DIY LEDs - The write-up
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chuckstyl5
Member
hey guys I have a 72 bowfront that I will be doing LEDs on --- Any recommendation on how many??? the tanks measure 48 x 18 x 22H ... I was thinking either 3 rows of 18 across but i was worried about the center brace or should i do 2 seperate heatsinks and do 4 rows of 7?? and then what optics do you think will be best? 60 or 80??? I just want to make it perfect the first .... Hope you guys can help me out.
charlie
charlie
widmer
Drug Enthusiast
I wonder how a person would drive the 7-up XPE/XPG from cutter? Too many LEDs for a buckpuck, too many to put two of them on a meanwell... If those aren't hot sellers, it probably has something to do with either that, or the ratio of blues to whites, or the fact that the blues and whites aren't separately controllable...
I bet they would make really fun headlights for a car though.
I bet they would make really fun headlights for a car though.
Neogenocide
New member
Hey guys,
I've been struggling with how I wanted to lay out my LED's on my 46G bow setup. I decided to work with a 10"x10" square heatsink which will come from heatsinkusa.com. I'm planning on building 2 separate units, one for each end of the tank. My thoughts with this design is to centralize the light on the rock formations centered on each end of the tank, but still provide ample light to the edges of the tank for some low light corals. Thoughts? I'm always open to constructive criticism.
Thanks,
Scott
I've been struggling with how I wanted to lay out my LED's on my 46G bow setup. I decided to work with a 10"x10" square heatsink which will come from heatsinkusa.com. I'm planning on building 2 separate units, one for each end of the tank. My thoughts with this design is to centralize the light on the rock formations centered on each end of the tank, but still provide ample light to the edges of the tank for some low light corals. Thoughts? I'm always open to constructive criticism.
Thanks,
Scott
widmer
Drug Enthusiast
Neogenocide:
Sounds like a great plan...You can sort of tell in my LED build that the light is centered in the middle 2/3 of the tank and tapers off to a very low level on the ends. It's a really cool effect. Of course how strong this effect is will be dependent on the tightness of optics you are using. My only critique is IMO I would inverse the location of the blue vs white LEDs, since from my experience, the blue seems to somehow be much more noticeable as the light intensity tapers off. My LEDs are perfectly alternated, but it appears significantly more blue off to the sides...
I'm guessing you wouldn't notice it very much if you use anything wider than 40 degrees.
If you haven't received the heatsinks in the mail yet, you are going to get a kick out of how tall the fins are. Actually, if you are planning on using any sort of fan whatsoever, I would probably advise you to buy the next size smaller, so that it is less bulky and heavy. Ten inches of that jumbo heatsink will really add up in weight.
Sounds like a great plan...You can sort of tell in my LED build that the light is centered in the middle 2/3 of the tank and tapers off to a very low level on the ends. It's a really cool effect. Of course how strong this effect is will be dependent on the tightness of optics you are using. My only critique is IMO I would inverse the location of the blue vs white LEDs, since from my experience, the blue seems to somehow be much more noticeable as the light intensity tapers off. My LEDs are perfectly alternated, but it appears significantly more blue off to the sides...
I'm guessing you wouldn't notice it very much if you use anything wider than 40 degrees.
If you haven't received the heatsinks in the mail yet, you are going to get a kick out of how tall the fins are. Actually, if you are planning on using any sort of fan whatsoever, I would probably advise you to buy the next size smaller, so that it is less bulky and heavy. Ten inches of that jumbo heatsink will really add up in weight.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Your LED count sounds fine. Optic choice would depend on how high above the tank the lights will be.
Cutter has the biggest selection of weird arrangements that I've ever seen. :lol: Luckily they also have the biggest selection of weird drivers, so the possibilities are endless.
Agreed!
chuckstyl5
Member
well if i do the setup the way i would like to the fixture would be approx 5" above the tank -- so do you think one whole heatsink or 2 individual ones???
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
5" above the tank won't really need optics - or really wide ones if you want them - but it also won't leave much room to get in the tank for maintenance!
Also, this has been pointed out a few times but IMHO bears repeating. Many people are starting to use XP-Gs for the cool white LEDs, and their viewing angle is naturally larger, which changes the "optics or no optics" question. Sadly there doesn't seem to be a good selection of wider optics for them though.
Also, this has been pointed out a few times but IMHO bears repeating. Many people are starting to use XP-Gs for the cool white LEDs, and their viewing angle is naturally larger, which changes the "optics or no optics" question. Sadly there doesn't seem to be a good selection of wider optics for them though.
TheFishMan65
New member
Neogenocide and Widmer
Widmer is the difference your seeing in blue and white deal with difference in angle for different colors? I think I saw that (at least with some lenses) the spread for a white vs blue LED is different. I can't find the reference right now. If the blue has more spread that may explain the blueness around the edges. The only problem is that I am remembering the white as having more spread. So doea anyone have a refenence to the the lenses that show the different color behavior. And is thes true of all lenses?
Sorry for not being much help, but at least if gives you something to think about:spin1:
Widmer is the difference your seeing in blue and white deal with difference in angle for different colors? I think I saw that (at least with some lenses) the spread for a white vs blue LED is different. I can't find the reference right now. If the blue has more spread that may explain the blueness around the edges. The only problem is that I am remembering the white as having more spread. So doea anyone have a refenence to the the lenses that show the different color behavior. And is thes true of all lenses?
Sorry for not being much help, but at least if gives you something to think about:spin1:
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
There's a 10 degree difference in viewing angle for the built in optic between XR-E cool white and XR-E royal blue, FWIW. That said, I doubt that has anything to do with it, because I've seen the blueness around shadows when using LEDs skewed in the other direction (i.e. 100 degree RBs and 125 degree CWs) so it must have something to do with the blue light behaving differently when it refracts in the water, or something.
I've also seen that it's much more pronounced on fixtures with lower overall LED counts, so people with big tanks probably won't see it as much.
I've also seen that it's much more pronounced on fixtures with lower overall LED counts, so people with big tanks probably won't see it as much.
cmashman
Member
Anyone know if this ledwholesalers light fixture is a gimic?
http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=512
http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=512
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
There's no reliable information on exactly what you're getting (model and bin of LEDs, efficiency of driver) so IMHO it's a total unknown. And given the super cheap price compared to what they're claiming it's good for, I would personally not trust it.
Skeptic_07
New member
whoops.. I always confuse them
Skeptic_07
New member
If you check the data sheets they actually have a lower forward voltage than XR-E (getting this right now.. dammit self) anyways.. you should be able to run 14 of them on one eln-60-48
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Cutter, ETG, nanotuners, rapidled depending on your quantity. There's always Dealextreme if you like to live dangerously.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Any of them will hit a reasonable temperature (for real solder at least) - you want to shop based on wattage, not temp. I'd suggest at least 40-50w. Stability is also important - you want an iron with a thermostat to keep the tip at a set temperature, not one that turns on and off randomly or one with a big rheostat. You want an iron that will be able to pump a lot of heat into the LED star in a short amount of time, but also one that will do it consistently instead of nailing one LED, then being too hot on the next, then too cold on the one after that.
Many people seem to like Weller irons. I'm currently using this:
http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-937-Dig...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1265661510&sr=8-1
It's essentially a Chinese knockoff of a Japanese knockoff but it's well built and does a great job at half the price of comparable "brand name" products.
Many people seem to like Weller irons. I'm currently using this:
http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-937-Dig...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1265661510&sr=8-1
It's essentially a Chinese knockoff of a Japanese knockoff but it's well built and does a great job at half the price of comparable "brand name" products.
Skeptic_07
New member
whichever iron you buy... get one with a stand.. or buy a stand for it.. (they sell them separately) talking from experience here. It sucks when you are working and you don't have a good place to put the iron down and you end up burning something or self.
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