DIY LEDs - The write-up

[jkopp36]

I am having a hard time finding a vendor willing to work with me on making sure I get a new enough HLG-240 to have the 3-way dimming. Any suggestions?

I like the idea of not having to redo the setup to accomodate 3 ELNs and being able to stick with the HLG but I may be outa luck.

 

[rogermccray]

roger, I would recommend using tighter optics (maybe 40 degree) which may also require the LEDs being mounted higher.

I hope this helps.

So, if I focus it then I move it higher does that mean I would need to add more LEDs or by moving it higher would it spread out more.

One thing I don't like about having it too high is that I have a child that will be looking up into the tank and I don't want him to end up staring into the LEDs. I assume it will be fine for him to look at them through the water, but I don't want him to stare straight at them.

 

[rogermccray]

And thanks for the info

 

[TheFishMan65]

The tighter optics will cause the light to penetrate deeper for the 30 inch tank. But because the cones of light are tighter it will take more height for them to mix. Your best bet might be a few extra LEDs and spread them out a little more than normal. How high can you (are you willing) to go?

 

[S2minute]

Wb!!!!

Wb!!!!

This is how I approach the problem:

1) decide which models/bins of LEDs you want.
2) determine how hard you want to push each one, i.e. what percentage of its max current you will run, which of course determines efficiency and output.
3) now that you know the output per LED for each color, pick the mix ratios to get the overall color you want. Then pick the total count to get the overall intensity you want.

This may seem either trivial or too complicated, but my point is this: you should be making decisions about color mix with efficiency and overall intensity in mind. When you use dimming to solve major color issues, you are drastically impacting efficiency and overall intensity.

Alittle off topic but, DAMN Welcome Back Wille! Thought we lost you for good!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

So, if I focus it then I move it higher does that mean I would need to add more LEDs or by moving it higher would it spread out more.

One thing I don't like about having it too high is that I have a child that will be looking up into the tank and I don't want him to end up staring into the LEDs. I assume it will be fine for him to look at them through the water, but I don't want him to stare straight at them.

As long as your child is looking through the front/side glass and water, he will never actually see thee LEDs thanks to refraction/reflection at the various interfaces. If you have an open hood, all bets are off.

Alittle off topic but, DAMN Welcome Back Wille! Thought we lost you for good!

Thanks. Not gone for good, just sidetracked by life.

 

[rogermccray]

The tighter optics will cause the light to penetrate deeper for the 30 inch tank. But because the cones of light are tighter it will take more height for them to mix. Your best bet might be a few extra LEDs and spread them out a little more than normal. How high can you (are you willing) to go?

As long as your child is looking through the front/side glass and water, he will never actually see thee LEDs thanks to refraction/reflection at the various interfaces. If you have an open hood, all bets are off.

Looks like I will have to build a hood for these lights, so if I go too high it might look a little silly. I do have 9' ceilings and this tank and stand is big so, that will help (215 gallon so 72"x18"-24"x30" with another 36" of height for the stand).

How high off the tank would you be thinking? Also how many LEDs? I was thinking around 72 with 50/50 white/blue count, but am very willing to change because I know very little about LEDs and lighting in general.

 

[TheFishMan65]

DWZM just posted optic height somewhere. Found them

80's: 12-18 inches
60's: 16-22 inches
40's: 24+ inches

IMHO you can go a little lower than his numbers, but play with them and see what you like.

72 might be enough some people will say as high as 144. I am thinking maybe 108. 36 per 2 foot section. What do you want to keep?

I would do a 2:1 ratio of royal blue to white. For the white I think I would mix 50/50 cools and neutrals. Once again color is personal.

 

[emora]

I've tried a 5k, 10k, and 100k pots. All are so sensitive between full dim and full on (barely have to rotate shaft) that they are unuseable. Besides, being able to dim via my Apex was a fairly important positive to converting to LEDs.

According to the spec sheet a 10kohm resistance connected directly to the dim wires will give you 10%, 20kohm = 20%, and so forth up to 100kohm = 100% power. Therefore, you will need a 0 to 100kohm pot.

 

[emora]

Sorry, didn't read to the end of the thread before answering. I see that you already got your answer.

 

[vietcu]

Not sure if this has been answered, but figured I would ask as I was unable to find the answer in "search". I got my lights up and running and working fine. Running in parallel, 8 blues per line. I have one meanwell running those two lines. I have another line running 8 whites with a separate meanwell. This is just a temporary setup for a swap that I will be attending. My question is could I connect the two meanwell to one walwart with 2 pots to control those lines? One pot would control the 2 blue lines, while one would control the white line. But would both be connected to the same walwart, is this at all possible?

 

[brassmonkyballs]

Not sure if this has been answered, but figured I would ask as I was unable to find the answer in "search". I got my lights up and running and working fine. Running in parallel, 8 blues per line. I have one meanwell running those two lines. I have another line running 8 whites with a separate meanwell. This is just a temporary setup for a swap that I will be attending. My question is could I connect the two meanwell to one walwart with 2 pots to control those lines? One pot would control the 2 blue lines, while one would control the white line. But would both be connected to the same walwart, is this at all possible?

If they are dimming versions the answer is yes. You don't mention if you already have them set up with 2 walwarts so its not clear. But yes same power supply powers both pots...dimming wires from each driver go to their own pot.

 

[rogermccray]

DWZM just posted optic height somewhere. Found them

IMHO you can go a little lower than his numbers, but play with them and see what you like.

72 might be enough some people will say as high as 144. I am thinking maybe 108. 36 per 2 foot section. What do you want to keep?

I would do a 2:1 ratio of royal blue to white. For the white I think I would mix 50/50 cools and neutrals. Once again color is personal.

Right now I am not sure what i am going to be keeping. Since this is my first tank I think I will keep it simple and stick with LPS and softies, but might want to add SPS down the road.

Thanks for all the info.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Optic choice and height are definitely linked, but you have lots of freedom. What i would encourage you to do is design your most desireable hood height/style/placement from a purely aestetic perspective, then go see if appropriate optics are available. Don't feel that you HAVE to use certain optics or a certain height. On a deeper tank it is usually suggested to go with narrower optics, but you that is just narrower than you might for a given height above the water, if that makes sense.

 

[Jbshifter]

Ok so I've read the majority of this thread :wildone: and just wanted some opinions about which way I should go. I am setting up a 90g reef tank. 48"x18"24" I want to be able to keep SPS and Clams. Would like to get PAR readings of 900+ 3" from the surface of the water and at least 300 PAR at the sand bed. (Deep 2-3" sandbed, so 20" of water).

1) Buy 2 units of the Mazarro P @120w total (These things look sweet and there are some great tanks out there with these on them).

2) Buy the cheap DIY kit of 90LEDs out of China (Aquastyle)

3) Build a DIY of the Mazarro P units at probably 1/2 the cost and since I'll be using a hood anyway all my less than stellar aesthetics won't be seen.

If I copied the Mazarrow LED layout I'd want to go with dimmable drivers and go in parallel, probably utilizing some form of U-channel for my heat sink and rail system so I can adjust where I want the light to be focused as I plan to have 2 rock out-croppings with some sand in between.

Thanks for the input RC members,

John

 

[brassmonkyballs]

Ok so I've read the majority of this thread :wildone: and just wanted some opinions about which way I should go. I am setting up a 90g reef tank. 48"x18"24" I want to be able to keep SPS and Clams. Would like to get PAR readings of 900+ 3" from the surface of the water and at least 300 PAR at the sand bed. (Deep 2-3" sandbed, so 20" of water).

1) Buy 2 units of the Mazarro P @120w total (These things look sweet and there are some great tanks out there with these on them).

2) Buy the cheap DIY kit of 90LEDs out of China (Aquastyle)

3) Build a DIY of the Mazarro P units at probably 1/2 the cost and since I'll be using a hood anyway all my less than stellar aesthetics won't be seen.

If I copied the Mazarrow LED layout I'd want to go with dimmable drivers and go in parallel, probably utilizing some form of U-channel for my heat sink and rail system so I can adjust where I want the light to be focused as I plan to have 2 rock out-croppings with some sand in between.

Thanks for the input RC members,

John

I always recommend DIY for a number of reasons including: make exactly what you want, fully servicable, fully upgradeable, fully customizable...not to mention you will save money and get the satisfaction of knowing you made it.

If money is not an issue and you would rather buy than make I would consider the new EcoTech LED units. I like the addition of reds and greens and expect a great overall spectrum. Though I question the part about running the XPGs at 5W..... Nice control capability on all colors individually is a nice touch. Price is high.

Last thing is you definitely do not want that much PAR at the top or the sandbed...you do not need that much to grow anything you mentioned...and you will likely cook most your SPS. Not telling you what to do just saying based on experience you don't need it if you want color and life. LEDs are sometimes getting a bad rap recently and IMO and experience its due to way over-lighting the tank and animals.....

 

[Jbshifter]

I always recommend DIY for a number of reasons including: make exactly what you want, fully servicable, fully upgradeable, fully customizable...not to mention you will save money and get the satisfaction of knowing you made it.

If money is not an issue and you would rather buy than make I would consider the new EcoTech LED units. I like the addition of reds and greens and expect a great overall spectrum. Though I question the part about running the XPGs at 5W..... Nice control capability on all colors individually is a nice touch. Price is high.

Last thing is you definitely do not want that much PAR at the top or the sandbed...you do not need that much to grow anything you mentioned...and you will likely cook most your SPS. Not telling you what to do just saying based on experience you don't need it if you want color and life. LEDs are sometimes getting a bad rap recently and IMO and experience its due to way over-lighting the tank and animals.....

First off, thanks for the quick reply and input!

I agree that the DIY is the most economical way to go. Have you seen this set up? http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1965294 I think the bleaching is more an issue of acclimation over blasting them with too much. As he clearly has the PAR numbers, and I'd like to try and mimic that considering his success. The star of my tank will be a Magnificent or Ritteri anemone.

Definitely leaning toward the DIY as I love to tinker with things and just got done rigging and hanging 2xCF 65w (wired it, attached to reflector and made a hanging kit for it) over my 20g fresh planted tank. I would like to be able to dim and control them via a controller and use some of the newer XM-L for doing a mid-day blast. I'm still trying to figure out the color scheme and LED combo, but the custom Mazarra's that Acrotrdco has look nice on my screen color wise. I've always been a fan of more 12-15k light than the 20k more actinic look. If anyone would like to hold my hand after I do some more research and get my LED's figured out along with a driver I'd appreciate it greatly as the only electrical knowledge I have is from these threads.

 

[bigrock]

Quick question for you experts

I used 22 gauge wire for my led to LEDs, but I need to run wire about 10 feet to my drivers from the LEDs. Should I increase the wire size for the long run to 18 gauge?

Thanks

 

[firechild]

There will be less resistance in larger wire so it's a good idea to switch to 18 guage for that kind of distance. You could run 22 AWG without an issue though.

 

[rogermccray]

Optic choice and height are definitely linked, but you have lots of freedom. What i would encourage you to do is design your most desireable hood height/style/placement from a purely aestetic perspective, then go see if appropriate optics are available. Don't feel that you HAVE to use certain optics or a certain height. On a deeper tank it is usually suggested to go with narrower optics, but you that is just narrower than you might for a given height above the water, if that makes sense.

Yeah, thanks for all the info. I will try and figure out what I want for aestetics (aka what my wife wants ) and see what I can with lights in that.

Thanks for the help.