Light is light???

[karimwassef]

Oreo- you forgot to say it : "it's been done"

 

[Stolireef]

Yeah, I know I'm not exactly a pioneer here.

I actually owned the Gen 1 Radions but ultimately switched back to MH/T5. We'll see if I do the same things again. At least the resale on the Radions is really good.

 

[djbon]

I used dedicated 3W 365nm UV LEDs and it did change the real color of my corals (like tanning). They also made them glow when no other lights were on, but that's a temporary effect of being under UV.

I don't know if they caused the corals to grow faster.

I am interested to know what brand of UV leds are you using?. I can't get mine last longer than 2 months. Nothing to complain, generic china 3W led driven 85% for 5 hours daily. It still emitting light, only the stupid cheap dome lense darkening (fried).

 

[oreo57]

I am interested to know what brand of UV leds are you using?. I can't get mine last longer than 2 months. Nothing to complain, generic china 3W led driven 85% for 5 hours daily. It still emitting light, only the stupid cheap dome lenses darkening (fried).

Funny topic.. most blame the UV for discoloring the silicone lens and most high quality run glass (or sapphire) lenses... BUT there may be more to it than that:

VOCs emitted from materials used in the construction of LED based SSL systems can penetrate the silicone lenses and encapsulants of LEDs. These VOCs in the silicone can discolor when exposed to heat and high photonic energy of the LED.

https://www.led-professional.com/re...on-through-volatile-organic-compounds-by-cree

Doesn't help but interesting..
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/article...resist-uv-and-high-temperature-operation.html

running more but at lower powers should prolong their failure.

Anyways;

The LEDs still work, you've just gotta scrape off the primary lens, being very careful not to damage the diode itself. You'll also need to use a secondary lens to protect it. Pretty much every place that sells them (besides ebay/straight from China) realized that this is a problem and are now using silicone lenses that will not degrade, and some have switch to the 3535 package for significantly better thermal transfer so they'll last longer.

Get someone to mount them these chips are probably the best for the price..
(500mA drive current) Sapphire lens..
Oddly enough some light will get bounced behind the chip..
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail...Kqs5cAi6XEW%2bL5qX7xbj8547w%2bc9C%2bQZvlHcC18
https://www.digikey.com/products/en...=1&stock=1&quantity=0&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=25

 

[karimwassef]

They need a lot of cooling.

Lenses don't work well either. They need to be run in an enclosure without the lenses. Once they blacked out, I removed the lenses and left running.

This isn't exactly the same, but it's close to what I got.. 50 stars @ 3W and 365nm for ~$81

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-10-20-50-...-Light-/322191143692?var=&hash=item4b0416b30c

So it's 150W for $81. I've since moved on to 100W multi-chip pucks.

 

[djbon]

They need a lot of cooling. I'll find the brand.

Lenses don't work well either. They need to be run in an enclosure without the lenses. Once they blacked out, I removed the lenses and left running.

The heatsink does the cooling very well (actively cooled) but all leds are tightly covered (aluminium frame with front glass panel). If heat being trapped in there causing the problem, the other leds should have the same problem right?

 

[karimwassef]

different LEDs run at different efficiencies (converting current into PAR vs. heat).

UV LEDs are much worse in my experience and dissipate a lot more heat

they create local hotspots and require more aggressive cooling compared to other wavelengths.

 

[djbon]

Ok. Understood. Thanks