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GU10 LED Build Thread (Chinese Ebay Lights)


TinyGiant

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28g nano noob

i just ordered 1 of each bulb and 2 sockets to see how i like them in person maby ill build a little 3g bow front and make a canopy for them with it

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i just ordered 1 of each bulb and 2 sockets to see how i like them in person maby ill build a little 3g bow front and make a canopy for them with it

 

With only two bulbs half your tank will look white, half blue with blending in the middle I think. Add a third blue for a mini tank. Although par wise you'd be good with 2 bulbs, remember that led spacing and amounts depend more on color blending over par. Par is increased or decreased with optics.

Even my custom bulbs showed spotlighting of white depending on how the bulbs were angled.

Edited by Neya
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drunkenmonk21

Im going to be setting up a 29g tank for macros and a couple LPS(frogspawn,hammers)

Dimensions 30 x 18x 12

 

Question is what light combos and how many do you think I would need for this tank?

 

Thanks,

 

Josh

Edited by drunkenmonk21
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Im going to be setting up a 29g tank for macros and a couple LPS(frogspawn,hammers)

Dimensions 30 x 18x 12

 

Question is what light combos and how many do you think I would need for this tank?

 

Thanks,

 

Josh

+1 I have the same tank! Very interested in the verdict. What about for all coral not just macro?

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28g nano noob
With only two bulbs half your tank will look white, half blue with blending in the middle I think. Add a third blue for a mini tank. Although par wise you'd be good with 2 bulbs, remember that led spacing and amounts depend more on color blending over par. Par is increased or decreased with optics.

Even my custom bulbs showed spotlighting of white depending on how the bulbs were angled.

I figured that would happen. But I just really wanna see how they light up the tank I use a mh now and really like the shimmer effect

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I figured that would happen. But I just really wanna see how they light up the tank I use a mh now and really like the shimmer effect

The beauty of these bulbs is, if you dislike the blend you can always add another later :)

 

The shimmer on LEDs is much more intense then MH shimmer IMO. I think you'll love it (although some MH lovers think its too much shimmer)

Edited by Neya
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The beauty of these bulbs is, if you dislike the blend you can always add another later :)

 

The shimmer on LEDs is much more intense then MH shimmer IMO. I think you'll love it (although some MH lovers think its too much shimmer)

 

 

Put my order in for 11 4x1w blue through LED-HK, after contacting them about purchasing 11 through them direct, the price was no different then buying a lot of 10($6.50ea) +1($7) through ebay. Plus, ebay was blocking their email from being messaged, so I just said I cant wait another night and ordered.

 

I was going to go with 3x1w for $4.18 through seller dreammacys4 however another seller had 4x1w whites for $4.50 which was seller baobao7879

 

I was wasting too much time messaging sellers this time looking for a good deal, and maybe language barrier was the problem. I waited 3 nights on one seller who told me he had 4x1w in blue for $4.50 then on the third night he suddenly said "We do not carry these in blue"

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Can someone give the length of a LED-HK 4x1w bulb installed in a ceramic socket. I also need the diameter of the socket and the diameter of the thickest part of the bulb. Im trying to build my hood since I have to wait about 2 weeks for my bulbs to come in.

Never mind. I found a post that had the measuments.

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Has anyone used 10k or 14k whites? I found a supplier that sells them for $8.70 for 3x1w with Edison LED or $16.70 for 3x2w with CREE LED. I'm thinking about trying a couple of these.

Edited by dlogfx
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Has anyone used 10k or 14k whites? I found a supplier that sells them for $8.70 for 3x1w with Edison LED or $16.70 for 3x2w with CREE LED. I'm thinking about trying a couple of these.

 

Most have swayed away from using 10k+ whites, as many colors in the tank look dull with them.

I definitely would not replace all the 6k whites with them.

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wildmanzeke

28G noob,

 

"watch you talking bout willis, Dat him!"

 

hahaha, Everytime i see your signature i have to go watch that part. Me and my wife crack up everytime.

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MisturrTinnie

I'm gonna be starting a 20L frag tank. What kind of setup should I run? It will be half fill (6"). So nothing too crazy. I wanna cover all 30" of the length. Any help would be great. (Optics, number of LEDs, etc.) hoping its cheaper than my NC12 cree led build which I love but it was really costly.

 

Thank you guys!

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28g nano noob
28G noob,

 

"watch you talking bout willis, Dat him!"

 

hahaha, Everytime i see your signature i have to go watch that part. Me and my wife crack up everytime.

lol yeah mr chow shld be president aha

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lol yeah mr chow shld be president aha

 

+1

 

Has anyone done the math on bulbs per guage wire?

The 4x1 did not say voltage or mA drawn, I figure at *some* point there should be concern of overload.

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Well I've had my 8/8 mix of white and blue on since the second week in July and the SPS are still browned out :angry: Sucks... Hoping the colors will start turning around eventually :unsure: ... I'm up to about 6-7 hours with them on at 12" above the tank on a 25 cube... Everything else is fine with the tank...

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MeanGreenEyes

Got my leds this morning and just bought a basic $6 wall shelf to mount them on for the time being...I want to see how well they work over the tank before I go all out making a hood for these...I'm no expert electrician so bare with the messy wiring...also included a pic of the screws I used to mount the sockets to the shelf...they fit perfectly...also spent most of my day at work wiring these up...

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Just got my lights in today but haven't got my sockets yet. That didn't stop me from rigging something for a temporary solution. I don't really have anything in the tank yet, I need to let the tank cycle a few more weeks. Here's a pic of my ghetto rig.

 

IMG_3082-1.jpg

IMG_3078-1.jpg

Edited by dlogfx
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hmm.. those fixtures look familiar... ;)

 

 

:lol: lol. yeah thanks for the idea Philip. Its too bad I cant use these in my final hood; I like how they adjust.

Edited by dlogfx
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28g nano noob

im gonna need to replace my antics and mh bulb soon and in sted of doing that i figured id ask i have 2 on the way to see if i like them but how many would it take to light up a 28g nano cube like a x mas tree i was thinking if i could squeeze 20 above it in a canopy or something does any 1 think its possible ?

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Wow, just read this whole tread. I am new to the saltwater world. Currently setting up a 10 gal tank with the help of the LFS. I do all his computer work so he has been giving me everything at cost. I assume he will teach me the right way. if he wants his computers to get fixed LOL. but anyway I told him about this method and he stated it should work and to give it a try. So, I just ordered 8 leds to start.

 

BTW this is a very interesting thead and seems to be a cheaper way to get into leds.

 

Zy

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Wow, just read this whole tread. I am new to the saltwater world. Currently setting up a 10 gal tank with the help of the LFS. I do all his computer work so he has been giving me everything at cost. I assume he will teach me the right way. if he wants his computers to get fixed LOL. but anyway I told him about this method and he stated it should work and to give it a try. So, I just ordered 8 leds to start.

 

BTW this is a very interesting thead and seems to be a cheaper way to get into leds.

 

Zy

 

i've been in the hobby 17 years and worked at a lfs for 16 of them. Knowing the ins and outs of pricing and such has always given me insight into whats really worth the money.. or worth waiting until something cheaper comes along. After looking at the LEDs that were coming through the store i figured i would try something cheaper before dumping a ton of money in a hood with the same leds. Its worked out really well. i'm very happy with the results.

 

 

 

 

 

Well I've had my 8/8 mix of white and blue on since the second week in July and the SPS are still browned out :angry: Sucks... Hoping the colors will start turning around eventually :unsure: ... I'm up to about 6-7 hours with them on at 12" above the tank on a 25 cube... Everything else is fine with the tank...

 

 

they will recolor. any time you change lighting on acros they have the possibility of doing that. If i find some time today i will snap some pics of the coloration on some acros that started out brown under the LEDs :)

 

one ended up being a larry jackson tricolor. another was brown and now is a iridescent green blue color with baby blue polyps. all of the sps i have are doing very well and coloring nicely. takes a little bit .. but well worth the wait :)

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