DIY LEDs - The write-up

[TheFishMan65]

They bin for brightness so brighter bins for us are considered better. They are more efficient at the lumens/watt.
They also bn for color. For instance the Royal blue come in 3 bins I believe. The difference is the high point in color 450, 455, 460 nm. I am not sure we can always tell a difference.
The problem is that if you just say neutral white you might get one that is toward the red end or toward the blue end. Both are neutral, but could give slight different results.

 

[murphreef]

^ yea that makes sence as a rating system but thats over my head and more than i want to get into it haha just want to put something together that will give me some nice colors and cut down on the electricity used by a 250W HQI ballast that is really sucking about 320 watts to light my bulb

 

[TheFishMan65]

IMHO until you see it is hard to say (I am still waiting - sigh). That is why most started with cools and royal blues. Everyone thought they wanted a blue tank. After seeing it they decided they wanted some read. Some more (added red LEDs) than others (added neutrals). I think you have to build and then adjust to what you want or get several and try them. Gee have I heard that before.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

FishMan is correct. There are brightness (efficiency) bins and color bins for most LEDs. With respect to brightness bins, you pretty much want to get the best available. People often concentrate on the brightness bin for white LEDs - for cool white XP-G, the best is R5. However, it's equally important to make sure you are getting a good bin for the royal blues - perhaps more important, since there is typically a larger chance that a "hobby level" supplier will have a poor bin for colored LEDs, and there's a larger bin-to-bin difference for colored LEDs.

With respect to color bins, it's harder to say. There isn't a single "right" answer as far as which color bin is best. There are definitely differences that most people would easily detect in side-by-side tests, but it's generally personal preference as far as which bin is "best" and it's hard to know which you will like until you've seen them.

 

[murphreef]

right on can you guys recommened a place to get stuff from or PM me the info. There is a weatlh of info on these LED's I had no idea it's getting more clear now I appreciate the info guys! It's pretty crazy how far these LED's have come. Do you guys have these set up on your own tanks at home? would 24 LED's over my tank be over kill?? I mean realistically since my tank is a AIO set up i only have about 14" x 18" of actual aquarium space... I think my 250DE 14K Phoenix is a bit over kill on the colors of my corals but it sounds like LED's are just as bright

Thanks!

 

[TheFishMan65]

Still working on mine. 24 is probably a little over kill, but 12 would be to little IMHO. I have ordered from all over so I cannot recommend a one site supplier.

dwzm - bottom of last page did you see my question?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I had an 18*18 nano that I ran in a few configurations, from 8 LEDs to 24. In general I agree with FishMan - 24 might be a hair too much (but you are currently running 250w of MH!). 12 is almost certainly not enough, given what you're currently using. 16 - 18 might be "normal" for a tank that size. If you have the cash, I'd buy 24 LEDs and plan on settling for 18 - 22 or so based on the colors you like. I'd probably order 2 or 3 neutral white XPG, 4 - 6 cool white XP-G, 2 or 3 plain blue, and the rest royal blue.

I don't think there is a single best site to order everything from. You basically have to choose if you want a "reef hobby" vendor, or a more industrial-oriented vendor. The reef-hobby vendors typically don't have the capacity to offer different bins - or sometimes to even tell you which bin you're getting. The industrially oriented vendors will more typically have several bins to choose from, and often better prices, but they're a little more difficult to order stuff from, since they expect that you know what you're doing.

Fishman - I was generalizing across the board. For cool whites, the XR-E is only officially available in Q5, though I've seen at least one vendor advertising R2, which the XP-E is officially available in. For royal blue, you're correct, they're both available in 16 - though I only know of a few vendors that actually have it.

 

[S2minute]

Guys n gals as for color bins, Cree stated they recently changed how they bin colors. This read is very interesting: www.cree.com/products/pdf/LED_color_mixing.pdf
They even have a prog where you can combine multiple bins to get an even more specific bin for the color your looking for.

 

[murphreef]

I had an 18*18 nano that I ran in a few configurations, from 8 LEDs to 24. In general I agree with FishMan - 24 might be a hair too much (but you are currently running 250w of MH!). 12 is almost certainly not enough, given what you're currently using. 16 - 18 might be "normal" for a tank that size. If you have the cash, I'd buy 24 LEDs and plan on settling for 18 - 22 or so based on the colors you like. I'd probably order 2 or 3 neutral white XPG, 4 - 6 cool white XP-G, 2 or 3 plain blue, and the rest royal blue.

I don't think there is a single best site to order everything from. You basically have to choose if you want a "reef hobby" vendor, or a more industrial-oriented vendor. The reef-hobby vendors typically don't have the capacity to offer different bins - or sometimes to even tell you which bin you're getting. The industrially oriented vendors will more typically have several bins to choose from, and often better prices, but they're a little more difficult to order stuff from, since they expect that you know what you're doing.

Thanks man good insight on color choices. I am looking on line found a few different places that sell these industrially with different Bin codes but man i have no clue what this means at all haha!

I guess im guna have to spend more hours reading this stuff gives me a headache! :fun5:

I gota figure out all the things i need i guess the bulbs, the driver, the wiring, the plugs, the heat sink and the mounting brackets.... Is there anything I am forgetting?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

cutter (in Australia) and ETG Tech are probably the two most common "industrial" sources.

As far as stuff you need - you've pretty much listed it all.

 

[S2minute]

Hey all I`ve been tinkering with the math...and i`m understanding the process a bit better I know i should leave my LED numbers alone....but, i cant make it stop!!:spin1: So, this is what i came up with. This is what i will stick with unless you big guys find some flaw in the math. Here it is:

1x HLG-240-42B for 60 White XP-G 1000MA Vf(3.3), (20WWR3,40CWR5) @ 5 strings of 12
1x HLG-240-42B for 88 RB Vf 3.5@ 700MA(not sure of specific bin(s) yet..D16???) @ 8 strings of 11
1x HLG-185-42B for 80!...yes 80! Violet Vf 3.8 @ 500MA (8 strings of 10)
The only thing i did not factor in is for how many and what OHM resistor or what size fast blow fuses to use....plese let me know. Nor, any specific bin colors. That`s about 76 LEDs per section on a 175 Bow.

My old system: 4x 96w PC(2 blue7100k,2-03)/ 2x 110w VHO 03 and 3x 250w 6500k Iswaski MH for a total of 1354w!

This setup 553ish watts for a difference of just over 800w!

Big question?...will this setup be equal to or better than the 3x 250W MH i have now?
Here`s the other thing: The heat sinks. Undrilled or tapped i`m looken at 452 holes! MIN vs. Drilled n tapped: an extra $147. I`m leading towards $147 lol.
Any input please

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I really think you need to put the brakes on and order a few dozen LEDs to see how you like them. The numbers and colors you're posting are certainly viable but a little off the beaten path. Personally, I'd ditch the warm whites in favor of neutral whites (warms are REALLY red) and I'd drop the number of violets in favor of more royals (IMHO royals produce plenty of "pop" and violets are just really weak in appearance). Again though this is largely based on personal preference - something that's hard to pinpoint until you've seen this stuff in person.

I think you'll find the overall intensity for your planned rig will be higher than the intensity you're getting from your current rig.

Regarding the heatsink - I wouldn't pay extra for someone to drill holes. Definitely not that much extra. For $147 you could easily buy a nice smaller drill press (I think that's about what mine cost) and do it yourself. Or, if you're worried about the time and effort, just use thermal epoxy instead.

 

[S2minute]

I really think you need to put the brakes on and order a few dozen LEDs to see how you like them. The numbers and colors you're posting are certainly viable but a little off the beaten path. Personally, I'd ditch the warm whites in favor of neutral whites (warms are REALLY red) and I'd drop the number of violets in favor of more royals (IMHO royals produce plenty of "pop" and violets are just really weak in appearance). Again though this is largely based on personal preference - something that's hard to pinpoint until you've seen this stuff in person.

I think you'll find the overall intensity for your planned rig will be higher than the intensity you're getting from your current rig.

Regarding the heatsink - I wouldn't pay extra for someone to drill holes. Definitely not that much extra. For $147 you could easily buy a nice smaller drill press (I think that's about what mine cost) and do it yourself. Or, if you're worried about the time and effort, just use thermal epoxy instead.

WOOPS that was a typo Willie, i ment NW not WW heh ANd i do have a Drill press LOL...i`m just like MAN lol. I`ll prob do it the hard way. "off the beaten path" yep that`s most deff me but, i`ll prob rob a bunch of them violets and switch um to RB. I just thought that color and wavelength were really good for the corals.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Violet does add good pop, and it's within the range of photosynthetic light, so it will help with growth, but it just doesn't LOOK like much otherwise. Meanwhile with royal blue, you still get the pop and the growth, but it also adds plenty of visible light. Again though, just personal preference...

 

[S2minute]

TYVM for the advice Willie 1x HLG-240-42B for 60 XP-G White(20 NW, 40 CW)
2x HLG-185-48B for 120 RB
1x HLG-100-20B(adj down to 17) 4.8A(adj down to3A)
for 24 Violet.
How many and what type of resistors i need and fast blow fuses?? what amps?
All you guys have been awesome to us noobs man. Real benefit to the hobby

 

[widmer]

S2minute- I'm just dropping in, haven't read more than the most recent few posts, but have you seen this yet:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17783831&postcount=4994

 

[TheFishMan65]

S2minute, the link that widmer pointed you to is only one of 3 so if you find it helpful be sure and read all 3.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17783831&postcount=4994
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17783836&postcount=4995
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17783843&postcount=4996

 

[CJO]

There is a lot of spread with the XP-Gs. I would look into using 60 degree optics if that is possible for you.

I currently am running cool whites and have some neutral whites on order to try out, but don't have any experience with them yet.

CJ

 

[S2minute]

Leds

Leds

No, guys , i had not seen that before! Awesome! HEH, it`s pouren rain out and cold, i just woke up and brewen a BIG mug of Coffee. Time for a good read!! Thanks!

 

[Gumph]

Quick Q:

What gives the best look, 1NW-2RB or 1CW-1RB?