(Another) DIY LED Build - Linear Design

Hi Cesar,

Thanks for the calculator. As per the calculator, for a 46x26 tank with a factor of 17,
it says i'll need 72 LED's..

However, you and Fishman65 suggested 48 LED's earlier... am i calculating correctly..
there seems to be a huge difference .. hence a bit concerned..

could you please advise which way to go .. as am really not sure on the number of LED's to pick.

Thanks again,
Ravi
 
First I don't have the answers (I don' think any one does :)).

The guidelines where put out before the XM-Ls and XT-Es hit the market. Different manufacturers put different light per watt. So they are all just guidelines. IMHO it sounded like anyone that used the guidelines ended up turning the light way down.

Personally I have 48 XR-E in a mix of 50/50 RB and CW running about 500 ma. I have no trouble bleaching monti cap about 4 inches down (put it could be chemistry related - I don't have good luck with corals - just starting).

Personally I like the relationship of 24 LEDs = 250 watts of MH. Of course this seemed to be approximated for the XP-G generation. So what kind(s) of a MH would you put over the tank.
175 MH = 18 LEDs
250 MH = 24 LEDs
400 MH = 36 LEDs
Lenses are then used IMO to adjust this for your tank.
 
that is my mistake. I assumed that you are going to have softy and lps tank. I went back on your post and saw you will have sps also.

having that info, then your calculations will be correct.

having said that, those numbers are still high in my taste unless of course you want your sps on the sand.. If not then 60 is good so that lps will be at the bottom and sps on the middle and upper part of the tank.

if you go 48 then, light demanding sps on the top, low light sps in the middle, and lps on the bottom.

this is based on my mixed reef 75 gallons on 36 leds... And I'm still on 75% power after 13 months of use.

just a note...
 
used to run it 13 months ago. Thanks for catching that one. I thought I changed it already. Maybe on other forums. Been gone for awhile now, and just trying to catch up.

thanks again.
 
And where do you have SPS? Just trying to see if my problem is lights or other - thanks.

The signature changes everywhere. Even old posts. So does the avatar and stats on the left.
 
Hello Cesar,

First I would like to say WOW what an AWESOME thread this is!!! I am going to attemp this linear build. As per all the unbelieveable detailed information here.

I oredered the 48 LED kit with dimmable drivers last night from RAPID LED. I apparently did not choose the drivers or lenses for the kit.

This is what I have and what Im wanting to keep inside.
Tank: 90 Gal.
Current Lighting: 6 T5's 54 watt (fixture By: Current)
Wanting to keep some SPS corals after new lights are in place.

I received an email from Mike at Rapid LED asking me what lenses I would like and which drivers do I want?

Doing a linear design as yours. Based on what I have told you and want to keep. What dimmer and lenses would you recommend for the kit I am purchasing. Also would like to consider dawn and dusk abilities for the future. If that makes a difference.

Sorry being a bit Lazy as far as the answer to my question. Figured that was an easy one for you. Thank You In Advance!!!!
 
Parker. Go with 48D dimmable driver if possible.
Lenses will all depend on how high you want it mounted.
65 deg on 9 inch off water is ok in my setup.
Since yo have more LEDs then you can even go 6-7 inches.
If going for linear, dont mix the colors. 1 strip, 1 color.
Also if you can play with different whites, ie. CW, NW and WW

If not doing arduino, RAPID have their own dusk dawn timer. Not sure though how good.

Hope this helps.
 
Incredible thread! I read this every night and fall asleep trying to determine what I need. lol
My tank is up and running but I'm not happy with the coverage from 48" T5 HO. The measurements are 60x18x25H.
I like the simplicity of the the strips and was wondering how to properly lay out the LED's and how many would achieve the need for a mixed reef?
I have never undertaken a project like this so please forgive my ignorance and need for guidance.

Thanks
 
katchupoy said:
bigcat.


footnote:
I read somewhere here at rc... That in order to make white led... They have to mix 3 colors which is rgb. Now the only reason it looks yelow is because of the color tint of our water... If you project it to a white wall... It will giveyou white actually.

hope this helps.
Click to expand...

It is like your color monitor. each pixel is a combination of Red, blue, and Green. It is the combination of all these colors that produce White, and a combination of the Red and Green that creates Yellow.

Each of the so called White LED's have a different balance between theese three colors. The Warmer Whites are heavier on the Red, and the Cooler Whites are heavier on the Blue. As a Result to get a simular color appearance with Cool Whites you need ration of more whites while if you use warm whites you will need less white LED's.

On a side note oafter 4 years under T-5's my RBTA never split but got huge. After I added Royal Bluie LED's to the mix it took about 2 weeks to split into three. Each of the three were the size of the original in only a week and a half. But I will say the color looked best under ATI Blue Plus T-5 bulbs compared to the Royal Blue LED's. The excitation frequencies are probably in the longer wave lenght that we relate to more aqua colors for the RBTA.
 
flyfisher2 said:
The measurements are 60x18x25H.
I like the simplicity of the the strips and was wondering how to properly lay out the LED's and how many would achieve the need for a mixed reef?
I have never undertaken a project like this so please forgive my ignorance and need for guidance.

Thanks
Click to expand...

First you have to know how many...
use this calculator i created.
Since you have a 60 length, you might end up with 24 LEDs per strip.
 
I have a fluval Vicenza 260 bowfront and I was looking to mod the light fixture it comes with and add leds into it and was wondering how many leds to put in it and if running it with out optics is how id have to do it
 
JeffPrince said:
I have a fluval Vicenza 260 bowfront and I was looking to mod the light fixture it comes with and add leds into it and was wondering how many leds to put in it and if running it with out optics is how id have to do it
Click to expand...

First off what are the dimensions on this tank?

As far as optics go this varies a lot by how deep the tank is. If your talking 18" inches from the lights to the substrate I would not recommend optics, As the distance increases then you need to concentrate the light more and go with smaller and smaller angles for the optics.
 
katchupoy said:
First you have to know how many...
use this calculator i created.
Since you have a 60 length, you might end up with 24 LEDs per strip.
Click to expand...

I see two basic problems with the calculator.

1. it does not account for the different wattages people are running LED's at. Dependent upon your driver yopu could be running anywhere from 350 ma to 1050 ma. In reality at 350 ma you running at around around 1 Watt, at 700 ma it is closer to 2.5 Watts, and at 1050ma your even pushing over 3.5 Watts. Then you have new LED's comming out that do run at 5 Watts.
This will create a big difference in your actual lighting. Can the calculator be converted to watts rather than number of LED's.

2. There is no consideration for how tall the tank is. Even with 60 degree lenses as you double the distance from the LED to the place in the tank that the light hits you are reducing the light hitting one spot drasticly. With your formula even running my LED's at 700 ma over my 30 gallon breeder tanks with 48 LED's I'd be frying my corals.
 
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