Milkeeway Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hello everyone at Nano-Reef. So I bit the bullet and finally bought one of Rapid's new Par38 bulbs with 60 degree optics. I searched google for hours with no luck on finding a quality review so here it is. Everything looks good on paper we have seven Cree XR-E LED's. The same LED's found in Evil's Par38(His do include some tweaking however.) So to elaborate on those seven LED's we have a 3 Royal Blue, 1 Blue, 2 Cool White, and 1 Warm White! Now this is an interesting light combination. Normally we see 3 Royal Blues + 2 Cool Whites for a 20k light. Or we'll often see 3 Cool Whites + 2 Royal Blues for a 12k light. For those unfamiliar with what that means basically a 20k light is going to give your tank a nice blue look where as a 12k light will give it a crisp white(Daylight). I have read that the Par levels, or the amount of light given off by the bulb is virtually the same whether it is 20k or 12k. That being said I have also read that some say a 12k light can offer faster growth. I am not here to take sides, do your research and find what's best for you! Comes with 3 Royal Blue, 1 Blue, 2 Cool White and 1 Warm White CREE XR-E LEDs Available with 60 or 80 degree lenses Anodized finish prevents corrosion and rust Compact size is perfect for Nano and Pico tanks Only uses 17W Fits standard E26 light sockets Now back to this bulb! I was extremely happy with the quality of this product. I ordered this bulb Friday and received it Monday so I am very pleased with the speed of their shipping. The bulb has a nice solid weight and the anodized black aluminum design is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. I screwed the bulb into a standard light socket to test it and make sure nothing was defective. It wasnt! The LED's are EXTREMELY bright and I would not look at them directly for any length of time(I think I still see 7 dots on my monitor ;} ) Due to the design of this bulb it is highly recommended that you do not use it in a covered lamp but who'd want to? Obviously the true test of this bulb is not going to be based on aesthetics alone! It will be time tested over my 3 Gal JBJ Pico to see how it affects the growth and life of my corals. Below I will be publishing some pictures I took of the bulb as well as a link to an "unboxing" video of the bulb. Youtube Unboxing: Please feel free to ask me any questions about the bulb or if you would like more pictures compared to something else you have around the house for size I'd be more than happy to do so! For those of you interested in the fixture: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/6878...r:referralID=NA Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 I just bought a fixture from Office Depot. Unfortunately right out of the box it cannot support the weight of the bulb even though it has side screws to tighten three separate joints. However it was a simple fix. I just took a zip tie to it as you can see in the picture. Now you can tug on it and it doesn't move. As far as the lighting goes I love the color. I had it under some 50/50 Fluorescent bulbs which were quite bright but it was a very "white" color that I did not care for very much. The color this bulb gives off is very unique (to me anyways) it is not quite as blue as a 20k setup however it does have sort of a purple-white look to it. When you cover up the warm white you see an immediate difference, it becomes extremely blue. If you do not like the color of 20k aquariums however you still want some color because your also not too fond of the white 12k setups I recommend this bulb to you. It will enhance the color of your corals without making you feel like your looking at your tank through blue tint. Without enough experience I do not know if this falls under the 14k I'd have to check out some setups in person. Last note is that the shimmer effect is insane! I have so much surface agitation I do indeed get a disco ball effect. Just something to consider if yours is setup that way. Other than that I am definitely very pleased! Link to comment
redfishsc Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Can you take a pic that isn't quite so overexposed? You may need to zoom in on the tank a little, but it's hard to get an idea what the color is really like. It does look insanely bright though! Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Yeah absolutely that picture was taken more for the fixture. Check back in a couple minutes I'll have one up! Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Ok so here's the best I can do with my current camera. Fortunately though I did have some pictures of when I had the fluorescent fixture over it so you can see a side by side! Here is a FTS under the fluorescents Here is a FTS under Rapid's LED Picture of a Zoa I picked up under Fluorescents Picture of a Zoa I picked up under Rapid's LED Just a shot showing the shimmer I will say the pictures come out a lot more blue than what I see in person. It is a light purple to me. Link to comment
Freemind Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I have the Rapid LED Par38 with 60 degree optics on my 3 gallon. Check the pix in my signature for more samples of this light. Link to comment
joshik Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 i just bought these 12w par38 with 6white and 6blue leds for $68...and each color is dimmable via remote control. i have one over my 12g right now... i might hang up the 2nd one to cover the entire tank with more lighting. the only downfall is that they come with 30deg optics. i took the optics off and the light just goes everywhere. obviously not as bright as the 150w mh i had before but my corals look really good under em and i think they are giving off enough light because my AOGs are squishing down whereas before they were stretched out reaching for light! I have the Rapid LED Par38 with 60 degree optics on my 3 gallon. Check the pix in my signature for more samples of this light. Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Interesting I'm glad you found some LED's that work for you :] I have the Rapid LED Par38 with 60 degree optics on my 3 gallon. Check the pix in my signature for more samples of this light. That's an awesome setup, great job! So how long have you had the bulb, and how are your corals doing long term? Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Nice write up. Thank you very much! I appreciate that. Link to comment
khan_man Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 i would like to know if this bulb can light up a 14g biocube properly to maybe keep clams or sps? Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 i would like to know if this bulb can light up a 14g biocube properly to maybe keep clams or sps? I did see a 14g Biocube with a single Par 38 above it, he had mostly Zoas though, with an SPS or two near the top of his tank. In my honest opinion I think you could get away with one of these bulbs but what you can get away with and what is best for the coral are two different stories. With the species your looking at being such "high light" corals I'd say you would be better off with two! Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 You shoulda got the OfficeMax lamp w/base like me. It supports it without ghetto-rigging! Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 You shoulda got the OfficeMax lamp w/base like me. It supports it without ghetto-rigging! Do you have a link? I may change my mind. Link to comment
khan_man Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I did see a 14g Biocube with a single Par 38 above it, he had mostly Zoas though, with an SPS or two near the top of his tank. In my honest opinion I think you could get away with one of these bulbs but what you can get away with and what is best for the coral are two different stories. With the species your looking at being such "high light" corals I'd say you would be better off with two! thank you for the advise. i will be getting one of these soon hopefully for my bday...i am wanting a acrlyic top made with feeder tray put in there. But i have a question. Would having the top effect my shimmer and more importantly would it mess with the light at all?? i mean will my corals be okay even with the acrlyic top? please let me know thanx Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 As long as it is a good clear piece it shouldn't affect it at all, however I see a lot more people lean towards glass. Link to comment
khan_man Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 okay thats what i wanted to hear. Next question i have is the height. How do i determine how high to set the par at? i only have a 14g biocube where in height would i need to position this bulb? Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 I would suggest tracking down some other members who own the Biocube 14g and seeing if any of them use a Par 38 LED even if its not a RapidLED from there you can get a rough estimate of the ballpark your looking at. I would also suggest looking at Evil's Par Plots to get a better understanding as well. https://www.nanotuners.com/pages.php?pID=4 Link to comment
asstastic Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 P.S. i started a thread on here not too long ago asking about this light and got Beeker to do shot comparing it with the nanotuners 12k and 20k if u wanna check out his thread and see the difference Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Ya sure, I'd love to check that out! Link to comment
Isodore Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Milkeeway, Here is a link for the same lamp with the base from Office Max. http://www.officemax.com/office-furniture/...uct-prod3300061 The shade is removeable. Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Great! I will see if I have an Office Max close by. It looks worth checking out! It's a little more expensive but worth it imo. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I would suggest tracking down some other members who own the Biocube 14g and seeing if any of them use a Par 38 LED even if its not a RapidLED from there you can get a rough estimate of the ballpark your looking at. I would also suggest looking at Evil's Par Plots to get a better understanding as well. https://www.nanotuners.com/pages.php?pID=4 Just so everyone knows, my PAR plots will not translate to other manufacturers bulbs. They will give you an idea of how PAR will transition as you go deeper, off center, and with different angles, as the LEDs and optics used between my lamps and Rapids are the same. BoostLED and Orphek use different LEDs and lenses, so I can't comment on how they will look on a PAR plot. Link to comment
Milkeeway Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thank you for clarifying Evil I really appreciate that, I apologize if I gave any misinformation. It was only meant to give him a better understanding of how it worked, because like you said they used the same LED's and Optics. Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Do you have a link? I may change my mind. http://www.officemax.com/office-furniture/...uct-prod3300061 This is what I use. It's been perfect so far. Link to comment
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