Can I Build a Good LED for a 100g on A $400 Budget

gunlocators

New member
Like title reads for $400 on a 60x18x20deep tank what do you recommend and where to get every thing I was shooting for dimmable but maybe not possible. Soldering is not a issue. I want it to support good coral growth
 
for your tank dims i would go with a 90 led kit from here:
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/90--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html
i like option 5 on the drop down menu

heat sinks i would go with 5x 48 inch u-channels from here:
http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-2530-8348-1-x-1-x-18-channel-6063-t52-aluminum-extruded.aspx

you will be happy and they will grow everything.
yes i know they are not cree, but trust me when i say they will do the job just fine.
i don't dim mine, i run them at full power.

with the kit above you can run 18-20 leds on a driver
18 -20 leds per C-channel

or you can do 15 leds per channel for a total of 6 channels.
 
what ratio of blue to white 50 50? I am thinking the 120 led kit or is that too much

i think 120 is way too much for your tank, 50/50 is good
you can also tell them to do 50/50 on the white so you end up with
25/25/50
CW/10k white/royal blue

or choose option 5 on the drop down list of the 90 kit.
 
I think that a good quality DIY led build for that size thank is going to cost you a bit more than you suggested budget....could it be done....sure but it really comes down to what your trying to do with the leds and style of tank your going for...happy to help you get started if you want.
 
I just built a LED set up using the aquastyle LED's and parts and will say they are a good value.

That 1 to 1 ratio will give you about a 9k look with everything being equal. You could dim the whites to something more in the 10-12k or what ever your preference is but suggest you go with a 1.5/1 if not a 2/1 ratio of blues to white for a 12-14k look and keep the dimming some what balanced.

Also depending on what you want to keep I'd go with more then 90 on a 100g and dim accordingly

with the tank only being 20" tall use the wider optics (70, 80ish), you don't need the narrow ones (like 40-60) as you don't need the penetration and can avoid some spotlighting.

Keep us posted on your build
 
pstelleb

Can you tell me how long it took to get your order i emailed aquastyle last night and did not get a response i was skeptical about ordering

Also what did you use for mounting the chips to. Are you running fans?
 
Ray is slow at responding to emails, but they ship quickly. I usually get my parts from AS in a couple days. They're legit.

My fixture I went with 2:1 RB:W. I used mostly NW with CW/WW added for spectrum. White are at 50% intensity (375mA) and blues are at 60% (450mA); even with 2:1 ratio, blues are still up higher than whites. They are rated for up to 750mA but it's not advised to run LEDs at max intensity, it will shorten their life expectancy.
 
If you email them, they will let you do pretty much anything. They added more options to the shopping cart probably because their response time is a bit delayed, I'm sure they get massive orders all the time from us crazy reefers taking up all their administrative time.
 
pstelleb

Can you tell me how long it took to get your order i emailed aquastyle last night and did not get a response i was skeptical about ordering

Also what did you use for mounting the chips to. Are you running fans?

will they let you mix lenses with these kits ?

I think I got the order in just about a week, I know I was impresed as it came faster then I expected. The order was clean and well packaged and they even tossed in a couple extra LED's. Maybe the extra LED's were because I asked for a specific mix (not per the pull down, plus I added a couple reds) and maybe they thought I wanted to experiment with colors.

I added a project box, some stock alluminum, wire and end connectors to my build and so far I'm very pleased with it

here are a few pics just in case you didnt catch my build

project box with ballasts, on/off and dimmer controls
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plug ins
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one light bar with mixed lights
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both bars (the second one is all blue)
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I mounted the bars to acrylic tank tops and used their heatsinks omounted to the back of the stock alluminum
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installed on my 29g
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and the colors are fantastic
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okay now I'm showing off
 
Well Placed my order I order the following i know way to many for my tank but I have a 29g Biocube may use extras for that

I want to use 4 drivers for the 100g build and 1 for the biocube

Now what I need to know how many 48" aluminum channels I should run and how many leds on each. That way I can place my order for the aluminum to mount them

Here is my order list

1 x 120 LEDs DIY Dimmable Kit
80 Blue
40 white, White LEDs: 50% 10000K 50% 6500K
LED Driver: 5 X Meanwell ELN-60-48D
120 pcs Optics: 80 degree)

also added


6 x Epileds LED 3W Red
12 x 60 degree lens
12 x 45 degree lens
18 x 420nm Actinic Violet LED
 
gunlocators... great start.

Id blend some 60 optics in there somewhere for the edge of the tank... depending on the height of the lights, because you have so many LEDs, I wouldn't worry about blind spots or hot spots.
 
Well Placed my order I order the following i know way to many for my tank but I have a 29g Biocube may use extras for that

I want to use 4 drivers for the 100g build and 1 for the biocube

Now what I need to know how many 48" aluminum channels I should run and how many leds on each. That way I can place my order for the aluminum to mount them

Here is my order list

1 x 120 LEDs DIY Dimmable Kit
80 Blue
40 white, White LEDs: 50% 10000K 50% 6500K
LED Driver: 5 X Meanwell ELN-60-48D
120 pcs Optics: 80 degree)

also added


6 x Epileds LED 3W Red
12 x 60 degree lens
12 x 45 degree lens
18 x 420nm Actinic Violet LED

please start reading up on setting up leds in parallel now, before your lights come. those drivers you selected max out at about 12 less per unless you do a parallel setup, that's 12 leds per string for a max of 24 leds per diver.
assuming you setup 120 leds on this build.

this is why i just went with the maxwellen drivers as they handle 20 leds max per driver with no issue and no messing around with meters.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1952442&highlight=diy+led
 
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