GU10 LED Build Thread (Chinese Ebay Lights)

[neven]

aftrr spending way too much time reading this thread ive decided to jump on this band wagon and found me a seller

who will make me custom bulbs with free shipping. as my wife hates the all blue look and prefers a more natural light i plan on getting 3x2w setups in two configs

 

1 - 2 blue and 1 cool white

2- 1blue 1 pure white and 1 coolwhite

 

i had the option of a reds and warm whites but i didnt want them to over power and i need to order in 15 bulb lots.

 

so right now ill stick with this, i only need half the bulbs but this way i can change out the ratios to my wifes preferences.

 

the tank is 20 gallons but will be changed to a 33-35 tank down the road. i plan on 2 offset rowa so i get better colour blending. i will also fan cool despite gaving 3x3w bulbs running for 6 mo ths in my home

[Chino]

I just recently bought a 20tall setup with a diy fixture with 11 (3X1w 6 cool white & 3X1w 5 blue). It's a standard 20tall (24 X 12 X 16). After tons of reading from this thread I decided the fixture did not have enough so I purchase 5 sockets and 5 blue bulbs because I like the blue look. I also had to rewire everything because the blues and whites ran on one plug and I wanted them separate. I have a ton of questions but I will start with a few of the important ones first.

 

1. Im not sure what optics are on the bulbs that I received initially with the setup but I know the ones I got were 30deg. I noticed that no matter how high I raise the fixture it seems that the whites and blues dont ever blend. Should I purchase the 60deg optics or go no optics?

 

a. Are the 60deg that much different from the 30deg?

b. What are the cautions I need to take if I run them with no optics?

c. Will running without optics have less light intensity on corals?

 

2. I notice the color of the cool whites alone with the blues leave a very daylight look (white). Warm whites may seem a little too yellow for me. Are there neutral whites for these bulbs?

 

a. Where can I buy neutral white bulbs?

b. Should I mix cool and neutral bulbs?

 

3. What is the highest wattage bulb that everyone has used without heat issues? 4w, 5w, 6w, 9w, 12w?

Edited November 21, 2012 by Chino

[ChouDawg]

1. How far apart are your bulbs? I have my sockets spaced 2" apart that puts the largest part of the bulbs basically almost touching each other, the closer they are the better they will blend. I've got mine in my 3x3 square about 5-6" off my water line with 60' optics and the blend is great.

 

1a. Somewhere in this thread someone posted photos of the bulbs shining on a 1" square grid with the different optics, I have tried no optics, 30' and 60' and without a way to measure it I couldn't tell much just shining it against a wall.

 

1b. If you're buying them from the "luck" seller you can take off the optics and you wont have to worry about the circuit boards falling out or anything. I wouldn't put them too close to the water though but the build with the 20L a few pages back he ran them without optics like 2-3" from the water's surface without any issues. Long term though I'm sure they will rust if kept close to the water or in a hood.

 

1c. You will lose intensity without the optics, I think it was recommended for nothing deeper than 11-12"

 

2. I didn't bother throwing in any neutral/warm/etc. whites and the "luck" seller I got mine from only has "white" and "blue" I think so I just went with B/W, nothing fancy and I like the color. I did the 2B:1W bulbs.

 

3. I read the whole thread and people tried all the different ones and hundreds of pages later 3x1W still seems like the most popular.

[Loud_mouth22]

Just so everyone reading knows so far i have purchased from 3 other sellers on ebay and their lights dont have half the power of lucklds2008 gu bulbs so dont waste your money

[mcarroll]

Just so everyone reading knows so far i have purchased from 3 other sellers on ebay and their lights dont have half the power of lucklds2008 gu bulbs so dont waste your money

 

Interesting...don't suppose you could share your test numbers?

 

Over-driving LEDs is worse than under-driving them, FWIW. More is not better. If they simply appear brighter to your eyes, remember that this is not very relevant to corals.

 

FWIW, even if they aren't cranking the LEDs at the same mA, I haven't noticed any problem with using bulbs from other makers. You may be trying to create an issue where there is none. Cheap GU10 bulbs (I've paid between $2.50 and $5 per bulb) work fine...the proof is all over this thread.

 

Also FWIW, I think a better reason to like luckzdl2008 is the excellent 2-blue, 1-white bulbs he always has for sale at a reasonable price.

 

What really would make an interesting GU10 is one with a Power Factor close to 100%!

 

-Matt

Edited November 27, 2012 by mcarroll

[Chino]

1. How far apart are your bulbs? I have my sockets spaced 2" apart that puts the largest part of the bulbs basically almost touching each other, the closer they are the better they will blend. I've got mine in my 3x3 square about 5-6" off my water line with 60' optics and the blend is great.

 

1a. Somewhere in this thread someone posted photos of the bulbs shining on a 1" square grid with the different optics, I have tried no optics, 30' and 60' and without a way to measure it I couldn't tell much just shining it against a wall.

 

1b. If you're buying them from the "luck" seller you can take off the optics and you wont have to worry about the circuit boards falling out or anything. I wouldn't put them too close to the water though but the build with the 20L a few pages back he ran them without optics like 2-3" from the water's surface without any issues. Long term though I'm sure they will rust if kept close to the water or in a hood.

 

1c. You will lose intensity without the optics, I think it was recommended for nothing deeper than 11-12"

 

2. I didn't bother throwing in any neutral/warm/etc. whites and the "luck" seller I got mine from only has "white" and "blue" I think so I just went with B/W, nothing fancy and I like the color. I did the 2B:1W bulbs.

 

3. I read the whole thread and people tried all the different ones and hundreds of pages later 3x1W still seems like the most popular.

 

 

Thanks for your detailed repsonse. I have my bulbs 2" apart as well but they are in 3 separate rows. Lights are 12" above the water at the moment. I believe no optics is not an option for me since my tank is about 16" deep. I guess I will just stick to the cool whites since I cant really find neutrals anyway. I cant do the 2B:1W bulbs because I want the dusk and dawn for my timers. It'd be nice if they made 2 cools 1 neutral or vice versa so we could test the look out.

 

I just messaged the "luck" seller to see if I can get 60 degree optics because I believe that may be the issue for me. Waiting to hear back from him.

 

Here are a few pics just to get a better idea with what Im working with.

 

Here I was in the process of adding 5 more sockets/bulbs to the previous owner's fixture and separating the blues and whites on different cords. His build is actually somewhere on this thread. I was a bit too lazy to rearrange the current ones to my preference so I just added around.

 

Lights on

 

No LR

 

 

With LR

 

 

Compared to Steve's 3W Luxeon LEDs

 

Cant really see the separation of the blues and whites in the these pics because the blues are so overpowering but in person its very noticeable especially on the sand bed.

 

Should I take out all the sockets and change up the bulb placement? Maybe have them 1" apart instead of 2" and have 2 rows instead of 3? Or add more blues and whites in the empty areas? Would that be too much?

 

Also, here is how the LEDs are placed:

 

B B B

B W B W B

W B W W B W

B B

Edited November 27, 2012 by Chino

[papaj10789]

Thanks for your detailed repsonse. I have my bulbs 2" apart as well but they are in 3 separate rows. Lights are 12" above the water at the moment. I believe no optics is not an option for me since my tank is about 16" deep. I guess I will just stick to the cool whites since I cant really find neutrals anyway. I cant do the 2B:1W bulbs because I want the dusk and dawn for my timers. It'd be nice if they made 2 cools 1 neutral or vice versa so we could test the look out.

 

I just messaged the "luck" seller to see if I can get 60 degree optics because I believe that may be the issue for me. Waiting to hear back from him.

 

Here are a few pics just to get a better idea with what Im working with.

 

Here I was in the process of adding 5 more sockets/bulbs to the previous owner's fixture and separating the blues and whites on different cords. His build is actually somewhere on this thread. I was a bit too lazy to rearrange the current ones to my preference so I just added around.

 

Lights on

 

No LR

 

 

With LR

 

 

Compared to Steve's 3W Luxeon LEDs

 

Cant really see the separation of the blues and whites in the these pics because the blues are so overpowering but in person its very noticeable especially on the sand bed.

 

Should I take out all the sockets and change up the bulb placement? Maybe have them 1" apart instead of 2" and have 2 rows instead of 3? Or add more blues and whites in the empty areas? Would that be too much?

 

Also, here is how the LEDs are placed:

 

B B B

B W B W B

W B W W B W

B B

 

 

I would try removing a couple of the optics on the blues and see what you get. When you start stocking with corals you can see if they are getting enough light and you like the color. Grouping them closer would help. Mine are almost touching.

 

I also run some with 30deg mixed with 60deg and some with no optics. Blends perfectly and it hits the sandbed hard still.

[ChouDawg]

Whoa wait backup, 2" from center to center of the sockets, not 2" of gap between bulbs, they should almost be touching if not touching. That right there is the only reason your fixture isn't blending as it should, both 60' and 30' optics should blend if you put them as close as possible to each other.

 

Also you may want to give TinyGiant's original bulb layout a try since your tank is only 12" apart a single row of tank length / 2 minus 1 should give you a single row of 11 bulbs from end to end almost touching each other. Since it's 16" deep you may want to throw an additional row if you have the funds to help with the depth a bit. So two rows of 11 bulbs would be optimal, with 30' optics this should mix just fine. With 60' optics you will definitely want two rows but you'll get better blending at lower fixture heights.

 

Hope this helps, I think if you change your socket layout to a straight line with the bulbs almost touching each other you'll see much better results. Post if it works! Or if it doesn't...

[TinyGiant]

i build a lot of fixtures with these bulbs for people in the club i run here in NH. Every once in a while someone will give me a bulb layout they want and ask me to do it their way.. every time they have spotlighting issues.

 

stick to the straight rows with the bulbs almost touching. I never get spot lighting on any of the systems i build with when i run straight rows..

[Boggers]

I used these on my 75G. Bought 60, 30 white at 60` and 30 blue at 30`. Just got it set up last night.

[TinyGiant]

I used these on my 75G. Bought 60, 30 white at 60` and 30 blue at 30`. Just got it set up last night.

 

 

looks great!

[Chino]

I would try removing a couple of the optics on the blues and see what you get. When you start stocking with corals you can see if they are getting enough light and you like the color. Grouping them closer would help. Mine are almost touching.

 

I also run some with 30deg mixed with 60deg and some with no optics. Blends perfectly and it hits the sandbed hard still.

 

Thanks for your response. I may try this but first I will have to try with all 60 degree optics which I just bought for the "luck" seller on ebay.

 

Whoa wait backup, 2" from center to center of the sockets, not 2" of gap between bulbs, they should almost be touching if not touching. That right there is the only reason your fixture isn't blending as it should, both 60' and 30' optics should blend if you put them as close as possible to each other.

 

Also you may want to give TinyGiant's original bulb layout a try since your tank is only 12" apart a single row of tank length / 2 minus 1 should give you a single row of 11 bulbs from end to end almost touching each other. Since it's 16" deep you may want to throw an additional row if you have the funds to help with the depth a bit. So two rows of 11 bulbs would be optimal, with 30' optics this should mix just fine. With 60' optics you will definitely want two rows but you'll get better blending at lower fixture heights.

 

Hope this helps, I think if you change your socket layout to a straight line with the bulbs almost touching each other you'll see much better results. Post if it works! Or if it doesn't...

 

Oops ok I thought everyone was refering to inches from bulb to bulb. Again, this was not my build. Got this fixture already built by another reefer. His build is actually on this thread somewhere (limpert, page 73) like I said.

 

The fixture is only 18" X 9" so with one row it would only fit 8 or 9 in one row with a TIGHT fit. Will this even be enough light? If I do rearrange the sockets I will for sure do 2 rows just to be safe and will post here. The spotlighting is not horrible but noticeable. Gonna try out 60degree optics first.

 

 

i build a lot of fixtures with these bulbs for people in the club i run here in NH. Every once in a while someone will give me a bulb layout they want and ask me to do it their way.. every time they have spotlighting issues.

 

stick to the straight rows with the bulbs almost touching. I never get spot lighting on any of the systems i build with when i run straight rows..

 

Thanks for the tip man. It's not as bad as I may have made it seem. Im just super picky and would like a perfect blend. Again, this was not originally my layout. I was just being lazy and did not want to do the rearranging of the sockets. If it was my layout it would be 2 rows almost touching each other. I just wanted to get advice from this thread before I gut the whole thing.

 

In regards to having 2 rows. Do I make the rows almost touching each other as well?

Edited November 29, 2012 by Chino

[Boggers]

I would evenly space them over the tank so you do not have dark(er) spots in the corners.

[6Speed]

Hey guys, I'm contemplating using some of the e27 based epistar bulbs with my 20 gallon nano. I'm aiming for a sleek modern design. My nano will most likely be fish only so I'm not as concerned with power as I am appearance/color temp. I like a lot of blue...like at least a 20k look, maybe more lol!

 

Here is one idea. Mount a track light on ceiling above tank and use these in the track:

I'm wondering if I use the narrow beam optic bulbs will allow me to mount them high (4 ft) above the water surface, and still get ok color blending and also still get enough light into the tank so that it is bright enough for viewing.

 

My second idea was to buy something like this:

...which would allow me to dial in distance from water surface and add more lights to the track as I saw fit.

 

I planned on using the 3watt (2blue 1white) version e27 bulbs but I just reread the first goodneck style track light accepts gu10-16 bulbs! Sweet!

 

Thoughts?

 

edit: Now that I think of it...I don't even have to mount the track on the ceiling. I could easily mount it to the wall behind tank at any height I wanted and then simply aim the goosenecks where I want the light to shine.

Edited December 7, 2012 by 6Speed

[gabe3366]

Here are some comparison shots of the 3 different color blends I ordered. I'm not sure how helpful they will be, but I think I can tell a difference between the color mixes. Pictures were taken with the bulbs mounted in a gu-10 to e27 base adapter plugged into an adjustable floor lamp ~12inches away from my 2g pico with no other lights on in the room.

 

2 neutral white/3 blue

 

 

2 cool white/1 neutral white, 2 blue

 

 

2 cool white/3 blue. This is more blue than it looks in real life. I tried to adjust the picture, but gave up because the image editing software for my olympus's raw files is giving me problems.

 

 

And a comparison in bulb size to the 3X1w bulbs from luckzdl. The 5X1w bulb is the taller one. The heatsink is visibly bigger longer on these, so hopefully it is enough to keep the heat down. I have tested it by running one of them for ~4 hours, and while the bulb is warm it is still not too hot to handle.

 

Honestly I can't tell a HUGE difference between the brightness of these and the 3w bulbs. These are brighter, but I can't quantify it without a par meter or something like that (working on borrowing one from a reef club member). Also, I can't say for certain that these are running at 5w because I don't have a kill a watt or something similar (also looking for one to borrow). As for color, I'm split between the 1nw/2cw/2blue and the 2cw/3blue being my favorites. All three color mixes had pretty good color blending at ~8'' (less disco effect than the 3w bulbs). The 2cw/3blue did a better job on bringing out the fluorescence, but didn't do as much for the other colors. The 1nw/2cw/2blue mixed bulb brought out a little more of the reds and purples in the live rock and coralline, but didn't give as much fluorescence. If I was making a fixture out of these bulbs, I think I would lean towards running a 50/50 mix of the 1nw/2cw/2blue and the 2cw/3blue, or maybe a mix of the 1nw/2cw/2blue and some straight blues with wide optics and wired on a different circuit for a little extra blue pop during the day and moonlights at night. Just my thoughts. I hope some part of this ramble helps someone out. Feel free to ask questions or disagree with any of this.

 

Do you have a link for these bulbs?

[gabe3366]

Just read the entire thread....

 

What do you guys recommend for a 1.5g pico reef vase?

[ChouDawg]

A single 3x1W GU10 2B/1W will be perfect for you, if you're worried about output you can do two or three in a triangle, depends on the dimensions of your vase though.

 

To the spacing out bulbs comment above, I'd advise against that. Follow what TinyGiant recommends whenever possible, tight single rows will out perform a spaced out setup every time. The reason being each bulbs produces a cone of light output, varying depending on your optics.

 

The bulbs in line will each create a cone that covers some of the length, and the front/back, there will of course be some overlapping that's where the mixing occurs. If you space them out, your "cones" wont overlap as much and you'll get the disco ball effect.

 

There was a 20L a few post back that had a single row with no optics about 2" off the water with perfect blending and output. Don't change what works imo

[gabe3366]

So something like this?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-GU10-3Watt-1pc...=item416e91719a

[ChouDawg]

Perfect, the best seller too. He can get you 30' or 60' optics. Since its going to take about 1-2 weeks depending on where you are, you should order as many as you think you might need/want and then an extra or two, they're cheap anyways. That way you won't have to wait and if you end up for sure not needing them, you can sell them to people that dont want to wait the 2 weeks. I picked up 10 2B/1W and 2 3W when i got mine, ended up using 9 total.

[gabe3366]

Sweet thanks, I think I'm going to order two since I haven't found a single gu10 socket for sale, only packages of 2.

 

What size tank are you using yours on?

[ChouDawg]

Ikea sells a track light GU10 fixture with 3 bulbs on it, its somewhere in this thread or check out these.

 

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=GU10

 

Mine is in a 3x3 configuration (my post is somewhere in this thread) on a 12" cube (7.5G) with a display area of 12"x12"x9.5"

[babboa]

Do you have a link for these bulbs?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-3W-4W-5W-LED-S...=item2a1e0a0892

 

Seller was hk_bestshop. Just email them. They were surprisingly quick to respond (though their english wasn't the best). I included links to MS paint drawings (hosted on imgur.com) of the led configurations I wanted and they got them all correct. Like I said before, I think a fixture that mixes these with the ones luckzdl sells would look good (the blues in the 5w bulbs from hk_bestshop are a little darker than epistars from luckzdl). Maybe one or two of the 5w 1nw/2cw/2blue to 3-4 of the 2epistar blue/1cool whites that luckzdl sells. Be sure to post here when you get everything together. I really want to see how a whole fixture of these bulbs looks.

[Belac]

Tiny thank you for makeing this thread and experementing with these bulbs in the first place. I had seen them before a few months ago when I toyed with getting some cheap LEDs to play with. I was hopeing to grow coral frags with what I got that was a led grow light. (it wasn't bright enough but my planted nano seems happy with it.) I always wondered about these gu10 ones.

 

I am probably makeing the plunge here in the next few days and placeing my order for my standerd 20gallon high. After reading all 78 pages I think I understand that I need about 11 ish bulbs in a streight line and probably bwbwbwbwbwbw. I may end up mixing the LEDs in the bulbs as I am decent with a soldering iron. 30 degree optics I think are going to be the simpelist with my set up. I may eventually epoxy every thing and remove the optics time will tell there.

 

Anyone tried the green, or purple ones? I saw people talk about it but I never remember seeing results. I am thinking I might mix one of each in (leds split up with out optics) to get a bit more full spectrum thrown in.) Still on the fence on this though.

 

One more question. Has anyone tried the SMD ones? I know SMD leds are stupid bright for their size. If no one has tried them I may get one just to play with it. Worst case I will have a new light for one of the rooms in the house.

[ChouDawg]

Cree/Epistar > SMD for sure, SMD is older technology. I swapped one of my 2B/1W to be 3B so almost anyone with a soldering iron can. I'd be interested to see if you swap in some reds/greens/purples. I'd love to see my reds pop a bit more. I looked up some UV Cree/Epistar LEDs and they were about as expensive as a whole GU10 from luck so I didn't look more into it.

[Belac]

Yeah I wasn't figureing that the SMD would be that great for a normal tank. It was more for a nano I am going to be lighting for some one. I figured it wouldn't have the spot light issues as much do to the lack of a lense angle.

 

You might look into getting the UV/vilot beads and just replaceing a bead in a few of the lights.

 

(Added a link to one of the first ones I found, not the best price but it gives you an idea what I was talking about.)

Edited December 8, 2012 by Belac