Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

[mr.wilson]

ok so i am not going nutz, Mr. Wilson will know what i am talking about.

If i can use just 1 chip to Grow SPS in a 50cm*50Cm cube without optics as i want to keep the hood of the nano which chip is recommended?

You are not nuts, and I am not delusional enough to think I have the magic answer to your question.

On one hand you can go nuts trying to look for answers in scientific journals, as a clear answer cannot be found there. On the other hand, you can focus on fellow hobbyist tanks and see what lighting they are using.

Pick three model tanks that you would like to emulate. Study the lighting they use and pick something similar for your application.

I have been very happy with MH lighting historically, but after trying LED lighting I have found that the colour is better, and growth is about the same (no better, no worse).

One of the tanks I built and maintain uses 16k white & 450-465nm royal blue LEDs. Recently, we added some 420nm UV and 660nm red and I prefer the look. Rather than bury my head in a scientific chart, I choose to use my direct experience.

I recently changed my MH lights at my shop to multichip LEDs. I used 450-456 royal blue, 480nm blue, 420nm UV & 16k white. I like the look for a retail store, but it's too blue for a home aquarium in my opinion. The growth rate and colour is much better than what I was experiencing with MH & T5, although I admit the bulbs were old. The PAR value was the same, just the spectrum and total coverage changed.

It's hard to decide on a single channel multichip because you lose out on the dawn/dusk blue light and the fluorescent spectacle. I would go with two different chip colours or ideally a multichannel multichip.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20813356&postcount=2951

 

[Lassef]

We had a discussion about red light earlier on in the thread where I was challenged on the value of 680nm light, now I'm seeing its value used to argue the benefits of pure blue light somehow?

I have stated earlier that I for the most light depended corals has changed my mind and that probably the red lights of 660 - 680 has some importance. And I are going to test that sooner or later

One has to work under the assumption that nature knows better than us, and corals have adapted over millions of years (5,000 years for our creationist members) to full spectrum light and have not flourished in the depths where only blue light penetrates. Coral populations will tend to settle out where the conditions are best, and lighting is one of the key factors. If there are more nutrients available at a different depth they will simply adapt to the lighting which will now become "ideal".

You forget that there is corals down to very deep water - and much of them, however, they do not use photosynthesis because the light has not enough of intensity down there

I think hobbyists read too much into absorption and reflectance charts, and miss the obvious. The blue light article in Coral magazine showed the benefits of blue light, but did not indicate that reef lighting needs to be any more blue than standard T5, MH or LED selections, which are all quite blue.

It is a question of energy - if you find the exact wavelengths that corals need for the photosynthesis - you can go down in the amount of inserted energy. Already going from MH to 2 second generation of LED save a lot of energy

My point is that many people have the misconception that the corals they keep in their aquariums come from blue water and they are replicating the natural habitat by using heavy blue light. I am happy to concede that personal aesthetics lead people to desire a blue tank. I just don't want people to fool themselves that they are doing it for the benefit of their corals.

I had all the time advocate for much of white LED (often 1 to 1) just to have with wavelengths that we do not know so much about (in a biological point of view) and in order to get good colours - I do not like the blue look. But I want to put in my blue forces where it does most benefit and IMO it is in the range of 420 - 460 nm: The range 460 - 490 we get with the white LED:s. The range 420 - 460 is based on known photosynthetic molecules and their absorbency peaks.

The other aspect is that people may think that they can offer a spectrum that is better than that found in nature. We can provide perfect storm and cloud-free days and manipulate the photoperiod. We can also pick a spectrum that discourages the brown colour of symbiotic algae by avoiding the spectrum that is absorbed by zooxanthellae. We can even pick a spectrum that fosters vivid photo pigments, but we cannot improve upon the health and growth rates of natural sunlight.

If you want to focus on photosynthetic energy, than a 6,500K Iwasaki MH bulb is perfect. The corals will be brown, but they will grow like crazy.

That was many years ago. Before both T 5 and LED. We can partly replace the sun in our aquariums and we can do that with lower energy input that we do today

Most hobbyists are looking for enough symbiotic algae to reach the compensation point early in the day so the coral can gain energy with few resources expended.

After that, the focus is on reflecting and generating vivid pigments. A narrow band of blue light simply will not achieve these goals.

The compensation point is the point where the organism does not grow or decrease in biomass. I think that most reefers is interested of growth. If you are able to find the important wavelengths you can do the most of the job through this wavelengths - thats the goal with using 420 - 460 nm as major blue wavelengths. And once again I´m not interested of a whole blue tank - the white light is important to have with.

Of different reasons - we have different standpoints in this issue. I do not think that I will change your mind and I will not change my mind before I am proven wrong by my own experiences.

Till now - no one has tested this pathway fully out - lets wait for a year or two and see what the experiences of the dream chip (and its configuration of wavelengths) will be - than we both know better

Sincerely Lasse

 

[cubanazo83]

Ebay link removed~dc
or can you guys recommended me other driver not to expensive?
Thanks for your opinion.

 

[exterminatank]

So I have a question for you all. I see more amd more high end led systems coming with orange leds now. Is this a new investigation or is something proven that orange is beneficial in some way too.


Mike

 

[mr.wilson]

In my opinion orange LEDs are purely for market differentiation. Most of the companies that are implementing them are still using stock Cree white chips without any custom phosphor coating.

Lightning and cloud cover is another feature that is commonly marketed just because they can. If they could only put that programming to use and create a proper lunar cycle

My personal favourite superfluous feature is a remote control. A remote control for your aquarium LED is about as useful as a remote toilet flusher... wait, I think the remote toilet flusher is actually more useful Manufacturers like to add a remote control because it looks like value is added and they only cost a few dollars to produce.

Of course I may end up eating my words if someone writes a paper about the virtues of orange light next week, but I certainly haven't heard anything.

 

[Skinnysloth]

Hey guys can someone tell me if these driver Ebay link removed~dc
or can you guys recommended me other driver not to expensive?
Thanks for your opinion.

That driver has a current rating of 680ma and the chip you link can accept up to 2000ma. Also, you would need to drive at least two of those leds connected in series as the driver is rated for 20-36v and the chip is 10-11v.

So, if you don't mind giving those chips only 680ma and connecting at least two of the leds in series, then yes that driver will work.

 

[Lassef]

Of course I may end up eating my words if someone writes a paper about the virtues of orange light next week,

It will certainly not be from me

I totally agree with you in this post

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lassef]

Hey guys can someone tell me if these driver Ebay link removed~dc
or can you guys recommended me other driver not to expensive?
Thanks for your opinion.

As Skinnysloth stated - it is not a good driver for that LED. That type of driver is for another construction of 20 watts LED. The LED of your choice is a good one. This driver will fit but you have to build it in. If you look for not dim-able drivers PLC-30-12 or PLN-20-12 Meanwell drivers can fit. The first - you have to set down the current with the internal pot to 2 A and with the second - you will under-drive the chip (1600 mA instead of max 2000 mA)

Sincerely Lasse

 

[kentrob11]

Question...I have a buddy with a 20,000 gallon tank that I sent my 100w 20K LED and heatsink setup to to try over his tank. Mine is the one that could be overdriven to 200w, but I think it was running at about 150w. Anyway, my friend currently has 12 400w halides over his tank and when he hooked mine up, he said the power draw on it was higher than his 400w halides on 400 watt galaxy style ballasts...what gives???

 

[exterminatank]

It will certainly not be from me

I totally agree with you in this post

Sincerely Lasse

I figured so. Or I at least thought it was for visual stimulation. Thanks for the info guys.


Mike

 

[Landsailor]

Anyway, my friend currently has 12 400w halides over his tank and when he hooked mine up, he said the power draw on it was higher than his 400w halides on 400 watt galaxy style ballasts...what gives???

Measurement error.

How did he measure the current? Did he measure the AC going to the driver? What tool did he use?

 

[Lassef]

Which driver do you have?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[jg210302]

Electronics experts...

Electronics experts...

Ok I have a couple questions for the electronics experts...

I have a 5 channel dream chip, each of the channels has a slightly different forward voltage.

1. Can I run a single driver and then run an adjustable voltage regulator on each leg to adjust the voltage independently? The voltage regulator is like this one Ebay link removed~dc

2. How would I determine the best voltage to run each leg at? Should I adjust it until all of the legs have the same current draw?

Basically this is running 5 strings parallel on one driver...
Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[kentrob11]

I'd have to look it up...It's the one I posted earlier in this thread. I'll see if I can find it and post the info again...

 

[cephalotus]

Ok I have a couple questions for the electronics experts...

I have a 5 channel dream chip, each of the channels has a slightly different forward voltage.

1. Can I run a single driver and then run an adjustable voltage regulator on each leg to adjust the voltage independently?
Ebay link removed~dc

2. How would I determine the best voltage to run each leg at? Should I adjust it until all of the legs have the same current draw?

Basically this is running 5 strings parallel on one driver...
Thanks in advance everyone!

Where did you get your dream chip? Was it part of the group buy or are they now comercialy available?

 

[jg210302]

Where did you get your dream chip? Was it part of the group buy or are they now comercialy available?

I was part of the original group buy, but I think there may be another buy going on???

 

[cephalotus]

I was part of the original group buy, but I think there may be another buy going on???

Thanks for the response, if anyone knows of a group buy I may be interested.

 

[grinder143]

there is another. you should google 5 channel multichip and go to the fourm out west.they are in the process of getting enough commitments

 

[grinder143]

Just out of curiosity , has anyone found a multichip that would yield a close proximation of a 14000 k metal halide. I am thinking of going a little different direction. I want a single point light sorce and combine it with T5. I was thinking of the 60w actinic hybrid any ideas?

 

[Lassef]

Just out of curiosity , has anyone found a multichip that would yield a close proximation of a 14000 k metal halide. I am thinking of going a little different direction. I want a single point light sorce and combine it with T5. I was thinking of the 60w actinic hybrid any ideas?

I think it is a good idea, maybe the EPISTAR 60W Actinic Blue Hybrid 45mil can be a little bit too blue, but you can compensate that with your choice of T5 tubes.

Sincerely Lasse