TinyGiant Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 (edited) NOTE: If you have any questions about GU10 bulbs. please post them here in this thread rather than PMing me personally. It would be better for the whole community to benefit from your questions. So dont be shy and ask away. If i am not available to answer the question someone else will probably answer just as quick.Okay I've had a bunch of people ask for a thread on the LED that i use for my tankhere is a quick video of the lighting all setup The build is really easy.. Get the bulbs and wire them parallel(here is a link to a quick picture tutorial i did recently http://www.nhfragswap.com/forum/index.php?...msg2572#msg2572 )General Cool white bulb specs :GU10 3W White Energy Saving Bulb 3*1w LED 85-265VShell material: Aluminum, zinc metal alloyInput voltage: 85-265V AC with reversed polarity protectOutput power: 3.0WBeam angle: 30degreesReflector efficiency: 90%Light source: 3 x 1W high power LEDLED input current: 900mAColor Temperature: 6000-7000KBody temperature: <60°CLED working temperature: <65°CSource life: > 50,000 hoursas for the bulbs.This seller sells the bulbs with Epistarbulbs. Refer to this post to see that its quite possible they are the same as creeshttp://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3669245To find the Blues search ebay for 3w gu10 bluehttp://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p51...ue&_sacat=0to find the whites search ebay for 3wgu10 cool white (whites 6500-700k (nice bright white))http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=3w+gu1...e&_osacat=0luckzdl2008 is my favorite ebay seller. If he doesnt have any listed just message him and he can usually put some up for sale in his ebay store . Or just sell directly. http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_osacat=0&_armrs=1&_ssn=luckzdl2008&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=gu10&_sacat=0&_from=R40Sockets: This dealer is in NY. sockets arrive very quickly. The link is for the search in the dealers items. so you will be able to find them from the right dealer with one click. $10.29 for 10 socketshttp://shop.ebay.com/yallstore/m.html?_nkw...1.c0.m270.l1313or search ebay for g10 base sockethttp://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=gu10+s...s&_osacat=0i would say don't pay over 7.50 per bulb if the dealers i mentioned are out of stock or not selling. You might be able to find a dealer with a best offer situation.. i scored a few for $4.50ea on my last order.I have had a lot of people ask how many to use..I have a simple formula(tank length divided by two) minus 1so for a 36" tank you should have 17 bulbs. in a single line.. alternating colors.for tanks that are deeper than the standard 12" add another row.so a 36x18 foot print should have two rows of 17 bulbs.I will attach a picture of what the bulbs and sockets look like.There are two different bulb arrangements.. Three 1w bulbs or One 3w bulb. either is fine. I have a mix of them. I do find that the One 3w bulb version seems to have a better spread on the light.here are a couple quick wire diagrams. the cicles represent the sockets. the bulbs have reverse polarity protect on them. so you don't have to worry when you put the bulbs in the socket if they are in the right way.Growth. The Proof is in the real life results. (i am not the only one with the same results using these lights)I have some really encouraging pictures to show. Mind you these are 4$ ebay LED bulbs. not expensive cree bulbs. they shoot 1500-1900 par at the surface!January 2011 digi (the nub on the right was non existent when first put in the tank)here is a picture from March 20th 2011)Mid May 2011even more encouraging is the growth of my crocea clam. I brought this home Valentines day 2011march 20th 2011 .. serious growthUPDATE:Now march 2011-jan 2012I love tracking the growth on these. continually impressed.par readings in a 5.5gi had 5 bright white and 2 blues3" from the bulb (above surface of water) 1900 parjust below surface 700 parhalfway 200 par1" from sand 150 parNOTE*for those wanting to remove the optics for tiny shallow tanks use this to adhere the led chip to the heatsink:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009IQ1B...CDA9R20VS198CY5Adding a quick wire tutorialI started wiring them a little different. Makes it so you dont need to use any wire.. just wire them piggyback to create a parallel circuit. Way easier.Anywho here is how i attach the wires. Most of the fixture pictured here was shrink wrapped but i ran out when i was doing the picsdivide the end into two sidesthen put the wire you are attaching to in the middle of the split and twist the two ends so it secures the wire between the other wirethen wrap the tail around the wireThen tape or skrink or sometimes i will actually silicone over the connections to make them water proofBuilds and Tank Pics:Picos:http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3947949nanos:5G: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=296736http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=39290455.5G: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=37901562.5g http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=34408475.5g http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=37723984G 4 bulb http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=375816710g http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=367534710g http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=364993618g http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3621343Small bow Tank http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=362664212g jbj http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3436271http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3438796http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=352357310ghttp://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3515761http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3497255http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3485951http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=348604810 bulb http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3489889http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=346031025bulb build http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3409144Full Sizedbiocube http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=347040528g Biocube http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=352934630B http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=363044740B: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3929045http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3728072http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=369226733L http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=337745429bc http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=337202633l http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=367533855G http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3595012http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3515269Sumps/Fugehttp://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=381030015bulb: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3765561Hoods/Diy Pics:http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3825155http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=386596020 bulb: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=380739436bulbs: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=37908884 bulb http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=37417954 bulbs http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=370148312 bulb http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=365159730B build http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=36284619bulbs http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=34837879 bulbs http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3459157Par Readings:http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=3628709 Edited April 4, 2013 by TinyGiant Quote Link to comment
fote03 Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 How long have you used them? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 I had these on a nano from april till decemeber. Then setupp the 55 in december and transferred them to the current 55 setup Quote Link to comment
fote03 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Any picture from the 55? Any grown pics? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 here is a pic from before i added the gorgonians i"ll try to get a new pic today or tomorrow of the whole tank. I have a crappy camera so it takes a while to gt a shot worth posting Quote Link to comment
fote03 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 How many bulbs are you running on the 55? What's the ratio of white to blue? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 22 total alternating blue and white (so 50/50) Quote Link to comment
Dizzle21 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 you wire to run just blues or just whites? pics of the actual light? giving me some ideas..lol Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 i run 11 blues and 11 whites. i have them wired on separate banks for doing dusk to dawn. here is a video of when i first setup the tank back in december here is another video from a little bit ago should do another one soon too Quote Link to comment
GiantBen Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 These look perfect for a fuge I am planning to setup. What power supply did you use? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 these suckers really shouldnt be over looked. the price is awesome and the results are even more awesome! These look perfect for a fuge I am planning to setup. What power supply did you use? no power supply needed. you just wire the sockets right to a plug. thats the beauty of these and the reason i didnt bother with the cree stuff. I didnt want to have another room with 50 million drivers . these are complete and plug and play. just make sure you run them open air. they use the metal housing as the heat sink. Quote Link to comment
Dizzle21 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 growth doesnt look to bad. i would like to throw some of these in with my tek 4 bulb retro. it would just be trying to get them to fit.. the blues throw off a good actinic? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 radioactive atinics. You'll love em Quote Link to comment
Dizzle21 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 what i want to hear.. maybe ill add a strip of blues. i love when my corals POP Quote Link to comment
Dizzle21 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 actually I have enough room for 2 "strips" of leds maybe.. this? Blue + Purple Plus BBWBBWBBW Aquablue special BBWBBWBBW Blue+ Quote Link to comment
devmasa Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 how many bulbs and what white/blue combination do you recommend on a 20 gallon long ? dims are 30" x 12" x 12" Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 I have one for every 2in on tank length (or whatever you can fit in a line ove the tank) Quote Link to comment
fote03 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Does it really take 2 weeks to get them? How yellow is the white? 6-7k is pretty yellow! Have you tested the par on the 55? Quote Link to comment
Dizzle21 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 whats the width and length"with socket attatched" of the bulbs? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 the 6500-7000k isn't yellow at all. It's perfect with the blues added to it. I don't think the cree are even 10k I was able to borrow the par meter back in april but haven't had access to it since. That croacea clam grew 1/4in in a month.. That's proof enough for me lol. Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 some crappy cell phone night pics another.. when my phone stops being dumb i will upload a couple more Quote Link to comment
tam Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Did you find any 1x3w white bulbs you liked? Are there any mixed in with your setup? Quote Link to comment
TinyGiant Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) yeah most of the whites i have are the 3x1w all of them are mixed between 1x3w and 3x1w they are all the same brightness and color. just make sure the listing says 6500-7000k or cool white.. the 3500k warm whites are really yellowish. some of the guys in my new hampshire group put a mix of a few 3500k in there for good measure and better macro algae growth.. but my algaes and corals have been growing really fast on the mix of the whites and blues i just went with what ever i could find cheaper.. didnt care between 1x3w or 3x1w Edited April 1, 2011 by TinyGiant Quote Link to comment
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