kgoldy Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Okay, here's the start- I bought three different lights from LEDwholesalers.com, intending to try them all on my display fuge. Total price was $118 after shipping, which is cheaper than the single 36" Ecoxotic Stunner Strip with power supply that I just bought for my other fuge. I'm not expecting miracles- so fanboys of other forms of lighting or retailers, please don't start Mac vs. PC fights on this thread. Worse comes to worst, I can sell what I don't like or use it to light the dark corners of my basement where I keep my RO/DI stuff. The only "legit" bulb in this informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific experiment will be BoostLED's PAR30 7K all white Fuge Light that I bought used from BillMays. I'm waiting on everything in the mail, so until I get everything in front of me, I don't even know how things are going to be mounted inside my cabinet. At the moment I have 6 "50 watt equivalent" CFL flood light bulbs glaring down on the fuge, but their position makes servicing my skimmer difficult, and looking into the rear chambers of my sump impossible. The CFLs get pretty freakin hot too- not hot enough to burn the palm of my hand, but when one touches my wrist while I'm messing around in the cabinet it doesn't feel nice. I don't exactly go around touching CFLs all the time so I don't know if this kind of heat is typical, but this has me wondering if I should install fans inside my cabinet... All LEDs in this experiment are passively cooled and under 14 watts each- I don't expect heat issues from them. A few randomly placed computer fans may be in order, however. (Someone with experience with LEDs inside a cabinet, feel free to chime in). I'm looking for three things in this experiment- 1) Maximum growth for my macros 2) Color temperature that's pleasing to my eye 3) Less restricted access to my sump Here are the contestants- BoostLED's 7,000K PAR30 with 90 degree optics. Store price - $69.99 Combination of Edixeon 3-watt LED's. Universal 110-240 Volts AC at 50/60Hz. E26/E27 Standard Socket (regular light bulb). Power Consumption: 10 watts. Low Profile Dimensions: 3.75″ diameter and 3.75″ in height. 40 and 60 Degree optics provide high PAR output with good light spread. Excellent coverage for a 12″x12″ area. Photo credit: BillyMays- High Power PAR38 42 SMT MIX COLOR LED Vegging Grow Light Store price - $35 Bulb Type - Standard Screw Base Life time - 50,000 Hours Color - 30 RED 650nm + 12 Blue (450nm) View Angle - 140 Deg Light output - 500 Lumen (Very Bright) Operating Voltage - 90 – 260 Volt AC Consumption - 11 Watt Product Diameter - 4.75"or 120 mm Product Length - 4.5" or 114mm 225 LED Quad Band Full Spectrum Hydroponic Grow Light Store price - $34 SPECIFICATIONS Body material: thermoplastic 135 Red light LEDs: 650nm wavelength 30 Red light LEDs: 630nm wavelength 30 Blue light LEDs: 465nm wavelength 30 White light LED: 16000K Total 225 LEDs Working voltage: Both USA and Canada buyers will be shipped 120V panels. Buyers from all other countries will be shipped 220V panel. Power: 13.8 watts Dimensions: 12 ¼ inches (30.5cm) square Thickness: Low profile 1.25 inches Power cord length: 48 inches Recommended coverage: one panel per sq. ft ALL WHITE LED Aquarium and Grow Light Panel 225 LED 110 Volt Store price - $37 Specifications: Body material: Thermoplastic Circuitry board material: Diecast Chrome 225 Super Bright LEDs Color: WHITE 6000-7000K Working Voltage: 110V (Plug in To North America Standard Outlet) Power: 13.8 Watts Dimensions: 12 ¼ inches (30.5cm) square Thickness: Low profile 1.25" Power cord length: 48 inches Recommended coverage: One panel per 2 square feet for full illumination. I'll update with unwrapping, customer service, first impressions, etc. when the time comes. BoostLED gets 5 stars for customer service and unwrapping by default on since I'm getting their fixture used and that's the experience I have had with them in the past. Link to comment
syncro Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 This is great. I love side by side comparisons! Link to comment
Foxtrot Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I am excited to see how this works out as i wanna try the pannels on my 10g not sure how they will work out tho Link to comment
kgoldy Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Anyone got the testing equipment necessary to make the results of this comparo a little less "shooting from the hip"? I'll pay shipping both ways... Link to comment
krug1313 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Anyone got the testing equipment necessary to make the results of this comparo a little less "shooting from the hip"? I'll pay shipping both ways... You may be able to find a par meter at a local aquarium club or store. Link to comment
Neya Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 You may be able to find a par meter at a local aquarium club or store. +1 The club local to me has a par meter for lending to paying members. Like $20 for the year and you have access to all sorts of meters/items/books Link to comment
kgoldy Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Got the Boost par-30 today. Here are a few pics to show light spread with 90` optics. Link to comment
kgoldy Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Took apart the BoostLED par-30 just to see what it's like... Really, just took out three screws- making the lenses removable. Talking to BoostLED about getting a variety of lenses so I can mess around with different optics. Are all lenses the same? Or do I have to get them from Boost to make sure they'll fit? I had no idea that changing lenses could be so simple... The only thing I imagine is worth noting is that the screws used in this lamp are tiny... At first, I was thinking how this was a negative thing because the head of the screws hardly hold in the lens plate. However- if someone were to want to change the lenses multiple times over the 10 years these bulbs are expected to last, it's good, because you can simply drill, tap, and replace with a larger screw if you strip the philips head slots. Link to comment
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