OllieNZ
Member
Hi All,
After seeing quite a few threads asking for help with LEDs I thought I'd share my experiences with them.
Not all LEDs are created eaqually so buyer beware
What to look for when buying?
-Chip manufacturer: Cree are the best but any branded bulb phillips,orsam etc should be using decent chips
-Chip wattage: You should use bulbs whose chips are a minimum of 1w. Bulbs with loads of small LEDs may have the same final wattage but wont produce the same light intensity.
-Light output: Check the lumen value of the bulb as I have recently seen a 3x1w rated at 480lm and a 3x3w rated at 480lm aswell and the 3x3w were triple the cost
-Lens angle: This is quite Important, the lower the angle the tighter the beam.
-Lifespan: Most bulbs will have a life in excess of 30,000 hrs any less may mean the bulb has issues with heat dissipation
-Bulb fitting: pick a fitting that is easy to get holders for, I use gu10 as there are loads of nice off the shelf fittings for them.
Placing them over the tank.
I personally am using 2 3w gu10 fitting bulbs over my 60x35x35cm tank. They are suspended approx 30cm above the tank to get the light spread. I consider this tank to be very low light and have chosen plants that reflect this.
This shows how tight the beams are quite well. It almost looks like I've got a couple of ufos hovering over the tank.
After seeing quite a few threads asking for help with LEDs I thought I'd share my experiences with them.
Not all LEDs are created eaqually so buyer beware
What to look for when buying?
-Chip manufacturer: Cree are the best but any branded bulb phillips,orsam etc should be using decent chips
-Chip wattage: You should use bulbs whose chips are a minimum of 1w. Bulbs with loads of small LEDs may have the same final wattage but wont produce the same light intensity.
-Light output: Check the lumen value of the bulb as I have recently seen a 3x1w rated at 480lm and a 3x3w rated at 480lm aswell and the 3x3w were triple the cost
-Lens angle: This is quite Important, the lower the angle the tighter the beam.
-Lifespan: Most bulbs will have a life in excess of 30,000 hrs any less may mean the bulb has issues with heat dissipation
-Bulb fitting: pick a fitting that is easy to get holders for, I use gu10 as there are loads of nice off the shelf fittings for them.
Placing them over the tank.
I personally am using 2 3w gu10 fitting bulbs over my 60x35x35cm tank. They are suspended approx 30cm above the tank to get the light spread. I consider this tank to be very low light and have chosen plants that reflect this.
This shows how tight the beams are quite well. It almost looks like I've got a couple of ufos hovering over the tank.