saltwaterpicaso
New member
i dont have a apex controller i was just wondering if i still needed one if i bought the one from rapid
full spectrum led
- Thread starter saltwaterpicaso
- Start date
If you're interested in the sunlight/sunset effects of that controller, shoot RapidLED an email. They will answer your questions. They have good customer service.
saltwaterpicaso
New member
okay thank you did any of you guys check out that youtube video of the light im copying. i really like the color output
saltwaterpicaso
New member
Stusdesktop
New member
2012-11-17_13-28-28_260 by Em & Stu, on Flickr
2012-11-17_13-27-45_618 by Em & Stu, on Flickr
This is a fixture I'm building to go over the new 90g we're setting up.
I've been reading the LED threads and trying to get an insight for the most rounded fixture you can build. From reading and trying to understand what other people have done and even what the professional's are doing I came up with what you see above. Each of the lines you can see is 1 inch for reference. The second and fourth group of LED's have their pattern rotated by 90 degrees to the other groupings.
Each of the six focal points have 15 LED's right now in the following ratio's.
1 pink
2 420nm actinic
2 warm whites
3 cool whites
7 royal blue
1 driver controls the pink/actinic
2 drivers control the mixed whites
2 drivers control the royal blues
all drivers are dimmable although I am using meanwell drivers which aren't controllable via Apex, Reef Angel etc.
I'm thinking of dropping 12 cyan and 8 more 420nm actinics into the mix where you can see the pre-drilled holes on the aluminum plate.
Right now the fixture will cover most of the peaks that corals seem to require but there are some spots that need filling, specifically the 450nm - 500nm is lacking using only royal blues. I don't intend to add any red LEDS but decided to use pinks as they do have a peak into the red at 580nm - 610nm but also have a high peak in the 450nm range too.
I've also grouped the LED's rather than use the lines a lot of diy fixtures use. After reading the posts and the lack of light blending some people were having, I took a leaf out of the newer generation professional fixtures and grouped the LED's for better color mix.
All of the optics are 60 degree and the fixture will be between 12 and 18 inches over the tank. I still need to put the finishing touches to the wiring and add fans to the complete fixture. The fixture will have a gloss black acrylic top covering the wiring and also black acrylic sides and front. If I can get the new stand finished by Christmas I'll add pictures of the finished fixture hanging over the tank.
Hope that gives a little info on what I did and why.
zooman72
New member
Interesting layout/ set-up...not sure about the use of pinks though. I agree that you have a gap between 450-500nm, and the cyan at ~495 will help, but not sure you need 12 of them, maybe split them with 6 (or more) cool blues at ~470nm? Warm whites (if using a chip with a good spectral curve like the Luxeon 2700K) can actually have quite a bit of red light in the 630-660nm range, and so a dedicated red LED would not be needed.
Also, be careful with the violets - most don't like to be driven hard, and they put out alot of PAR relatively to visible light, so they appear dim but can stress corals, and some users have reported bleaching when adding additional violets to a mix...
Also, be careful with the violets - most don't like to be driven hard, and they put out alot of PAR relatively to visible light, so they appear dim but can stress corals, and some users have reported bleaching when adding additional violets to a mix...
saltwaterpicaso
New member
that looks pretty good cant wait to see it on a tank.
Stusdesktop
New member
Thoughts on the pinks; They are rated at 80 - 100lm @ 700mA with a 100% peak@450nm and another 70% peak@600nm (this peak actually ramps up from 50%@563nm and back to 50%@632nm). My thinking here was rather than a true red which might promote faster algae growth I wanted something that covered the red spectrum with less intensity. The pink fitted and gave the bonus of the 450nm peak too, if things don't work out then it's easy to switch the pinks out for something else.
The violets and pinks are on the same driver and with our testing out of water will run at about 30%. Our current tank is running with a true actinic t5 right now and the mix of 2:1 420nm to pinks gives a very similar color rendition (albeit that is to human eyes) and more importantly our corals seemed to enjoy the addition of the actinic over a white bulb. From rough and ready testing we have good color mix from 8 inches with no currently discernible disco effect so our 12+ inch height over the tank should be good.
I actually just ordered the rest of the LED's to finish the build and went with 12 regular blues and 6 cyan all with 60 degree optics. I'll add 2 blues and a cyan to each of the clusters currently on the fixture.
The fixture itself is welded 3/16 by 1 inch aluminum channel with 3/16 aluminum plate for the LED fixing. The channel is welded with the plates being bolted to the channel. All drivers will sit in the fixture with two 120mm fans for cooling (I have the option to double the number of fans if needed although with testing the plates are heavy enough to take all of the heat right now without fans). All LED's have 2 inch, 18 gauge wires soldered to them with the wires passing back through the plates. Each string of LED's has color coded wires so I can readily see which is which from the top of the fixture. All of the joints are soldered and have heat shrink covering them. Eventually the fixture will be ceiling or wall hanging with the manual dimmers being on one end of the fixture.
I still need to get out and pick up a connector for the power side of things. I want to be able to remove the fixture and have no leads hanging from the back when I do. Also have to clean the wiring up inside the fixture and zip tie the power and dimmer wires into bundles.
I don't expect the lighting to be perfect right away, I'm sure that the amount of LED's is actually overkill for a 90 gallon. What I am hoping is that the spectrum will be good for coral growth also be nice to human eyes and we don't have to run everything at 100% to achieve that.
You might be surprised. I have 34 bridgelux's (with 120 degree optics) about 4" above the waterline in my 7.5g nano.
I'm running 12 royal blues at 100%, 12 neutral whites at 25%, and a string consisting of 2 cool blue, 2 cyan, 2 deep red and 4 true violet running at about 90%.
I added a frag of eagle eye zoas last week (first coral addition) and placed them on the bottom. They opened up within 15 minutes of adding them to the tank. I ended up moving them to within 4" of the waterline (about 8" away from the emitters) and have not noticed any problems.
I was told over and over again that I had WAY too much light over the tank and that I would instantly fry anything I added.
zooman72
New member
Yeah, I have seen others (and a couple of companies) use pink for the same reason you mention, but you already have the 450nm peak covered with your royal blues, and 600nm is actually closer to amber (~590nm) than to the reds commonly used (630 and 660nm), and again, good warm whites will hit those red peaks better than most pink LEDs. I also think this is why you see a couple of manufacturers (Radion Pro and GHL Mitra for example) using Osram yellows (~590nm) in addition to reds - they are simply trying to hit all the bases so to speak.
However, I am not trying to criticize, so forgive me - by all means, try out your layout and see how it works for you, then report back and let others know of it. I still think you have a hell of a build, good luck.
Stusdesktop
New member
I didn't think you were being critical, heck even if you were, constructive criticism is always good.
This is my "big experiment in the sky" and hopefully if anyone else gets an idea or spots something totally bloody stupid they'll chime in. I do have enough headroom on all of the drivers to add in a few more LED's if it's needed.
saltwaterpicaso
New member
all right last question i plan on buying everything wednesday what is the best place to order from besides rapid i have the money but wouldnt mind saving a few bucks if i could
saltwaterpicaso
New member
and what meanwell drivers should i use my last led kit was a pre selected kit now im confused with how many driver to use and wich ones
Stusdesktop
New member
My build got an extra 6 cyan and another 12 regular blue LED's added into the mix. It's up and hanging over the 90g while it's cycling. I'll actually need to break out the camera and figure out how to take pictures of LED lit tanks.
