Par 38 LED spotlights

[Fish'InMN]

I do not know where you get your misinformation from, but BoostLED uses 3 watt Edixeon LEDs. 5x3 watt LEDs run at 2 watts a piece for a total of 10 watts.

Plus, stunners use 6 watts of power for 12x0.5 watt LEDs. Panorama modules use 12x3 watt Cree LEDs underdriven at 1 watt.

IMO the PAR38s would be better than the Ecoxotics, but overall 2 Reefbrite 50/50 strips would probably work best for you app and be the most cost effective.

Here is the BoostLED site:

http://www.boostled.com/products/par30-reef-lamps

I got my 'misinformation' from a couple multimeters.

Regardless of what power LEDs are used, the bulbs aren't 100% efficient: the amount of power consumed by the entire bulb cannot be the same amount of power fed to the LEDs. The circuitry in the BoostLED bulbs has to convert 120VAC to ~22VDC at a constant current. Considering the cost and space available in the bulb, a 20% drop in 'power' from AC to DC and a 10% drop over the constant-current driver are reasonable assumptions. That adds up to a 30% loss from 10W input which means each of the 5 LEDs is receiving 1.4 Watts and a total of 7 Watts of LED power.

 

[Anemonebuff]

I got my 'misinformation' from a couple multimeters.

Regardless of what power LEDs are used, the bulbs aren't 100% efficient: the amount of power consumed by the entire bulb cannot be the same amount of power fed to the LEDs. The circuitry in the BoostLED bulbs has to convert 120VAC to ~22VDC at a constant current. Considering the cost and space available in the bulb, a 20% drop in 'power' from AC to DC and a 10% drop over the constant-current driver are reasonable assumptions. That adds up to a 30% loss from 10W input which means each of the 5 LEDs is receiving 1.4 Watts and a total of 7 Watts of LED power.

So you use a multimeter and make assumptions on power lost to drivers and a drop from AC to DC?

Did you test each individual LED in the BoostLED while it was running? You are portraying assumptions as fact and is intellectually dishonest.

Regardless of 1.4 or 2 watts they are 3 watt LEDs that are underdriven, just like Ecoxotic Stunners and Panoramas.

I will admit I made a mistake on the stunners. They are 24 LEDs driven at approximately 0.25 watts each(probably less making general assumptions).

Either way you cannot compare stunners to the BoostLED. A closer comparison would be Panoramas and BoostLEDs, although the BoostLED still drives their LEDs at a higher wattage(1.4 or 2 watts compared to Panoramas at 1 watt per LED).

 

[bohannbj]

I just ordered 5 of the 7 bulb par 38s from rapid. It will be some time before I get them up and running, much less the tank, but I'll post pics of them. I figure I can always get some boost blues if it isn't blue enough for my taste.

 

[Anemonebuff]

I would suggest ReefBrite strips for blue supplementation. You would need to match your 12Ks, bulb for bulb, with the all blues to have uniform coverage. That would be very expensive.

 

[bohannbj]

They told me in an email that these build come out at 17-18 k so they may be just fine. Lighting color is just so subjective I'll have to check it out when it arrives and go from there.

 

[Anemonebuff]

See for yourself, but IME Rapids are more 12K and the Boosts are 14Kish.

 

[Laurier]

Hey guys, I am a bit confused on what would be the best set up and how many par38's I should run on my cube. It's 20"x20"x16" any advice would be appreciated and they will be replacing my 150MH

 

[bohannbj]

Probably 2

 

[adam87]

Two par38's would be good. Rapids leds are going to have a sale any day now. So wach out for their post in their form. It will be only a one day sale.

 

[Anemonebuff]

2 Rapid LED par38 or 2 Boost LED par30. The Rapids will be brighter, but 16" is not so deep and the Boost LEDs will be fine.

 

[Higgy2010]

Quick update: I just got a used MH light from a fellow reefer and Evil's PAR38 from Nanotuners. On first impression, the PAR38 does just what it's supposed to do, spotlighting, although raising it does cover most of my 24G cube. The MH, which has been running for the past 2 days, covers the entire cube and lights up every nook and corner.
The brightness is roughly the same, though the PAR38's shimmering effect and blue light is less harsh and personally easier on the eyes than the MH. One big advantage to the PAR38 is the coolness factor, as in temperature. Running the MH for 8 hours raised my tank temp from 70 to 77. I don't want to buy a chiller, so I'll have to raise the MH if I intend to use it.
Tomorrow I'll build a housing for the PAR38 and put it to the test. I'll snap a few photos for comparison as well.

 

[Anemonebuff]

Just use 2 par38s and your coverage will be much better. You will only have dark areas in the upper corners of the tank. Be careful with the par38s with 40* optics, they will be stronger in the PAR department than a 250 watt bulb. You could burn your corals. I burnt some palys and softies with my 60* optics.

 

[msr224]

Quick update: I just got a used MH light from a fellow reefer and Evil's PAR38 from Nanotuners. On first impression, the PAR38 does just what it's supposed to do, spotlighting, although raising it does cover most of my 24G cube. The MH, which has been running for the past 2 days, covers the entire cube and lights up every nook and corner.
The brightness is roughly the same, though the PAR38's shimmering effect and blue light is less harsh and personally easier on the eyes than the MH. One big advantage to the PAR38 is the coolness factor, as in temperature. Running the MH for 8 hours raised my tank temp from 70 to 77. I don't want to buy a chiller, so I'll have to raise the MH if I intend to use it.
Tomorrow I'll build a housing for the PAR38 and put it to the test. I'll snap a few photos for comparison as well.

Having the tank fully lit from glass to glass front and back will mean more time using your algae scraper. I adjusted my 38's to try to avoid lighting the front glass. I can tell I am slightly off because I have one side that gets algae...... the rest isn't lit and I haven't had to clean it since I changed lights.

 

[Anemonebuff]

Now that you mention it. I have not cleaned my front or back glass in weeks.

 

[ari5736]

Anyone know how the Rapid 7 led 17 watt compares to Evil's 5 led 21watt par38 as far as intensity goes?

 

[Anemonebuff]

Evil's will have greater PAR, but they are now only available in 40* optics. You will need more to cover the area a 60 watter will. They are also driven at a higher wattage to get the most out of each diode. He says that the heatsinks can handle it. The Rapids get hot to the touch but not enough to burn you. If they were run at the full 3 watts a piece I think they may get too hot for the diodes IMO.

 

[Anemonebuff]

Anyone know how the Rapid 7 led 17 watt compares to Evil's 5 led 21watt par38 as far as intensity goes?

Check pages 10-14 or so and look at Beaker's posts. He has done some PAR measurements and mounting techniques with the Evill PAR bulbs with 40* optics.

 

[bohannbj]

It also stands to reason that since the rapids are not running at such a high intensity, that they will last considerably longer. I have some with 60s on the way and will post updates. i have to one thing, Rapids customer service as far as ordering goes was smooth. I sent emails late into the night and always had a response back in under an hour. Plus the bulk rate discount was way more than I expected (20 off). What did you guys do with your old halide setups?

 

[oscar.millan]

Functionally they seem to be great, but I just can't get over the aesthetics. I might juts be picky, any thoughts?

 

[bohannbj]

All preference man, like a spouse. Just not as expensive.