DIY: Steve's LED's module

I don't mean to step out of line in a thread that's been moderated, but his post did not contain any solid information. I, too, would like to see specifications on these LEDs in a format comparable to the specifications we get from major manufacturers, because that would let us know what we're really working with here, instead of just a vendor saying "trust me, these are really good."
 
Is there a good way to caculate the LED needs for a tank? I'm confused at the LUX/PAR levels attained by the LED's. If I'm running (2) 250 MH with (2) VHO's... How do I know the correct amount of LED's to purchase?

Some state that they run their LED's at 70% instead of 100% to extend the life of the LED's. I would think this would affect the PAR as well so extra LED's would be needed to offset the difference.
 
starmanres said:
Is there a good way to caculate the LED needs for a tank? I'm confused at the LUX/PAR levels attained by the LED's. If I'm running (2) 250 MH with (2) VHO's... How do I know the correct amount of LED's to purchase?
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Check the main LED thread and read back a few pages - TheFishMan65 posts a summary every few pages that describes a typical build and addresses these questions.

Some state that they run their LED's at 70% instead of 100% to extend the life of the LED's. I would think this would affect the PAR as well so extra LED's would be needed to offset the difference.
Click to expand...

LED output has a nearly linear relationship with drive current. Efficiency of all LEDs drops off as drive current (and temperature) increases, so there's some decay in the curve, but generally, a higher current results in a higher output, but also lower efficiency (meaning less light per unit of electricity consumed) and higher heat production.

LEDs are rated with a MAXIMUM current, i.e. a current you should not exceed. They are also typically rated for some specifications at a (lower) nominal current. So, there's really no concept of "100%" since the LEDs are specified to operate over a large range of currents.
 
IME, there is no LED manufacturer out there which specifically produce LEDs for reef aquarium use since the market is very narrow and it is very expensive technology. Demand for this type of use brings them very little capital return therefore manufacturing such LEDs are pointless for them. Since I have advertise my company on Alibaba.com as a LED importer, my email inbox folder get flooded everyday with junk marketing emails from various Chinese manufacturers claiming that they have LED which they have designed for marine aquarium use only.....what a load a crap..... been there, tried them and I tell you what....NEVER EVER trust them again and trust me I have bought tons of LEDs from various manufacturers. $2 LED for specifically manufactured for reef aquarium use...sorry but I don't buy that for a second.
 
his advertizing may be false but yea as long as they do the job and last they are worth it.

so overall they are equivelant to cree leds.
heat, brightness, color, size

i was thinking about ordering from him but wasnt sure if they were knockoffs that would crap out. and i just went and bought some cw cree leds from a reefer on here yesterday. oh well i can still order the royal blue ones from steve.

i do have one real question related to the meanwell driver can it be plugged straight into the outlet or does it need a power supply. i havn't really read into them yet
 
I'm going to agree with his advertisement being way off... He's claiming anywhere from 90%-96% efficiency for his set up.You're trying to tell me with 600w worth of power going through the system I'm only losing 24w-60w in heat?

On top of that he claims that his power supplies are IDENTICAL to MeanWells, and even gives the MW's datasheet... So are they re-branded MW's or another false statement? From what I see he's also using eBay LED's that are around 25lm/w, not very efficient compared to XP-G's at over 100lm/w. So price to output ratio is still in favor of the Cree dies...

Don't get me wrong, the LED's will work, will grow coral, be bright, but not quite the best bang for your buck....
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
Check the main LED thread and read back a few pages - TheFishMan65 posts a summary every few pages that describes a typical build and addresses these questions.



LED output has a nearly linear relationship with drive current. Efficiency of all LEDs drops off as drive current (and temperature) increases, so there's some decay in the curve, but generally, a higher current results in a higher output, but also lower efficiency (meaning less light per unit of electricity consumed) and higher heat production.

LEDs are rated with a MAXIMUM current, i.e. a current you should not exceed. They are also typically rated for some specifications at a (lower) nominal current. So, there's really no concept of "100%" since the LEDs are specified to operate over a large range of currents.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your help! :)
 
can the statement about 25lm/w be backed up? or are you saying that because they look like your standard ebay HP 3W led. That's a serious gap, and will push me to go CREE for my 40Breeder
 
Living life on the edge gentleman. I'll be enjoying this risk for now. I just wish I had numbers to be able to do a decent comparison between the leds.
 
If it works for you, that's great. The most obvious issue is you're burning a LOT more power than you'd be burning to get the same light out of known-good LEDs. For some people, that might not be a big deal.

There might be other potential issues but it's hard to predict. Can we trust spectral/color specifications on a no-name product? Maybe, maybe not - but again, if it looks good to you and grows your corals, the numbers don't matter.

Can we trust lifetime projections on no-name products? I'd say probably not, but again, who knows?

On a small, or experimental, or short-term tank, these LEDs might be fine. Or if someone is looking to "practice" before building an array of expensive LEDs, they'd be a good low-cost option. But if you're the kind of person who likes to know what you're getting, I'd say it's pretty clear that you should steer away from these products - besides the clear lack of a datasheet, again, there are big gaps in the info that IS posted on the website.
 
I agree with you dwzm. If you're about to light a 6ft tank that you've already invested a boat load of time and money into it wouldn't make sense to use untested, unproven materials. You want reliable proven results from a trusted source.

like you said for a short term experimental setup it can make sense, like in this application. Now if we could get XP-G's down to $2 a pop. :D
 
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This reminds me of Blasterman's rants..

Anyway, a single LED die/chip produced at one factory is not the same as a single LED die/chip produced at another... the LEDs spoken of here have two chips whereas the XRE/XPE/XPG that most of us are using have three or four, yet these use the same amount of power. Even if they used the same chips as "the porsche", they would only be putting out 1/2 to 2/3 of the light.
Really though I wouldnt say it's about porsche vs lexus. For a lot of us it's about getting the most efficient use of the power consumed, so it's more like nissan leaf vs toyota prius or something just as ridiculous LOL
 
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Steve, before you get another smack on the wrist I don't think you should bash on RC's sponsor practices.

You do present a good point but we do want to see a data sheet to confirm that, yes the LED's do in fact live up to the standards set out by companies like Cree. Bashing a Lexus from your Porsche is kind of difficult when you have the data sheet telling you it'd beat you in a drag race... when it's purely speculative you can say whatever you want. However, if you can show me the sheet of paper telling me your Lexus will spank or keep up with a Porsche... sign me up.

EDIT: "...ugh I wouldnt say it's about porsche vs lexus. For a lot of us it's about getting the most efficient use of the power consumed, so it's more like nissan leaf vs toyota prius or something just as ridiculous LOL"

So true.
 
I thought i would chime in here since i have tanks with both cree's and Steves leds. I Diyed a cree setup for my bc14 a couple years ago and i will always be a believer in leds having run reefs with MH, PC, and VHO. So it was obvious that i was going the LED route when i set up my BC29 frag tank. Unfortunatley at the time i could not afford the crees and went with steves which i saw on the DFWMAS.org of which i am a member. Since a picture is worth a thousand words....

Cree left Steves Right
IMG_4575.jpg

I have six blue and six cool whites on the 14g and started out with a mix of 26 blue white and greens on the 29g. I got alot more blues from steve because i think 6 and 6 on the 14 was way too white.

IMG_4580.jpg

I blew up all the greens by shorting them out which was my own fault (notice the dead leds) and only have a potentiometer on the brightest ones. (you can see the bottom left are not at 100%)

IMG_4582.jpg


IMG_4585.jpg

I recieved the leds, drivers, heatsink tubing and positive pressure fan from steve and assembled them myself because i was in a hurry. (if you cant already tell by the picture) Im sure he would have done a much cleaner job of the project than i because i have seen some of his work on other members tanks.

IMG_4593.jpg


IMG_4596.jpg


The spectrums are very close but not 100% the same. I have moved coral back and forth between the tanks and the all do fine. Some do better in one or the other for instance my Green birdsnest grows somewhat faster under the crees while my red monti cap grows much faster under steves leds. Overall i am very satisfied with both the crees and steves leds. If money was no hurdle i might go with the crees but i have zero complaints with steves leds and would recommend them to anyone.

DFW forum where steve answers alot of questions
http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=66885

My cree build link
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=210122
 
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