DIY Full Spectum led

O

oupulino

New member
did anyone made Full Spectrum led lately my setup is 2 RB &1 NW is nice color but I'm thinking of changing to Full Spectrum one.
Any advice be appreciated.
I have 3 string of 6 leds each heat sink + 3 Non-Dimmable
Mean Well LPC 35-700


RB NW RB RB NW RB RB NW RB RB NW RB

RB RB NW RB RB NW RB RB NW RB RB NW

NW RB RB NW RB RB NW RB RB NW RB RB

It is possible to add more color like red , green ,Hyper Violet UV and take some of RB NW out
If you can post any diagram that will be perfect
 
What area are you covering? Are you using optics? Harder to blend colors with optics . I have a 65H which is 18x36 and I have 36RB, 10CW, 6 NW, 6 Green and 6 UV. Blues are on a dimable driver, Whites are on a dimable driver and Green/UV are on a dimable driver. I love the color I have achieved. I think there is enough red spectrum in the whites so I didnt add any reds to the setup. All red light does is grow algae in my opinion. I have 80 deg optics on 10 RB and 6 CW along the center of the tank. The rest do not have optics.
 
I like to take out some of the RB and NW then add some red , green ,Hyper Violet UV.
I did my diy lights almost 3 years ago and now I visit on guy he has that Full Spectrum Par 38 Bulb on his 65 gal I think is 4 of them and the color is just unbelievable.
I'm curious if I add red , green , Hyper Violet UV to my setup will change the spectrum close to that Par 38 Bulb.
 
Sure, you can add all those colors, in fact, I did. Careful though because algae love red spectrum. Also, make sure you do not put these new colors in series with existing LED's, because red, green and UV typically cannot be driven over 700mA and whites and blues often go to 1500mA.

Here's my build, I used the bottom configuration:


Explanation and build can be found here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2219707&page=4
 
You could just swap out some of the middle row with the supplemental colors. UV, Red, and Blue is what i went with. Maybe swap out 4 UV, 2 RED, 2 blue and maybe your greens if you like those. Just be sure to put wide lenses on them. I just built my lights and one of my reds was making a pink patch while my 2 others were blending in nicely. Turns out the company sent me a 60 deg. lens in my 80deg bag. It made quite a bit of difference. When i took the lens off of the red, i had a lot of bleed out of red around the edges of the tank. Fortunately, i had another 80deg lens. Now it all blends nicely.
 
jbfloor said:
Sure, you can add all those colors, in fact, I did. Careful though because algae love red spectrum. Also, make sure you do not put these new colors in series with existing LED's, because red, green and UV typically cannot be driven over 700mA and whites and blues often go to 1500mA.

Here's my build, I used the bottom configuration:


Explanation and build can be found here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2219707&page=4
Click to expand...

I run all of them at 700 mA so I think they be OK
 
even my 65 gal is 24" tall i do not use optics so far so good
what you guys think about this set up run at 700 mA all of them :mixed:


RB NW RB UV NW RB RB NW UV RB NW RB

RB RB R RB G NW RB RB R RB G NW

NW UV RB NW RB RB NW RB RB NW UV RB
 
You might want to add another string or two for sps, preferably the latter. You have 35 leds right now, run at 700ma (are they Cree or Luxeon?) so you will be pretty weak on power, especially with a 24" deep tank.
 
Or at least put the colors in a separate string, so you can upgrade your drivers later without having to rewire everything. Instead of adding a new string of LED's, the fastest and cheapest way to upgrade your light intensity is to start running your blues and whites at up to 1.5A instead of 700mA. Non-dimmable drivers are not very expensive.
 
well, on my 75 i am running 48 3w led's with them only being about 4 inches above the water. Tank height is 21" total. For me yes, i needed the optics. At that height, and with my leds being grouped in 8's, i get good blending of color. I am running bridgelux led's at 650ma i think. That should keep them a little cooler and extend life. I am however not keeping SPS. As i said, without the optics, i had bleedout of color around the edge of the tank.
 
maybe I will add 8 color ones on another 700 mA driver the are like 16 $ no big deal is ok to run green and UV at 700 mA or I have to go lower
probably I also will get some blue ones and take some RB out on my original setup is that will help or not
 
Check with manufacturer. As others have said, some brands/colors can be run at higher amperage. If you get the ebay/bridgelux led's, i think max is usually 700ma. Lower amperage can affect the color output of the led, but a lot of people run theirs (and many sellers suggest) around 60-70% of max.
 
There is a huge thread on the small reef forum with some very knowledgeable LED fanatics. Also contact the guy from the diode group buy website. His website is based around full spectrum lighting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

isseym328
Getting Out of Hobby 300G Shutdown : WYSIWYG Fish, SPS, LPS, Softies colonies and frags common to rare in So Cal
Replies
1
Views
770
isseym328
isseym328
isseym328
Getting Out of Hobby 300G Shutdown : WYSIWYG Fish, SPS, LPS, Softies colonies and frags common to rare
Replies
1
Views
899
isseym328
isseym328
B
55 gallon Tank Soft coral and fish under regular LED light
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
Misled
Misled
D
Algae issue - and I feel like I've tried everything
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
JCOLE
JCOLE
M
ESP32 - AQma WiFi LED Control - 8 x LED Channels, 3 x SSR. FOR FREE!
Replies
2
Views
1K
danielch2008
D
Back
Top