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GU10 LED Build Thread (Chinese Ebay Lights)


TinyGiant

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You could probably signal batman with em.... :D Anyhow, I would think that zoas would grow fine under these. The optix kinda suck on em, I wanted to remove it but I didn't have the right size torx driver.

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kakalakasha

So I'm glad I didn't order, cause I think I changed my mind.

 

I remember someone saying they took the LED's apart and put 2 different color LED's in 1 of the bulbs to help blend the color.

 

I've read a lot of complaints about people saying that they're losing their red (and red based) colors (red, purple, orange, etc.) because the whites are ~8k and the blues are obviously not giving off red, so they need some low range (1k-4k) spectrum to suppliment for red.

 

So I'm thinking of getting 1 4x1w cool white (website states 6k-7k), 1 4x1w warm white (3k-3.5k), and 1 4x1w blue, and pulling 2 blues out of the blue one, and putting 1 cool white and 1 warm white in their place to help blend the colors. And I think I'll make 4 or 5 of those to light a 14x14x12 cube.

 

What do you guys think?

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on of my friends had the same idea but didnt bother actually swapping bulbs out.. he just mixed the warm whites in there .. he wanted some of the lower spectrum in there too.

 

i will say that i get next to no algae growth in the tank. my tailspot blenny lives off mostly fish food. the other day a friend gave me a frag that had some hair algae on it and the blenny rushed right over and went to town on it. lol

 

other than a little algae on the glass after 3-4 days i dont get any other micro algae growth.

 

it wouldnt hurt to throw some lower spectrum bulbs in there.

 

 

you could probably find an effective way to just use the complete ww bulb rather than taking the time to desolder and resolder.

 

 

could do something like this..

 

=B w B w B w B =

===B ww B ww==

Edited by TinyGiant
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kakalakasha

I guess that's where I'm a little uneducated, I don't know the spread or the penetration of the light. Will the WW make an obvious white spot or do you think the blue will blend with it well enough to make it unnoticable>?

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i have my lights about 10" above the tank and the only time i see noticeable beams is when i stir the tank up and the water gets cloudy. other than that its a nice spread going every other.

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kakalakasha

So I made a quick sketch, how do you think this looks?

Do you think it'll be blue enough or do you think my tank will look very white?

 

W = warm white (red) / C = cool white (white) / B = Blue (blue)

warms have 4x1w (x2) / cools have 4x1w (x2)/ blues have 1x3w (x5) = 31w LED light total

 

I feel like this way even if the warms have a very strong yellow color, being surrounded by 3 blues will help even it out.

 

Another option is to move the outside bulbs all 1" closer to the edge of the tank maybe to avoid heat build up around the LEDs? I just figured that I would try to keep the LEDs as far from the glass as I could to deplete algae growth.

 

14x14cubeLED.jpg

 

 

Keep in mind that each bulb is 2" in diameter (3" + 2" + 1" + 2" + 1" + 2" + 3" = 14")

Edited by kakalakasha
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kakalakasha, your idea looks fine to me.

 

I just ordered 30 cool white and 30 blue for my tank. All 4x1w. Saw some 3x2w bulbs though but thought that might be overkill. The opening on the top of my tank is around 32x36". I was going to do 3 rows of 20 alternating white and blue. And maybe in the near future add two more rows between them with some wide optic Reds if I feel its lacking.

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How does this sound for a 20 long?

 

6 - 4*1w Blues

4 - 4*1w Cool whites

 

I see people talking about 15 - 3*1w on a 20 long. I think 10 - 4w's would be good for just about any coral.

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michelleshusband

i've ordered two bulbs and an adaptor on 4/1. got the bulbs around 4/13 but still waiting for the adaptor. so anxious to test these out on my 2.5 gal pico. if it works well, will move on to my 10 gallon.

 

please keep updating your results, want to see other people's setup and their success stories.

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I think you just made up my mind on what I'm going to do for lighting on my new 120 :) I just enjoyed reading this thread and now have a question for you. The 120 gallon acrylic tank I am going to be setting up is 48"x24"x24" and I plan on mainly LPS and zoa's, maybe some softies. No SPS. What I am wondering if how many LEDs you think I would need for my tank? Do I really need the 60 LEDs someone else ordered? Would that be overkill? I know you were running only 10 on your 55 with great success...

 

How many LEDs should I get? I can always add on some more later ;) I am looking at the 4x1w as they seem more available and give that extra watt of power :lol:

Edited by iheartJMS
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iheartJMS I would do 40 or more on ur 120. 4 rows of 10 2" apart from each led and 4-5" from the side of the tank. Lots of zoa and lps need lots of light.

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kakalakasha
14x14cubeLED.jpg

 

 

Keep in mind that each bulb is 2" in diameter (3" + 2" + 1" + 2" + 1" + 2" + 3" = 14")

 

So I was talking to a couple guys in my local reefing club and they recommended all neutral white LEDs instead of a combination of cool white and warm white.

They say that warm white causes a LOT of unwanted algae growth, one guy claims his water is turning a faint yellow/brown (while having perfect parameters) because the warm color grows the algae so fast.

 

They say neutral white will cross over into both spectrums without super powering the algaes.

So I'm thinking 5 4x1w blues and 4 4x1w neutral whites (called pure white on ebay)

Edited by kakalakasha
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iheartJMS I would do 40 or more on ur 120. 4 rows of 10 2" apart from each led and 4-5" from the side of the tank. Lots of zoa and lps need lots of light.

 

Thanks for the input :) Anyone else have any advice?

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i think 35-40 is a good assesment. Considering i have a good spread on my 55 with one row of 22 bulbs. the 120 is 2 times deep (front to back) so it would seem that 40ish would be spot on :)

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i think 35-40 is a good assesment. Considering i have a good spread on my 55 with one row of 22 bulbs. the 120 is 2 times deep (front to back) so it would seem that 40ish would be spot on :)

 

How was it when you were only running 10 LEDs? Do you think I should start with a lower number then add more if needed or should I just get all of them right off the bat? Keep in mind I don't plan on any SPS, nems, or clams.

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i would say start low and add. Thats what i did.

 

i had the 10 and decided i wanted it a little brighter and wanted the ability to have two banks to do dusk to dawn.

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i would say start low and add. Thats what i did.

 

i had the 10 and decided i wanted it a little brighter and wanted the ability to have two banks to do dusk to dawn.

 

How many should I statrt with? I know you had 10 in the beginning, but I assume that's way too few for my size tank..

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start with 20 and zig zag them

 

 

 

b-----w----b----w----b----w-----b----w-----b--w

-- w----w-----b----w-----b---w-----b-----w---b--b

 

or something like that.

 

spreading them out will give some more spread on the light..

 

if its not enough add another 10 and you will have a nice 2 or 3 banks of lights..

 

could work them on timers..

 

blue in morn.. then a white strip on a little later .. than a strip of blue and white later on...and have them turn off in the reverse order :)

Edited by TinyGiant
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That sounds like a good idea. What do you think only 10 would look like on this tank :P

 

Or 10 and a single 48" retro t5 (maybe 2?)

Edited by iheartJMS
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its always worth a try.. might be kinda dim.

 

the LED are pretty directional . so you dont get a ton of light spillage but you could always try 10. and add more from there.

 

adding a t5 could work too. that would give that non directional light to really brighten the tank.

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its always worth a try.. might be kinda dim.

 

the LED are pretty directional . so you dont get a ton of light spillage but you could always try 10. and add more from there.

 

adding a t5 could work too. that would give that non directional light to really brighten the tank.

 

Maybe I'll just try 10 while the tank is cycling and add from there. Possibly another 5-10 and a couple T5s...

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