# [Review] BuildMyLED.com LED Fixture



## veryzer (Oct 13, 2009)

Hey Ronald,

I'm curious about the color, and I know pictures aren't always accurate. Would you describe it as pinkish?

I have pc lighting with 6700k and the pink Catalina plant grow bulb. The pink bulb alone doesn't suit my tastes, but the mix is terrific...a full white light that makes reds pop. So where would you say this one stands?

Secondly, is your tank high tech, and, if so, does the strip put you in high light territory? I'm trying to light a 54 gallon corner tank (which sucks to light) and am wondering if a 24" up front and a 12" in back would give me high light and adequate coverage.

Again, though the pics didn't show up on this thread, the tank looks awesome.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

ron. seems like all the views and photos are of the same view and photo.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Careful not to review the actual vendor but the product itself. 

Would love to hear more about PAR data and cost of the fixture. What about warranty? Any other specifics and technical data about the fixture?


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

acitydweller said:


> ron. seems like all the views and photos are of the same view and photo.


Whoops! Fixing now.


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

somewhatshocked said:


> Careful not to review the actual vendor but the product itself.
> 
> Would love to hear more about PAR data and cost of the fixture. What about warranty? Any other specifics and technical data about the fixture?


While I agree you should not review the company it should play an important part into the decision. The fixture itself is top notch and so is the company behind it.


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

veryzer said:


> I'm curious about the color, and I know pictures aren't always accurate. Would you describe it as pinkish?


It is slightly pink as you can see by one of the overview shots on the wall. That said when looking at the tank itself, it does not have a pinkish hue.



veryzer said:


> I have pc lighting with 6700k and the pink Catalina plant grow bulb. The pink bulb alone doesn't suit my tastes, but the mix is terrific...a full white light that makes reds pop. So where would you say this one stands?


I would say this fixture is a good mixture. The key here is the red and the blue for photosynthesis but a majority of 5700k LEDs for a more neutral white look. I absolutely love it. I would say it falls within a similar color profile as your described fixture.



veryzer said:


> Secondly, is your tank high tech, and, if so, does the strip put you in high light territory? I'm trying to light a 54 gallon corner tank (which sucks to light) and am wondering if a 24" up front and a 12" in back would give me high light and adequate coverage.


*High Tech*

5lb Pressurized CO2
Apex Jr. Controller
Med-High Light
Auto Fert Dose

My tank is a 75G 48x18x21.

You might be able to get away with doing something like that. Give Nick a ring to see what he recommends. He might find that a 90 degree 24" and a 45 degree 12" will do the trick.

The high tech show tank on their site is 2x fixtures. One 90 and one 75 degree lens fixture.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Are LED fixtures suitable for low tech tanks with low light plants? (no Co2) I love the idea of adding shimmer to the tank. American made is a HUGE plus in my book.


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

driftwoodhunter said:


> Are LED fixtures suitable for low tech tanks with low light plants? (no Co2) I love the idea of adding shimmer to the tank. American made is a HUGE plus in my book.


Absolutely, all the light performance ratings are listed when you configure a fixture on their site in realtime. If in doubt give Nick a call and let him know about your tank and ask what he recommends. He is a lighting guy and wont recommend anything that is going to be overkill for your low tech tank.


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

Updated original post with more details on the output of the fixture.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Thanks! Maybe I can get a 6' light made for my 125...


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

driftwoodhunter said:


> Thanks! Maybe I can get a 6' light made for my 125...


Looks like they only make up to a 48" on their site.
Give them a call to see if they can do a longer one.

You might be better off making a square and doing something with a little more direct light than 75 degrees. I could be wrong though.


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## veryzer (Oct 13, 2009)

_"That said when looking at the tank itself, it does not have a pinkish hue"_ is exactly what I wanted to hear. How much surface disruption do you need to create the shimmer effect that you say is so nicely pronounced. My co2 goes into my filter, so I don't want waves at the surface.


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

veryzer said:


> _"That said when looking at the tank itself, it does not have a pinkish hue"_ is exactly what I wanted to hear. How much surface disruption do you need to create the shimmer effect that you say is so nicely pronounced. My co2 goes into my filter, so I don't want waves at the surface.


I actually don't have _too_ much surface agitation. There is some for sure and the shimmer is more pronounced there. If you have movement but not waves it will shimmer. I definitely do not have any splashing at the surface.

I will take some pictures tomorrow when the light is on and upload a video of the surface movement and shimmer.


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## minicrazy592 (Apr 1, 2010)

A couple of you guy's questions relating to PAR can be found here: 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=197270

^^That one is the 12" version but all length models are the same, just with multiples of the same board in a longer housing.  

As for color, I have a simular spectrum and it's pinkish. That being said, I would add bit green if I were to do it again. I got to see their show spectrum in person in and the green helped everything pop and tone down the pink. 

Here's the configuration of my 36":




















And my 12" 



















I like the color of my 36" better as it's not as pink, but if the plants are happy, I'm happy.


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## minicrazy592 (Apr 1, 2010)

ronaldvalente said:


> I actually don't have _too_ much surface agitation. There is some for sure and the shimmer is more pronounced there. If you have movement but not waves it will shimmer. I definitely do not have any splashing at the surface.
> 
> I will take some pictures tomorrow when the light is on and upload a video of the surface movement and shimmer.


My water is always lower then it should and mine shimmers like crazy. It's a nice effect.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

You know, I'd love to have a LED fixture for my 20L that would mimic the AQUASKY spectrum. I may need to get up with these folks. Their prices don't look bad at all and the customer service looks legit from the two reviews I've read.


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

freph said:


> You know, I'd love to have a LED fixture for my 20L that would mimic the AQUASKY spectrum. I may need to get up with these folks. Their prices don't look bad at all and the customer service looks legit from the two reviews I've read.


For what you get the prices are incredible IMHO.

For example, replacement bulbs for my PC was going to run my ~100 bucks.
In addition to that it was costing me ~100 bucks to run my PC yearly.

I can easily justify purchasing a new fixture for my tank that does not need bulb changes and uses 1/4 the power.


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## keithy (Jun 8, 2010)

ronald, 

I like my light hanging a little higher. Maybe like 10" above my tank and I have a 29gal and a 20 gal I have plans for to switch to LED setup. That being said, the footprint is approximately 30" in length and about 12" wide for both. Overall distance from the 10" overhang to the bottom of my substrate is about 26". Do you think they have something that would provide medium light that will enable me to grow all the stems that I am growing now? In your experience, what is the growth rate like compared to your older fixture?


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

keithy said:


> ronald,
> 
> I like my light hanging a little higher. Maybe like 10" above my tank and I have a 29gal and a 20 gal I have plans for to switch to LED setup. That being said, the footprint is approximately 30" in length and about 12" wide for both. Overall distance from the 10" overhang to the bottom of my substrate is about 26". Do you think they have something that would provide medium light that will enable me to grow all the stems that I am growing now? In your experience, what is the growth rate like compared to your older fixture?


Growth rate has increased due to better spectrum for the plants. I would say 10% faster but that is by no means scientific analysis.

More importantly there is new growth on plants that originally wouldn't grow.

The addition of CO2 two weeks before the light also helped growth.

If you are raising it up you would want a more focused lens, that is my assumption at least.

I would rate these are med level of light from a visual point of view but the efficiency and performance would be closer to a high. IMHO.


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## keithy (Jun 8, 2010)

ronald, 
since both my tanks are 30" in length, they do not have a 30" as a standard length LED light. I went to the website and looked at the pricing for the 24" and 36". Seems like the 24" is way cheaper than 36". Say, if I order 2 24" lights vs if I order 1 36" light, the difference between them is only $10. From my quick observation, the pricing seem to favor a shorter length. 

Hmmmm..... Something more for me to think about. 

Also, do you have approximate PAR data for your LED light? I know its a little too much for me to ask for this info, but I figure that you may have that data from your research and communication with the seller. If so, can you please share it with us?


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

keithy said:


> ronald,
> since both my tanks are 30" in length, they do not have a 30" as a standard length LED light. I went to the website and looked at the pricing for the 24" and 36". Seems like the 24" is way cheaper than 36". Say, if I order 2 24" lights vs if I order 1 36" light, the difference between them is only $10. From my quick observation, the pricing seem to favor a shorter length.
> 
> Hmmmm..... Something more for me to think about.
> ...


They have the data on the website, PAR is not the full story.
Look at the radiometric watts section when you configure your 24".

I would definitely go with dual 24's then you can select one to be freshwater planted and the other to be the freshwater show. You also can use two diff lenses to light the bottom and top of the tank.

Hope this helps.

--Ron


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## dastowers (Feb 19, 2011)

I have two 48 inch of the Show Tank Fixtures coming today!!! They will be mounted (hopefully by me) a foot above the tank- suspended from the ceiling.


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

dastowers said:


> I have two 48 inch of the Show Tank Fixtures coming today!!! They will be mounted (hopefully by me) a foot above the tank- suspended from the ceiling.


Very nice! Looking forward to pictures and your initial thoughts on the Show Tank version. What lens did you get on each of them?


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

So far everything is amazing with the BuildMyLED fixture. Getting a lot of PMs about it. Build quality is amazing. Performance is top notch. No issues or problems to report on. I need to balance out my ferts to get some algae growth under control. Much better than the Power Compacts I was running before.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

glad to hear this. I'll be ordering two 36".

I'm tempted to order one now to toss on my 20g long for the time being.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Is there any options of dimming?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

NWA-Planted said:


> Is there any options of dimming?
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


they have a dimmer available.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

just ordered the 36" show plant light with dimmer to toss on my 20g long for the time being.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

have you noticed the fade up to max brightness before shutting off when unplugging the fixture?

Did you get the dimmer as well?


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## minicrazy592 (Apr 1, 2010)

My 36" does that. Sort of interesting as well as how long it stays lit after it's unplugged.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

minicrazy592 said:


> My 36" does that. Sort of interesting as well as how long it stays lit after it's unplugged.


I figure its burning off whatever power is stored in the driver, but hate that it gets brighter. I'd rather see some other sort of bleed off or taking longer to fade off.

My dimmer doesnt seem to work through the full range of the dial either. it quickly goes from the min to max, while still allowing me to turn the dial considerably more.

other than these minor issues, the amount of oxygen bubbles in the tank increased a whole lot after less than an hour with the LED on top. So it's definitely powerful enough for a planted tank. I'm really looking forward to the growth.


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## minicrazy592 (Apr 1, 2010)

The dimmer could definally have better precision, but I leave mine at a set %. If you want to see some growth click my 30-C link in my sig. It's pretty amazing. It's one of their 12" fixtures with my own spectrum.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

minicrazy592 said:


> The dimmer could definally have better precision, but I leave mine at a set %.


yeah, I am a little bummed over spending the money on that unit, but I won't be replacing it until I get to putting together an arduino unit to control it.



minicrazy592 said:


> If you want to see some growth click my 30-C link in my sig. It's pretty amazing. It's one of their 12" fixtures with my own spectrum.


thanks, i'll check that out now


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## 57770 (Nov 14, 2012)

I do not have the dimmer and I do not have that issue you are describing here...

I have mine connected to an Apex Jr. and it is on a Sunrise/Sunset timer with instant on/off. No change in brightness during poweron or poweroff.


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