DIY LEDs - The write-up

Status
Not open for further replies.
killarsox said:
The Solana is 20x20x20. I've currently got one setup, which I run a 150w Hqi with 20k bulb. I just purchased another, and I'm debating between another reef or a seahorse tank, but another reef is prevailing. Coral wise I'd be keeping a bit of everything only a few SPS pieces though. As far as height above the tank, i'd like to use some sort of hanging kit, to attach to the fixture to the stand rather than the ceiling. LED color wise, I'd like something that gives good growth but at the same time makes the corals colors pop. I'm thinking about a planted reef tank, i'd like to incorporate some nice marine plants/macros into the tank.
Click to expand...

Extrapolating from "typical" mixed reef builds posted on here, you'd probably be best off in the ~30 - 35 LED range. The coral colors will pop no matter what if you use the standard mix of cool white and royal blue - you can just alter the proportion to suit your taste. Assuming you're using all same-model LEDs (i.e. Q5 XR-E or XP-E for cool white, and XR-E or XP-E for royal blue), a 50:50 ratio is the most common. It looks about like a 10kk MH lamp with strong actinic supplementation.

If you want a planted marine tank, I'm not sure what to suggest, since I don't know much about lighting requirements for marine plants.
 
I thought about string, but with the fuses if one goes they all go - and I'll have kust left for vacation:)

Hense my search for an inexpensive drive - of course I am building that myself. dwzm has a thread on that.
 
Ask me next week. :lol: The answer will be different.

I've used them on a few of my experimental, nano-sized builds, as a learning process. I will likely use them on a small number of LEDs on my big tank. Since I'll be at around 200 LEDs, spending $1 - $2 per LED for optics would be a non-trivial investment, when I probably don't really NEED them. (Some XP-G optics are more like $4 - $5!!!) My LEDs will be close to the surface under normal operating conditions and I actually want some gradient of high light to low light from the top to the bottom of the tank, so I can create a "realistic" aquascape with lower-light corals near the floor. If I want clams or other high-light livestock on the bottom of the tank, I'll just add some extra LEDs to that part of the array, or use optics on a few LEDs in that area.

But, for sure, I will have optics on a small number of LEDs I'll be using for some "special effects" on the tank.
 
Hense my search for an inexpensive drive - of course I am building that myself. dwzm has a thread on that.
Click to expand...

Yes, been following that thread. Theres some very in depth stuff in that thread. Maybe I will diy drivers in the future and sell the meanwells. But for now I will just keep going the way I'm going. (yeah right)
 
please forgive me if you guys recognize my request from a couple months ago. I had everything typed up for my LED Actinic build, and I suffered a hard drive crash on the computer it was saved on.

Back to square one -_-

I've got a 180 Gallon Tank (6x2x2)

I'm going to be using the LED Arrays for Actinic Supplementation only. Main lighting is taken care of by (3) 250 Watt HQI Phoenix 14K on Icecap Ballasts with Lumenbrite Reflectors.


Which/How many LED's would you recommend. And I would need to know how many and which kind of driver I would need.

The LED's don't need to be able to be dimmed or anything like that.


Also what websites is everyone buying their LEDS and Drivers from? I remember the Heat Sinks were from Heatsinkusa.com I'm pretty sure..



Thanks for the help.... Again lol.
 
nanotuners.com or rapidled.com are probably your best bet. Or cutter if you don't mind shipping from Oz.

It's really hard to suggest a LED count for supplementation only since it's pretty much a personal taste thing. I'd probably start with 24 or 36, and use meanwell drivers (the non-dimmable PLC series) if you don't want dimming.
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
Ask me next week. :lol: The answer will be different.

I've used them on a few of my experimental, nano-sized builds, as a learning process. I will likely use them on a small number of LEDs on my big tank. Since I'll be at around 200 LEDs, spending $1 - $2 per LED for optics would be a non-trivial investment, when I probably don't really NEED them. (Some XP-G optics are more like $4 - $5!!!) My LEDs will be close to the surface under normal operating conditions and I actually want some gradient of high light to low light from the top to the bottom of the tank, so I can create a "realistic" aquascape with lower-light corals near the floor. If I want clams or other high-light livestock on the bottom of the tank, I'll just add some extra LEDs to that part of the array, or use optics on a few LEDs in that area.

But, for sure, I will have optics on a small number of LEDs I'll be using for some "special effects" on the tank.
Click to expand...

ahh nuts. I was hoping you knew of some 'flood' type optics for these tiny leds. I know what you're saying about the prices though! I considered individual reflectors and cutting them back a bit to raise the FWHM and then i saw prices and forget that! Price was one of the reasons i was looking over larger diffusers like fresnel lenses and such. I've seen some linear optics that might be alright but they're also pretty expensive.

The first reason i want optics is efficiency. The second reason is comfort. The fixture is going to be hung out in the open like santoki's and widmers only not so high up near the ceiling because of a ceiling fan. It wont be in a canopy and so anyone who goes near the tank is going to be blinded, which isn't good, cause i like going near my tank. what good is it if every time i sit on the couch in front of it I end up seeing spots instead of fish?? :lol:

I think I'm just going to build this thing and hang some sheets of paper off of it to shield our eyes until I can figure out something that works.
 
My tank is going to be built in, so I don't really have to worry about spill, except from an efficiency perspective.

If I were in your situation, I'd definitely use optics, and fashion some kind of "barn door" adjustable blind for the sides of the fixture to cut glare.
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
nanotuners.com or rapidled.com are probably your best bet. Or cutter if you don't mind shipping from Oz.

It's really hard to suggest a LED count for supplementation only since it's pretty much a personal taste thing. I'd probably start with 24 or 36, and use meanwell drivers (the non-dimmable PLC series) if you don't want dimming.
Click to expand...



Thanks bud. How many of the meanwell drivers would I need for 36 LEDs?


A side from basic soldering tools and knowledge, I'm a bit lost as far as electricity goes.
 
Man this thread spreads like a hefty sack full of chicken soup dropped from the 100th floor...


Skeptic_07; Go ahead and do the parallel! Just follow my instructions that I did somewhere around here! :)


Bending U or Angle. DO NOT TRY THIS. You will be greatly annoyed and displeased with the result. Both of those materials are designed specifically NOT to bend.

You can, however, saw out triangles in certain places that remove the stiffness in the plane of interest and then bend them very nicely. Just notch out the same angle you want the bend to be.

Math: Math is not a great idea for optic on tanks. You should just mock up a sample and see what you get. Math will lead you down the wrong paths You know, the one with the guy with an axe yelling something about Johnny... Not because the math is inherently bad but because makers of optics aren't always accurate or they play fast and loose with their numbers. Do it empirically.
 
kcress said:
Bending U or Angle. DO NOT TRY THIS.
Click to expand...

Glad you posted this. When I first read it I almost said something too.... my concern would be even if the bend was "successful", you would likely end up with a non-flat surface and the star bases wouldn't get full contact, but it could be slight where you dont notice and start losing LEDs down the road from thermal stress.


Breaking the long channel into smaller groups like somebody mentioned above is a good idea so you can orient them at specific coral areas if you need to.
 
I thoguth it would be hard and not supposed to bend, but bstorer made it sound like he had bent so I was just checking. And I may go with three pieces still deciding.

And I agree that math is not perfect, but it does give some idea of what they might need. If the find they need a 30 degree lens (I haven't seen any - not to say they don't exist) for instance they might want to rethink. Especially if they are considering the XP-G which I think only has one lens right now.
 
I thought it would be hard and not supposed to bend, but bstorer made it sound like he had bent so I was just checking. And I may go with three pieces still deciding.

And I agree that math is not perfect, but it does give some idea of what they might need. If the find they need a 30 degree lens (I haven't seen any - not to say they don't exist) for instance they might want to rethink. Especially if they are considering the XP-G which I think only has one lens right now.
 
LED Distribution

LED Distribution

SimonSKL

I hope you have read all the comments about lens - so this will only give you the warm fuzzies, not real answer. I think I heard EXPERIMENT.

Well that stinks, It is TOO big.

PM me with your email and I will send it to you.
 
ReefEnabler said:
This guy has made a 3x XP-G capable of 1100 lumen min WITH driver on the board... the way all the parts are jammed in there looks pretty risky but what do I know :)
Click to expand...

That's a fairly common approach for high-end LED flashlights and other applications where you need to cram everything into a small package. Cutter sells a lot of drivers meant to basically be stacked on the LED MCPCB like that.

The most common multi-LED MCPCBs are probably Endor Stars, which use Luxeon Rebels. Of course they're not quite as intense as XP-Gs.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
DIY AI-coded ESP32 based aquarium controller
Replies
0
Views
314
ronnyking
R
AquaticReefTV
DIY Cable management time lapse
Replies
1
Views
531
S|\/|S
S
AZBigJohn
New Build... I'm back
Replies
15
Views
449
Dustin07
D
B
Beam Deflection - 15 years and I finally broke down and wrote a how to.
Replies
16
Views
923
BeanAnimal
B
A
Fleece filter bypass problems (Innovitech X filter)
Replies
1
Views
43
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
Back
Top