Aquastyleonline.com LED questions.

[Gorgok]

Just got another shipment from these guys, only took a week. I ordered 2 UV, 18 red and 24 4500K whites. I got 3, 19 and 26 instead. Now to put together my second fixture for side by side comparison...

 

[Neurovet]

I have read a this thread on the aquastyle build. I'm planning on getting a 72 dimmable for my 90gal bowfront for LPS, SPS and a few ricordea. I would appreciate your consensus on a few things.
-Could I get away with a 5.8x 14 heatsink from heatsinkUSA or should I get the 7x176 from aquastyles
-Are you glad you went with all 10,000K white or wish you have gotten some lower K LEDs?
-Maxwellen or meanwell drivers?
-Ratio of white/blue?
-Anything else you would have done differently
Thanks,
Fred

 

[Gorgok]

I ordered 4500K whites to replace my 10,000K whites, its just very very white and i didn't like the color. However, i have not tested if i will end up with half 10,000K and half 4500K or just full out replacement. I'll start on that tonight.

I can't comment on the drivers, i decided not to use any pre-made one so i could have more control over the LEDs.

My ratio of white to blue is 2:3, and i think that will be fine when my whites are a little less blue. But 1:1 with cool whites might be good too.

AS for the heat sink, for me it ended up being down to cost. I could get a larger (just a bit) heat sink from the same guys, with shipping counted in as well, than i could get from heatsinkUSA and their shipping. That didn't really make any sense to me, but i got the bigger and cheaper one and its perfectly fine.

Only thing i really wish is that they offered a heat sink without powder coating on it. But i had the means to remove it, so i did.

 

[Gorgok]

I ordered 4500K whites to replace my 10,000K whites, its just very very white and i didn't like the color. However, i have not tested if i will end up with half 10,000K and half 4500K or just full out replacement. I'll start on that tonight.

I can't comment on the drivers, i decided not to use any pre-made one so i could have more control over the LEDs.

My ratio of white to blue is 2:3, and i think that will be fine when my whites are a little less blue. But 1:1 with cool whites might be good too.

AS for the heat sink, for me it ended up being down to cost. I could get a larger (just a bit) heat sink from the same guys, with shipping counted in as well, than i could get from heatsinkUSA and their shipping. That didn't really make any sense to me, but i got the bigger and cheaper one and its perfectly fine.

Only thing i really wish is that they offered a heat sink without powder coating on it. But i had the means to remove it, so i did.

 

[Neurovet]

This is

 

[Neurovet]

This is very helpful information, thanks! I look forward to hearing how the 4500K workout, any reason you didn't go with the 6500K? Do you have any concern about algal growth at these lower temps?

 

[roy026]

but how much do you recomend for a 35cm high 17gall??

 

[Gorgok]

This is very helpful information, thanks! I look forward to hearing how the 4500K workout, any reason you didn't go with the 6500K? Do you have any concern about algal growth at these lower temps?

I went with 4500K because of the CREE LED builds i have read here. Cool white in CREE is 5000K to 8300K, so i figure 6500K may be pretty much the same as cool white. Many of those builds ended up putting some (or all) neutral white in, which is 3700K to 5000K instead of cool whites. The really warm colors are 2600K to 3700K based on CREE data sheets, so i didn't want to go that low.

I am also now running an ATS so i hope that algae will grow on the screen rather than the tank (that is what i got the reds for too). Currently i run 2700K bulbs on the ATS and that is definitely yellow.

 

[lotsoftats]

I have been looking at these for a long time and I think I have finally talked myself into getting them.....What kit do you guys recommend for a standard 75g tank? Will be mixed but heavy SPS...also what mix do you recommend....How many of the Reds and uvs should I add to the mix.

 

[milkman55]

Hello!
How did you set up the drivers on your build? Did you do one driver per strip or did you do it based on color. I really like the build. I am going to try to cram 14 LED on 1''x36'' U channel and put 4 of those over my 58 gallon oceanic tank. Any thoughts on led placement and wiring would be appreciated. I've got 4 drivers that power between 12-20 leds. Also I dont know if its just me but those little wire connectors in the kit...I am not sure how to use them. Any help on this would be appreciated.
Regards
Cham

I had 18 white on one driver and all the blue, red, and UV on the second driver.
The 14 LEDs on each U channel is fine. I had 12 on each of my 3/4" x 36" channels. The connectors work great. Just raise the plastic levers, insert the wire and close.

 

[milkman55]

I have been looking at these for a long time and I think I have finally talked myself into getting them.....What kit do you guys recommend for a standard 75g tank? Will be mixed but heavy SPS...also what mix do you recommend....How many of the Reds and uvs should I add to the mix.

You could go with the 72 LED kit with four 48" channels with 18 LEDs on each spaced 2 1/4" which would give you a couple of inches of space on each end.. If you want the red and UV, just go with the pre-configured suggestion on the website. That's what I did anyway.

 

[Neurovet]

OK, now that I'm thoroughly confused about which combination of whites to get I have another question. I am installing my 72 kit in a canopy over a 92 gal bowfront (24' in depth) The lights will be approximately 6-8' above the water unless I modify it which is possible. As this is a relatively deep tank and the lights are so close tot he water, would I be better with the 60 or 80 degree optics?

 

[milkman55]

OK, now that I'm thoroughly confused about which combination of whites to get I have another question. I am installing my 72 kit in a canopy over a 92 gal bowfront (24' in depth) The lights will be approximately 6-8' above the water unless I modify it which is possible. As this is a relatively deep tank and the lights are so close tot he water, would I be better with the 60 or 80 degree optics?

The 60 degree optics should give you better penetration over the 80's.
6-8" above the water is what Ray at Aquastyle recommended. I have mine sitting at 7" over the water (not the top edge of the tank) and I went with the 60 degree optics.

Can't help you with the white LED combinations. I used the 10k LEDs spec'd in the kits. It is fairly "white", probably about 12k maybe with the 18w, 14b, 2r, and 2UV. I might play around with mixing some 10k and 6500 white vs. all 10k? Ray did say it takes less blue LEDs with Bridgelux than Cree where you see 50/50 and greater weighting of blue LEDs.

 

[RotaryGeek]

So we have seen that they do put out at least 200 par on the sand. Does anybody else have par measurements so we can get a god average?

 

[Neurovet]

Thanks for the tips Gor and Milk. Appreciate it. With the 72 kit I'll have 4 drivers. 2 for the Blues and 2 for whites. I'm thinking I may put 10K on one driver and a combo for neutral and cool on the other so I can play around a bit? The only downside to that is it means I have LEDs from two heatsinks feeding one driver. I don't think it should matter as they will be secured to the canopy. Make sense?

I was thinking of adding a fifth driver to light 4 RB as moonlights

 

[milkman55]

I would just get the RapidLED 4 moonlight kit with driver for $18 over putting it together with parts from Aquastyle. Hopefully they will make a moonlight kit before long.

 

[Neurovet]

Great idea!

 

[nemosworld]

ok, so i filled the tank up and took some readings.
tank is 60x30x29 and i am using 72 leds 2*1 blue to white(10k)
4 aluminum channels, 18 leds each; spaced 2.5 inches apart.
leds are ruffly 4.5 inches away from the water line.
channels are 2.5 inches apart. total of 4.
i get 260 in the middle of the tank, i suspect it's due to the spacing of the leds and 60 degree optics.

i get about 160 on the sand bed. this is with the leds at full blast.
running at 680MA, i know the numbers would be higher if they were running at a higher MA, however, bridgelusx does not recommend running them past 700ma.
What i plan to do is add 6 cree xml running at about 1050MA constant with no optics to increase the par a bit, for light loving sps. other than that, i do not regret this purchase. i do think anyone picking these up with a tank my size should go with the 90 kit and place the leds closer. like this on a single channel.

ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo I bet the par would be greater like this.

oh, yeah, water is a little cloudy too.

 

[RotaryGeek]

Cloudy water is going to kill your par. I bet if you take the readings again after it clears up it will be a much different story.

 

[cet98]

I ordered 4500K whites to replace my 10,000K whites, its just very very white and i didn't like the color. However, i have not tested if i will end up with half 10,000K and half 4500K or just full out replacement. I'll start on that tonight.

looking forward to hearing your thoughts on your color revision.....:artist: