Diy led

[Roblox84]

So I skimmed through some of the posts here and I am debating whether I should switch from buying cree xpe's to these fedy leds. I was going to use 96 crees on my 6 foot 125 tank so I was wondering if it would be better to use something like 120 fedy's? I have 2 crossbars on my tank so that would put me at 40 leds in each section. I would probably go with say 70 rb and 50 whites, does that seem fine or should I just go with a 1:1 ratio since the whites are 18000k? What would be my best choice of meanwell driver to power this project? I would need one driver to power 20 whites and the other to power 20 blues on the same heatsink.

Or would it be easier to just use 48 per heatsink and use 2 meanwell 6048's? Each one to power two 12 led strings in parallel? And would 48 leds fit onto a heatsink from heatsinkusa? I think their biggest one is like 10 inches wide.

 

[Mangodude]

First off, I would like to say thank you to Jae for starting this thread and allowing so many others to follow it and make their own LED fixture. Second, does anyone else think this thread should be nominated as a sticky for the lighting or DIY section of the forum?


Now, the real reason I'm posting, I've seen Jae's setup in person and was extremely impressed with the LED's and have thought about making the switch for almost a year now. I finally found some LED's that look good but I need to get a driver. I have a 125g tank so I will be running approx. 100-115 x 3w leds (if this is too many, please let me know).

I still have yet to understand the complexities in choosing a driver so I have a few questions. Is it possible to power 300w-350w of LED's off of 6 drivers? I see drivers that power 60w of led (ie. this one: http://www.aliexpress.com/product-g...hing-Power-Supply-LED-driver-wholesalers.html ). Can I really power 20 x 3w leds off that one driver? Or does that mean I can power only 1 x 60w?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[truebeliever71]

First off, I would like to say thank you to Jae for starting this thread and allowing so many others to follow it and make their own LED fixture. Second, does anyone else think this thread should be nominated as a sticky for the lighting or DIY section of the forum?


Now, the real reason I'm posting, I've seen Jae's setup in person and was extremely impressed with the LED's and have thought about making the switch for almost a year now. I finally found some LED's that look good but I need to get a driver. I have a 125g tank so I will be running approx. 100-115 x 3w leds (if this is too many, please let me know).

I still have yet to understand the complexities in choosing a driver so I have a few questions. Is it possible to power 300w-350w of LED's off of 6 drivers? I see drivers that power 60w of led (ie. this one: http://www.aliexpress.com/product-g...hing-Power-Supply-LED-driver-wholesalers.html ). Can I really power 20 x 3w leds off that one driver? Or does that mean I can power only 1 x 60w?

Any help would be appreciated!

I don't think I can comment on the FEDY drivers since I'm not using them. But the number of LEDs will depend on a couple of factors... first, what you're currently running for lights. What your goal PAR readings are. The dimensions of your tank. And, how hard you are planning on driving the LEDs.

To give you and example of my setup I'm running 78 LEDs on my 120G (4x2x2), spaced 1 1/2 inches apart with 60 degree lenses and I am getting about 210 PAR readings on the bottom of the tank (1 to 1 1/2 sand bed.) My Meanwell drivers are set to 600mA and I'm running about 90% power of that.

Ooh, and my lights are 18 inches from what water's surface.

 

[Jimmy54]

These drivers - from the link - are capable of putting out 60 watts, one driver can handle 20 LEDs x 3watt,
So 6 drivers should be able to handle 360 watts

But those drivers are Meanwell LPV 60-48s, which means they miss out all the good things the ELN 60-40D or P is provided with;
no voltage and amps adjustment through internal pots - and no dimming.
Apart from that, shipping costs will probably the same - or maybe a little less - as what you have to pay for the drivers.
I have ordered 3 HLG drivers from the same company - KULON - shipping costs? .... €74, which is about $ 100, -
For me it was cheaper to order them in China - incl shipping costs -
here in Holland those 3 HLG Meanwells would set me back € 435,- * 1.38 = $600,- without shipping.
Buying them in China is only $ 357,- incl $100,- shipping costs.
So maybe you better reconsider and switch over to the ELN 60-48D or P (and buy them in the US)

And if this can help;
I’m going to have 120 LEDs with 80° lenses for my 200 gal (79"x 28"x 22"(waterlevel) the fixture is going to hang 7" or 8” from the water surface.
16 XM-L-nw - 40 XM-L-cw and 64 XR-E- RB. These 64 RBs are going to be hooked up on one Meanwell HLG 185H-30B (6.2A)
The choice of this driver is well considered and calculated; 1 string of 8(LEDs)x 3.5(Vf)= 28 volts, this is below the max output,
8(strings)x 700mA= 5.6A - is again well below the max output
So 8 strings parallel of 8 LEDs in series, driven @ 700mA, pulling 0.7(A)x 3.5(Vf) x 64(LEDs) = 156.8 watts is also below the max output.
I,am a little conservative when it comes to electricity by not squeezing out all of the juice from the driver, moreover, it leaves some “upgrade potential”
Maybe something to think about too.

 

[jrf83317]

If anyone plans on buying some of these LEDs please PM me as I will need much less then what is required for an order and will be happy to add to yours and help pay for shipping

 

[Mangodude]

If anyone plans on buying some of these LEDs please PM me as I will need much less then what is required for an order and will be happy to add to yours and help pay for shipping

Who will you be purchasing from and where ya located? Thanks!

 

[Bugcrusher]

I planned on 80 fedy leds with a large china PS 200-36 @ 5.2A. One LED bad so 7 string of 10 and 1 string of 9..will this work still or am I flirting with disaster?

 

[Roblox84]

Are most people pleased with these Fedy leds? I read through a couple of posts stating that these leds weren't that good so I was just wondering if I should buy them because I do not want them to go bad after a few years and have to switch them all out for cree's anyway's.

Also, has anyone thought about using bridgelux leds from china? I have ordered several led fixtures for resale from china and they all use bridgelux leds. They are probably almost as cheap as fedy's but maybe a little better.

 

[Jimmy54]

The FEDY LEDs are Bridgelux ... or Epistar, you can choose.

 

[truebeliever71]

Are most people pleased with these Fedy leds? I read through a couple of posts stating that these leds weren't that good so I was just wondering if I should buy them because I do not want them to go bad after a few years and have to switch them all out for cree's anyway's.

Also, has anyone thought about using bridgelux leds from china? I have ordered several led fixtures for resale from china and they all use bridgelux leds. They are probably almost as cheap as fedy's but maybe a little better.

I am very happy with mine. My corals look great and I'm noticing a lot of growth in the short month that I have been running them (much better growth compared to my dual 175W mh/T-5 fixture.

One thing I don't think anyone can speak for is the longevity of these LEDs and drivers since we just started using them the beginning of the year.

With that said I highly recommend them as well I'm sure the others do too.

 

[letoan]

Are most people pleased with these Fedy leds?

Me and a buddy completed 3 fixtures so far, all with Fedys, Mean Well drivers, and 60 degree optics.

First one are 28 LED 2:1 white blue ratio for my 28g Nano Cube to replace 150w 14k MH and best of all it doesn't overheat this little tank like MH does to it.

The second one are 48" with 100 LED 1:1 ratio for his 75g, he loves it so far.

The 3rd one are mine, 68" 112 LED 2:1 ratio for my 6' which I haven't fill yet.

 

[Roblox84]

The FEDY LEDs are Bridgelux ... or Epistar, you can choose.

Well ok then, in that case I have dealt with these for the past year and I agree then, they are real nice leds. Even buying the minimum 100 blue and 100 white will cost me tons less then cree's, LOL. Not like I want to buy that much, but do most of you just end up buying the minimum number or is there another place that sells them in lesser quantities?

Would you think that 108 of these leds would be ok for a 125 gallon 6 foot tank? It has 2 crossbars which make 3 sections at the top of the tank. So I would use 36 leds per section

 

[Roblox84]

Me and a buddy completed 3 fixtures so far, all with Fedys, Mean Well drivers, and 60 degree optics.

First one are 28 LED 2:1 white blue ratio for my 28g Nano Cube to replace 150w 14k MH and best of all it doesn't overheat this little tank like MH does to it.

The second one are 48" with 100 LED 1:1 ratio for his 75g, he loves it so far.

The 3rd one are mine, 68" 112 LED 2:1 ratio for my 6' which I haven't fill yet.

How do you like the 2:1 look as compared to the 1:1? I'm also planning on doing a 6 foot long tank using 36 leds per section

 

[Steven M]

I planned on 80 fedy leds with a large china PS 200-36 @ 5.2A. One LED bad so 7 string of 10 and 1 string of 9..will this work still or am I flirting with disaster?

I have one you can have, I am in New Port Richey 34655

 

[Typlus5]

Had to delete a pic...sorry for the double post.

 

[Typlus5]

Here is my build. After researching and seeing Jae's tank, I was in! I have 134 LEDs total on a 150gl (60x24"=1440 sq in) tank. I have 10 RB /100 18K FEDYs and added a 48" ReefBrite (24RB) for the total of 134 LEDs. I'm using 1 small and 1 large FEDY driver and both are working great. Through my controllers I'm running the reefbrite, small and large driver seperately making my own Mini-dawn to dusk schedule. My nightime veiwing is absolutely stunning. Here are the Pics...
Raw Materials - 3" channel for the frame

Blues and Whites

Whites - 18,000K Fedy

Upper side (business end)

On the tank

Sorry about the phone pic suckiness....

Well, there it is. I've very pleased with the outcome...color to the eye is what I was after. It has a slight VHO pink twinge to it that I love.

 

[Bugcrusher]

I am looking at the meanwell 185-36 @ 5.2A driver. I am planning 9 leds/string with 8 strings for a total of 72 leds. I have one of the china CV 36V 200W drivers with a single output...don't want to risk having it melt down while I am at work. Will the meanwell drive my led array?

 

[jbird0420]

Good Job Bro!Looks Great!!!
I'm doing the same on my 180g. I got the kit, custom heat sink, and ballasts. All I have to do is put it all together. If I have any questions, can I reach out to you for some help??? Cuz I'm going to need it..lol!

Here is my build. After researching and seeing Jae's tank, I was in! I have 134 LEDs total on a 150gl (60x24"=1440 sq in) tank. I have 10 RB /100 18K FEDYs and added a 48" ReefBrite (24RB) for the total of 134 LEDs. I'm using 1 small and 1 large FEDY driver and both are working great. Through my controllers I'm running the reefbrite, small and large driver seperately making my own Mini-dawn to dusk schedule. My nightime veiwing is absolutely stunning. Here are the Pics...
Raw Materials - 3" channel for the frame

Blues and Whites

Whites - 18,000K Fedy

Upper side (business end)

On the tank

Sorry about the phone pic suckiness....

Well, there it is. I've very pleased with the outcome...color to the eye is what I was after. It has a slight VHO pink twinge to it that I love.

 

[Typlus5]

Of course Jbird, let me know if you need anything.

 

[jbird0420]

Will do! Thanks!
How do you like it overall some far, compared to what you had before??

Of course Jbird, let me know if you need anything.