DIY LED Need Advice

[TheFishMan65]

bcheriyan,
72 is the low end maybe 108 by some numbers. If you use the HLG series probably only 2 drivers. I like drilling and tapping, but it is personal choice.

I would not go with the high voltage drivers (anything above 50 volts) unless you really know what you are doing. It is a lot easier to kill yourself with 216 volts vs 50 volts IMO.

 

[ghellin]

I agree on more LEDs 72 is low trust the fishman LOL.

 

[reefereef]

here are some pics of my setup.

all photos had no color editing done to them, tank is slightly more bluer, around 12k or so.
I dont really see why people always say more leds the better, i am going to turn my whites down a little bit due to a few pieces bleeching that are up high. but to each their own i guess.

I do second what the earlier post said, if you are not 100000% comfortable with higher voltage from the bigger drivers then DONT use them. 218vdc is a fatal voltage.

 

[DOGGIE750]

nice buddy

nice buddy

THANK YOU FOR SHARING REEFEREEF!

I guess peeps seem to think the more LEDs the better but with your optics installed it justify ur opinion. Per my research I found a star LED supplier = to reefLEDlights.com. Please see attached link
http://www.allelectronics.com/mas_assets/cache/image/2/4/0/5/x600-9221.Jpg
I believe these are the same, can you concur?

Also another link is non star LED but seem to be greater than or = to the Star LED.
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16642

I am still in the process of finding out what's the tech spec of the believed Star cree LEDs found in Allelectronics.com.

Cost effective approach is my goal as everyone else in DIY projects.

here are some pics of my setup.

all photos had no color editing done to them, tank is slightly more bluer, around 12k or so.
I dont really see why people always say more leds the better, i am going to turn my whites down a little bit due to a few pieces bleeching that are up high. but to each their own i guess.

I do second what the earlier post said, if you are not 100000% comfortable with higher voltage from the bigger drivers then DONT use them. 218vdc is a fatal voltage.

 

[TheFishMan65]

You don't want the gum drop LED (second link) not enough power for coral growth.

 

[reefereef]

Give reefledlights a call.I received a volume discount that made the leds MUCH cheaper. Will check out that first link later. I took a approach to the leds that if I started off without less and needed more then no big deal, but if I had a bunch too many then that would be wasted money. I have turned my whites down to 80% to see how the sps that are bleeching and no pe respond. So as it is I have too much white. My entire led setup was under 900$ including the two big fans in the hood and all the little extras to complete the build.

 

[bcheriyan]

Thank you all for the advice .. This is what I am plannig I am going with the advice of 108 leds
54 CREE XP-G R5 Cool White
54 CREE XP-E Royal Blue
Will go with 80 and some 55 optics do we need others ?

Heat Sink

3 1.1 x 72 Inch each will accomidate 36 leds Pasted with glues and thermal paste ?

Drivers

2 Inventronics drivers 150W will use my apex to control this
For dimming form the apex do we need any thing else ?
Will this work ?

Thank you all ..

Great pictures reefereef !!

 

[bcheriyan]

Reefers ,
My Initial extimate that goes with the premium leds and heat sink and drivers run me up to 1000$ rough estimate .. It there a way to get the leds and optics cheap ?

Thx
Bill

 

[DOGGIE750]

Options

Options

You don't want the gum drop LED (second link) not enough power for coral growth.

TO FishMan65, u mean the one from http://www.goldmine-elec-products.co...?number=G16642. Kindly justify? Per calculator, this led is just above 100 lumens.

Reefers ,
My Initial extimate that goes with the premium leds and heat sink and drivers run me up to 1000$ rough estimate .. It there a way to get the leds and optics cheap ?

Thx
Bill

 

[TheFishMan65]

That link is not working, but I will try.

 

[reefereef]

bcheriyan - sent you a pm regarding your last post. also i did not buy premium cw leds just the rb. 108 seems like a bit much. you may find that you enjoy a little more blues than whites. i have a 50/50 mix and wish it was a tad bluer.

 

[ghellin]

are you using the rapid heatsinks? If so if you use c channel it would save you some money. Those are $66 each you could most likely get all the c channel for $66. just a thought.

 

[reefereef]

yeah i second that, dont buy someones heatsink, i just set up 24leds on my lfs' frag tank using window frame material, basically c-channel. the leds are driven at 500ma and there is 12 per 40" strip. with NO fans blowing over the strips, the heat is around 95*, you can hold your hand on them all day long and its just a little warm. so save some money and dont buy the heatsinks from rapid or any other site.

 

[martinmcnally]

yeah i second that, dont buy someones heatsink, i just set up 24leds on my lfs' frag tank using window frame material, basically c-channel. the leds are driven at 500ma and there is 12 per 40" strip. with NO fans blowing over the strips, the heat is around 95*, you can hold your hand on them all day long and its just a little warm. so save some money and dont buy the heatsinks from rapid or any other site.

Information from Cree says 85F is the magic number. Leds running at temperatures above that do not have an unlimited life and may burn out, you will definitely get some color shifting according to the temperature graph I have from Cree. For the little extra a heat sink and/or fan costs you might as well do it and have your LEDs forever.

Martin

 

[reefereef]

would like to see a setup that maintains those temps. on my setup i have the stars on some aluminum that has 5 fins on the back, i run 2 120mm fans and ambient air temp is around 68*F. i have my cheapo coralife digi temp probe stuffed in between the fins and it reads around 94*. To drop it more than what it is i would have to run some really big fans like box fans or something lol

 

[martinmcnally]

Sorry I got that temperature wrong, 85 is storage before use haha. Inside fin heatsink temperature should be below around 120 so 95 is good on yours. However the heat sink is such a small part of the price esp if you order them direct from the manufacturer compared to the price of the LEDs. Might as well do what Cree recommends and use a heatsink. Cooling is probably the most important part of protecting your investment. A 120mm fan works wonders.

 

[bcheriyan]

yeah i second that, dont buy someones heatsink, i just set up 24leds on my lfs' frag tank using window frame material, basically c-channel. the leds are driven at 500ma and there is 12 per 40" strip. with NO fans blowing over the strips, the heat is around 95*, you can hold your hand on them all day long and its just a little warm. so save some money and dont buy the heatsinks from rapid or any other site.

The one I was telling is also 66$ this looks like will desipate heat much more than C-Channel.. may be not sure
http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-160/1.1"-x-72"-Aluminum/Detail

 

[BigCity]

I got 2 of the 8.46 x 18" for my 2'x'2'4' aquarium and at $43 seemed very reasonable and worth it especially for the extra material you get to allow for more heat dissipation instead of just the 1" thick material. Don't get me wrong 1" may work just fine, just depends on how much you load it up with LED's. Plus those would be hard to get a fan to work with to remove heat where as the larger footprint would allow for a few fans to be attached blowing directly on the heatsink allowing for all the air movement to be captured by the heatsink.

http://reefledlights.com/shop/heatsink-7-28-profile-copy/

 

[bcheriyan]

I got 2 of the 8.46 x 18" for my 2'x'2'4' aquarium and at $43 seemed very reasonable and worth it especially for the extra material you get to allow for more heat dissipation instead of just the 1" think material. Don't get me wrong 1" may work just fine, just depends on how much you load it up with LED's. Plus those would be hard to get a fan to work with to remove heat where as the larger footprint would allow for a few fans to be attached blowing directly on the heatsink allowing for all the air movement to be captured by the heatsink.

http://reefledlights.com/shop/heatsink-7-28-profile-copy/

I saw that too nice one Thx

 

[bcheriyan]

heatsinkusa is selling a 8.46 x 32 for 76$ I can buy two of these and each of these should be able to fit 56 leds or more on each ..
http://www.heatsinkusa.com/products/8.460"-Wide-x-32"-Long-Heatsink.html