Full Spectrum DIY guide

[Nanofreak79]

Dear friends
I have a 8x2.75x2.25 tank and currently running them on 8 panels of 24 LEDs each. Each panel has 4CW,4NW,13RB,3blues currently

The coloration is good but not great and after much research found that people are adding ultra purples , deep reds and turquoise for better spectrum. So thought why don't I try replacing 5 panels with the new setup. And retain 3 with the previous config

Currently looking at the following combo:
Each panel will be of 32 leds consisting of
4 XTE cool whites
5 XTE neutral whites
11 XTE Royal blues
4 XPE blues
6 Chinese make ultra purples
1 Chinese make deep reds 660nm
1 Chinese make turquoise

This entire setup with be fitted into a 15" x 7.5" heat sink to make one panel

Planning to do an Aluminium board and use reflow solder to get the emitters soldered into the board so that there will be minimum wiring.
The AL board will be fixed onto the heat sink using screws and heatsinking compound.
I plan to use 5 CATs to drive them as follows:
1 - 6 RBs
2 - 4 CW and 2 NW
3 - 3 RBs and 3 NW
4 - 2 RBs, 4 blues
5 - 6 deep purples
The green and red will be driven separately each by some circuit which I don't know how


My major questions during circuit design are:
1. can I mix the XTE RBs and XPE blues as in the 4th Chanel as above ?
2. How can I do a circuit to drive just one red and just one green , any basic circuit available to drive a LED with PWM option?
3. Will the above combo of LEDs work for a full spectrum option, plan to cover an area of 2'9" x 1'6" of the tank with this panel At a height of 12"

Kindly help me out here to do the design perfectly

Here's a link for your pwm single circuit driver? I think?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Super-simple-high-power-LED-driver/
As far as your combo goes for exotics, if I'm understanding you correctly you have one panel total. I would do either 4 reds and 4 greens, or do three to four groups of your R,CB and Cyan or T. I'm not sure what ultra purple is? I'm guessing TV? If so I would use something around 8-10 of those.
I would not mix blues and royals on the same channel, IME you can lose color control. Your not using many blues, but seeing as you should up the amount slightly it will make a difference and they could become overpowering. I also would not put RB and whites on the same channel JMO. When mixing all these colors you want as much independent control as possible, or you'll end up kicking yourself later. Hope this helps, if I need to elaborate anymore LMK.

 

[Nanofreak79]

man i wish there wasw more you tube videos on that heatsink from people lol all i found is some dude that bought a 72" one lmao i cant even imagine how many leds would fit on that thing lol.

of coarse having the room to space the clusters is nice which is another reason why i like this, its just nice to know if you needed or wanted to put a bunch more on there you can.

in my case for a 2x2x2 tank i could probably get away with using the 12 inch fixture. but becuase i was thinking of doing around 36 leds and want some extra space i am going to opt for the 18" as well.

my only uncertainty is do i spend the money to essentially build this thing for fun and experimentation on a tank i will be tearing down in the coming months. on the other hand it would be good practice for when adress the lighting for the 120g sitting here waiting.

I would build it! It'll give you experience and some idea of what is going to work for your new tank. Also you can purchase one more 18" down the road for the other side of your 120. Then just copy the layout you already have or adjust it to your liking when you complete the other fixture.

 

[wackeeash]

It was kicking around in my head so I had to do it on sketchup, if not I wouldn't stop thinking about it, lol.

Primary:
100w 14 or 20k Multichip
8 Violet/UV
4 Blue
4 Cyan
4 Orange/Red (but thinking deep red instead)

Night Time/Lunar
2 Moon
2 Red

Each of the different colors would be on separate drivers so they can be adjusted until the look I want is achieved. The multichip (at least some of them from my reading) can be split so that each of the separate colors in it can be put on different drivers.

Like I said, just an idea in my head ... I can't actually start my build until Oct or Nov.

 

[Blayz77]

I would build it! It'll give you experience and some idea of what is going to work for your new tank. Also you can purchase one more 18" down the road for the other side of your 120. Then just copy the layout you already have or adjust it to your liking when you complete the other fixture.

yeah i was also thinking that 2 18" should be enough for a 120. in reguards to your set up with the ocw leds are you planing to wire them so you can control each of the three colors seperate?

 

[Blayz77]

ok so for sure i would go with the 18" makers heatsink

im trying to figure out how many of what led i want/need? how many clusters would i need? which brings me to a ? when you guys are referring to clusters are you talking about how many leds you have grouped together? or is a cluster have somethign to do with the leds on a channel?

im thinking either 3 or 4 gorups of leds in the middle of each group would be an ocw. i know normally its common to have 2 rb per 1 white but since the ocw has blue in it will i still need to keep to the rough rule of 2/1 blue/white?

 

[Nanofreak79]

yeah i was also thinking that 2 18" should be enough for a 120. in reguards to your set up with the ocw leds are you planing to wire them so you can control each of the three colors seperate?

ok so for sure i would go with the 18" makers heatsink

im trying to figure out how many of what led i want/need? how many clusters would i need? which brings me to a ? when you guys are referring to clusters are you talking about how many leds you have grouped together? or is a cluster have somethign to do with the leds on a channel?

im thinking either 3 or 4 gorups of leds in the middle of each group would be an ocw. i know normally its common to have 2 rb per 1 white but since the ocw has blue in it will i still need to keep to the rough rule of 2/1 blue/white?

If your using neutral whites as a base color you will need more RB. Close to 3:1, the neutrals are more overpowering. As far as the OCW I would do four per side of the 120, or per 18" sink. Clusters are basically setting up your LEDs to minimize disco, and help blend your colors better to achieve a more uniform look. Depending on how many LEDs you go with, 2-3 clusters would work for the 18".

 

[Nanofreak79]

It was kicking around in my head so I had to do it on sketchup, if not I wouldn't stop thinking about it, lol.

Primary:
100w 14 or 20k Multichip
8 Violet/UV
4 Blue
4 Cyan
4 Orange/Red (but thinking deep red instead)

Night Time/Lunar
2 Moon
2 Red

Each of the different colors would be on separate drivers so they can be adjusted until the look I want is achieved. The multichip (at least some of them from my reading) can be split so that each of the separate colors in it can be put on different drivers.

Like I said, just an idea in my head ... I can't actually start my build until Oct or Nov.

This is really cool man! Can't wait to see this.......

 

[ologms12]

amazing``

 

[Blayz77]

i agree that picture is nice looking i am wondering what is being used for a circle heatsink?

 

[Blayz77]

If your using neutral whites as a base color you will need more RB. Close to 3:1, the neutrals are more overpowering. As far as the OCW I would do four per side of the 120, or per 18" sink. Clusters are basically setting up your LEDs to minimize disco, and help blend your colors better to achieve a more uniform look. Depending on how many LEDs you go with, 2-3 clusters would work for the 18".

well for now this is going on my 50 i guess there is no harm in setting up like it will be on my 120.

on my 50 atm is a 14k pheonix i tried a 20k before but i found this to be a little too blue for my liking. the 14k seems like a decent color visually to me.
when it comes to the whites ive seen you use the work cripser, what is meant by this? in terms of hue does that mean you lean more towards the yellowish white the bluish white or somewhere in the middle?

without personally being able to see it and just going by actual house light bulbs ive seen i know i am not a fan of the yellow side of white, i think i would prefer to be somewhere in between the yellow and blue favoring the blue side slightly if i had to choose. i would rather the white be white and rely on the blue leds to provide the blue.

so if that makes any sense which white leds would you suggest

 

[wackeeash]

i agree that picture is nice looking i am wondering what is being used for a circle heatsink?

I saw a 150mm circular heatsink online that might work for this, but the hole in the center of the heatsink was pretty large, so not sure it would work. If not, I was thinking a circular aluminum base with a smaller circular heatsink glued to it with thermal epoxy along with a fan on top and mounting bracket for hanging. Also been toying with the idea of a liquid cooled heatsink ... if I could find one I liked.

 

[Blayz77]

ok so after thinking about it for a little bit, im thinking my starting base will be something like this.

OCW = 4
CW = 6
NW = 3
RB = 14
Moon = 2

so after that i have some room to play around with other options. i do have some questions.
1. is this gonna be to blue, or not enough blue?
2. should i do all coolwhite or use nuetral and cool?
3. UV and TV are on the same side of the spectrum is it good to use both together? or should i just pick one.

let me know what i should change on the base colors. as far as other colors go i have more questions since the ocw seems to use r,b,g or at least thats the spectrum it shows on graph. am i going to gain anything by adding additional r,b,g? if so which and how many?

when it comes to cyan/orange/uv/tv/r/b/g..... what would you add to compliment the base?

 

[Nanofreak79]

ok so after thinking about it for a little bit, im thinking my starting base will be something like this.

OCW = 4
CW = 6
NW = 3
RB = 14
Moon = 2

so after that i have some room to play around with other options. i do have some questions.
1. is this gonna be to blue, or not enough blue?
2. should i do all coolwhite or use nuetral and cool?
3. UV and TV are on the same side of the spectrum is it good to use both together? or should i just pick one.

let me know what i should change on the base colors. as far as other colors go i have more questions since the ocw seems to use r,b,g or at least thats the spectrum it shows on graph. am i going to gain anything by adding additional r,b,g? if so which and how many?

when it comes to cyan/orange/uv/tv/r/b/g..... what would you add to compliment the base?

I'd stick with what you have. There are not that many neutrals, so you have enough blues, especially using the CW/10k. I'd use the TV's, and depending on what driver you use, figure out how many. I'd say no more than 10. As for the other colors such as orange, I'd play with what you have first.

 

[dunk373]

when building mine I'm trying to find out what heatsink to use I want one that won't need a fan. I was looking at c channel and different kinds. I saw a square aluminum 2.5" and if fans are recommended a 60 mm would blow right through this size what do you guys think check out this link.
http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-2530-8348-1-x-1-x-18-channel-6063-t52-aluminum-extruded.aspx
many types of aluminum but not sure if its worth this or just getting a finned sink

 

[Blayz77]

I'd stick with what you have. There are not that many neutrals, so you have enough blues, especially using the CW/10k. I'd use the TV's, and depending on what driver you use, figure out how many. I'd say no more than 10. As for the other colors such as orange, I'd play with what you have first.

The website says the cool white is 6500k do i have enough blue still if thats the case? Also i was only thinking about 3 or 4 TV or like 2 TV 2 UV split. Which do you think is best and whats a good number to have i was worried if using to many it would be overpowering.

 

[knight2255]

Please critique this setup for a 135g 72" X 18" X 25"deep tank:

39 - RB(36 on Driver A, rest on Driver C)
42 - 4500k(36 on Driver B, rest on Driver C)
4 - Red(Driver C)
12 - Blue(Driver C)
12 - UV(Driver D/moonlights)
12 - Actinic(Driver D/moonlights)

All dimmable via reef angel, all with 60 degree optics

 

[knight2255]

doublepost

 

[Blayz77]

Quick question when it says 36 leds equals 250w halide. Does this pertain to only white blue mix or does this account for total leds no mater color

 

[Blayz77]

Basically if i want to replicate a 250w halide does this mean i need 36 blue/white leds before adding color for flavor?

 

[chrishet]

Hi guys...newbie here...I am contemplating an LED build for my new tank build, a 40x22x18 Reef Savvy Tank, SPS dominated. I'm slowly drinking the koolaid...so I ordered a heatsink first, a 36" MakersLED - arrives Thursday.

http://www.clay-boa.com/makersled-designer-heatsink-kit-professional-grade/

Now I am in the research stage for the LED side and would appreciate some thoughts...basically I am following this build,

http://************.com/2012/08/27/hands-makersled-diy-heatsink/#more-61745

except I will be having 3 clusters and I am doubling the number of OCW stars to 2 per cluster....

18 – Cree 3 Ups (RB/RB/NW) – 6 in each cluster
18 – Exotic True Violet (TV) – 6 in each cluster
6 – Exotic OCW (CB/T/DR) – 2 in each cluster

for a total of:
36 RB
18 NW
18TV
6 CB
6 T
6 DR

and for some reason I cannot post a link to the build that I am emulating (on a well known reef building blog) nor the vendor that I wish to do biz with...very frustrating!!!