der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
That will be fine. Best is pretinned wire, as it will be more resistant to corrosion problems. And you want something with good insulation.
DIY LEDs - The write-up
- Thread starter JohnL
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S2minute
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LEDs
LEDs
Last week i went to one of the "local" pet stores in VT where i buy my corals. Their main tank is a 155 or 175 bowfront. The corals and fish in their look so incredibely viberant and healthy. Four inches from the tank surface are 3 LED light hoods covering each section with 72 LEDS per section (blue and white). I was told each section was equal to a 250W MH. Here`s the catch. The LEDS were only 1w!
LEDs
Last week i went to one of the "local" pet stores in VT where i buy my corals. Their main tank is a 155 or 175 bowfront. The corals and fish in their look so incredibely viberant and healthy. Four inches from the tank surface are 3 LED light hoods covering each section with 72 LEDS per section (blue and white). I was told each section was equal to a 250W MH. Here`s the catch. The LEDS were only 1w!
TheFishMan65
New member
seti, you should be able to configure it that way and fuses are probably your best protection.
S2Minute, interesting I was reading another thread that was talking about 20 3W being equal to a 250 Watt MH. It appears that 60-72 watts maybe equivalent to a 250 watt MH. The issue maybe optics though. You could use optics and get light down that is equvalent but not to the sides. Any one else got any thoughts on this.
S2Minute, interesting I was reading another thread that was talking about 20 3W being equal to a 250 Watt MH. It appears that 60-72 watts maybe equivalent to a 250 watt MH. The issue maybe optics though. You could use optics and get light down that is equvalent but not to the sides. Any one else got any thoughts on this.
S2minute
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LEDs
LEDs
...humm, i forgot to ask about optics but i do remember taking a close look under those hoods and i don`t recall seeing ANY optics on those 1w LEDs. I just recall the shield over them as the leds were arranged in strips. I do remenber him saying each 2` section goes for $700! each!
LEDs
...humm, i forgot to ask about optics but i do remember taking a close look under those hoods and i don`t recall seeing ANY optics on those 1w LEDs. I just recall the shield over them as the leds were arranged in strips. I do remenber him saying each 2` section goes for $700! each!
chrisfowler99
Premium Member
Sounds like the AquaIlluminations Sol
S2minute
New member
LEDs
LEDs
I had bookmarked the site where the LED fixtures came from. This is what they are. Jason at the store said he had added or substituted RB strips to the fixture. I guess that may be an option. However that Bowfront looked stunning. The corals looked as healthy as those on any natural reef. I dunno, maybe 3w LEDs arent needed, maybe optics are overkill too as far as PAR? http://www.ecoxotic.com/products/panorama-led-lighting/panorama-led-fixtures.html
LEDs
I had bookmarked the site where the LED fixtures came from. This is what they are. Jason at the store said he had added or substituted RB strips to the fixture. I guess that may be an option. However that Bowfront looked stunning. The corals looked as healthy as those on any natural reef. I dunno, maybe 3w LEDs arent needed, maybe optics are overkill too as far as PAR? http://www.ecoxotic.com/products/panorama-led-lighting/panorama-led-fixtures.html
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der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Don't get hung up on a LED being "named" with a specific wattage - it's misleading and inappropriate. Any LED can operate over a wide rage of power levels - for instance, the typically-used Cree XP-G can effectively operate from 1w (or less) to more than 5w.
In the end, it boils down to selecting LEDs and power levels that meet your criteria. If the LEDs you really want (because of color, pricing, or whatever) are best run at 1w, based on your criteria, then - yeah - you'll be running "one watt LEDs." But only because of your design choices, not because 1w is inherently desirable. And someone else might be running those same LEDs at 2w, or 3w!
Similar story with optics - it's very hard to make a broad statement like "optics are overkill" because their application can vary so widely. It's certainly possible to have a fixture where optics are not required, or even undesirable, but it will depend on LED choice, drive current, height above the water, desired penetration and spread, and so on - optics themselves are not inherently good or bad, they're just a tool to help you design something that meets your requirements, if appropriate.
TheFishMan65
New member
I don't remember where the links are and I am familiar with the fuse idea not how to specify. If no one else chimes in I will give you my best guess, but let's wait and see if a knowledgable reefer chimes in.
S2minute
New member
LEDs
LEDs
I said maybe about the optics wille
but, that tank does look incredible. SO much information on these threads about this it`s overwhelming I do think i`ll take your advice willie and do 1-2 very small builds 1st. Then i can see just how many options i then have. Plus, being a noob, making a mistake will not hurt as much with a very small build while i gain exp. with the builds themselves. Just for curiosity i read this about violet light. http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2010/11/leaves_glow.asp
LEDs
I said maybe about the optics wille
but, that tank does look incredible. SO much information on these threads about this it`s overwhelming I do think i`ll take your advice willie and do 1-2 very small builds 1st. Then i can see just how many options i then have. Plus, being a noob, making a mistake will not hurt as much with a very small build while i gain exp. with the builds themselves. Just for curiosity i read this about violet light. http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2010/11/leaves_glow.aspTheFishMan65
New member
Probably 20 and maybe even tighter.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
3 - 4 feet up I would absolutely go tighter than 40. I agree with fishman, 20 will probably be about right. But you're definitely in the sort of situation where you need to buy a few optics and experiment, as there haven't been a ton of builds at that height.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Depends a bit on tank depth but 16 - 24" seems to be the sweet spot for 40's.
SpacedCowboy
New member
Doing the maths:
- How wide is your tank ? The one I'll be hanging LEDs on is 24" wide
- How high above the water line do you want to go - I'm going for 24" again
So, assume an LED in the middle of the tank. It's 12" into the tank's depth, and 24" above it. Simple trig for working out the half-angle to the edge of the tank says:
tan theta = 12 / 24
=> theta = tan^-1 0.5, or roughly 26 degrees.
=> full angle of 52 degrees
So a 40-degree optic (assuming that's your full-angle spread, which I'd expect it to be, not half-angle spread) on an LED at the midpoint of your tank's depth would put all its light into the tank. In theory.
As you move the LED out towards the edges of the tank, you move the cone of light in lock-step, so you'll start to spill over the edges.
I'm going to be hanging 6 (or 7 depending on how 6 do
) pendants 24" (deep) x 12" (wide) over an 8' tank, and I plan to run around the 'outside' of the tank's light-fixtures with 5-degree optics, using 40-degree optics for all the others. You could go with 20-degree optics on the second-row-in, but at this point I think the law of diminishing returns kicks in...Simon
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Simon, the problem with trying to do the trig in that manner, is that LED optics are named by a FWHM (full width at half max) angle. So it's not the full viewing angle, it's the angle at the intensity point that's half the maximum intensity. So not only does it not tell us the actual full spread, it doesn't really even tell us much about the distribution. I've seen optics with the same FWHM angle that had vastly different distributions. I really wish the math would give us answers here but I think we're "stuck" with trial and error...
Ok I have a problem with my build ...
I am using XRE CW and RB. I am planning for 90leds on my 125G. I wanted to do half CW half RB. I am using the cat4101 to drive them. So the build is 3x 30leds
Each module:
5 rows of 6leds strings (6led because the cat4101) ... My problem is with 5 rows I can't do the 50/50 (or on the last string, can I drive 3leds CW and 3Leds RB ??). I can't either doing 6rows of 5leds string because my power supply give me minimum of 20V ... will be to high for the cat4101 ... Any suggestion ???
thanks
I am using XRE CW and RB. I am planning for 90leds on my 125G. I wanted to do half CW half RB. I am using the cat4101 to drive them. So the build is 3x 30leds
Each module:
5 rows of 6leds strings (6led because the cat4101) ... My problem is with 5 rows I can't do the 50/50 (or on the last string, can I drive 3leds CW and 3Leds RB ??). I can't either doing 6rows of 5leds string because my power supply give me minimum of 20V ... will be to high for the cat4101 ... Any suggestion ???
thanks
rcgates
Premium Member
add another string to each panel ;-) so you have 3 white and 3 RB strings on each
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
You can definitely mix different colors on the same string. It's really no big deal. If you're really concerned about nailing the color ratio, I'd suggest ordering 5 or 10 of each and playing with them to see how you like it.
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