Par 38 led fixtures?

[thecatisontheloose]

Hello!

I am returning to my aquarium hobby after about an 8 year hiatus. Looking to upgrade my lighting from my ancient T8 to something from this century. LED bulbs look quite intriguing. After searching endlessly on ebay and google and a few threads here, i am leaning toward purchasing a few pendant type led bulbs that can screw into a regular lamp fixture, like a par 38. Problem is that the more i research, the more confused i become about what i should get. It is all completely new to me, and time is of the essence. Can someone help me out please?

Some background: My tank is about 135 G, 5 ft long, 18 inches wide and 2 ft deep. I am planning to grow some moss and ferns on the rocks and driftwood, nothing on the ground. I am looking for enough light so that the plants can look healthy and eventually spread over the driftwood, and the aquarium looks nice and bright. I also would like to see a nice shimmering effect from the lights/water turbulence.

Like i mentioned earlier, i am leaning toward getting a few pendant par38 type led light sources. But this is where my certainty ends. How many should i get? What kind? I am hoping to strike a good balance between price and quality. Here are some options i considered.

http://www.hero-ledstore.com/par38-e...al-p-3126.html

[Ebay Link Removed]

[Ebay Link Removed]


Please help me spend my money wisely!
Thanks,

K.

[Wasserpest]

Hi K, welcome to the Planted Tank.

FYI, we don't allow ebay links here due to possible self-promotion.

[thecatisontheloose]

Thanks!
Hm, ebay is where i was hoping to find a good deal. There are just too many choices but it's hard for me to tell which is a good one.

In particular i looked at this listing, where the person was selling a 10-pack of cree led bulbs for $350 with the following specs:
CREE PAR38 LED 24W 12X2W BULB HIGH POWER 1600-1700LM NEW DIMMABLE
doesn't list Kelvins though, only vague descriptions such as "cool white".

Has anyone used these?

[DogFish]

I use Cree Diminble PAR38s over my 40g. See the link in my sig. line. I believe Cool white = 5K?

Do email the seller.

I highly recommend dimmible and a LED compatible dimmer switch. I got mine from HomeDepot. Also educate yourself about the light spread with a PAR38 "bulb". There are several ways to address the cone effect that light casts.

[paulrw]

i bought a par38 for my nano reef from now extink nanotuners.com 3 460nm and 2 10k i think. 5-3w cree's with 60deg opticks. i paid a lot but well built and it's literaly the brightest light i've ever seen. and because it screws in any were, it's fun to blind your buddys.

[m00se]

I had an ad in my email today with these sellers advertising lights. I wonder what you guys think of these particular bulbs:

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/prod...684295531.html

I'm still shaky on the wattage vs par, angle and such with this type of light bulb. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!