Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

[Lassef]

@ DrawnToBeaches: I do not know if it will work or not because I have never tested it.

I´m building a similar projekt just now but in this case I work with modules 1 pc 20 watt red, 2 pc 10 W RB and 2 pc 16 000 K white. Without lenses just now. The different chip will be closly mounted in a "plus" with the red att the midle and blue, white, blue, white arround it. Its not for a planted aquarium but I will use the idea further on in other applications - ie macro algaes.

In your case - I do not think it should be a bad idea if you mount the 50 W white chip in the middle and RB, Red, RB, Red arrund it and rather close to each other.

@ RsPhotoHut. Meanwell is probably a good idea but I think that also the drivers from Steve´s LED should work for 2 pc 10 W chip/ channel.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Thank you for your insight I was headed to pick the tank up and the guy doubled the price so I had to bail, kinda lame but simplifies things for me, I'm still going to setup my 50w and a couple of 10 watt lights soon hopefully over a 50-60g cube

 

[Lassef]

Thank you for your insight I was headed to pick the tank up and the guy doubled the price so I had to bail, kinda lame but simplifies things for me, I'm still going to setup my 50w and a couple of 10 watt lights soon hopefully over a 50-60g cube

I hope you understand my bad english - what I meant with this statement "I do not think it should be a bad idea" was that I think its a good idea to do so .

Sincerely Lasse

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Yeah I'm still gonna work with what you said, I'm mounting the 50w to an arctic cooling mono plus, the smaller LEDs will have to deal with a standard heatsync alsthough I find it hard to imagine a nice looking fixture at this point unless I use one led, which would need to be the 6000-6500k

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Or am I wrong assuming 6000-6500 would lessen the need for additional color LEDs. I would like this to stay as simple as possible so I can use a pendant for the fixture

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Double post sorry

 

[noj3333]

Drawn to beaches, I saw you're going to run a 50w and some 10w LEDs over a cube tank...
I just finished the 1st string of my LEDs and I think i need some more power, I'm at 100w right now (5x20w). Just wanted to give you the heads up in case you wanted to think about ordering more lights.
I'll post some pictures of my set up tomorrow or monday, I'm exhausted right now.

 

[TropTrea]

Or am I wrong assuming 6000-6500 would lessen the need for additional color LEDs. I would like this to stay as simple as possible so I can use a pendant for the fixture

This has to a lot with your color choices.
Basicly the lower the Kelven rating of any light source is the higher the precentage of Red light emitted in comparison to the Blue light.
Simularly the higher the Kelvin rating is the more blue light is created compared to the amount of red light.

In most aquariums you just want the red for austetic reasons. Excessive red is known to cause some corals to bleach out yet there is a lot of reflective red in most reef tanks that will show up unless some red light is in the tank.

Personal preference is a big thing. I personly use "neutral whites" which are roughly 5,000K in a ratio of 1 Watt of White to 3.5 Watts of Blue lights. I tried other types of White light and found when using 7,000K whites I liked more of a 1 watt white to 2 watts blue look. With higher K rated bulbs like 20,000K you have even lesser of a need to for blue lights, but some people complement with red since there is so little red produced by the high K rated whites.

 

[TropTrea]

FUSES????
I just got my leds and drivers in. I went with 20w leds an 2 drivers, 1 is a 20Wx5 chip driver, the other is a 20Wx3 chip driver.
The chips will be wired up up in series, I'm now looking for fuses.
If I'm correct if one chip burns out all the following chips will be fried and ruined. I wanted to know if it's possible to insert a fuse between each chip to prevent a surge of power. If I were to do this would I be looking for a fuse that protects agonist too many amps or too many watts?
The chips I have are:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220848797422?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
The drivers are:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220947560986?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221034444726?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Your Chips are rated at 2 Amps. Both of the drivers you listed are rated at a maximium of less than 2 Amps. Therefore you will wiring them in series and will not have worry about a bad LED burning out the others. If a LED shorts out the driver will simply readjust the output voltage to assure you remain at under 2 amp. If a LED were to open circuit than you simply would have power on the rest of the LED's in series.

The only reason to fuse these would be to assure that the driver does not go nuts which is very unlikely.

 

[andrewey]

Does anyone know a rough ballpark of where I should be over a 34g solana (20"x20" footprint). I was thinking 20k 50w multi, but unsure if this is correct or not?

 

[noj3333]

andrewey, these are pictures of my 45 gallon cube (24x24 footprint, 18 inches deep). Right now I have 5LEDS hooked up, I'm planning on hooking up 3 or 5 more. The ones in this picture are 20w hybrid chips.

 

[andrewey]

So if I understand you correctly, you currently have 100w over your tank, and are considering moving to 150-200w?

 

[Bcamp]

Is the hybrid chip that blue in person or just in pics?

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

Buying a cadlights 50g rimless tired of looking for a used, gonna light it with a 50w 6000-6500 and maybe toss in a single 20w half blue half red

 

[noj3333]

Is the hybrid chip that blue in person or just in pics?

The hybrid chip is very blue, but the picture doesn't capture the color well, it's not that blue.
In person you can still see that the base rock is white, and the coraline is red/ purple... the picture looks very, very blue.

 

[A Reef Scene]

What do you all think of running five 445nm, and five 16000 k, twenty watt chips over a 40 breeder? I was thinking that the 16000 k would be just the right amount of white. Would there be a need to run UV chips for any reason?

Any comment on my light selection.

 

[Clarence01]

Dear,

After went through a lot of you guys massages, I am going to build my fixture for my SPS reef tank. Before start, I have some question and need you guys help.

My tank size: 71 inch x 26 inch x 28 inch.
My plan: the whole fixture will be divided into 3 individual sections, 2x50W multisclip led with 60 deg optics + 2 rows of 10x3W with 60deg optics (white and blue in 1:2 ratio) on each section. Total will be 6x50W + 60x3W

Are they good enough for SPS? or more than enough?
I can only find out 6000K 50W LED, OK for me? Or I need another color 3W led to balance the color temp?

As I am not good in electronic, please help to list out what I need, driver, power supplier, heatsink....

Thanks,
Clarence

 

[andrewey]

Here's a general question for anyone with the experience. If I only used 2 chips (say 100w each), one blue, and one white, and both were dimmable, and placed next to eachother over a tank, would it blend well (without any optics), or would it look like a beam of white light right next to the blue light? (i.e.- should I get a bunch of smaller chips)?

 

[kahkah]

Here's a general question for anyone with the experience. If I only used 2 chips (say 100w each), one blue, and one white, and both were dimmable, and placed next to eachother over a tank, would it blend well (without any optics), or would it look like a beam of white light right next to the blue light? (i.e.- should I get a bunch of smaller chips)?

There are hybrid chips that have multiple colors in one and you can also get chips for a specific color.

 

[Cmoua]

Hey guys I am having trouble finding a heatsink suitable for a 100w LED. I matched these two up,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280899379461#ht_1550wt_1141

Here's one that they have labled specifically for 100w high power LEDs.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Heat-Si...ltDomain_0&hash=item3376d89de3#ht_5438wt_1187

They have very similar specs, only difference is 22 dollars in the price. Should I go ahead and give the Logysis cooler a go, or is there a better cheap alternative?