Which Will Brighten The Tank More?

[IonaMcCluskey]

which type of bulb will give a better light in the tank
GU10+C 240V 50W doesn't give lumens or
LED 3W=20W 150 lumens
 

 

[dgwebster]

The 50w gu10 will be (in my perception) about 3 times brighter, but burn a lot more energy and produce a massive amount of heat. I cant exaggerate that one. Massive amounts.

I swapped the GU10's in my house ceiling lights for 1W led lights about 3 years ago and the light was far better than expected. During the day, its a bit like filling a fish tank with a water pistol, but when you actually need them, really decent.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

so baring in mind that they are only going to be a few cm away from the tank glass, the heat from the GU 10 might make them a bad idea?
there will be 3 of whichever bulb i go with to light a 3ft tank.

 

[dgwebster]

Personally I would not use the GU10. If you have any halogen lights around the home, go hold your hand a few cms away for a few mins.

In fact I can save you some time: I use 28W halogen bulbs to make 35º hotspots for my reptiles. Thats 28W at a distance of 10-15cm.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

really glad i asked now, felt like a silly question at the time but i hate to think what the consequences would have been otherwise. i had not thought about how hot they would get, don't think i've ever used halogen before.
think i'll invest in a tabletop lamp to sit beside me and use the GU10 in there instead of putting the heating on
thank you very much for helping and advising

 

[dgwebster]

No problems. High wattage LED also get rather hot, but you cab heatsink & cool them really easily.

Nowt wrong with silly questions either. I often like them, make life more fun.

Coca colas website has info in their website FAQ about why Fanta is called Fanta. Its there because I asked

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

is 3W high for an LED light and whats heatsink?
 
you can never have too much fun
 
why is fanta called fanta? lol