GU10 LED Build Thread (Chinese Ebay Lights)

[ChouDawg]

hey all, since switching to gu10 lights, my frogspawn looks like crap and is mostly retracted

this is in a 10g tank, the frogspawn has been with me for almost 3 years and grown from 2 heads to 11 heads

it was huge directly below a 13w PC light

 

the gu10 lights are on eggcrate, right over the water (maybe an inch away, ish)

the frogspawn was only about 3 inches down from the surface (where it has been for 2 years)

 

too bright, maybe? I know that this is as much a livestock as lighting question, but I'm looking for other gu10 users to chime in.

 

fwiw: I've got a duncan on the sand (about 10inches from the lights) it is doing great. and a candycane that is about 2 inches below the frogspawn, also doing great. and a chalice that is also on the sand, doing well.

 

my mushrooms seem to have mostly shriveled up to not-much

3 ricordia aren't doing well (alive, but not looking very inflated)

 

I had 7 of the 3x1w gu10 with a 4:3 ratio of B:W

one died and I took one out, so now I'm at 3 blue and 2 white,

I've raised the eggcrate up an inch and moved the frogspawn down 2 inches... I'd welcome thoughts....

 

Way too much light, Euphyllia corals in general don't need a ton of light, that being said they can be acclimated to higher light conditions but gradually. You went from 13W of a a low PAR output PC light to about 15W of very high PAR LEDs and have them way too close to the water causing it to essentially blast the Frogspawn with all of it's output. When I had GU10s over my tank, I had it at 7" with 60' optics. My frogspawn when I got it, I put it 1/2 way down and it has multiplied a bunch and has never reached for light. Yours shriveling up is 100% indication of too much light, its a good thing you caught it because the next phase would be bleaching once it starts expelling zooxanthellae

[--chris--]

If its extreme enough (the light transition) it can skip bleaching and go straight to polyp bail out. We will see.

 

Buy yeah, what chou said...way to much light that close to the surface (both bulb and coral). Sorry mate!

[dustbust]

I have 9 over my 7.5g, 8" above the tank. My branching frogspawn is mid level and thats even pushing it. It has a very light color to it and I am actually thinking about dropping it to the sandbed. Im pretty sure its starting to bleach.

[gonzalez78]

I have some GU10s for sale if someone is interested I am getting out of the business due to financial problems.

[TinyGiant]

Are they from luckz?

 

How man and what colors? And price

[gonzalez78]

Are they from luckz?

How man and what colors? And price

They are from luckz 16 blue, 16 white I don't remember if they were cool or warm they were the ones you suggested. Also 3 with 2 blues and 1 white

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/324725-gu10-leds-and-sockets/

[sandcruiser]

Thanks, all

 

I'll move the froggy down further

 

I should point out that I removed the optics completely from the lights, so they are a bit less bright than w/ optics

but I suspect that they are still too much

 

I worked from home today, and opening up the windows allowed some additional sunshine to come into the room

the coral retracted even more, adding to the notion that it's too much light that is causing issues.

[--chris--]

I was thinking of ordering some E27 warm white 1x3 bulbs for a cheap/effecvtive fuge light. I was thinking 3-4 of the 1x3 for a fuge measuring 24x18...think that would be sufficent? I was planning on either 90 or 120 degree optics (yes i know the bare leds are 120, but like Tiny has said before the 120 lenses get the light out of the housing much better) about 8" over the surface.

 

Ive also been seeing more people use red/pink spectrum LEDs for fuge/macro growth. I know plants like that spectrum better, would it be worth while to go that route? I ask because we all know how well 6700K growth algae, i just wonder if red is that much better.

 

Its either this or 2 clamp lamps with CFL bulbs.

[--chris--]

Im beggining to notice that some of my Zoa and paly polyps are beginning to extend like they would in lower lighting. Im not sure what to make of that...

 

They are in a direct line of site with teh bulbs, some are even growing well...but extending a lot more than usual. Anyone have a clue what could be going on?

[TinyGiant]

i have a bunch of zoas at the bottom of my 55g that are nice and short. but i do have some palys in different areas that like to extend.

maybe they are just a little excited

[--chris--]

lol.

 

Its just odd...they are growing new buds/the mat is spreading but they are reaching in the direction of the light as well. I have never seen both occur at the same time.

[dustbust]

Not to change subject but has anybody taken these a step further and basically gutted these things for parts? I gutted one for my Fuge light and it was pretty easy.

 

Like all of us in DIY we cant keep our damn hands off anything. Righn now my light is about 3" tall. Im thinking about getting a piece of aluminum and pasting all the LED 3up chips on, then drilling holes to push the cords through and have all of the drivers wired on the opposite side. I could potentually shave off 2" from my light and it would prob be more efficient being that the original bulbs get pretty dang hot as is.

 

I have 2 fans I can wire up to cool the unit down. Anybody think im crazy? I know it would be lots of work but I like doining it.

[ChouDawg]

Im beggining to notice that some of my Zoa and paly polyps are beginning to extend like they would in lower lighting. Im not sure what to make of that...

 

They are in a direct line of site with teh bulbs, some are even growing well...but extending a lot more than usual. Anyone have a clue what could be going on?

 

I think Zoas are just moody, mine both under my GU10 setup and now my Full Spectrum are hit/miss. Sometimes they'll be extended 1/4-1/2" or so, sometimes they'll be super short. I think it depends a lot on various factors not just light, Zoas/Palys actually get most of their nutrients from the water, which is why most people swear they do better in "less than ideal" conditions. I've seen Zoas/Palys stretch to like 2"+ for light so I'd say unless yours are getting that crazy, you should be fine. If you're getting good growth they're happy where they are.

 

Not to change subject but has anybody taken these a step further and basically gutted these things for parts? I gutted one for my Fuge light and it was pretty easy.

 

Like all of us in DIY we cant keep our damn hands off anything. Righn now my light is about 3" tall. Im thinking about getting a piece of aluminum and pasting all the LED 3up chips on, then drilling holes to push the cords through and have all of the drivers wired on the opposite side. I could potentually shave off 2" from my light and it would prob be more efficient being that the original bulbs get pretty dang hot as is.

 

I have 2 fans I can wire up to cool the unit down. Anybody think im crazy? I know it would be lots of work but I like doining it.

 

Somewhere within this thread I remember someone separated the "socket" part from the heatsink and mounted the heatsink onto something with the driver behind it. I've gutted some GU10 in the past and can't see any issue with mounting the 3-UP boards directly to a heatsink. You'd definitely get better cooling and maybe even better color mixing/smaller fixture with the boards right next to each other. I think it kind of defeats the purpose of the whole "GU10 DIY" setup though because you lose the ability to just twist/replace any bulb and the minimalist build aspect.

[dustbust]

Ya I agree about the minimalist part. Im not saying im going to do it but it has crossed my mind.

 

I agree on the zoas, I think you will see they grow better in mature tanks and well fed tanks. I have never worried about zoa health though. I usually worry about them taking over. Ha!

[sandcruiser]

how much venting/cooling do these lights need?

I've had 2 die an early death in my fuge. I suspect it is heat-related as the light has almost zero ventilation.

 

I suppose it could be coincidence... but seems unlikely.

[TinyGiant]

Anyone have any gu10 for sale?

 

i need 1b and 2w at least and 5 sockets.

 

would buy 5b and 4 white and 5 sockets if someone has that all. must be from luckdz seller

 

i have someone in my local club willing to sell 6 of his bulbs but he just placed his order with luckz the other day so it will be a bit.

 

anyone have some spare bulbs before i go and order what i need?

how much venting/cooling do these lights need?

I've had 2 die an early death in my fuge. I suspect it is heat-related as the light has almost zero ventilation.

 

I suppose it could be coincidence... but seems unlikely.

 

 

they should be setup in open air. or with a fan .. but if you put them in small sealed hood they will build up heat.. if they are setup in open air they will be fine.

[sandcruiser]

lol

 

so....

inside of an enclosed metal can with a canister filter on top might be a tad warm, I reckon.

I'll have to remedy that.

 

thanks, TinyGiant

[mini_matt]

I swapped to these last year, my tank was doing amazingly on a pair of arc pods with compact fluorescent,

I changed to 3cw and 3 blue with 60degree lenses and now my tank looks awful, killed almost everything, the only thing that has done well in my tank is pulsing xenia that i don't want! please help!

I had a huge ric that looked ready to split that is now shriveled up but intensely bright!

 

I have the lights about 10inches above the water but i do have a glass lid to stop evap

[dtitus1]

How many gu-10s to light a 9.5x9.5 cube? I was thinking like 4, a white, 2 blues, and a violet in a cluster, but not sure how high to do it.

 

What do you guys think?

[MeepNand]

Sounds okay. Maybe one more?

[--chris--]

How many gu-10s to light a 9.5x9.5 cube? I was thinking like 4, a white, 2 blues, and a violet in a cluster, but not sure how high to do it.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Check out this build:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/312746-return-to-the-ocean-aio-75g-12-cube-another-batch-of-eggs/

[ChouDawg]

Check out this build:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/312746-return-to-the-ocean-aio-75g-12-cube-another-batch-of-eggs/

Haha I clicked on it expecting to see a cool GU10 build cause the link was truncated, only to stumble upon my own thread

 

Mine was 12" x 9.5" in the display area so pretty close to the 9.5"x9.5" cube above. You can definitely get away with less bulbs, I think two rows of 3 would work well.

[dtitus1]

I forgot though it's an AIO so the display area is actually less than that. It's probably more like 9.5x7.5.

 

Lol having six bulbs I think would literally be more surface area than the display.

[mcarroll]

lol.

 

Its just odd...they are growing new buds/the mat is spreading but they are reaching in the direction of the light as well. I have never seen both occur at the same time.

Further proof that whoever said zoanthids are easy or a good beginner coral "are a liar and their breath stank."

 

I swapped to these last year, my tank was doing amazingly on a pair of arc pods with compact fluorescent,

I changed to 3cw and 3 blue with 60degree lenses and now my tank looks awful[...]

 

I have the lights about 10inches above the water but i do have a glass lid to stop evap

Compared to the model in the first post you have different lenses and a seemingly non-proportional hanging height and a glass filter (lid) over the tank. Can you describe any other differences between your installation and the one in the model?

 

Also, what are the tank's dimensions?

 

What I can tell you so far: The new lenses drop the bulb intensity by half. Common glass, when perfectly clean, only transmits 80% of the light that hits it. You would need to double the bulbs or drop the fixture to 1/2 the model system's 12" to make up for the lens change.

 

How many gu-10s to light a 9.5x9.5 cube? I was thinking like 4, a white, 2 blues, and a violet in a cluster, but not sure how high to do it.

 

What do you guys think?

25% violet light in a spotlight form will look funnyeven in a wider spread that much violet would look funny.

 

I would run only one or two of the 2b:1w gu10's that are mentioned all over this thread - no more. If you must play with violet I would replace no more than one bead out of the six you'll have with violet. May still look funny.

 

-Matt

[dtitus1]

 

25% violet light in a spotlight form will look funnyeven in a wider spread that much violet would look funny.

 

I would run only one or two of the 2b:1w gu10's that are mentioned all over this thread - no more. If you must play with violet I would replace no more than one bead out of the six you'll have with violet. May still look funny.

 

-Matt

 

For real only one of the combo bulbs would be enough you think? Definitely would have to have like 90 degree optics. Lol do you have a link? I know you said they're all over here but this is kind of a huge thread...

 

I'm having a hard time finding them on ebay but I'll keep going through the thread.