got my ecoxotic par38, pics!!!!

The light looks nice.  If I may offer a suggestion or two...if you could remove the aluminum reflector on the clip on fixture that would go a long way in helping to dissipate the heat away from the bulb.  The hotter that bulb stays like that the shorter it's life span is going to be.  Also, I'm not crazy about seeing it clipped on to the side like that, it looks like it could easily get knocked into the tank by accident.  Just thinking about safety.  If you could find a way to hang it/them over the tank a little higher you could gain more spread out of them and then you may only need to get 1 or 2 more bulbs instead of 2 or 3.  Just some thoughts.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Quills 

The light looks nice.  If I may offer a suggestion or two...if you could remove the aluminum reflector on the clip on fixture that would go a long way in helping to dissipate the heat away from the bulb.  The hotter that bulb stays like that the shorter it's life span is going to be.  Also, I'm not crazy about seeing it clipped on to the side like that, it looks like it could easily get knocked into the tank by accident.  Just thinking about safety.  If you could find a way to hang it/them over the tank a little higher you could gain more spread out of them and then you may only need to get 1 or 2 more bulbs instead of 2 or 3.  Just some thoughts.  

Thank you so much!!!! You just gave me the perfect idea of how I am going to place mine (when I get it).!!!! 

I agree about the clip, they can slip and pop off. I do like those bulbs though.

T

Looks really good, I was at HD tonight and they had them on sale for $44 canadian, eh - would like to try them myself but would like some blue one's as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Socks002 

44$???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? i paid 119. are these the same bulbs? i saw one at HD today it looked kinda like it but it was white. did say par38 but i just assumed it wasnt for aquarium use.

It did say par 38 on them, I was suprised as well.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by bender77 

Dumb question. What size tank would 1 of those work for and how does it compare to say MH? Like, what types of coral could you grow under it? I'm probably asking it wrong, but I hope you understand

I think someone, 2Quils to be exact said one 3 watt buld per 12 square inches of surface water.  Something like that, it is in meowzer LED build thread.

This is another thread with these bulbs.

http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388200/new-coral-and-light-set-up#post_3425089

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al&Burke 

Looks really good, I was at HD tonight and they had them on sale for $44 canadian, eh - would like to try them myself but would like some blue one's as well.

 

Al the par38 simply stands for the size of those particular style bulbs.  So those aren't actual par numbers.  The ones they sell at HD and Lowes I believe typically use like half watt or 1 watt bulbs that's why they're a lot cheaper.  I'd have to double check again to be sure.  But If you look at the actual wattage rating compared to how many bulbs they use they're not nearly as strong.  Pretty sure they are half watt though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bender77 

Dumb question. What size tank would 1 of those work for and how does it compare to say MH? Like, what types of coral could you grow under it? I'm probably asking it wrong, but I hope you understand

It really depends on the amount of coverage you're going for.  Some of them are sold with different optics which can put out a wider spread and the higher you raise them off the tank will give you more spread as well but you sacrifice some par.  So it just depends on whether you're looking to keep high light corals or not and at what depths.  The rule about using 1 high powered led per each 12 square inches of surface area of your tank pretty much works out to be closer to the equivalent of a 400w MH when doing diy.  1 high powered 3 watt led per every 16 square inches of surface area is a good ratio to go by for the average mixed reef tank that isn't terribly deep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Quills 

Al the par38 simply stands for the size of those particular style bulbs.  So those aren't actual par numbers.  The ones they sell at HD and Lowes I believe typically use like half watt or 1 watt bulbs that's why they're a lot cheaper.  I'd have to double check again to be sure.  But If you look at the actual wattage rating compared to how many bulbs they use they're not nearly as strong.  Pretty sure they are half watt though.

 

You are probably right Corey.  Have to look at them closer