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PAR38 Fan Club


Julian_blnc

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Julian_blnc

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/322240-diy-par-38-mount/

 

 


All right guys, Ive seen a lot of people buying PAR38s lately and many people seem stuck in the fact that they have to buy expensive goosenecks to use them. I wanted to share my build on using DIY parts to mount and power a PAR 38.

F17D3495-14BF-44AD-B35F-F52DDB86BA74-379

 

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What I used is a closet bracket like this

closet_zps9d0fe825.jpg

 

Which is available at your local hardware store or

http://www.amazon.com/Crown-Bolt-62704-6-Inch-Bracket/dp/B005C9F9AK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_1

 

Just make sure the length is long enough to hang the bulb over the middle of the tank

 

 

I found a stud in the wall and screwed in there, for the second bracket i used some wall anchors to help with the weight.

 

Now for the actual bulb i used one of these

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Its a water resistant socket for bulbs,

Not necessary, because only one of my bulbs used it and there both working fine, but i gave me some piece of mind.

 

I tied a knot with the slack from the cords and then zip tied it to the bracket

AB09108D-52B4-418B-B3A4-36961B2D568C-379

 

 

Then I used some wire to run from the socket to the plug

B029F8D5-976D-4DDD-BCDE-1AC4C5CCF433-379

 

So that I could plug it into the wall,

The wiring is simple, you cannot wire it backwards because it is AC current so there is no pos and neg wire to say.

 

Just attach the wire into there

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and it will hopefully turn on.

 

 

I left it uncovered for a while because the look did not bother me,

but eventually i used some more brackets and built a box to cover the bulbs.

 

 

It was an easy project and didn't cost much, and i would recommend it to any person looking for an easy mount for PAR 38 bulbs,

:)

The write up is a little sloppy, so you have my apologies, but I hope this tread helps some people.

 

 

If you have your own mount and would like to share, please share it on this thread.

Constructive criticism is also welcome!

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^ That's almost exactly what I've done with mine, except that I bought a couple "work lamps" and took the clamp and reflectors off.

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I wouldn't because of this they will no longer be stocking them at the end of the month and wont offer the warrenty either. Better off with the reefbreeders at this point and at the same price. With a 2 year warrenty as well.

 

Huh? Where ar eyou getting your info? Of course we will cover warranty and continue to offer the warranty whether or not we sell to the public. We offer a 1-year warranty at $79 and a 3 year warranty at $119.00 (Right now we are actually offering the 3-year warranty as a FREE upgrade) for those who have different budgets. Our warranty covers repairs / replacements and even if you drop your light in your tank (this has happened to a few customers), we charge a VERY minimal fee to either repair it or replace it.

 

Our units use a mix of High-Quality Bin Epistar and EPI LEDs. Not bridgelux or poor bin quality CREEs. Our heatsinks are also 100% aluminum, annodized black.

 

We were working with a few suppliers to clinch a contract to distribute our products, still working on some details, but right now looks like we will actually move towards 100% direct selling, hence the message on our site.

 

Right now all of products are in-stock and shipping daily. The only units we do not have instock is the iNFUSE 4 and 12, which will be soon as well as 3 other new fixtures we will begin offering.

 

If you have any questions, concerns, etc. please email me at mike@ledtric.com - better to get information from the source rather then through speculation.

 

Thanks everyone for your support!

-Mike C.

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Still a Par38 fan, and Ledtric's newest diode combination has started to go out (as Mike C. mentioned) - I have 3 of the full-spec "plus" lamps, and they look great over my 29g gorgonian tank, a nice 12-14K look, and great color rendition... :)

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I just finished my new mount for my two PAR38 bulbs, this is how it turned out.

p1050179w.jpg

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At that current level the 90degree optics bulbs are about 6" from the water on my 18" deep cube, to raise the bulb levels all I need to do is swap out those adapter cables with some shorter ones. I am using 30cm (15") ones now and have some 25cm and 20cm ones coming in the post so I can experiment with different heights. The rear bulb definitely needs to come up a few more inches.

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I just finished my new mount for my two PAR38 bulbs, this is how it turned out.

I'm sure I'm not the only person here who is going to want to know what you used to make that.

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kyle_yokomo

OCReef par38s over bio cube 14

 

Should I use one or two on my BC14, they claim one is enough but I like the look of two.

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OCReef par38s over bio cube 14attachicon.gifimage.jpg

 

Should I use one or two on my BC14, they claim one is enough but I like the look of two.

Looks great! I say if you like 2 then keep 2.

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RollaJase - nice hanging arrangement - what are the bulbs being used?

 

Kyle - one is probably enough, but if you want to use two, try adjusting them so that they are angled in a bit to eliminate light spillover outside the tank... B)

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RollaJase - nice hanging arrangement - what are the bulbs being used?

To be honest both the bulbs are cheap ones. The rear bulb (the first one I purchased) is 12x 1W Epistar diodes, 4 White, 4 Warm White and 4 Royal Blue, got this one on eBay and I love the colour. The front bulb is 12x 3W Cree diodes, 6 White, 6 Royal Blue, got this one from AliExpress direct from manufacturer, it's a little too blue for my liking. Together both bulbs make a nice colour mix in person.

 

I have been looking at purchasing one of these when money isn't as tight:

http://www.naqua.com.au/products/coral-flare-full-spectrum-par38-reef-lamp

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I have been looking at purchasing one of these when money isn't as tight:

http://www.naqua.com.au/products/coral-flare-full-spectrum-par38-reef-lamp

 

I love how their website states:

 

"These PAR38 marine aquarium lamps have had a lot of thought put into them ... they include the optimal range of LED colours to promote coral growth and help your coral colours pop."

 

LOL - not by them! They (and everyone else) are using a derivation of Ledtric's original layout I provided... :lol:

 

Seriously though, they should give better color rendition than what you are currently using it seems... ;)

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Nice tank, what size is it and what brand?

 

Thanks. It is a 9 gallon aquarium and I believe it was called AquaOne 60. I bought it when I was in Houston, Texas.

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I love how their website states:

 

"These PAR38 marine aquarium lamps have had a lot of thought put into them ... they include the optimal range of LED colours to promote coral growth and help your coral colours pop."

 

LOL - not by them! They (and everyone else) are using a derivation of Ledtric's original layout I provided... :lol:

 

Seriously though, they should give better color rendition than what you are currently using it seems... ;)

Yeah I have noticed that most bulbs tend to be the same or very similar to the Ledtric ones. I only mounted those bulbs yesterday and already I can tell my anemone isn't happy at that current height. I have directed that rear bulb directly on him and now i'm just waiting for my extra spacers to come in so I can lift the bulbs a few more inches, i'm getting a little bit of shadowing on the right side of the tank.

 

Also I woke up this morning and my mount had shifted about 5mm from the wall at the top, I re-tightened all the screws and it's sitting fine now. If it happens again I might have to putty all the holes and redrill them, or use larger brick plugs. The screws are going through drywall into brick so they should be fine, probably just my poor craftsman skills, should have waited for dad to get home haha.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I love how their website states:

 

"These PAR38 marine aquarium lamps have had a lot of thought put into them ... they include the optimal range of LED colours to promote coral growth and help your coral colours pop."

 

LOL - not by them! They (and everyone else) are using a derivation of Ledtric's original layout I provided... :lol:

 

Seriously though, they should give better color rendition than what you are currently using it seems... ;)

Yeah because you and LEDTRiC are the only people in the world that have done their research into LEDs and concluded that the best LED spectrum and look you can get from 12x 3W non-CREE LEDs in a cluster is Blue, White, TV, Red & Cyan/Turquoise :rolleyes:

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