+brian.srock Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) So...I'm not really cheap but I have a lot of stuff I have to buy such as a new skimmer, heater, salt, better power heads w/ wavemaker, etc. I'm in the market for a new lamp but you get what you pay for when you buy cheap and the bulbs are rather expensive for MH to be replacing every 6 months. I had my eye on an LED setup from evolution but it's more than $320 when the thought hit me, I have LEDs. So I pulled my box of Christmas lights and got started testing. Sorry I didn't leave the lights in the first box but just 2 strings didn't do it other than a moon light effect so I pulled them out and bundled them together. Then I bundled another 2 together for a total of 4 and It gives me a pretty bright light but only for 1/4 of my tank. Tonight I will be going to Lowes to pick up some more LEDs if their available since I only have 2 more sets I can bundle or I'll buy them online If I have to. I will also be picking up a 20x18 aluminum box and will start drawing out where my holes will be drilled. Sorry the pics are so crappy since all I have is my iphone but hopefully you should still be able to see the difference in lighting. I am a little confused on the differences in LEDs b/c the set up I was looking at only used 119 1w LEDs and according to the manufacturer specs on the stings they put out 4.8w per 50 lights. That would mean I would need 25 strings of 50 or 1,250 LEDs to equal the 119 LED setup. I've looked everywhere I can about anyone doing this type of DIY with christmas lights and haven't found any information so I though I can put my success/failure on here for everyone. I want to wire all the whites together and all the blues on a separate cord so I can do dusk to dawn type lighting. What do you guys think? Edited January 21, 2011 by atx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Beyond wattage, do you know what spectrum of light the LEDs are putting out? I would be concerned the christmas LEDs are not putting out a light spectrum that corals could actually use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I can't really find anything on what the spectrum but these are the lights http://www.amazon.com/Set-Clear-Snowflake-Christmas-Lights/dp/B002U2I5MG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1295627630&sr=8-4 I was planning on getting a PAR meter when I was done and testing everything. Do you think I should even attempt it or just wait to buy the LEDs from evolution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamp Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I think those will be fine for moonlights, but there is no way they will grow coral. I would check out some of the DIY led kits for your first one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have credit at lowes available since I'm waiting on taxes and a car to be sold. Is there a diy I can do to make MH lamps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koe Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'm looking at building an LED setup for a new 40B I got during the petco sale. Based on what I've read I don't think your setup will be able to support any coral. From what I've found it looks like http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/ is probably about the cheapest your going to find quality LEDs to use. Some people have also used LEDs from here http://stevesleds.com/ but I don't really know much about the light his LEDs are putting out. The likely reason the string has a 119 1watt LEDs but only uses 4.8 watts is that they aren't running them at full voltage. If you've got a smaller tank you could also look at picking up some Par30 or Par38 LED bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 His setup is 120w with 119 bulbs. Its on my to buy list within a month. Everyone says his kit is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koe Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Can you post a review of the lights when you get them Brian? I'm looking at some LED options myself in the next couple months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Will do. Here's the thread I read that got me hooked on them. http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-koi/50374-new-200-watt-evolution-led-light.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crab Rangoon Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I wish somebody in town would pick up a PAR38 lamp from Rapid LED or Boost LED so that we could get together & compare their PAR readings, side-by-side. I find it crazy that nobody has ever tested them against one another before, and I won't be using my PAR38's for too much longer to be able to offer the testing I didn't read the entire thread on that evolution light, but I am hoping that they developed some optics... otherwise it's pretty wasteful. Optics alone will make quite the dramatic difference between two different lights running at near same wattage / bulb-counts, and fixtures that simply lack optics are quite lacking - even though a LOT of people are still overlooking this. It's very similar to the difference between running T5 bulbs in an open canopy vs T5 bulbs in an ATI fixture w/quality reflectors. The difference on paper is night & day, while to the naked eye they both simply "look bright." To demonstrate this, you can notice that BOTH of the following fixtures are mounted at 12" off the water, but the fixture on the right (no optics) spills quite a bit outside the tank "This photo shows the AIs at 44% white / 100% blue & the MXS at 100% on all LEDS. At these settings, measuring 7" below each light - The AI puts out about 1425 PAR and the MXS about 700 PAR." Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 I definately don't want any light spill if it's reasonable since my set up is in my living room where I watch tv and movies. Where can I get more information on the AI lights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffT Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 AI Website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koe Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I've got a boost par 30 I'm using on my 2.5 gallon pico. I'd be up for bringing it somewhere if someone wants to do par measurements or comparisons with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 crab..is that your AI setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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