GU10 LED Build Thread (Chinese Ebay Lights)

[jnad]

Yes, i did find some interesting bulbs here, but i am not shure to order just cool whites or if i should blend in some warm whites. It is cree leds and they are chooseble with 60 degrees optic. Maybe 5 cool whites and a couple of warm whites will do the trick

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-GU10-Energy-Sav...e#ht_4121wt_800

 

They also have dimmable bulbs, but i am not shure of the quality of those with dimmable function.

 

 

Jnad

You can request 60º from him (think he's got 30, 45 and 60), but you might find some cool white 60ºs already listed if you look around.

 

-Matt

Edited August 28, 2012 by jnad

[Kawi636]

I was thinking instead of a red bulb, maybe we should add a strip light such as the ecoxotic magenta stunner strip

 

http://www.ecoxotic.com/stunner-led-strips.html

[TinyGiant]

anyone have any updates?

[jnad]

Hello!

 

I thinking about using theese led bulbs over my planted tank. I am probably using 5 bulbs, eatch bulb will hang from the ceiling in one powercord. The led bulbs will hang in open air over the tank.

 

My question is: when the bulbs is hanging in the open air over the tank, will it be mutch light spill from the heatsink in to the room? If you look at the heatsink it looks very open.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-E27-Energy-Savi...b#ht_4121wt_800

 

Jnad

[mcarroll]

My question is: when the bulbs is hanging in the open air over the tank, will it be mutch light spill from the heatsink in to the room? If you look at the heatsink it looks very open.

 

[ebay link]

 

Jnad

 

Shouldn't be too significant, though there will be some spillage. You will need a shroud if you need 0% spill.

 

By way of comparison, if you have experience with "old-school" T5HO and Halide rigs, there is a huge difference. The lenses do a tremendous job of directing light down vs out.

 

For your part, you should consider the triangle math to make sure you have the correct lenses (and/or fixture-height) that will not throw light outside your tank.

 

For example - and you can compute other lenses and heights from this - a 30º lens at 12" off the tank should give you a rough coverage radius of 3.22"....or about 6.5" in diameter. Realistically, 80% of that diameter is well lit, with the outer 20% or so much dimmer. So 5" might be a better diameter to plan on.

 

Also in theory, this 30º lens should also take an LED with a default 120º spread and make its output numbers 4x as intense within the lens diameter. (60º...2x as intense.) 150 lumens concentrated to 600 lumens. Something good to know to avoid bleaching! These lenses are serious....don't over-do it, especially on corals (and maybe plants too) that are high up in the tank!

 

Good luck with the heat issue with LED's that big! People are generally scared of the bigger wattage LED's in packages like that due to the lack of active cooling. All you have is the chimney effect within/around the bulb for >10 watts of heat. That said these bulbs have been rarely tested, so your experience may be different from "what's expected"! Especially in a well air-conditioned space. (A regular box or post fan operating in the vicinity of the lights would probably make a big difference if you decide you need some active cooling.) Let us know what you do!

 

-Matt

 

P.S. How deep (and what size?) is your tank BTW? Unless it's a really deep tank, you should be able to get by with 3x1w or 4x1w in almost any scenario...cooling is a non-issue with those bulbs, esp. in open-air.

[MeepNand]

Go with 3x1w or 4x1w. The larger ones tend to burn out according to others.

And for a planted tank, I would just DIY a couple of 10w leds for $25.

Edited September 15, 2012 by asid61

[jnad]

Go with 3x1w or 4x1w. The larger ones tend to burn out according to others.

And for a planted tank, I would just DIY a couple of 10w leds for $25.

 

Yes i have looked at those 10w leds earlier, with proper heatsink 10w might just be possible to run without a fan.

 

I have decided to go the E27 led bulb route beacuse of they are easy to install and wil probably give a clean and nice look hanging from the ceiling over a open top tank.

 

Jnad

[jnad]

Shouldn't be too significant, though there will be some spillage. You will need a shroud if you need 0% spill.

 

By way of comparison, if you have experience with "old-school" T5HO and Halide rigs, there is a huge difference. The lenses do a tremendous job of directing light down vs out.

 

For your part, you should consider the triangle math to make sure you have the correct lenses (and/or fixture-height) that will not throw light outside your tank.

 

For example - and you can compute other lenses and heights from this - a 30º lens at 12" off the tank should give you a rough coverage radius of 3.22"....or about 6.5" in diameter. Realistically, 80% of that diameter is well lit, with the outer 20% or so much dimmer. So 5" might be a better diameter to plan on.

 

Also in theory, this 30º lens should also take an LED with a default 120º spread and make its output numbers 4x as intense within the lens diameter. (60º...2x as intense.) 150 lumens concentrated to 600 lumens. Something good to know to avoid bleaching! These lenses are serious....don't over-do it, especially on corals (and maybe plants too) that are high up in the tank!

 

Good luck with the heat issue with LED's that big! People are generally scared of the bigger wattage LED's in packages like that due to the lack of active cooling. All you have is the chimney effect within/around the bulb for >10 watts of heat. That said these bulbs have been rarely tested, so your experience may be different from "what's expected"! Especially in a well air-conditioned space. (A regular box or post fan operating in the vicinity of the lights would probably make a big difference if you decide you need some active cooling.) Let us know what you do!

 

-Matt

 

P.S. How deep (and what size?) is your tank BTW? Unless it's a really deep tank, you should be able to get by with 3x1w or 4x1w in almost any scenario...cooling is a non-issue with those bulbs, esp. in open-air.

 

Tanks for taking your time writing this post, this is really useful info about lenses and angles.

 

My tank measurments is 75x45x45cm or about 29,5 x 18 x 18 inches.

 

I think i will try theese leds with 60 degrees lenses. With eatch led bulb hanging from the ceiling in their ovn power cord it will be very easy to adjust the height to what i want.

 

A led expert wrothe me this : One thing to note is that even though they are advertised as 3x4W lamps, the LEDs aren't running at 4W each. More likely 2.5W each, seeing as the lamp draw is 9.5W.

 

I will keep you uppdated about how this led bulbs work, might take som time, i am still waiting for the tank to arrive, have ordered a ADA tank and it probably should be here due september.

 

Jnad

[mcarroll]

My tank measurments is 75x45x45cm or about 29,5 x 18 x 18 inches.

 

I think i will try theese leds with 60 degrees lenses. With eatch led bulb hanging from the ceiling in their ovn power cord it will be very easy to adjust the height to what i want.

 

60º lenses at 39cm off the water should give you a 45cm diameter spread, mathematically speaking. So something around that height should be satisfactory.

 

Can't wait to see some pictures when the time comes.

 

-Matt

[mcarroll]

Yes i have looked at those 10w leds earlier, with proper heatsink 10w might just be possible to run without a fan.

 

I have decided to go the E27 led bulb route beacuse of they are easy to install and wil probably give a clean and nice look hanging from the ceiling over a open top tank.

 

Jnad

 

Missed this the first read thru.

 

Can't disagree on the looks being better with the PAR-shaped bulb. However, for ease of installation plus some other bankable features, in the Multichip LED arena (10w and up) there are also finished fixtures like this that you may want to consider. You just plug it in!

 

Many different optics are available if needed (including ellipsoidal) if you make a request to the seller or DIY. You also get the bonus of a watertight enclosure, guarding against splashes and probably even guarding against a quick, accidental dip in the tank. (Can't tell you how many time I've read of that happening to others on their DIY LED rigs and how paranoid I am every time I mess with my GU10 bulbs over my tank...LOL.)

 

-Matt

[aziandude1]

I recently purchased a few 3x1w epistar bulbs for my tank. I was wondering if you guys were actively cool the bulbs with a fan or not. I just want to make sure I don't burn out my bulbs prematurely.

[TinyGiant]

I recently purchased a few 3x1w epistar bulbs for my tank. I was wondering if you guys were actively cool the bulbs with a fan or not. I just want to make sure I don't burn out my bulbs prematurely.

 

 

been running both my gu10 setups open air with no issues. no fans should be needed

[TheCoralReef731]

I wanted to use LED lighting over my 20 long, but was hesitant to spend ~$200 on a DIY kit. Then I found this amazing thread, and all my problems were solved. I'm using 14 3w GU10 bulbs. The seller (luckzdl2008) was kind enough to offer bulbs in a blue/white variety. So each bulb has 2 blue LEDs and 1 white LED. I mounted them to a shelving track I had laying around and wired them to an old vacuum cleaner cord (very, very long!). They are BRIGHT!!! They don't seem too bright in the photos however, but believe me, they are. The only problem I might have is spotlighting. I believe they have 30 deg optics, and I'm considering 45 or 60 degree. I'd appreciate any advice on that. Their bottoms are currently only about 2.5" off the water surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2012 by TheCoralReef731

[mcarroll]

I wanted to use LED lighting over my 20 long[…]

[…]

 

You may have noticed that folks on this thread run these lamps 12" off the water, more often than not. This is not without reason. To get a 12" spread (or even close - really more like 6"+ right there at the surface) to cover your tank using 30° optics dictates the bulbs be at this height or higher.

 

To run the numbers backward from your requirements (2.5" off the water), you'd need lenses of around 120°-160° - no optics at all.

 

If you look around the thread there have been a few brave souls who've stripped out the optics from their bulbs and used some (e.g.) Arctic Silver epoxy to hold the LEDs to the heatsink. Once your start experimenting without optics, since your tank is so shallow you might find that you can remove every other bulb in your row yet still get excellent lighting at the tank bottom.

 

Let us know what you end up doing!

 

-Matt

[TheCoralReef731]

[...]If you look around the thread there have been a few brave souls who've stripped out the optics from their bulbs and used some (e.g.) Arctic Silver epoxy to hold the LEDs to the heatsink. Once your start experimenting without optics, since your tank is so shallow you might find that you can remove every other bulb in your row yet still get excellent lighting at the tank bottom.[...]

 

Well, that was a great suggestion ! I removed the optics and now I get a very even distribution of light. Its easy to notice now how little light was reaching the sandbed before. Here's the new FTS:

 

 

I didn't see the need for any adhesive. The LEDs seem to be attached pretty well already. As far as heat, the heatsinks seem to be about the same temperature as before.

Edited September 25, 2012 by TheCoralReef731

[papaj10789]

The leds on mine also seem to be attached very well when the optics are removed. I think I'm going to have to do this to run the 5b & 4w over my 8g cube

[ChouDawg]

So glad I found this thread, thanks Tiny! After a bunch of reading, debating and research I finally ordered the bulbs for my 12" cube 7.5g build. I bought way more bulbs than I need so I might have some extra to get rid of once I figure out my final fixture.

 

I got 10x sockets from the NJ seller for $8 shipped, fyi for those looking to buy, use the "best offer" button and lets see how cheap we can get them for. They are a US seller and I noticed they have the 3x1W CW/WW bulbs but they dont have any blue, confirmed with the seller, bummer.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot10-GU10-Lamp-Bu...p;forceRpt=true

 

Got 10x of luckzdl2008 2B/1W bulbs with 60' optics. I emailed and confirmed they can do 30' or 60' just put a note in the payment field.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271058454585?ssPag...984.m1497.l2649

 

And 2x of luckzdl2008 3CW bulb with 30' optics. I figured I'll swap these in if it's too blue, or convert a few of my 2B/1W to 2W/1B or etc, also kept the lenses 30' so I could see the diff/play with swapping them around.

 

Total was $64 for 12 bulbs and 10 sockets, shipped. Now let's hope it doesn't take the full two weeks to arrive. Last item I ordered from HK for my motorcycle got to me in a week so I'll cross my fingers. More pictures to come once I get my fixture made.

[TinyGiant]

anyone need any fixtures built?

 

give me dimensions and the look you want and i'll build fixtures for cash

[fullmonti]

anyone need any fixtures built?

 

give me dimensions and the look you want and i'll build fixtures for cash

 

 

Tried to PM you, your mailbox is full. PM me I have a project.

 

Jim

[papaj10789]

I decided to give the gu10's a go. I arranged mine in a 3x3 pattern, removed the optics as they're directly over an 8g cube.

 

BWB

WNW

BWB

 

 

Whites only is the way for me to get a good picture. Tank is still in progress

Edited October 14, 2012 by papaj10789

[ChouDawg]

Very cool papaj10789, anymore shots of your fixture, mounting etc.? What dimensions are the cube? I'm waiting for my bulbs to come in for my 12" cube, was going to do a row, but it looks like you're getting good coverage in 3x3 format.

[papaj10789]

Very cool papaj10789, anymore shots of your fixture, mounting etc.? What dimensions are the cube? I'm waiting for my bulbs to come in for my 12" cube, was going to do a row, but it looks like you're getting good coverage in 3x3 format.

 

I wired them almost how tiny did but only needed to stip the power cord in one spot and wire them all there. All pos together and all neg together.

 

Did the blues on one plug and whites on another.

 

Recently added the two fans which act like moonlights but also run for 10minutes on the hour to keep the leds from getting to hot since the canopy i made is enclosed. (only run for 10min because its enough to control temp while getting minimal evaporation).

 

Will disable one fan because its all thats needed and dont want the evaporation i get with two.

lights arent on

 

Still a work in progress.

 

...BTW I used to have it setup with 5 blues and 4CW but I like the look better with 4Blues, 4CW, 1NW right in the middle

Edited October 15, 2012 by papaj10789

[MeepNand]

Nice man! But you could just not run the fans and the gu10s will be fine.

[ChouDawg]

papaj10789: Nice DIY man, looks awesome. I hope mine doesn't turn out too blue, I ended up getting the 2RB/1CW, so 2:1 ratio versus 1:1. Who did you order your bulbs from? Did you have to thermal paste the boards down after you pulled the optics?

 

asid61: I think most people mentioned the GU10's heatsink is designed to be used in open air fixtures for passive cooling, putting it in an enclosed space you'd need some kind of air exchange or the hot air inside would just linger.

[papaj10789]

papaj10789: Nice DIY man, looks awesome. I hope mine doesn't turn out too blue, I ended up getting the 2RB/1CW, so 2:1 ratio versus 1:1. Who did you order your bulbs from? Did you have to thermal paste the boards down after you pulled the optics?

 

asid61: I think most people mentioned the GU10's heatsink is designed to be used in open air fixtures for passive cooling, putting it in an enclosed space you'd need some kind of air exchange or the hot air inside would just linger.

 

I ordered the rb from luckzdl for $4.23 each. I dont remember where I got the whites.

The boards stay snug if you put some force on your finger they will slide a tiny amount but they are not even close to hanging off.

 

@asid61 without the fans my tank runs at 82deg and the rbs get hot enough to burn my finer. With running them for 10min on the hour it runs at 78-79 with minimal evaporation and the bulbs stay cool to the touch. Plus they run for an hour after lights off as moon lights.