# Current TrueLumen Pro LED Striplights - PAR meter results



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

Here we go with the Current TrueLumen Pro LED striplights vs. the PAR meter. Note that this test was done with TWO of these lights right next to each other rather than just one. 

And here are the results:

At 3.5 inches I measured 290 mms of PAR directly under the light, with a 50 percent reduction in PAR 3.25 inches away from the light.

At 18 inches I measured 25 mms of PAR directly under the light, with a 50 percent reduction in PAR 12 inches away from the light.

At 24 inches I measured 12 mms of PAR directly under the light, with a 50 percent reduction in PAR 14 inches from the light.

At 30 inches I measured 8 mms of PAR directly under the light, with a 50 percent reduction in PAR 24 inches from the light.

Not incredibly bright, but this setup has the benefit of being able to sit right on the glass without heating the tank too much - that would be really good for me. Not as powerful as I'd hoped but they sure look nice.


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## kirk (Apr 4, 2011)

Cool!

what's your best guess as to the color of the led's compared to the same Kelvin in fluorescents?


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## kirk (Apr 4, 2011)

looking closer at the pic - Wow those lights are tiny!


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

They are 8000k. Very nice lighting in the water.


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## kirk (Apr 4, 2011)

let me guess - your putting that light in the back corner of your 56 bow front tank?


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## kirk (Apr 4, 2011)

Do you think the PAR would be half the listed values for one strip?

kirk


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I tried it very quickly by turning of them off, and yes it was about half. 

I am trying to light my 54g bowfront corner, yea. My never ending problem is there isn't a decent looking canopy for this tank, which is in my living room. And I don't want a lot of light pouring out so lights on legs aren't really good for me. Any light that sits right on the glass is of interest, but I can't find anything that really lights the substrate (at about 21 inches) enough to grow HC. This is driving me crazy.


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## kirk (Apr 4, 2011)

how about something like this:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc-18.html#post1235869

you would have to build a canopy for it of course...

kirk


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It looks like those strips are comparable to T8 bulbs. That makes them usable for low light tanks from about 10 to 20 inch height.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

kirk said:


> how about something like this:
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc-18.html#post1235869
> 
> ...


I don't have the tools/knowledge to build a canopy on my own, and the only one that is commercially available for this tank really looks terrible. Appearance is important since this tank is in our living room and my wife insists on having it look 'clean' without light pouring out of a pendant, etc. I've had a few carpenters offer to build one that matches the stand but it's been over $1000 each time.

So, I continue to look for a decent lighting setup that will provide solid medium light while sitting directly on the glass.



Hoppy said:


> It looks like those strips are comparable to T8 bulbs. That makes them usable for low light tanks from about 10 to 20 inch height.


Yea, not so good and not what was advertised. I suppose if I simply covered the glass top with them I could get decent light, but that would get pretty hot and expensive. I'm disappointed in these lights.


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

Dave-H said:


> Here we go with the Current TrueLumen Pro LED striplights vs. the PAR meter. Note that this test was done with TWO of these lights right next to each other rather than just one.
> 
> And here are the results:
> 
> ...


I'm not new to the hobby, but I haven't kept up either. I did a look around the internet but I could not find a lighting designation for *mms*. What does this abbreviation mean ? Thanks.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I sent an email to a rep at Current describing my test results. They said that their testing showed that these lights produce PAR that is more than a T5 and less than a T5NO. That actually sounded pretty good to me, but my results are far below that.

He said he would send me his specific test results and notes next week. I'm curious to see!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

PAR units are micromols per square meter per second. That takes too much room, so abbreviated it is mms.


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## kirk (Apr 4, 2011)

Dave-H said:


> I don't have the tools/knowledge to build a canopy on my own, and the only one that is commercially available for this tank really looks terrible. Appearance is important since this tank is in our living room and my wife insists on having it look 'clean' without light pouring out of a pendant, etc. I've had a few carpenters offer to build one that matches the stand but it's been over $1000 each time.


If i was in CO i could help you build one... maybe a buddy could help you out or you could barter something w/ him/her. Carpenter's are pretty cool.:hihi:

either way best of luck,
Kirk


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I've had 6 (yes ) carpenters come and give me an estimate. Lowest was around $1000, no barter offers. I had a canopy made by RJ Aquatics, a shop in Florida that makes custom stands/canopies - the canopy they made was so ill-fitting and unmatched that I complained and they never even cashed the check. For months I was sending notes to carpenters on craigslist, etc. and no luck.

Incredibly frustrating!

Interestingly, now I have a Nova Extreme 2 x 24w T5HO sitting directly on the glass and it looks pretty good. But, when summer comes it's going to heat up too much and I'm back where I started! 

FYI that fixure puts about 26 mms of PAR at the substrate 21 inches below the light, and that's through a glass top


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I had a further dialog with Current about the PAR generation from these lights. They told me something I found really odd. Basically, they said that their testing was done by putting the LED strip into a T5 reflector kit, so that is why they had such different results.

At first that made sense, but then I realize that the form factor of the LED is such that the actual light only comes from the flat bottom of the unit. The top and sides are just heatsink - how could a reflector make more than a nominal difference?

Does this make sense to anyone?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It makes a lot of sense - the guy/gal you communicated with assumed you were 10 years old, and not terribly bright either. But, I have to admit, I haven't tried LEDs in a T5HO reflector.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

hehe if only I were 10 again 

But seriously, is there any logical reason to think that a reflector would make a significant difference? no right?


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

nope... s/he must have thought that those LEDs are 'as bright as T5s' via osmosis with a T5 reflector? 
That light wouldn't even fit in a t5 reflector...

Sounds like patently false advertising...


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

reefbrite leds use reflectors. Since the spread on them is so wide (130 degrees), they have the LED right at the bottom of the reflector, so that the light that comes out of the sides is reflected a bit back into the tank.

something like this \__=__/


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I think I may have stumbled onto something with my rambling thinking process while writing this on another thread:

"Having said that, I have been suspecting that LED give more effective light than T5HO bulbs, in that less PAR may be needed for the same growth rate. That could be the case if the LED does not produce spikes of light at a few wavelengths, with much lower intensity between those wavelengths, the way a fluorescent bulb does. If that is the case, then it is the light from T5HO lights that is being measured incorrectly by the PAR meter, not the light from LED lights. But, our expectations for what a given PAR means are formed based on T5HO light. (I'm just brain storming, thinking as I write.)"

Do LEDs produce spikes in their spectra the way fluorescent bulbs do? I can't recall ever seeing a comparable spectra for a LED.

And, I agree that with a wide angle beam, a LED will work with a reflector just as a fluorescent bulb does.

EDIT: I just found a simplified spectra for a LED, a single broad peak, no spikes. Maybe everyone but me already knew this, but it is an eye opener for me. At a recent local meeting Tom Barr made a comment about not needing as much light with LEDs as with other forms of lights, but it sailed over my head and I forgot all about it. This interests me, because my LED light gives me about 40-50 mms of PAR, but my plant growth looks like I have high or very near high light. That has confused me. And, it annoys me, because that means any attempt to characterize light as high, medium or low, based on PAR numbers would be incorrect - one would need different amounts of PAR depending on what type of lighting was being considered.


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## shortsboy (Feb 6, 2011)

Here's a set of spectrums from one company's aquarium LED setups... 

http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/data/led-spectra.pdf

Although they've got a couple of other LED setups that I was interested in the data from and neglected to include. No mention of PAR vs distance for the planted setups (frustratingly, here's the kind of technical specs they throw in for their reef kits: http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/data/aquabeam1000hd-par.pdf)


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

shortsboy said:


> Here's a set of spectrums from one company's aquarium LED setups...
> 
> http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/data/led-spectra.pdf
> 
> Although they've got a couple of other LED setups that I was interested in the data from and neglected to include. No mention of PAR vs distance for the planted setups (frustratingly, here's the kind of technical specs they throw in for their reef kits: http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/data/aquabeam1000hd-par.pdf)


Those PAR charts are very good! I wish all light manufacturers would provide that type of data. Note that there is a chart for 3 or 4 different distances from the light, from 30 cm to at least 60 cm. It is hard to grasp what you are seeing in the charts, but the information is there.

I am trying to get a discussion of this going on this thread: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/134711-par-readings-off-leds.html


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## feh (Feb 13, 2011)

http://support.current-usa.com/requests/10939



> The TrueLumen Pro LED strip has a very wide spread of light, at the depth your working with it would cover the entire tank. At 20", a strip produces approximately 50 PAR.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Current-USA, Inc.


I was curious so I asked the manuf. I didn't find this thread until after I had submitted my question. Interesting though.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

For me it didn't come anywhere close to that.


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## feh (Feb 13, 2011)

Dave-H said:


> For me it didn't come anywhere close to that.


I'm wondering how they got the 50 PAR myself.


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## RonPaul (Jul 10, 2011)

I've been looking into buying the Current USA TrueLumen Pro LED's and found this blog by aquanerd doing a google search. His PAR measurements, taken in a filled 90 gallon SW tank, looks pretty impressive.

http://blog.aquanerd.com/2011/08/current-usa-truelumen-pro-par-numbers.html


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## WingoAgency (Jan 10, 2006)

feh said:


> I'm wondering how they got the 50 PAR myself.


It's impossible with single strip at that distance without lens!!!
I admit this light is good but the values is not true. 


Their claim probably is based on more than one strip.

There is a LED brand based in PA that put their LED measuring videos on the Youtube showing how high PAR they get. They are actually measuring the values combining 3 pendants' total output while advertising on their product page as if it is produced by 1 unit.

May be Current has the same marketing master minds.


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## jahmic (Jan 30, 2011)

Every time I think about trying a new lighting setup...I search and find Dave's done PAR measurements, lol.

THANK YOU DAVE-H!!

Now I just need to figure out if version 2.0 of my fluval edge will be planted or a reef tank...and how the hell I'm going to light it. Yeah...the dark side is tempting me.


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## shortsboy (Feb 6, 2011)

To re-resurrect this thread, I've been bouncing around the web looking more into these lights and read the Aquanerd blog (see above) on them as well; the discrepancy between Dave-H's and their numbers are rather striking. Not that I question the accuracy of either of their results, but a multi-fold diff is pretty odd. Two considerations - diff LEDs in the sw vs 8000K models have drastically diff outputs (unlikely in my mind), or the center vs off-center PAR variability described in Aquanerd's post are massive.

Seeing as I'm not much of a solder-er and wanted to get some LEDs for a 10G I'm curious if there are any more recent experiences with these lights anyone could share.


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## Tenor1 (Jan 15, 2012)

Here is what I notice with my one-week-old Ecoxotic lights. The red lilly leaves turned more red than previously under the CF lights and have not raced up to the water line. 

The tank is a 36-gallon bow front, 30" long, 20" high, previous CF were two 65-watt bulbs.

The new system consists of: three 12", 19-watt, 8,000 strips with reflectors, two, 12", 12-watt (I think) magenta stunner strips.

Ecoxotic said this is considered VERY high lighting. I can definitely see the difference in brightness and pearling is greatly increased in the tank. The strips are retrofitted into my Custom Sealife hood. The total cost for this upgrade was $500. Let's hope prices come down quickly. It's a LOT of light without raising the water temperature compared to CF lighting. I'm happy with the system. 

I'm writing this really for shortsboy....Just one 12" strip would be plenty for your 10-gallon tank. There is a freshwater unit and I think it's about $80 and it comes with all the bits and pieces to use it right out of the box. I had to separately purchase each little piece of the puzzle. My LFS didn't have the freshwater unit and failed to mention it to me. Mine is much higher light, but do I really NEED it this high? Also, Ecoxotic could not gave any stats on PAR or how my system would compare to a watts-per-gallon ratio. I see the HUGE difference and quite pleased with it.


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## shortsboy (Feb 6, 2011)

Thanks for your experience - I had looked at those units as well as the Current models, so good to know that you've seen good results with them. I'm assuming you're running the Panorama Pro modules. 

How do you find the Magenta coloration over the tank? From the LED spectral graphs they provide (http://www.ecoxotic.com/community/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/LED_chipGraphs.pdf) it looks to cover pretty much exactly the spectrum of the chlorophyll/carotenoid absorbance range (so high efficiency for the output vs absorbance), but does it look strange? This wouldn't be for the 10g, more for general curiosity.


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## Tenor1 (Jan 15, 2012)

You're correct, they are the Panorama Pro modules. They seemed a bit too bright and white so I added the magenta stunner strips. For me this is the perfect combination. The tank didn't take on a pink hue or anything near to that. It seems more balanced and natural.

One unit of the freshwater module would work best for you.


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## Bayinaung (Feb 28, 2012)

Dave-H said:


> hehe if only I were 10 again
> 
> But seriously, is there any logical reason to think that a reflector would make a significant difference? no right?


Hi guys, I saw this on reef-central and thought this might explain why Truelumen used a reflector/why reflector helped with their LEDs:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1992015

Looks like theirs has a considerable light spread.


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## fishyjoe24 (Dec 10, 2009)

so these wouldn't be good for corals at all then, or plants. .


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## bewildered (May 29, 2013)

So I'm extremely confused. I'm trying to figure out how much light I have. I'm starting to think it may be too bright. I have one 36" TrueLumen Pro 8000k, in a 36L x 16D x 12W tank. Light is ~ 15" from the bottom of the tank and I have some anubias that are about 12" from the light. Since I added the light two months ago my plants have become extremely unhealthy; but I'm confused on whether the problem is too much light or not enough.

Does anyone know ... or I guess worst case, suggest a different light where the PAR data is more consistent? I was aiming for medium to low light.


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