Aquastyleonline.com LED questions.

[justreefin409]

the thing is the driver blue and white line is already putting out 10v. I thought that the apex supplies the 0-10v not the driver itself.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

I am currently torn between the 108 dimmable kit and a 48 cree kit from rapidled. My tank is a standard 90 mixed reef. I have seen a tank with a DIY led in person with incredibly intense disco shadowing. This has me concerned and wondering which kit would minimize this. I'm thinking I may be able to get away with running without lenses with the 108 LED kit, or maybe 60s and keeping it several inches off the water.

id go with the kit that has more leds. IMO the Crees are more efficient, but running fewer leds will not give you good coverage. You would probably want a minimum of 60 leds, regardless if its Cree or Bridgelux. Regardless if the Cree puts out more lumens, they still only have a certain degree of coverage. And if you are planning on running optics on the 48 cree kit, your tank will be very shadowed. (this is my opinion, based off what i have found out building my own DIY led) If i had a 90 SPS tank i would not run 108..i think the 90 LEDs would even be overkil. I just ran 90 leds on my 180g tank and it is ALOT of light! i have mainly lps and softys, with a few SPS at the top and they are all doing great.

 

[zachts]

On the note of minimizing disco more leds is better, but a sure fire way to eliminate it is to use a piece of acrylic diffuser the type on flourecent lighting in droped ceilings, redily available at most hardware stores. If using pendants with optics you can put the difusing panel right on top of your tank like you would a glass top or screen. end result in this case is a very even light but with very little shimmer. Kinda resembles the even look of flourescent lighting. the furter away from the leds you place the diffuser the more even the light and less the shimmer effect, and vice versa. also useful as a splash gard on your leds.

 

[InADream]

Hey guys,

I just got finished reading this entire thread, and am more confused then when I started LOL. I have a 90 gallon 48x18x24 and have mostly SPS, and will be getting into LPS soon. My questions are will the 72 Kit from Aquastyle work for my tank. I want to get it right the first time. I am going to build the C-Channel heat sink, and was thinking of doing 4 rows of 18 LEDs. Which optics are good?

The biggest reason I am confused is about the color. I want my tank to look like a 10K setup. I dont like the really blue tanks, I really like the look of the 20K radium MH, but I hear those are more like 14K.

I was thinking of doing the 2:1 blues to white ratio, and doing all the whites in 6500K. If you have a better solution please let me know. Originally I thought of doing 1:1 with 50% 10000k and 50% 6500K for the whites. Any thoughts.

Lastly, does Aquastyles have a different 72 LED kit, I see some have gotten a 72 Kit with reds, and UV. Are they really neccessary, I was thinking about seeing if they will make me a custom 90 LED KIT, but I wanted some Opinions.

Does anyone have a few pics of some of there lights that resemble a 10K setup, and which ratio are you using?

Thanks for listening to all these questions,

 

[tomservo]

They will definitely make you a custom kit, email them about it. I suggest getting some 420nm LEDs as well. I don't have any experience with aquastyle's 6500k emitters, so I can't report if they need extra red or not.

BTW Aquastyle's 420nm emitters are awesome!

 

[SchnitzelReef]

if ur looking for a 10k look, then just go with 1:1 ratio and if i were u i would throw in a few 10000k and maybe a few 4500k to

 

[blesk]

I just recive me UV and cyan led cona reconfigure me lights i have 90 g costume tank 48x24x18 cona use two pendants 6x18 each pendant cona have two clusters of led , each pendant cona have 24 rb , 14 whites , 12 uv , 2 red , 2 green and 4 cyan total of 58 led , 24 rb 1-driver in series , 14 whites -1 driver , 12 uv 1 driver , 2green , 2 reds , 4 cyan - 1 driver using meanwell 60-48P drivers vith typhone controler fore sunset and sunrise , pics coming in next couple days.

 

[reev]

Guys, I am planning to change from T5s to LED on my tank which is a 125G, 72" long x 18" wide tank, mixed reef, leaning towards more SPS.

I am thinking to get the 120 LED kit and I am still trying to figure out the color combination. I like the current color from my T5s and I would be happy if the LEDs would give me a similar color.

Can anyone suggest what combination of LEDs should I get?

I was thinking of 1:1 ratio with:
60 "blueish" -> 48 x RB, 12 Actinic Violet 420nm
60 "whitish" => 30 x 10,000K, 24 x 4500K, 6 x Red

My current fixture runs 2 sets of 6 x 39W T5 lamps. Each set uses ATI bulbs in in this configuration:

1. Aquablue 12,000K
2. Blue plus
3. Purple Plus
4. Blue Plus
5. Blue Plus
6. Aquablue 12,000K

Thanks!

 

[nemosworld]

Guys, I am planning to change from T5s to LED on my tank which is a 125G, 72" long x 18" wide tank, mixed reef, leaning towards more SPS.

I am thinking to get the 120 LED kit and I am still trying to figure out the color combination. I like the current color from my T5s and I would be happy if the LEDs would give me a similar color.

Can anyone suggest what combination of LEDs should I get?

I was thinking of 1:1 ratio with:
60 "blueish" -> 48 x RB, 12 Actinic Violet 420nm
60 "whitish" => 30 x 10,000K, 24 x 4500K, 6 x Red

My current fixture runs 2 sets of 6 x 39W T5 lamps. Each set uses ATI bulbs in in this configuration:

1. Aquablue 12,000K
2. Blue plus
3. Purple Plus
4. Blue Plus
5. Blue Plus
6. Aquablue 12,000K

Thanks!

your plan sounds good, i don't know exactly what color your current bulb selection produces, but i do know you will want to put the reds and UV on the same driver so you can control the output, 6 reds may be too much, at max setting. i have 2 deep reds on my 60x30x29 and 2 cyan and just ordered UV from LGB. i get i nice blue color to my tank, i achieved this by removing the optics from the rb's and run then bare.

 

[jjjbrim]

driver question

driver question

I have an issue and need some advice. I spoke to Ray and told him that I had a 12 gallon nanocube that I would like to retrofit and he recommended the 14 LED dimmable kit. I decided to purchase the 36 LED kit to have extra LED's but did not think through that it came with larger drivers that require a minimum of 12 LED's per string. I have 17 LED's (close split of 10K and RB) on the heat sink and for the time being I just hooked them up to one driver.

So here is what I need help with. I am thinking about adding another 7 LED's to the heat sink and that would allow me to use the drivers I have but I know the amount of light is way overkill. I want to know if I turn down the lights (so I do not fry my soft corals I have in this small tank) with the POT but still get bright intensity because I have a lot of lights? In a nutshell I know I have way overkill on the tank but can I live with it this way and have intense light.

I can buy the correct drivers but it will cost $50 and adding 7 more LED's is much cheaper. I look forward to your thoughts.

Take care,

Joe

 

[reev]

your plan sounds good, i don't know exactly what color your current bulb selection produces, but i do know you will want to put the reds and UV on the same driver so you can control the output, 6 reds may be too much, at max setting. i have 2 deep reds on my 60x30x29 and 2 cyan and just ordered UV from LGB. i get i nice blue color to my tank, i achieved this by removing the optics from the rb's and run then bare.

Thanks, Nemo. It is hard for me to explain the color . It is basically close color to the "classic" T5 1:1 W:B with a bit of extra blue because of the lamp order and an accent of purple/pink.

I will take a chance and try out the LEDs, then I could swap some later to change the color.

My plan is to have 3 clusters of 40 LEDs so I thought 2 reds on each cluster would be good.
Then, the 120 LED kit comes with 2 drivers and the plan was to hook the RB+Violet LEDs on one driver and the white+red on the second driver. But I could get a separate driver for the reds like you suggested to have more control on the color.

And thanks for the tip on the optics. My plan was to go with 60 and 80 degree optics., but it sounds that I could leave the RBs without optics, so use their build-in 120 degree spread. Since my tank is relatively shallow, 21", I should still get good PAR at the bottom without the optics, right?

 

[reev]

I have one more question: I see that some folks are opting to do clusters of LEDs. For an example see the image I attached here, taken from this thread (page 4), http://www.carolinafishtalk.com/forum/diy-section/35201-led-build-4.html . In this case, the LEDs are clustered in groups of 3. I also saw the now there are manufacturers that group 3 LEDs on the same socket
Which option do you think it is better: cluster the LEDs in groups of 3 or so as the above examples or space them equally on the heat sinks, around 2" apart?

Thanks!

 

[slag009]

Did anyone ever figure out a way to electronically control the maxwellen drivers?

 

[InADream]

Hey guys,

I need some input on my upcoming LED build, I have just ordered the LEDs from Ray and cannot wait til the y arrive on Monday...

Here is a pic of my proposed setup, Please critique it..

thanks

Royal Blues -----------------------------------------> 42
10,000K Cool White-------------------------------> 10
6,500K Neutral White---------------------------> 12
4,500K Warm White-----------------------------> 6
Violet------------------------------------------------> 8
Pink--------------------------------------------------> 4
Red---------------------------------------------------> 4
Cyan-------------------------------------------------->4


I am looking to get a 12K-14K look.

Thanks Again

 

[pwreef]

Your tank is going to look like a 70s disco club. You have to mix colors before they reach the water. Going to have to experiment with placement of these. They are not like tubes that mix well. Good luck!

 

[InADream]

I thought since I am not using optics on the exotic colors that they will blend better. The fixture is going to be 8 inches off the water level if that helps any.

Thanks I will have to look at the layout again, anyone else have nay suggestions..

Thanks

 

[Seefour]

Does anybody know if the Cree optics from Rapidled will work on these? I really dont want to pay that shipping just for a few optics.

 

[wlatino30]

tag

 

[SurfCastinRI]

I have read a ton about these on different sites and am about ready to order but I am torn between the 24 and 36 kits. I have a 25g cube that is 18x18x18". I don't plan on any SPS right now but that may change down the road so I want the option with the new light. Thanks guys.

 

[milkman55]

I would definitely go with the 24 LED kit for that tank. I have the 36 kit over a 40 gal breeder with SPS and it's great. I am getting ready to order the 24 LED kit for a new 29 gal seahorse and softie tank.

The 24 kit comes with the heat sink and s a great deal.