DIY LEDs - The write-up
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In case anyone was wondering the shear strength of the epoxy is ridiculously low...I took a flathead, put it against the star, tapped it with another screwdriver and it popped clean off.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
I am planning a new tank;
30in L x 20in W x 18in H
I have the ATI 6x24watt Sunpower. I bought it for less than half price...it was a steal; brand new, but ATI had wired the fans wrong and hence fans wouldnt work, so it was sold at less than price. Was fixed in less than 20 minutes after I had a play around with it!
Anyway, I have all the bits (LED's and Meanwell power supply etc), and have the know how to execute this in terms of fitting and ensuring adequate cooling etc.
Here lies the issue:
The ATI Sunpower has one cord going into the light unit. This cord is 7 cored and consists of the following:
1x earth wire - (1 wire)
1x connection to the ballast that lights up tubes 2+5 (2 wires)
1x connection to the ballasts that lights up tubes 1,3,4,6 (2 wires)
1 x connection for the cooling fans (2 wires)
I dont want to mess around with having extra wires going into the unit in order to use 2 Meanwell LPC 35-700 drivers. Also, having 24 LED's in there will mean cooling is going to be tougher to achieve...
So to finally get to the point, if I replaced the two 24watt T5 tubes with 12 Cree Royal Blue LED's running at 700mA would that be a comparable replacement? Each Meanwell will only drive a maximum of 12 Cree RB LED's. So I can only fit 12 LED's if I want to maitain the clean supply into the light unit.
I plant to either use the LED's without optics and use a suitably designed reflector to reflect all the light down.
OR use 80 degree optics.
The reason for this idea is:
1. I will have shimmer when the tank is in LED mode only, and I may have some slight shimmer when both LED and T5's are lit.
2. I will only need to replace 4 tube every 10 months, instead of 6.
3. T5 tubes cost a bit in the UK, so as I have the bits already (may need a few new LED's) I am making a saving right away. It will be a saving of £38 every 10 months which is $55 US.
4. I love the flourescence made by Royal Blue LED's.
5. It is proven that LED's grow SPS corals. It is proven too, that T5's grow and COLOUR SPS corals quite well. This ought to be a very good combination.
6. I will have the full spectral quality with the use of 2 x T5 ATI Blue+, 1x T5 Fiji Purple and 1x T5 AquaBlue Special, so there shouldnt be a lack of spectral quality.
7. PAR with 4x T5's and 12 Cree Royal Blue LED's ought to be very good for a tank that is only 18inches deep (will be more like 16inches once filled in etc).
So will 12 LED's at a total of about 25watts (3watts at 700mA x 12 LED's) be an adequate replacement for 2 T5 tubes at 48watts?
Your thoughts and experiance please!
Here is the bottom of the Sunpower and where I will place the LED's:
Many thanks.
30in L x 20in W x 18in H
I have the ATI 6x24watt Sunpower. I bought it for less than half price...it was a steal; brand new, but ATI had wired the fans wrong and hence fans wouldnt work, so it was sold at less than price. Was fixed in less than 20 minutes after I had a play around with it!
Anyway, I have all the bits (LED's and Meanwell power supply etc), and have the know how to execute this in terms of fitting and ensuring adequate cooling etc.
Here lies the issue:
The ATI Sunpower has one cord going into the light unit. This cord is 7 cored and consists of the following:
1x earth wire - (1 wire)
1x connection to the ballast that lights up tubes 2+5 (2 wires)
1x connection to the ballasts that lights up tubes 1,3,4,6 (2 wires)
1 x connection for the cooling fans (2 wires)
I dont want to mess around with having extra wires going into the unit in order to use 2 Meanwell LPC 35-700 drivers. Also, having 24 LED's in there will mean cooling is going to be tougher to achieve...
So to finally get to the point, if I replaced the two 24watt T5 tubes with 12 Cree Royal Blue LED's running at 700mA would that be a comparable replacement? Each Meanwell will only drive a maximum of 12 Cree RB LED's. So I can only fit 12 LED's if I want to maitain the clean supply into the light unit.
I plant to either use the LED's without optics and use a suitably designed reflector to reflect all the light down.
OR use 80 degree optics.
The reason for this idea is:
1. I will have shimmer when the tank is in LED mode only, and I may have some slight shimmer when both LED and T5's are lit.
2. I will only need to replace 4 tube every 10 months, instead of 6.
3. T5 tubes cost a bit in the UK, so as I have the bits already (may need a few new LED's) I am making a saving right away. It will be a saving of £38 every 10 months which is $55 US.
4. I love the flourescence made by Royal Blue LED's.
5. It is proven that LED's grow SPS corals. It is proven too, that T5's grow and COLOUR SPS corals quite well. This ought to be a very good combination.
6. I will have the full spectral quality with the use of 2 x T5 ATI Blue+, 1x T5 Fiji Purple and 1x T5 AquaBlue Special, so there shouldnt be a lack of spectral quality.
7. PAR with 4x T5's and 12 Cree Royal Blue LED's ought to be very good for a tank that is only 18inches deep (will be more like 16inches once filled in etc).
So will 12 LED's at a total of about 25watts (3watts at 700mA x 12 LED's) be an adequate replacement for 2 T5 tubes at 48watts?
Your thoughts and experiance please!
Here is the bottom of the Sunpower and where I will place the LED's:
Many thanks.
TheFishMan65
New member
mpc,
Use royal blue for the 'pop'. Blues just don't do it.
sahin, IMO 12 won't do it. I watched an onlne seminare and IIRC flourscent and LEDs provided about the same amount of light per watt. I don't hink they were comparing to some of the more efficient (and expensive) LEDs. Also reflectors don't work with LEDs becuase there light is already some what directed.
Use royal blue for the 'pop'. Blues just don't do it.
sahin, IMO 12 won't do it. I watched an onlne seminare and IIRC flourscent and LEDs provided about the same amount of light per watt. I don't hink they were comparing to some of the more efficient (and expensive) LEDs. Also reflectors don't work with LEDs becuase there light is already some what directed.
Sahin,
A few pages back I posted a similar idea. But I'm going to replace lamp 2 and 4 on a ATI 6 x 39 watt T5.
I allready have a 2 x 16 CREE DIY Led fixture at 700 mA without optics.
It gives at least as much light as 2 x 39 Watt T5, I think a bit more, but I don't have any PAR-data.
In my rebuild of my Sunpower (an old one) I will go for mainly ( at least 2/3) CREE XP-G (or XP-M if they are avialable any time soon).
The blue spectrum I wil manage with T5.
This because I want a bright shimmer effect on mid day ;-) And the Sun set dimming of the fixture will be done with dimming the blue T5,
A few pages back I posted a similar idea. But I'm going to replace lamp 2 and 4 on a ATI 6 x 39 watt T5.
I allready have a 2 x 16 CREE DIY Led fixture at 700 mA without optics.
It gives at least as much light as 2 x 39 Watt T5, I think a bit more, but I don't have any PAR-data.
In my rebuild of my Sunpower (an old one) I will go for mainly ( at least 2/3) CREE XP-G (or XP-M if they are avialable any time soon).
The blue spectrum I wil manage with T5.
This because I want a bright shimmer effect on mid day ;-) And the Sun set dimming of the fixture will be done with dimming the blue T5,
I bought Cree leds but before I put them on heat sink it'll be nice to test them.
Few weeks ago I found (probably even in this thread) method with AA battery. But now I can't find it :-(
Am I correct that I have to use 3 AA battery and connect it for a moment to LED to check if it works fine? (or 3 AA will be too much?)
I don't want to destroy LEDs
Few weeks ago I found (probably even in this thread) method with AA battery. But now I can't find it :-(
Am I correct that I have to use 3 AA battery and connect it for a moment to LED to check if it works fine? (or 3 AA will be too much?)
I don't want to destroy LEDs
Last edited:
Design help
Design help
I am designing a ~15 Cree XP-G LED fixture (w/ dimming, 100% will be just below 1000mA) that I want to suspend 2' to 3' (possibly adjustable) above a 24"x12"x15" tank. I am having difficulty deciding on the spacing and optics to get 80-120 micromols of PAR at the substrate when driving the LED's at 100%. I also would like to minimize the light spill into the room and light hitting the inside glass. With the current design I have in mind the LED's will be able to rotate slightly either left-to-right or front-to-back depending on which way would be more useful.
Thanks!
Design help
I am designing a ~15 Cree XP-G LED fixture (w/ dimming, 100% will be just below 1000mA) that I want to suspend 2' to 3' (possibly adjustable) above a 24"x12"x15" tank. I am having difficulty deciding on the spacing and optics to get 80-120 micromols of PAR at the substrate when driving the LED's at 100%. I also would like to minimize the light spill into the room and light hitting the inside glass. With the current design I have in mind the LED's will be able to rotate slightly either left-to-right or front-to-back depending on which way would be more useful.
Thanks!
TheFishMan65
New member
I think you will have to build it and measure. You can get ideas from others par reading, but I think every tank is different. Your build sound a lot like mine, I finally devised away to get left right and front back control. Although I had to give a little and control 6 LEDs at a time for front back - otherwise I might never finish. You will likely need to locate something better than 40 degress for those heights, depending on how much you can tip them.
I partially goofed when explaining how the LED's could be adjusted. They will either be able to rotate left-to-right and slide front-to-back, or rotate front-to-back and slide left-to-right. In effect, spacing/positioning would be adjustable one way and tilt angle the other way. Which way depends on how I set it up, which way would most likely be more useful?
TheFishMan65
New member
IMHO tilt front to back and angle left to right. That way you can tilt off the front glass and slide in from both edges.
Reefobsession
New member
How many LED's for a 93 gallon (30"X30"X24"Tall) heavy SPS tank. I was thinking about going with 96 100% dimmable with four 5.9"X9" heat sinks. Should I go with 60 or 80 degree optics.
How will this setup compare to my large lumenbright 400W fixture?
I would be buying the premiumpackage through rapid LED.
Is there any other cheaper way? It will cost me around $1100
How will this setup compare to my large lumenbright 400W fixture?
I would be buying the premiumpackage through rapid LED.
Is there any other cheaper way? It will cost me around $1100
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
96 high quality HP LEDs will be WAY WAY more light than a typical single 400w MH. If you want to recreate a typical high-end 400w MH rig (i.e. a higher output lamp in a good reflector), you should probably aim in the range of 50 - 60 LEDs, IMHO.
Reefobsession
New member
Thanks for your help! That is a relief that it is going to cost a lot less now. I am thinking abou doing 48 LED's with a 4 Bulb ATI fixture.
redhanded77
New member
What thickness acrylic should I use for a splash shield? Would the difference in thickness affect par levels?
TheFishMan65
New member
You don't need much 1/8 IIRC is what most are using. Yes the thinker material will block a little more light, but not much more.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
I would even say that 48 with 4 HO T5's is probably too much, unless you really, really want the most intense tank on the planet. If you're set on using 4 T5's with the LEDs, then I'd probably drop down to 30 - 36 LEDs.
Thicker will result in slightly more PAR loss. The tradeoff is that thin acrylic is just a pain for this use - it warps easily in these moist/hot environments. So it's hard to suggest a specific thickness without knowing more about the overall design.
redhanded77
New member
Thanks for the responses. The splash shield will measure 47x17 inches. The outer 1" perimeter will supported. I just don't want much sagging of the splash shield in the middle of the fixture.
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