GU10 LED Build Thread (Chinese Ebay Lights)

[mangoman]

Heres my plan for the 150g.. using 9w leds. the white squares with the black dot in the middle are 3w leds from tiny's link. the purple bars will be t5s or pcs. I have fans inside my canopy for heat issues (icecap fans.. dont know what size, 5in around?)

 

what do you guys think?

 

(may have to add a few more 3w in the middle-bottom)

 

Edited February 17, 2012 by mangoman

[TinyGiant]

just remember the 9w led are going to run hotter and probably wont have the life span that the 3x1w bulbs will.

[C.I._Reefer]

just remember the 9w led are going to run hotter and probably wont have the life span that the 3x1w bulbs will.

 

 

+1 i bought a couple of the 9w e27 versions for fuge lighting, and they only lasted about a month... i wouldnt recommend them personally...

[mangoman]

just remember the 9w led are going to run hotter and probably wont have the life span that the 3x1w bulbs will.

 

Yes, that is definately a concern but with the 24" depth and being 10" off the water surface I think I may have to use 3w bulbs.

 

I may add a few extra fans in there to ensure everything stays cool

 

Does the layout look ok though?

[mangoman]

+1 i bought a couple of the 9w e27 versions for fuge lighting, and they only lasted about a month... i wouldnt recommend them personally...

 

Hmm, I know they wouldn't last as long but if they only lasted a month then I would return them. 1w and 3w leds usually boast 50,000 hours (not saying I believe them) even if they only lasted 25,000 hours and you used them 10 hours a day they would last 7 years..

 

Nice thing about these is that if I find them to be too bright/hot etc. I don't have to replace any wiring, just pop in a different bulb

[mcarroll]

Yes, that is definately a concern but with the 24" depth and being 10" off the water surface I think I may have to use 3w bulbs.

 

I certainly don't want to dissuade you from trying them as I haven't gotten around to doing so myself! :-)

 

But...your tank is less than 2" taller than Tiny's 55gal - "have to" is probably putting it strongly. As i said I plan on trying them sooner or later, so I'd love to see you give em a shot too.

 

Good luck!

 

-Matt

[mcarroll]

I will say the electrical tape that i used on my original hood on the 55g as come unraveled in spots.

 

Most electrical tape found these days is very low quality so that's not too surprising.

 

In those cases when e-tape is going to be (part of) the solution, either buy top quality (e.g.) 3M or shop for your tape in the Auto Parts store...it'll be high-temperature tape designed to be safe up to several hundred degrees. Not too expensive either. Both will probably cost a lot more than the regular stuff though - which last time I was at the home store was sold in a "stack" of 10 rolls for the same price as one roll of 3M sitting right next to it on the shelf.

 

-Matt

[mcarroll]

Mcarroll, how many bulbs are you planning on ordering?

 

If money were no object (or less of one right now) I'd order equal blues and daylights. Somewhat due to budget, somewhat due to results from Prototype 1 (read back) I ordered a 30 lot of the Daylight bulbs a few nights ago.

 

I built Prototype 2 last night - a "working" unit (correct size and layout - see attachment) and after seeing it over the 38 gallon tank this morning during a bright sunny day (when the room is bright), it almost looked like the lights were off in the tank. Starkly different in brightness than the three 12w Ecoxotic Panoramas that normally light that section. They are 36w vs about 21w for the GU10's, plus the directionality of these GU10's must figure in somehow too I guess. Whatever the case, it made me consider that two rows - even over a 12" wide tank - might be better. Guess I shoulda been more patient in placing that second order...LOL.

 

This possible extra cost would still be infinitesimal compared to operating my 2x150w halide fixture for a year - I really wouldn't flinch even if that turns out to be the case. Once again, we'll see when the next shipment arrives (ETA ~3 wks) and I have enough bulbs to fully lamp the second prototype. (Only have enough to run WBWBWBW, BBBB or WWWW at present.)

 

[....]I have noticed some of the optics on the dimmables are 45, so that would be 30, 45, and 60. How high would you run each wo getting spill over 10" like tiny?

 

It's triangle math. The distance from water to lamp is your hypotenuse (awesome word!!!) which always makes a ninety degree angle with the water surface. (i.e. if you want to angle your lights, you are on your own! ) The lens angle of your GU10's optics divided by two is your top inside angle. Using math (which I don't understand well enough to explain...I think there is some cosine'ing involved - I google it when I need a calculator) you can figure out the radius of your light spread as it strikes the water surface (bottom leg of triangle). Gives you a rough idea what will be happening in the water that way too. You can rearrange the numbers to figure out the angle needed for a given amount of coverage too.

 

-Matt

 

P.S. How does everyone feel about pinning the leads down under these ceramic sockets when screwing down the sockets? I'm a little worried (tho not from experience) about the pressure breaking leads inside the insulation. Does anyone know what kind of surface these sockets were "made" to be screwed onto?

Edited February 18, 2012 by mcarroll

[TinyGiant]

the bottom of the socket has what feels and looks like metal coated mica There are two grommets in there that you put the screws through. I havent had any issues with breaking the sockets at all.

 

the sockets themselves are made of ceramic. I did break one but using a screw bit that was too big. so when it drove the screw down into the hole it was too big and poped the socket in half..

 

I would guess theses were made to be bolted to fixtures. but screwing them to wood is fine too

[mcarroll]

[....]would like to get dimmable if I add a controller like the apex down the road.

 

I forgot to add, that I'm pretty sure there would not be an insignificant amount of effort/circuitry involved to use a 0-10v DC dimming circuit from a reef controller to dim these lights. Certainly more than just sockets and some wiring like we're all (afaik!!) doing.

 

I'd love to see that done though...dunno if anyone has a dimmable versions of these bulbs to test, but would wiring a standard household dimmer from the home store be suggested for the dimmable versions of our GU10's? It's going to be a while before my budget can go experimental again, but I'll give some a try eventually.

 

My only experience is with some $10 A19 bulbs (looks to me like a GU10 with a dome) I got from the home store that are on a circuit with an old-school (~30-years old) rotary dimmer. They seem to work fine in the upper dimming range, but at lower dimming they do get a little flickery and don't really dim that low before cutting off. Can't speak to real longevity, but the first set I bought have been in regular service for at least 6 months and have had no issues. (Already better than my first round of CFLs back in the day.)

 

I do know that (e.g.) Lutron makes a line of dimmers dedicated to CFL and LED (IC driven lights?), but don't know anything more about them other than what the website sez... There's a dial to adjust the base voltage to eliminate the "drop out" effect - which is definitely cool - but I'm not sure from their materials if there's more to them than that. I don't think any of them are 0-10v controllable though.

 

In florescent and DC-power lighting, 0-10v dimmers are relatively common. Not really that common outside of those realms - not for dimmable CFL or LED at least - from what I can tell.

 

In case it (still) needs to be pointed out, I am not an electronics expert. Anyone know more? (Please?)

 

-Matt

[mcarroll]

I would guess theses were made to be bolted to fixtures. but screwing them to wood is fine too

 

Maybe there was no specific purpose to their exact form, but if so it would be interesting to find out. :-)

 

I was more worried about the leads than the ceramic, btw, but that's another good point: ceramic is pretty brittle. In a soft wood (like the balsa in my Prototype 1) the force from the ceramic being pulled onto the wire insulation just dented in the wood. Hard wood (oak in Prototype 2) barely dented at all and as far as I can tell flattened the leads to 2D! Everything works and the wire and insulation do not appear to be permanently deformed in any way if I remove the socket to inspect them.

 

I may just be worried over nothing, but when project time rolls around, I may route parallel wiring channels on either side of a ~1/2" space where the sockets will be screwed in just to allow the wires not to be pinched. (Make sense?) I'll already have the tools out so the routing will be no additional trouble.

 

-Matt

[TinyGiant]

i bolted on my sockets on the 33L light bar project. (can see in my sig)

[Swip]

Does anyone know if the epistar 3w cool white bulbs are better then the "normal" ones?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-E27-3Watt-Cool...W-/280816907394

[C.I._Reefer]

Does anyone know if the epistar 3w cool white bulbs are better then the "normal" ones?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-E27-3Watt-Cool...W-/280816907394

 

The general consensus seem to be yes... epistar is up there with bridgelux and almost cree. I can definately attest that the blue epistars are much more blue than others i have found, but i dont know for sure with the cool white..

[TinyGiant]

the whites are a much clearer white.. a little bluer than the original whites I ordered for the 55g.

 

my 33L frag system sort of has a 12k-14k look to it (which are all epistars)

Edited February 19, 2012 by TinyGiant

[pjewell]

TinyGiant, you truly are a giant amongst men. Your posts have inspired me to make this a serious option for my lighting and my friends. Awesome.

 

 

I just set this up http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=295290 4 gallons its a 7 by 13 by 11 inches tall. So its not very deep. How many do you think it will take to illuminate this for a mix reef setup? 3 or 4?

[TinyGiant]

TinyGiant, you truly are a giant amongst men. Your posts have inspired me to make this a serious option for my lighting and my friends. Awesome.

 

 

I just set this up http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=295290 4 gallons its a 7 by 13 by 11 inches tall. So its not very deep. How many do you think it will take to illuminate this for a mix reef setup? 3 or 4?

 

 

i would say to keep it attractive run like 8 or 9 bulbs with the optics off. you would get a much better blend that way and be able to keep the hood only a few inches from the top.

 

if you keep gu10s close enough together you wont get spotting at 10" from the surface. my 5g.g nano looked better with the optics off though.

 

best of luck! dont forget to show us your build here

[C.I._Reefer]

Hey tiny, u ever get those blues? if so, would you be interested in trading for whites at all? like 5 whites for 3 blues?

[pjewell]

i would say to keep it attractive run like 8 or 9 bulbs with the optics off. you would get a much better blend that way and be able to keep the hood only a few inches from the top.

 

if you keep gu10s close enough together you wont get spotting at 10" from the surface. my 5g.g nano looked better with the optics off though.

 

best of luck! dont forget to show us your build here

 

 

Thank you for your reply. I checked out your other build for some ideas. I am very new to LEDS.

 

I am moving over from VHO/MH era, as well as moving into smaller tanks from a very large 120. I havent had a tank in 3 years.

 

Why not jump right back into it? lol

 

Thank you again. I will post my results.

Edited February 22, 2012 by pjewell

[TeenReefer.]

I wanted to supplement a 175 iwisaki with some blue actinic how many would i need for a 40 breeder? also is there any self splicing sockets? kinda like the third picture in this link http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/169...fugium-Lighting

[TinyGiant]

I wanted to supplement a 175 iwisaki with some blue actinic how many would i need for a 40 breeder? also is there any self splicing sockets? kinda like the third picture in this link http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/169...fugium-Lighting

 

 

never seen any.. but also never looked. jsut google search gu10 splicing socket or something

 

or just get the bulbs in e27 (screw in) and use those ones

[TinyGiant]

lol over 76,000 views and 1,145 posts later..

 

anyone have any update shots?

 

 

anyone decide to stop using the gu10s? if so why?

 

anyone have an issues to report or new findings?

[mrbigshot]

in the process of switching to t5's. my sps browned out under them after 4 months, good growth just ugly corals.

[TeenReefer.]

in the process of switching to t5's. my sps browned out under them after 4 months, good growth just ugly corals.

How many bulbs would i need? And Whos a good seller right now on ebay?

[mrbigshot]

mine came from hkled, they are the 4x1w versions. each bulb is running 3 blue and one white led with 60 degree optics on a 20h. 3.5" above the water. im going to supplement with t5ho's for a bit and see if there's an improvement. if not ill either go all t5 ( i ordered everything for a 4 bulb retro so i have them) or t5ho aquastyles led combo. that was my original intention once i noticed the browning issues.

 

growth under led's has been phenomenal. i'm hoping that the additional t5ho color balance will give me good color and growth. i absolutely would use them again on a lps or softy tank. sps can be tricky, odd color shifts under led's at times.

 

im not sure where the good ones are coming from these days. i bought mine a few years ago and used them for about a month and tore down the tank. only a few months ago did i take them back out and give them another shot.