About to start a new LED build

[Andy_B]

Hi All, I have posted this on TRT as well, but would like your thoughts as well if I may:

I have been deliberating which new LED's to get for some time now. My original plan was to used Kessil A360's but they are impossible to get in Malaysia and the cost of shipping them from the US was astronomical! That, couples with the fact that I really enjoy DIY projects (and used to be an electronic engineer in a past life) has led me to where I am now.

I have a 5x2x2 150 Gal, currently LPS & Softies. The tank has two braces which effectively splits the open top into "thirds". My original plan was to use 3 12x12inch heatsinks (available here from RS Components) but after looking at the Rapid LED site, my wife much prefers the look of their Onyx assemblies (happy wife = happy life!)

So, the plan is now to use the following:

3 x Onyx heatsinks (28 LED's on each)
6 x ELN-60-48D Drivers (2 for RB, 2 for NW, 1 for Blue, 1 for Violet strings)
30 x XT-E Royal Blue + 60deg Optic
23 x XP-G Neutral White + 60deg Optic
12 x XP-E Blue + 60deg Optic
15 Violet UX LED (no Optic)
4 Moonlights (with their own Moon light driver)

LED's will be arranged as per the layout below and will be between 12 and 15 inches off the water.

I will build a control box to Initially dim each colour string manually, but will be getting an Apex in April (so will wire a switch to be able to switch between Manual and Apex control). I plan to use one control signal for both RB drivers, one for both NW and then one each for the B and V drivers (by the way, does anybody know what the pin-out is on the APEX RJ45 ports?).

The 6 drivers (+ Moonlight driver), and the control box will be mounted on a wooden panel at the back of the aquarium (with easy access to the dimming knobs, of course) and I will make and run cables from the control box to the Onyx assemblies (thinking of using D-connectors with plastic back-shells). All cables will be wrapped neatly so it all looks professional (I don't want to see any twisted red/black wires running.

In my mind this is going to look awesome and I must say, the guys at Rapid LED have been REALLY helpful so far, but I would be grateful for any thoughts/comments/suggestions/potential pitfalls I haven't seen, before I place an order for over $1,000 of components!

Thanks in advance for your comments.
Cheers,
Andy

 

[Aqualund]

I have a tank your size...and I used 6 rows of 48" heat sink with the same alternating pattern for led arrangement.

I found with my set up, that there were definite "lines" of color difference in coloration and intensity...a coral could look completely different an inch in either direction...because the leds were still to far spaced. I think they call it the disco effect.

The best way to solve this is to cluster the leds together as tight as possible. You can do this manually with the led star chips...or you could get a dreamchip which has them all mixed, or get a Lumia5.2 chip...which has everything you were looking for already. You would just mount the one chip instead of the equivalent 25 leds.

You will also want nothing less than a 90 degree optic..or you will have definite spotlighting.

Also, you might want to consider some turquoise leds in the mix as well.

additionally, the drivers you chose will work fine...they are great. But a less expensive and more practical option for space, energy usage, and aesthetic are the meanwell ldd drivers with a separate power supply.

I think you'll find that if you price out a "dreamchip" or lumia build with ldd drivers, and heck maybe even an jarduino arduino controller...you'd save a substantial amount of money and have a better setup.

 

[Andy_B]

Thanks for your reply and insight!

The main reason for arranging the LED's in this way is the Onyx Heatsink Assembly (easy to find on Rapid's site) has defined positions for the LED's (assuming you use the bottom cover of course). It was the main reason I was originally leaning towards using a "fully custom" 12x12 array, with the LED's in clusters rather than evenly spaced.

Do you think I should go for 80deg optics rather than 60deg (which I believe are the other option) or even go optic-less? I am getting a few different colours in addition to the above, so I can try out a few options.

Since I live in Malaysia, I want to get everything from one place rather than paying multiple international shipping fees.

Thanks again,

Andy

 

[stryke297]

Your tank is probably too tall to go optic-less. But using 80deg optics will for sure blend your seabed more than 60deg

 

[Andy_B]

Ok, thaks for the advice