# Why don't more people use Par30 LED?



## nerdyjon (Sep 12, 2009)

I was looking at a 30c and he has a Par30 LED (here) and was thinking about doing the same for my 30c (12" x 12" footprint)

What are the disadvantages that I am not seeing? Why don't more people use them? Are all brands the same?

I found BoostLED for 79.99 or LEDwholesale for 34.99?

Thanks.

PS my tank will only have annubias.


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## mmelnick (Mar 5, 2010)

The larger PAR 38 LED lights are getting to be very popular in the reefing hobby. 

They have lots of benefits, lower energy use, hardly any heat output to the tank, they last for years before going out...

The only downside in my mind is that you have to have some sort of a fixture to put them in. And this isn't really a downside, just one thing to think about before getting them. A hood with a few light sockets would be great. Or some people use a floor lamp next to the tank.


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## stevesmallcombe (Feb 11, 2009)

I used 4 PAR30 LED lights on my 72 gal bow front tank as documented here:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/114451-quantum-dot-led-lighting.html

The quantum dot LEDs from Nexxus I tried look fine to me, but their 2700K CCT did cause the plants to grow well, but tall and thin rather than bushy. I would recommend staying away from warm white lamps and instead get daylight or cool white instead. Also make sure that you get flood lights rather than spot lights. The nice thing about the sort of DIY fixture I used is that it is easy to substitute other PAR30 or PAR38 bulbs, LED, CFL or whatever.


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## nerdyjon (Sep 12, 2009)

Does it matter which brand??


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

I can't speak specifically to which brand bulb is going to be the better choice, but here's what you're looking for, basically. 

Name brand emitters-- Luxeon (Rebel), SSC, Cree, Edison Opto..... those are the brands you're really looking for. 

Also look for ones that have good heatsinking. Some of the larger (and more costly) LED bulbs have too many LED emitters for the size heatsink they use. 

Most of the PAR30/PAR38's I've seen are fine, but I have seen some companies stuff way too many LEDs on them. If it looks overstuffed, it probably is lol


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

I purchased one of these http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39699, but don't have a tank small enough for it yet. Perfect for my little shop lite fixture. 

Don't really have any idea how well it will grow though.


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

Without knowing the angle of the light discharge, it's hard to say, but it would probably light a 5.5g if you raise it up some. In these lights, often the angle they give is more of a limiter than the light they product. Just hard to get a good spread on anything that's not a cube tank if you just have one light.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

One of us should buy one of those PAR30 LED bulbs and test them with a PAR meter. Possibly I will do that some day. Until then I don't know how to even guess at how effective they would be, nor how to arrange them so they would work well. If I had a tank set up that I thought would work well with one or two of those bulbs I would be much more inspired, but my 10 gallon tank now sits out on the deck.


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## nerdyjon (Sep 12, 2009)

They have the PAR readings online but I don't know what to look for.

Also it seems that all the nano-reef people are switching over due to the benefits.


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## mmelnick (Mar 5, 2010)

nerdyjon said:


> They have the PAR readings online but I don't know what to look for.
> 
> Also it seems that all the nano-reef people are switching over due to the benefits.


Yep, I built my own custom array though. But the PAR 38 bulbs are being used for reef tanks up to a couple hundred gallons. So I see no reason why a few cool while LED's wouldn't be great for a planted tank. I might actually try this on my 54 gal corner tank some thime this summer.


There are detailed PAR charts on the PAR 38 bulbs that evil sells on nanotuners.com. A single one of those would light a 2 foot cube tank well.


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## mulm (Jun 3, 2010)

Hoppy said:


> One of us should buy one of those PAR30 LED bulbs and test them with a PAR meter. Possibly I will do that some day. Until then I don't know how to even guess at how effective they would be, nor how to arrange them so they would work well. If I had a tank set up that I thought would work well with one or two of those bulbs I would be much more inspired, but my 10 gallon tank now sits out on the deck.


I am using two PAR30s ... No meter tho.


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## JVKos (Dec 19, 2010)

You really want to stick with the actual LED's being XP-G class by Cree or newer. Cree is the best though for LED's... their LED's get packaged up by many companies though.


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## mulm (Jun 3, 2010)

The lamps I use have the XR-E chips and are more than adequate. Each has 7x~3W "cool white" XR-Es. One has 30* optics, while the other 60*. The 60* is roughly 24" from the substrate and the 30* is roughly 36". Both on a floor lamp and are therefore angled steeply between 30-45*. A very inefficient use of remarkably efficient lamps. I plan to hang 3 or 4 of the same (possibly the larger PAR38 12x3W sibling) on pendants for an upcoming 120cm project.


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## nerdyjon (Sep 12, 2009)

I will post pictures tomorrow of my system. I wired a hanging outdoor weather pendant and built an ADA style stand.


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## pomby27 (Jan 27, 2004)

looking forward to the pictures.
if you guys are looking for par readings on those bulbs, just go on nanotuners.com, rapidled.com, boostedled.com, or just google it. and btw, at what par are people having the most success in keeping their plants(med to high light) happy?


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