Hopefully this isn't really off topic...trying to roll this all around in my head.
So I did a little looking around on ac-rc, they seem like they have a good selection of quality products, I know that Epistar is a leading manufacturer so I think I feel comfortable with their products. I seem to be gravitating toward the 20W chips, mainly because there is a decent variety and the price is good.
For the tank in question, which has a footprint of 66 x 21 and is 24? deep, with a few inches of sand and a LOT of LR, currently with 8x54W T5HO (416W) of light.
I had figured that I needed on the order of 100-120 3W stars, if I were going to go that route, and would likely get a 10" wide heat sink from heatsinkusa at a total cost for both of those at around $510-$570 <<corrected due to bad math LOL>> (not including drivers, fans, etc - just LEDs and heat sink. So the total wattage (based solely on rating) would be 300-360W.
Now from ac-rc, I like the 20W chips and the circular heat sinks. I figured that, just on an equivalent wattage basis calculation, that I would need 15-18 20W chips of various kinds. This would cost about $440-$524. Again, 300-360W LED, solely based on rating.
So at 120 3W stars vs 18 20W multichips, I <<corrected>> save about $45 w/r to only LEDs and heat sinks. I save $70 if I go with 15x 20W instead of 100 3W.
Now I haven't figured in a few things, obviously, like the necessary drivers, taking into account that I want to have everything PWM dimmable with as much control as possible, but just based on this rough calculation I have a few question, hopefully this is not too off topic and someone can chime in with their opinion:
The quantity calculation for the 20W chips was arrived at by simply taking the # of 3W chips I would need x3 and dividing that by 20. This would assume that in both instances, a 3W chip and a 20W chip are both driven at maximum current for an apples-to-apples comparison. Is my proposed 3W vs 20W quantity comparison valid, or will I need more or less 20W chips?
If the comparison is valid, then what is really the major advantage of using 20W chips over 3W chips? Aesthetics?
Are there other sellers of equally good product at lower prices that I should be considering?
If anyone can share their opinions or experiences with the ac-rc chips and/or other sellers' products, I would really appreciate hearing them