Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

[mr.wilson]

Keep in mind, the 60, 90 or 120˚ lens angle does not mean that you will have the same intensity throughout that range. Glass dome lenses are much more efficient than the cheap plastic lenses used with 3w chips, but they still have their limitations.

 

[dc]

Ok let's act like adults here. I've removed a few posts and may remove more.

The commercial rules are plain. If you are any way connected to a commercial business you can not promote them or the product.

Since I have a friend that sells me stuff at cost, even I can not sell here. When I tore down 5 tanks 3 years ago I didn't put anything up here.

This is a very informative thread and we're struggling to be able to leave it open.

 

[pdfrogman]

can some one PM me a link with info on finding 120 degree llens for a 50W chip and where I can get into a buy for the multi chip?
great thread thanks for all the info!

 

[Screener]

can some one PM me a link with info on finding 120 degree llens for a 50W chip and where I can get into a buy for the multi chip?
great thread thanks for all the info!

I'm sorry Dave I cant do that.

 

[ziyaadb]

Hi Guys

Me again, I want a simple combination and would rather use 2 or 3 Chips instead of 36 LEDS and the hassle of soldering each one ect,

Tank is 21L*21H*13.7Back to front what would be the best combination of 2 or 3 chips to Grow SPS? Will be using the dimmable drivers from Ebay.
1*50W White + 1*50W Blue?
1*50w Blue + 1*100W White + 1*50 Blue
1*100W white + 1*100W Blue

 

[ziyaadb]

Duplicate post - Internet running slow

 

[TropTrea]

Hi Guys

Me again, I want a simple combination and would rather use 2 or 3 Chips instead of 36 LEDS and the hassle of soldering each one ect,

Tank is 21L*21H*13.7Back to front what would be the best combination of 2 or 3 chips to Grow SPS? Will be using the dimmable drivers from Ebay.
1*50W White + 1*50W Blue?
1*50w Blue + 1*100W White + 1*50 Blue
1*100W white + 1*100W Blue

Wow your only talking about a 26 gallon tank. On my 40's I'm only using about 75 Watts of total LED's turned all the way up. Looking at your dimensions I go with 4 5 Watt Whites and 8 to 12 3 Watt Royal Blues. The big difference being your personal color preference. Run lenses on the Blues but not on the whites. This would give you closer to 44 to 56 total watts.

If you like a deeper Blue Look you can also get away with just 2 of the 5 Watt Neutral Whites 10 of the 3 Watt Blues.

 

[TropTrea]

Keep in mind, the 60, 90 or 120˚ lens angle does not mean that you will have the same intensity throughout that range. Glass dome lenses are much more efficient than the cheap plastic lenses used with 3w chips, but they still have their limitations.

Yes it is true which is why even after calculating the spread to get an even distribution you can sometimes see hot spots directly under the LED regardless of the wattage.

But looking at the 120 degree lenses your talking about some very wide angles. I personly cannot see using them unless you have a very shallow tank and the light are an inch over the surface.

Look at it this way at tank 12" tall and the lights 3" above will mean a 15" height to the substrate and with 120 degree lenses a spread of 60 inches. Even with 90 degree lenses the spread would be 30".

 

[Kporn]

This is a gear thread!

 

[acabgd]

Here are the photos of my corals under the DreamChip...

 

[pdfrogman]

I'm sorry Dave I cant do that.

Dave? I am not Dave

 

[hillscp]

PDFROGMAN doesn't recognize HAL.

Here are my three 60W hybrids running over my 125. I have them driven at 80W each and about 4" over the water surface. No lenses so the spread is 120 degrees. The shimmer is dramatic and the ripple reflections look like the bottom half of a Japanese rising sun flag. My 23 year old daughter says they look like angel lights shining down from heaven.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5pnH6TztEzo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[DetroitReefer]

I am seeking an expert's advice.

I am running multichip LEDs.

configuration is:

3 "arrays" over a 180.
Each array is;
4 X 10W actinic; (White + blue) Voltage 9 ~ 11. Current 900 - 1000 mAh
2X 10W Blue (460-470nm); Voltage 10 ~ 11. Current 1000 mAh
2 X 20W cool white; Voltage 15 ~ 17. Current 1200 - 1300 mAh

I have a 24V 14.6A power supply.

The 10W LEDs are ran in series to a Sure 5W PWM driver
The 20W are ran one-to-one to a Sure 10W PWM dimmer

If I wanted to switch to Meanwell (getting rid of the Sure drivers) What would be my options? From my calculations, I would need 15 meanwell drivers because of the voltage requirements.

Does forward voltage increase with each LED added in series? What about parallel? If I run the 10W in parallel off a driver, will I get half the current? I am so confused.

The lights are working, and they are working great. I run them at 50% duty cycle, but I am not overly happy with the wiring. I'd like to use multi-core wire and 12-pin connectors for the driver box for ease of removal/replacement.

This shot is at 52% duty cycle:

 

[TropTrea]

Detriot Reefer, Without the exact specs on each chip I can only estimate here but I will give you an example of the 3 sets of 4 Atinic chips as an example. But you will need to check your chip data to verifey the exact voltages and currents.

if each Chip is running 10 Volts at 1 Amp (1,000ma) and you have 12 chips total.

With wiring them in series you would need 120 volts total and 1.0 Amp for your driver. or if you rann them in parrellel you would need 10 Volts and 12 Amps. Since there is not a dirtect fit here with any meanwell driver you can split them to two series strings 6 LED's in parrell with each other meaning you would need 60 Volts at 2 Amps for your driver. This is doable with a meanwell driver with 180 AC volt input but noit with there 120 Volt input drivers.

So your next option would be going with three series strings of 4 LED's which would mean your running at 3.0 Amps and 40 Volts off the Driver. The HGL-150H-48B driver would work fine in this configuration. It puts out a max of 3.2 Amps, divided between the three legs would be 1065 ma per leg and up to 48 volts per leg or 12 per LED. Dialing down the current slightly would allow you to run these at 10 Watts rather than the full 12.78 the driver is capable of.

Each of other three chip sets could be calculated simularly with the MEAn well drivers giving you only three drivers with each individual adjusted for the color balance you desire.

 

[DetroitReefer]

Your input is greatly appreciated. <---I cannot stress this enough. Between you and Lassef, This has been enlightning. I am a programmer (C#, C++ mostly), not an Electronics Engineer.

I will be running 4X 10W actinics, 2X 10W blues, and 2X 20w whites per array. Using the aforementioned calculations, I can see the need for at least three Meanwell drivers per array, for a total of 9 drivers.

3@ 32V, 1250mAh
3@ 40V, 1000mAh
3@ 20V, 1000mAh

Time to get driver searching.

 

[mr.wilson]

Hi Guys

Me again, I want a simple combination and would rather use 2 or 3 Chips instead of 36 LEDS and the hassle of soldering each one ect,

Tank is 21L*21H*13.7Back to front what would be the best combination of 2 or 3 chips to Grow SPS? Will be using the dimmable drivers from Ebay.
1*50W White + 1*50W Blue?
1*50w Blue + 1*100W White + 1*50 Blue
1*100W white + 1*100W Blue

I would just use two or three PAR38s and call it a day. You can find them with 4 or 5 colour chips for $50-100.

 

[TropTrea]

Your input is greatly appreciated. <---I cannot stress this enough. Between you and Lassef, This has been enlightning. I am a programmer (C#, C++ mostly), not an Electronics Engineer.

I will be running 4X 10W actinics, 2X 10W blues, and 2X 20w whites per array. Using the aforementioned calculations, I can see the need for at least three Meanwell drivers per array, for a total of 9 drivers.

3@ 32V, 1250mAh
3@ 40V, 1000mAh
3@ 20V, 1000mAh

Time to get driver searching.

A good base for driver selection is
http://www.meanwell.com/webnet/search/search_ps.aspx?power=Button21

And yes looks like we have a little in common. I used to do programing in C, C++, UNIX, and JAVA. I'm also a retired MSG from the Army.

As far as your divers are concerned look at the combination for three Chips on a driver you need to either ultiply the voltage by the number of chips to wite them in series so your examples above would fe 96 volts @ 1.25A, 120 Volts @ 1 Amp, and 60 Volts @ 1 Amp. Or you would need to wire them, in paralell at which point you multiply the current so you have 32 Volts @ 3.75 Amps, 40 volts @ 3 Amps, and 20 Volts @ 3 Amps..

I think you will end up wiring the first 2 in parallel using a 120 or 150 watt driver and the third one in series. for the third one no drive runs over 58 Volts however if your happy with reducing your intensity slighly you can run those chips at about .9 Amps and the voltage will be under the 58 Volt for the three..

 

[noplay180]

Have anyone experience browning of the SPS corals

 

[mr.wilson]

Have anyone experience browning of the SPS corals

I haven't seen any browning with multichips.

Browning can come from intensity (too much or too little) and/or spectrum. Abrupt changes cause photo shock and cause corals to bleach (expel zooxanthellae), so new LEDs should be raised high or dimmed during initial use.

The barrow optics of single 3w emitters often cause bleaching as well. This is less of a concern with round dome lenses and multichips.

 

[megadeth72]

Anyone using this 50w multichip ? 10000K color(30pcs) + 445nm Blue(10pcs) + 660nm Red(10pcs)

I'm curious if that's too much red