Brittany's teeny tiny reef!

[beeguiles]

Thanks kman. It has gone thru some changes lately but they were for the better :)

I can't wait for my new lights either. My zoas are gonna look so nice under them I'm thinking. And maybe grow a little nicer too. Right now they are a bit stretched towards the light so I hope with the new bulbs they will grow flat.

 

[beeguiles]

My par38s came yesterday! I order some shades and cords for them also but they won't be here until wed :( but I popped one bulb on top just to get an idea of the difference. I glad I bought two bulbs bc the way my rock scape is casts a lot of shadows so that second par38 should fill it all in. :) can't wait to get these puppies on the tank. The only problem is, is i didn't buy a dimmer bc for some reason I thought they were already dimmable... So now I have to figure out how to dim them. I saw on rapid led they have a 2 color dimmer. That would be nice to control the blues and whites separately so I can keep the blue on at night but idk how to do that.. Anyone have any expirience with that? Well here's a picture of just the one six inches above the tank.

And before

 

[FishyReef]

I think the dimmer is for their DIY kits. As far as I know the Par38s aren't dimmable. Although you might be able to put them on a standard household dimmer switch. I'd email the guys at RapidLED and ask them!

I can't see the pics on my work computer, but can't wait to get home to see your new lights :)

 

[Washburn82]

Wow what a difference! Looks great Brittany!

 

[beeguiles]

Yea you're right, the par38 isn't dimmable unless you use a household dimmer switch. I wish I would have known that before I bought it :( I could have ordered a par38 from wholesalerleds and got a par38 that comes with a little remote to dim whatever color you want. But I dont wanna go thru that hassle of sending it back and reordering then waiting all over again. Overall I do like the look of these bulbs. They aren't too blue even though it looks that way in the picture. In person it looks like a light blue purplish.

And thanks for the kind words Matt :)

 

[FishyReef]

The pics I've taken of my tiny tank with the Par38 always look ridiculously blue, esp. w/ my camera phone!

I think you went with a good light. I believe Erin had the Par38 that was dimmable and that one didn't last too long and was more expensive. Reports I read on the dimmable ones were that they catch fire and fail after a few months, which is why I went with the RapidLED one in the first place. I think you'll be happy even though they aren't dimmable, just don't put them too close to the water (esp. w/ two of them :D )

 

[ErinCahir]

The pics I've taken of my tiny tank with the Par38 always look ridiculously blue, esp. w/ my camera phone!

I think you went with a good light. I believe Erin had the Par38 that was dimmable and that one didn't last too long and was more expensive. Reports I read on the dimmable ones were that they catch fire and fail after a few months, which is why I went with the RapidLED one in the first place. I think you'll be happy even though they aren't dimmable, just don't put them too close to the water (esp. w/ two of them :D )

I definitely did have a dimmable one. I'm a little quicker to blame the fixture than the bulb for the failure, though. I had another bulb tweak out after I replaced the first one

 

[chichimom79]

New lights are fun!! Looks great!

 

[beeguiles]

Thanks guys :) I do like these bulbs. I'll just have to find a little blue moonlight for at night time I guess. The tank is right next to my bed and I like the blue glow on my face :)

 

[chichimom79]

Ya, I hate not having moonlights on my tanks but Im not sure how to incorporate any with the pendants. Let me know what you come up with.

 

[beeguiles]

If that plug in dimmer works then I could just dim them down really low at night time.

 

[Ted]

What about this? R2 Extreme LED Moonlight & R2 Dual Extreme LED Moonlight Aquarium Light at PETCO

 

[beeguiles]

That would work but idk where I would mount it. I don't have a lid and the bulbs are gonna be hanging.

 

[valasaraptor]

That would work but idk where I would mount it. I don't have a lid and the bulbs are gonna be hanging.

Hot glue it to the side of the par38 so in need be it doesn't get ruined if you need to remove it,and just run the cords together

 

[beeguiles]

Where would I hot glue it? To the side of the bulb? The bulb cools through the outside of the bulb so that might make me nervous.

 

[valasaraptor]

I've never seen the bulbs myself. It was just an idea. Maby the rim?

 

[beeguiles]

Hmmm...

 

[Ted]

The par bulb has to be in some type of fixture. I would think maybe it could be attached to the fixture if not that then how about a in tank light. Something like this. Hydor H2Show Blue LED Aquarium Light at PETCO

 

[beeguiles]

Finally got the cords to hang the par38s with. Here they are!

 

[chichimom79]

You've got some really awesome stuff in there! Everything seems to be happy with the new light as well! Very pretty! Love the ric and the shot of your goby on the monti cap!!