LED's - Par 38 or 30?

[justahobby]

I'm looking at getting Evil's par38 or Boost's par30. Evil's is 21w, 40 degree optics only, and out of stock. Boost's are 10w and come In 40 or 60 degree optics and in stock. I have a BC14 and I'm only keeping medium light corals and want full coverage (not a fan of the spotlight look. Which should I get?

[justahobby]

For reference:

Boost LED Par30 (http://www.boostled.com/products/par30-reef-lamps)

Nanotuners Par38 (http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=698)

[txg8gxp]

I would run the evil par 38 or the rapid led 7 led par 38. The rapid led ones are ran at a lower current but also have two extra emitters to make up for it.

[txg8gxp]

The boost ones don't say they use Cree so they must be import emitters

[Europhyllia]

as far as degree goes: can you adjust height on your fixture? or is it going to be inside a hood?
40 degree will give adequate coverage as long as it's high enough

[jc]

I use 3 evil par38's over my solana. All of them are 20k and have 60° lens. From the edge of the bulb to the top of the water is 7 1/2 inches. Right now I have 2 bubble tip anemones and 1 monti cap. Just to give you an idea on how well they work the monti is on the sand is growing. I wouldn't go with the 40° because you would have to hang it high to get full coverage. You will void the warranty on the evil's if you swap out the lenses. They are no longer offering anything but the 40's. What about using rapidled bulbs? I've been wanting to try one of those 7 led lights. If you want a par38 20k with 60° lens I would consider selling one.

[justahobby]

Stephen, Karin - I'm afraid I will have to hang the fixture 2 feet or very likely more above the tank if I go w/ 40 degree optics.... not pleasing to the eye at all IMO. Would I be right in assuming that height?



....... You will void the warranty on the evil's if you swap out the lenses. They are no longer offering anything but the 40's. What about using rapidled bulbs? I've been wanting to try one of those 7 led lights. If you want a par38 20k with 60° lens I would consider selling one.

All big reasons why I don't want nanotuners to have my money. No reason they can't offer diff. optics and absurd for them to void your warranty over it. From reading other user reviews the Rapid LED are made in China..... and I'm not keen on China quality, nor customer service woes if I have send it back.

Got pics of your setup JC? Boost has 2 par30's on a solana and it looks more than adequate

[justahobby]

Hmm, This shouldn't be overkill....

vHo7LTgkbZ4

[jc]

Here are some cell phone pics I just took.
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll412/jc1of2/IMG_20110409_232455.jpg
The glass is dirty. I tried to clean up a spot in the middle.

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll412/jc1of2/IMG_20110409_232515.jpg

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/ll412/jc1of2/IMG_20110409_232545.jpg
Top view looks bluer than what it really is.

[justahobby]

Wow, thanks for posting so fast man! It looks like at that height you still have some pretty intense, focused light where the bulbs are pointed. Would you say the first two pictures are accurate in color? It looks to me like their 20k is closer to 12 or 14k.

[jc]

I would say that the cell phone pictures intensify the spot light effect. Also, the colors are not as blue as you would think 20k is supposed to be. I had mixed feelings about using 20k but after reading some reviews I decided to go for it. Plus, I have used tape to block out some blue leds to get the reverse ratio of white to blue that is supposed to be 12k. I prefer the 20k bulbs. However, I would like to try those 7 led bulbs from rapidled. I like the using spot lights now. Recently my rbta decided to move and pointed the light where he was. In my other tank with t5's I had the same thing happen and the rbta moved behind some rocks out of the light. Of course you can't refocus the t5's. I also think the shadows on the overhangs give the tank more dimension. Plus, the shimmer is cool.

[StevenSeas]

If you didn't want the spotlight effect and wanted to keep your stock hood for your bc you could try these.

http://www.ecoxotic.com/catalog/product/view/id/66/s/panorama-led-modules/category/3/

Or if you wanted the par38 route there are these that you could do. Not sure of the angle on them

If you didn't want the spotlight effect and wanted to keep your stock hood for your bc you could try these.

http://www.ecoxotic.com/catalog/product/view/id/66/s/panorama-led-modules/category/3/

[StevenSeas]

If you didn't want the spotlight effect and wanted to keep your stock hood for your bc you could try these.

http://www.ecoxotic.com/catalog/product/view/id/66/s/panorama-led-modules/category/3/

Or if you wanted the par38 route there are these that you could do. Not sure of the angle on them

If you didn't want the spotlight effect and wanted to keep your stock hood for your bc you could try these.

http://www.ecoxotic.com/catalog/product/view/id/66/s/panorama-led-modules/category/3/

[justahobby]

^^ You must be at the Grand Canyon.... "Hellooo...Helloooo...." :lauging: I looked at ecoexotic and it seems like the cheaper, 1w LED's don't hold color for very long. Plus for a little more cheddar I could get a much better set up.


Found this thread on Rapid's par38 and well, it speaks for itself:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=260643

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5217/5411691763_fd068771f3_z.jpg