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GU10 LED Build Thread (Chinese Ebay Lights)


TinyGiant

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Anybody have any luck growing Chaeto with these bad boys?

 

 

i have cheato in my 33L frag system growing very well. as well as red and green gracilaria and red fern

 

Look what the ebay seller with the epistars set up: http://www.ebay.com/itm/270926547853?ssPag...#ht_2118wt_1110 Looks like I wasn't the only one asking for this. About to order 8 of them for experimenting. I think I'm going to go with standard 30-45 degree optics. I was going to go for the 60 degree for better blending, but it looks like that might not be optimal from some people's experience. I'm thinking of using them on a 10g AIO I've been wanting to build from a spare standard 10g I have, so hoping they will work out.

 

 

thats funny. we must be giving them a lot of business to make a separate listing for that setup. reefing would probably be the only reason they would actually make a listing like that :P

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Not sure if it has been covered on here yet, but seller Wellparts on ebay sells 60 degree optics separate that fit these bulbs perfect. Used this thread for inspiration for my 5.5 gallon freshwater planted

IMG-20120217-00039.jpg

IMG-20120217-00041.jpg

IMG-20120217-00040.jpg

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Do you guys recommend these 2 blue 1 white gu10 bulbs ( the ones mentioned above) over the regular ones ?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270926547853?ssPag...#ht_2118wt_1110

 

I don't know if anyone has received them to try them yet. I ordered mine a few days ago, so when they come in I will take photos of the color blending and post them for you guys. I also ordered one set of the 60 degree lenses, so I will play with substituting the regular lenses out with those as well to see what that looks like.

Edited by babboa
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pico-reefer

Okay, so ive skimmed over some replies on thsi thread, I think these are the lights that im going to go with for my 36x8x6" softie reef, only coral will be mushrooms, zoas, and leathers.

 

 

How many bulbs and what colors should i get?

 

 

 

EDIT, what if i do 4 bulbs, 2 white and 2 blue, alternating? (i.e white,blue,white,blue)? will there be noticable color difference between the bulbs with the stock lenses? meaning, will you clearly see the line between the blue and white bulbs? or will it blend in?

 

 

Or should i buy

the 60 degree lenses?

Edited by pico-reefer
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if you are only thinking of doing 4 bulbs on teh tank there will be complete color separation. you need the bulbs right next to eachother to get the blend right.

 

 

if you run them without optics you might have a better blend. where the tank is only 6" tall that might be a good option.. or grab the 60Deg lenses and see how that looks.

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C.I._Reefer
Okay, so ive skimmed over some replies on thsi thread, I think these are the lights that im going to go with for my 36x8x6" softie reef, only coral will be mushrooms, zoas, and leathers.

 

 

How many bulbs and what colors should i get?

 

 

 

EDIT, what if i do 4 bulbs, 2 white and 2 blue, alternating? (i.e white,blue,white,blue)? will there be noticable color difference between the bulbs with the stock lenses? meaning, will you clearly see the line between the blue and white bulbs? or will it blend in?

 

 

Or should i buy

the 60 degree lenses?

 

Whoa whoa, 36" long right? gonna need alot more than 4 bulbs, even for softies. You wont blend at all with only 4. I would say probably 8-10 as a minimum. these arent par30s :P

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pico-reefer
Whoa whoa, 36" long right? gonna need alot more than 4 bulbs, even for softies. You wont blend at all with only 4. I would say probably 8-10 as a minimum. these arent par30s :P

 

yeah, i was thinking they were like the par30's lol, so ill proably get 5 cool whites, 5 blue, and maybe 2 red to add some color

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yeah, i was thinking they were like the par30's lol, so ill proably get 5 cool whites, 5 blue, and maybe 2 red to add some color

I wouldn't do the reds, I have one and they are super bright and really overpowering, if anything get one and take the optics off and mount it higher than all of the other bulbs.

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pico-reefer
I wouldn't do the reds, I have one and they are super bright and really overpowering, if anything get one and take the optics off and mount it higher than all of the other bulbs.

 

alright, then ill just do the blues and whites.

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pico-reefer

Is there a limit on how many sockets you can wire on a single extension cord? do you need to wire the wires to the extension cord a certain way? or are they not pos/neg. sensative?

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Hello!

 

I have read trough all the 60 pages of your Gu10 project, it is just greayt.

 

I hope you dont mind me asking you a question about the blue bulbs/color:

 

I see that the blue Gu10 you have linked to in your tred is the blue bulbs labeled 460-470 blue.

 

But the same seller also have some that is labeled Royal Blue 460nm.

 

Have you tried both of theese bulbs, or maby there just is noe different between the leds 460-470 and 460 nm.

Who of theese do you reccomend, i am waiting to just place my order for 10 pcs.

 

best regards

 

jnad

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i'm 110% satisfied with the ones that i ordered (and linked to) i was happy enough with my 33L that i replaced all my original blues on my 55L with the ones i linked to. I havent tried the other ones that are listed as royal blue.. but it might just be the seller wising up to the aquarium market for his bulbs..

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I skimmed this whole thread, I like this idea for smaller lights but it scares me having a few hundred into these bulbs that I'm not sure how long they will last.. Cree makes me feel better but the drivers and how long they'll last...

I should order a few for a pico for fun being that they are so cheap and look good.

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MeanGreenEyes

Just a few updated pics of my tanks w/ the GU10'S...11bulbs...will be doing these over my 40 breeder build as well..I love them...cell phone pics so please excuse washed out color...

 

5.5g mixed reef:

 

IMAG0597.jpg

 

ADA45f before it sprung a leak:

 

IMAG0564.jpg

Edited by MeanGreenEyes
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I finally got my 36" light mostly built for my 50 breeder. I'm still waiting on the Gro Yo-Yo's and associated hardware to hang it up, as well as deciding on the final solution for hiding all that wiring (one big project box? small conduit boxes and conduit? other?) which will most likely change how power is getting into the light.

 

Also, I wishfully mounted the rows slightly farther apart than the recommended six inches on-center. I can confirm there is definitely a light gap equivalent to the extra space I left. I'm wishing that this won't be noticeable over the tank given the other conditions of my tank, but if it is, there's plenty of space to mount more lights. Also, blue or blue+white GU10's will be added or substituted for some of the daylight bulbs as budget allows.

 

Also, it's a lot heavier than I thought once all thirty bulbs are mounted! I need a scale and a LUX meter now! :)

 

Pic:

LEDlight1.jpg

 

Frame - $10(free):

The wood frame is part of an old Ikea shoe rack (which they appear not to make anymore, sorry). It's like it was secretly made for mounting GU10 sockets!

 

Sockets - $0.60/each:

These sockets are from an eBay seller named corolaex and are the standard GU10 sockets with the 6", 0.75 cross-sectional area (~18 gauge) wiring instead of the shorter, thinner leads (3", 0.50) of my last batch....more convenient to me for wiring....not necessarily superior.

 

Bulbs - $3.50/each:

Bulbs are from an eBay seller called Dreambestbuy. They offer the best deal on cool white 3x1w's (other colors and wattages available as well, of course) that I've seen and if the shorter leads aren't an issue their sockets are inexpensive as well. I had one broken bulb and service has been good in relation to that as well. Based on the shipping mailer, I believe these guys are located in Singapore, FWIW. Interestingly, on the Kill-A-Watt meter I'm pulling only 60 watts for all 30 bulbs - 107 Volt-Amps though.

 

You should plan on getting at least one dead bulb and one or two sockets that are no good on any given order. You might not, but it's a long three week wait for a $5 replacement if you do....do the right thing and have a spare (or few) on hand.

 

Wiring:

I was unable to get TinyG's burnt-wire method to work on the insulation for any of the wiring I've used (hookup wire, speaker wire and standard Home Depot extension cord) - in each case all I got was charred insulation that was impossible to scrape off. (Seems like maybe this is the correct behavior due to fire code?) While that's definitely the most economical connection method and there must be a trick to getting it to work (different type of wire?), I would suggest just using wire nuts with short jumper wires as needed (get an automatic wire stripper to make this go fast - I love this one and use it with success, but you can pay more for better too, and stay away from pliers-types which will just slow you down) with maybe some strategic use of quick connectors for a clean/strategic way to tap into another wire when needed. I have about $1.00 wrapped up in connectors for 30 bulbs - twenty orange wire nuts and ten quick taps - so it's not a huge additional cost. $12 will get you the connectors and a decent set of automatic wire strippers (as linked) - and it might even be quicker than burning wire and taping. I recommend using stranded wire the same gauge (or more) as the bulb sockets....got mine from Radio Shack...don't recall the price.

 

More to come as I get this (really) finished and hung!

 

-Matt

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last fixture i made for someone i used a wire stripper to just cut through the insulation then i just pulled it back and little and used the same wrapping method.

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shwthomas1975

Hello,

I recently setup a 75 with a canopy. I would love to do these for lighting. My concern is that the if I installed the lights in the canopy there would only be about 4 inches between the bottom of the bulbs and the water. Is this too close? I was thinking 26 3x1 watts. 3 rows.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

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I ordered the mogul socket ones, one has 2 blue and 1 white.

The other is warm white since my parents want to do their whole house with LED that have some brightness.

But my doubts lay in the drivers and overall reliability,

the actual LED dies seem to be good enough.

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C.I._Reefer
I ordered the mogul socket ones, one has 2 blue and 1 white.

The other is warm white since my parents want to do their whole house with LED that have some brightness.

But my doubts lay in the drivers and overall reliability,

the actual LED dies seem to be good enough.

 

Got 1 fixture with all original bulbs going strong for just over 6 months now without any loss of brightness. I have only had one 3x1w bulb die on me out of over 30 i have running. I haven't had nearly as good luck with the 3x3w bulbs though. I have had 2 or 3 out of 8 of those die on me, no clue why. Heat i guess... :shrugs:

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C.I._Reefer
I haven't went through the whole thread, but has anybody played around with these? 3w color changing led with 16 different colors.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GU10-3W-85-240V-RG...#ht_4088wt_1270

 

Yes, they are terrible. Firstly, i single 1w LED is brighter than this "3w". Second, the colors are whacky, blue is teal, red is orange, white is like yellow and blue at the same time. Also, you have to re-set the colors everytime you turn the bulb on. I bought a couple just to play around with, and I'm glad i did that before trying to make a fixture with em.

Edited by C.I._Reefer
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