Doh! I can't Believe I missed the tank size. That is indeed way more than you need. For reference, I currently have 66 (62 and 4 moonlights) emitters on a standard 90 gal. 48x18, 24 tall so I have similar surface area and 1/3 more depth. My channels are all running between 45 and 60%. I'll be adding a couple more LEDs in the future but not because I need the light, just to get the color temp where I want it without cranking the one channel up higher than the others.Personally I think that is way too many LEDs for your tank size.
I disagree. This wavelength is at the edge of the visible spectrum, meaning the human eye doesn't "see" it that well. This does not mean that the light is not there or is of no use, violet (~420nm) is known to be used for photosynthesis by several pigments. 20 is overkill in this case, but only because there is too much of everything. For this tank size, you could probably cut everything in half.Also, I am not sure that I would waste the time and money with that many violet LEDs. IMO they really do not add much and certainly not enough to justify 20 of them. I have 12 of the on my fixture and am getting ready to replace them with other colors. If you do decide to use them make sure that you run them under 700ma or they will melt the lenses and burn out.
I'll cut it down a bit...perhaps 90-95...I can always throttle them down. I have a few more q's for you guys...
- what do run for moonlights?
- when you turn your lights off for the night do you dim to zero or do you power down the power supply completely?
-Chris
I haven't wired my fans yet, heat has not been a problem, but they will need a 12v source or I'll need to find some fans that can use the 48V supply.
I disagree. This wavelength is at the edge of the visible spectrum, meaning the human eye doesn't "see" it that well. This does not mean that the light is not there or is of no use, violet (~420nm) is known to be used for photosynthesis by several pigments. 20 is overkill in this case, but only because there is too much of everything. For this tank size, you could probably cut everything in half.
Thx Dave for the tips. I'll be adding a Moonlight string as well.
Btw my long term goal is color control, photography is my passion and I want some control over my imaging, however also I don't believe we (collectively) have this all figured out yet either. With my design I will have 8 channels of control using my Apex and I fully expect to be changing things up in the future....7 colors for now, more later...That RA controller looks nice...