint I have is I don't know how high to place the light over my frag tank to give the bulb the correct power, right now I have a big rock full of fire and ice zoas and leathers and then I have another rock that has leathers and purple digitata and a bleached out sour apple monti I got for cheap.
Just not sure what height to put the light at to make sure I have enough light for the monto and the digi and not burn the zoas if thats a problem.
Similar threads
