Tried to find the performance data for the Luxeons the other day, but as they don't seem to list it on their site, I failed
Doesn't help that I didn't/don't know which is the best performer (in light output per watt terms)...
Tim
Luxeon Rebel color line Datasheet-
https://www.lumileds.com/uploads/265/DS68-pdf
Quote from StevesLEDs-
- Radiometric Output - 1,300mw @ 700ma and 1,755mw @ 1000ma! (Datasheet, Figure 12)
Some sort-of-on-topic opinions, since we are on the topic of cluster-based builds still...
Personally, I love the Luxeon Royal blues, and no longer use Cree for royal blue at all, due to the rather nontrivial difference in efficiency/output. I like the Colors that cree do (the regular blue 475nm from them is more "blue" and less cyan looking than the usual available blue bins from places like steves) but with some work you can get similar offerings as far as desired color bins if you ask around. Steves will do an alternative blue bin that specs around 475-480nm (bin 4) versus the listed 470-480nm (H4E?), but it doesn't help much, so for regular blues I like Cree, but I like the Luxeon Cyans a little better at the usual 495nm-500nm, versus the Cree cyan ("turquoise")at 495 having a sharper peak and less spread... Cyan and Blue will help level out the pink/purple tone that LED setups get when based on royal blue and neutral/warm white (or cool white with added red) alone. They also help with coloration, fluorescence, and photosynthesis. If you look at the graphs for most white LEDs you will see a big dip right in the area that blue/cyan cover, so It's a good idea to fill it in.
Deep red can be useful for some, and many will buy into the (IMHO) myth that they promote algae growth (I haven't experienced it, but many claim they do) but I believe they aren't necessary for growth of corals unless your base white is lacking in this area to begin with, IE when your whites are 6500K or any other Cool White nonsense from some random seller (like the 10,000-20,000k whites sold as bridgelux/epistar or in the cheap chinese multichips on fleabay) or generic stuff. Use a good neutral white (or certain warm whites) with high CRI and you will usually be covered pretty well in this area, and get much better color to go with it. I would however add that reds can be useful for tuning color, and any well-rounded fixture that can fit another channel for controlling them should at least entertain the idea of adding them at least in very small numbers. On larger fixtures they blend easier, on smaller fixtures they are harder to mix well.
Far red I put in the same category as deep red. While useful, pick a good base white and the same reasoning applies. Could easily add it to the same channel as deep red and use it for tuning.
Lime is an
awesome addition to most any fixture, especially blue heavy ones. in conjunction with regular blue and cyan, it will completely counteract that pink/purple undertone some setups get from a base of neutral/warm white with a bunch of royal blues. It is also a great way to increase visual brightness of the fixture without affecting the perceived color temperature/tone of the light, while also having a minimal impact on PAR. Particularly useful on tanks that need a crisp white look when already blue heavy.
And as earlier, I think a high CRI neutral or warm white (my preference is to a 4000k neutral) is what your setup should be based on. Cree an LumiLEDs both offer decent high CRI options, with LumiLEDs leading Cree in this regard, but there are better options at better price points in the stuff from Citizen, Bridgelux, and Luminus Devices for our uses.
All that having been said, next fixture I'm putting together (for a budget "display" frag setup dual PAR cannon!) will be (tentatively)
Two clusters each of-
Citizen 4000k 97CRI CLU028 (running at 300mA, for about 10w) (I may do a 90CRI 4000k Vero on the other side, just for experimenting, or possibly a 3000k white)
Luxeon K16 Royal blue array (running at 500mA-1000mA depending on how it all does)
Luxeon Rebel Lime
Luxeon Rebel Cyan
Cree Blue x2 (maybe 3)
SemiLEDs Violet U70 x2
SemiLEDs Violet U60 (may replace all SemiLEDs violets with a single Luxeon "UV" 420-430nm, or a single 3-up from StevesLEDs)
Should work great on a 20 Long or similarly shaped tank! Probably even enough for LPS and some less demanding to moderate SPS in something like a 30 Breeder or 40 Breeder if I crank those K16s up to 1 amp!
