Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

tomservo said:
I think Mr Wilson's point is that once you get past 20" tall, you're already talking about a big-ish tank, so that 50w LED will likely be asked to cover an 18x18x20 area or more. I think this is enough for some corals but not all.. Unless we're talking about a 45mil "50 watt".

That said, I have made a bunch of 38 watt bridgelux 5600k fixtures for planted tanks, and they cover 18x18x24 with 115-125 PAR on the gravel, with 100 degree lenses and a spread of at least 75% at the glass lid. But this is a strictly white light emitter, so the PAR numbers aren't really comparable to what we need for a reef tank.
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yes i was only talking about 45mil chips
 
I was wondering what temp should my chip be running at. I have a 50w chip on a arctic cooler 100w heatsink. I am using it for actinic and sun up sun down so it is in a hood with some halides and I don't want to be overheating it.

I was also wondering what would be a good driver for 2 100w chips I am thinking of using 2 of the hybrid epistar chips to replace my halides. I was going to run 5 chips total in my hood 4 100w and on 50 w in the center.
 
megadeth72 said:
I thought he was talking about penetration/depth
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I was, and I wasn't:) As Tom stated, a tank that is taller than 20" is likely to be 24" wide and 24", 48" or 72" long; therefore, the fixture needs to cover 24" x 24" and will likely need to be suspended 12" above the surface in order to achieve this. I don't think a 50/60w chip can achieve 200 PAR 36" below the fixture with 120˚ or 90˚ lenses.

In my experience, a 100w multichip is required to cover most reef tanks adequately. The cost of a 50w vs. 100w is similar so I have always used 100w chips. Perhaps someone can post their tank dimensions and PAR readings to confirm the quantity of light they are getting from 50/60w multichips. I have gone one step further and decided to drive the multichips at 185w to allow room for dimming the red, white & blue channels to personal preference. It also gives you more flexibility in using wider lenses and use of the fixture on a taller tank.

Again, I have no experience with 50w multichips so I may be mistaken. I have found 25w PAR38 bulbs to be inadequate for anything larger than a nano tank, and typical 3w arrays need to be at least 100w to cover even 18" x 18" x 24" areas. The only way I could foresee a 50/60w multichip working on a reef tank is if they are used in pairs, positioned close to each other.
 
the main reason I like leds is you can run more than one over a 24x24 and use a reflector to focus, I like 45 degree reflectors

more light less power and more coverage than a couple of halides
 
When you say more than one, do you mean the 3 watters, multichips or D, all the above? Just trying to get a visual of your setup.


Does anyone have a 100w 20k next to a 100watt 455? I am curious how they blend and disco.
 
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I no it is only my second post above and I have read most of the thread but didnt take notes. Can I just get the answer to what is a safe temp to run a 50w led at
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the led shoudl have a temp rating on it, with that much heatsink you sure wont have a problem with 50w, most leds have a max temp of 75-100c which is way way hotter than most here will ever let them get, color shift and life are affected at higher temps too
 
megadeth72 said:
the led shoudl have a temp rating on it, with that much heatsink you sure wont have a problem with 50w, most leds have a max temp of 75-100c which is way way hotter than most here will ever let them get, color shift and life are affected at higher temps too
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Thanks megadeath (good name) I am thinking of going all led for my 6ft 125g could you suggest any dimmable drivers for 2 100w chips or should I run separate drivers. I think with by 50w blue in the center for dusk/dawn I should be ok with 4 100w chips to replace my 2 400w halides. What kind of drivers would you suggest to run the 4 100w chips.
 
im looking at doing a multichip build for a tank measuring 28"x18"x18". i'm still in the process of reading through the thread and will be for some time but i'd figure i'd ask for your opinions. would 2 50W hybrids surrounded by a few reds and uv in 2 clusters be enough for a tank this size. i would like to do a full spectrum light but would like to use multichips instead of numerous 3 watt LEDs. any advice would be appreciated.
 
hyperlitexr50 said:
I no it is only my second post above and I have read most of the thread but didnt take notes. Can I just get the answer to what is a safe temp to run a 50w led at
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There is no simple answer to this. Most LED work most effeciently at 25C. As the temperature increases above that point the effeciency starts dropping off and you start shortening the life of the LED. I have yet to see a LED with any data above 160 C however I doubt you would ever get that high.

Now let me back up a bit where I said most LED are most effecient at 25C. While this is correct the range of effeciency on many of them goes up to 85C before the effeciency starts decreasing rapidly. Usualy at temperatures above 85C they also recommend the cureent driving the LED be decreased considerably.

Now every manufacture has different specs on this so I would recommend you try and get the specific specs for the LED's you are using.
 
bdevillier said:
im looking at doing a multichip build for a tank measuring 28"x18"x18". i'm still in the process of reading through the thread and will be for some time but i'd figure i'd ask for your opinions. would 2 50W hybrids surrounded by a few reds and uv in 2 clusters be enough for a tank this size. i would like to do a full spectrum light but would like to use multichips instead of numerous 3 watt LEDs. any advice would be appreciated.
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For a tank with your dimensions you would be looking at roughly 50 watts of total LED's. Using neutral white LED's I would recommend a combination of about 15 Watts of Neutral White, and 35 Watts of Blues. If you go with higher Kelvin whites then you will need more whites and less Blues.

Looking at what your thinking about I think you would realy be overpowering the tank with well over 100 watts total. If you want to keep your chip down to a mininum I would recommend 3 5 Watt Neutral White, and 7 5 watt Blues. Another option if your thinking of using dimmers would be 2 10 Watt Neutral Whites, and 4 10 Watt Blues.

I have a simular tank that I';m running 3 watt LED's on. 6 Neutral Whites, 4 Cyan, 6 Blues, and 8 Royal Blues. The LED's are actualy not run at full power but roughly 2 Watts per LED. My coral growth and coloration is fantastic on this tank.
 
I am having a hard time finding the drivers I want (Meanwell HLG-120H-42B) in Canada and most companies that ship internationaly will only ship to a buisness. Can someone tell me where I should look for drivers. FYI I am wanting to run 2 50w led with 1 driver with analog dimming 1-10v or 0-10v please help
 
Nevermind about my last post I found someone that will ship meanwells to Canada. I just have to pay 78 dollars for 65 dollar drivers plus 30 bucks for shipping but thats the price you pay for living in the best country in the world. ;) I just hope the boarder gestapo dont send them across the boarder with a 13% tax bill.
 
CanadaChop said:
Nevermind about my last post I found someone that will ship meanwells to Canada. I just have to pay 78 dollars for 65 dollar drivers plus 30 bucks for shipping but thats the price you pay for living in the best country in the world. ;) I just hope the boarder gestapo dont send them across the boarder with a 13% tax bill.
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send them to me and ill mail them to you i live in TN. im serious but idk if it will be much cheaper.
 
Well I have read so much my brain hurts. I know it has been said before ,but information overload. I have a 40 breeder I am going to set up. To have clams on the bottom and sps what would be recommended . I have about. 24 ft of 1x3 rectangle tube laying around . What would be recommended to gat a 16000k look . I am current with a 20k radium and like it but would like a little better growth. Any ideas. 10w or 20w or per heaps a couple 50w if it aw you what or how would you try to accomplish this goal.
Thanks for any advice
Mike
 
CanadaChop said:
Nevermind about my last post I found someone that will ship meanwells to Canada. I just have to pay 78 dollars for 65 dollar drivers plus 30 bucks for shipping but thats the price you pay for living in the best country in the world. ;) I just hope the boarder gestapo dont send them across the boarder with a 13% tax bill.
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There is a Mean Well distributor in London Ontario. I have one one those drivers, but I'm too lazy to ship it:)
 
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