# Beamswork?



## majerah1 (Nov 6, 2010)

Ok here is the dealio. A few months ago I got a used Zoo Med T5 for my 60 tall. Grant it was known that the size was too small ( 2 bulb, 36 inch fixture.) The bulbs have blown, not surprisingly. I am in need of a light but want more light than what that gave me, though high light is not a necessity. Also I am a broke person relying on the kindness of family for my birthday as well as selling off used unneeded stuffs for the cash. 

A friend bought a Beamswork Hi Lumen fixture for a wonderful price and was curious what you guys thought of the brand? 

This is the one I am wanting to get, it is on sale and hopefully I can aquire the rest of the cash to get it.

http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-Beamswork-Tropical-Fish-p/56327p.htm

Another question pertaining to this. I watched a review and someone mentioned the use of a timer and was just curious if a ramp timer would work on this? 

Any and all answers are very much appreciated


----------



## zerodameaon (Dec 2, 2014)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=721001


----------



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

majerah1 said:


> Ok here is the dealio. A few months ago I got a used Zoo Med T5 for my 60 tall. Grant it was known that the size was too small ( 2 bulb, 36 inch fixture.) The bulbs have blown, not surprisingly. I am in need of a light but want more light than what that gave me, though high light is not a necessity. Also I am a broke person relying on the kindness of family for my birthday as well as selling off used unneeded stuffs for the cash.
> 
> A friend bought a Beamswork Hi Lumen fixture for a wonderful price and was curious what you guys thought of the brand?
> 
> ...


deeper tank, you may want to go w/ some narrower optics:
http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-Beamswork-Freshwater-Plant-p/56427p.htm


----------



## majerah1 (Nov 6, 2010)

Thanks, Zerodameaon! 

Jeffkrol, unfortunately that is out of my budget. I like it though! Looks nice. Surely the one above will be brighter than a dual bulb 36 inch T5 that is not even high output?


----------



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

majerah1 said:


> Thanks, Zerodameaon!
> 
> Jeffkrol, unfortunately that is out of my budget. I like it though! Looks nice. Surely the one above will be brighter than a dual bulb 36 inch T5 that is not even high output?


brighter for who? Technically the 2 t5's will probably "appear" slightly brighter.. 
The LED's will "appear" brighter to your plants.. 
Info..



> A 28W T5 produces about the same light output as a 32W T8
> and a 54W T5HO produces close to twice the light output of T8 and T12 lamps when these lamps are operated as part of a ballasted lighting system. The nominal light output of a four-foot 54W T5HO lamp is 5,000 lumens, compared to 2,900 lumens for a 28W T5 lamp and 2,850 lumens for a 32W T8.


http://www.lightingtaxdeduction.org/technologies/t5.html
LED:


> LEDs Count: 66
> 3000 Lumens
> Super energy efficient 0.5 watt high output LEDs
> 66x 6,500K LED
> Use 33 watts


http://led-lighting-supplies.com/node/40


----------



## majerah1 (Nov 6, 2010)

Well right now I am sure the LEDs will appear brighter to the plants and me, seeing as they burned out and the light source at this moment is a single T8 strip from a 20 gallon. 

 

Thanks for the links, Ill be studying up on them.


----------



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

majerah1 said:


> Well right now I am sure the LEDs will appear brighter to the plants and me, seeing as they burned out and the light source at this moment is a single T8 strip from a 20 gallon.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the links, Ill be studying up on them.


agreed.. i'm not tying to dissuade you btw..

As to the ramp timer.. Yes you can hack the Beamswork for this. 
There is a simple PNP timer available for most models as well.. (on/off)


----------



## Stone454 (Jun 1, 2013)

I have a few beanswoks fixtures, I have a 36 in one very close to that one,it works great on my 46 bowfront at keeping out of the highlight range and needing to run co2, I have another one I was using before that is basically double the lumens of that model Iwill say the driver burnt out in less than a month, but the seller on fleabay replaced it with a bettter one,I stopped using it because it was too much light to use without co2 you can get a timer for it but it is a bit annoying because you can't set what time it is, it just goes to 12:00 when it loses power and you have to set the on/off time according to that as far as when you want it to go on off.


----------



## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

jeffkrol said:


> brighter for who? Technically the 2 t5's will probably "appear" slightly brighter..
> The LED's will "appear" brighter to your plants..
> Info..
> 
> ...


I am saving THESE links! Thanks Jeffkrol.


----------



## catchthecarp (Nov 22, 2014)

As to whether or not a non dimmable Beamswork light can be dimmed with 12-24v inline LED dimmer all I can say is I have not verified it myself. I would highly recommend getting a light that can be dimmed even if it costs a bit more, the capability to adjust the light intensity is worth it.


----------



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

catchthecarp said:


> As to whether or not a non dimmable Beamswork light can be dimmed with 12-24v inline LED dimmer all I can say is I have not verified it myself. I would highly recommend getting a light that can be dimmed even if it costs a bit more, the capability to adjust the light intensity is worth it.


Good advise if one can afford it.. Other than that some reassurance:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=685697&highlight=dimming+beamswork



> Just got one in (Sunsetter on ...) and it works 100%.
> The Current/Ecoxotic/Sunsetter timers work great on my Beamswork 30" .5W led 55W light which was $45. This is much more powerful than the Freshwater Led+ and E-Series, and much less expensive.
> I'll post vids of the thunderstorms/cloud cover later.
> You can also use the second channel on the timer to use a RGB strip for red sunset, blue moonlights, etc.
> This would be the most cost effective package for high power freshwater led lighting by far.


----------



## majerah1 (Nov 6, 2010)

catchthecarp said:


> As to whether or not a non dimmable Beamswork light can be dimmed with 12-24v inline LED dimmer all I can say is I have not verified it myself. I would highly recommend getting a light that can be dimmed even if it costs a bit more, the capability to adjust the light intensity is worth it.


Thanks for the reply!

Yes I have A Current Satellite + that I love. I would love another. I was unsure if the beamswork was dimmable or not, which for the tanks purpose is not a necessity, just I have the timer and thought I would try. Hacking, I am not so sure on. I will look into that as well as keep looking for a light. My budget is 55.00 shipped. Low, I know.


----------



## sarahspins (Sep 24, 2012)

catchthecarp said:


> As to whether or not a non dimmable Beamswork light can be dimmed with 12-24v inline LED dimmer all I can say is I have not verified it myself. I would highly recommend getting a light that can be dimmed even if it costs a bit more, the capability to adjust the light intensity is worth it.


I have several current ramp timers running multiple beamswork fixtures (most are on vivariums, not aquariums), and they do work fine, for the most part. I can say that a few of them needed longer DC "plugs" than what are on the timers though... I have most of mine actually running through splitters (so I can control multiple lights with one timer) so it isn't a problem, but a couple of them won't take the plugs directly from the timers - it's as if the contacts on the DC plugs are just barely out of reach (which I suspect has to do with the housing for the lights more than anything else - some of the plastic ends don't seem to fit as flushly with the internal boards), the splitter plugs are about 1mm longer and work just fine.

I have beamworks lights in a variety of voltages, 12v, 15v, and 24v and they all work fine with the timers. I haven't mixed the voltages, my 12v lights all share one timer (those are all 18" fixtures on vivariums, and I'm using a 6A power supply rather than the 2A ones supplied with the lights) and I have the 15v and 24v on their own timers.

One thing I really like about using the timers on the two aquariums I have them set up on is that you can easily limit the "max" light level - so if your fixture is a bit "too bright" you can tone it down a bit rather than just reducing your lighting period. It's also easy to override if you want some really bright light while cleaning/vacuuming your tank. This is actually why I moved away from using T5HO and finnex lights on my aquariums - the controllability/adjustability of a DC powered LED fixture makes them far superior.


----------



## Kareen (Apr 6, 2013)

Im new to the LED'S I have two 125 Dirt tanks. One tank has T5HO plants grow pretty good and the other Tank has just T5's Im looking for new lights for this tank and with the tank being 18" deep would any of the Beamswork LED work to give me mid light or a little highter and get some red plants to grow. Thanks for any help


----------

