Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

[007Bond]

Kind of like the old Alka-Seitzer commercial,...Can't believe I read the whole thing. :lmao:

 

[ravi197699]

diy cree led's light for my reef tank

diy cree led's light for my reef tank

I have these on my tank that are working great. It is not complicated system these led's are driven by 100w driver that can be ramped down when it comes to brightness. I like simple design so if something goes wrong it takes less time to figure out the problem. I am happy with results and color combination..

 

[rickyb]

You have two choices wider lenses for one and the other option is having more less powerful light sources. With the tank being 30" deep I dought the many single chips would give you enough light penetration for going that route. I would look at going with 6 to 8 multi chip cannos it were mine.

Thanks, I appreciate your input. I'm unfamiliar with the 6-8 multi chips. I'll do some research.

 

[pdfrogman]

Hey pdfrogman,...ya know I just seen a guy sell 3 50w DC on the "For Sale" forum. He said he bought them in the group buy, and then decided his build was beyond his ability. Try a little searching,...might be some more out there,sold them cheap to, wish I would have seen them earlier...just a thought

I have the drivers, enjoying success growing SPS and happy with color
I havent been able t find another 50W dream chip
considering the lumia
have a10000K hybrid actninc mix chip
prefer the dream chip though

 

[007Bond]

I seen them in the sell thread. He sold them cheap also still were in their sealed bags, never even opened them. Me, I'm like a kid at Christmas, usually tear open the bag and start looking for the lost instructions later. May be post in the want to buy thread. Could be other guys with the build bug that changed their minds.---Rick

 

[marspeed]

ravi are those lenses from a projection tv

 

[ravi197699]

yes those are from rear projection tv

 

[007Bond]

Are you using the lenses as part of your leds projection. First time I've seen that idea.

 

[asid61]

I have these on my tank that are working great. It is not complicated system these led's are driven by 100w driver that can be ramped down when it comes to brightness. I like simple design so if something goes wrong it takes less time to figure out the problem. I am happy with results and color combination..

Excellent! That's a good replacement for multichips because of the high efficiency.

 

[ravi197699]

Lense

Lense

Are you using the lenses as part of your leds projection. First time I've seen that idea.

I bought 4 of these lenses for 20 bucks and wanted to try this on my led module and it fits perfectly and spread is good as well and looks neat.

 

[ravi197699]

led

led

Excellent! That's a good replacement for multichips because of the high efficiency.

Yup I am very happy wit these and results are great and I had choice to add more colors.

 

[TropTrea]

Thanks, I appreciate your input. I'm unfamiliar with the 6-8 multi chips. I'll do some research.

I think you misunderstood. I did not mean cannons with 6 to 8 chips in each but I meant 6 to 8 seperate cannons. Basicly less wattage in each cannon but more cannons to get the light spread out more equaly throughout the tank.

The other options are using NO lenses of very wide Lens considerably greater than 90 degrees but then you also have light loss at it spills out the sides and top of the tank.

the think to keep in mind with lenses is while you might have a tight beam and get say a PAR of 300 at the center of the beam the further you move to the end the more this will drop off. On some lenses you might have droped to only 200 par on the edge of the beam but on another lens you might have only 100 PAR at that same point. Ususaly the tighter the beam pattern the less difference between center of beam and the edge of the beam but there will always be some difference. This is why with wider lenses overlap is important to mantain a more costant PAR throught out the tank.

 

[rickyb]

I think you misunderstood. I did not mean cannons with 6 to 8 chips in each but I meant 6 to 8 seperate cannons. Basicly less wattage in each cannon but more cannons to get the light spread out more equaly throughout the tank.

The other options are using NO lenses of very wide Lens considerably greater than 90 degrees but then you also have light loss at it spills out the sides and top of the tank.

the think to keep in mind with lenses is while you might have a tight beam and get say a PAR of 300 at the center of the beam the further you move to the end the more this will drop off. On some lenses you might have droped to only 200 par on the edge of the beam but on another lens you might have only 100 PAR at that same point. Ususaly the tighter the beam pattern the less difference between center of beam and the edge of the beam but there will always be some difference. This is why with wider lenses overlap is important to mantain a more costant PAR throught out the tank.

Thank you for taking the time to explain this. Now I got it!
I think I rather go with more units vs lenses but that will depend on budget.

 

[Spazdad]

Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

I am planning on a multichip build and wanted some info.

I've been reading a fair amount lately and read some back about 100pages or so some months ago.

Tank is a 400g oceanic 72"x36"x36"
I plan on having 3-4" sand bed.

The opening on top of the tank is 48"x 28" so my overhead space is some what limited.

This is the heat sink I planned on using, with the addition of 2 large fans, one ontop of each sink.

I was curious to know what you guys thought about layout and power. I was considering 6 100w DC or 4 DC and 2 lumina 5.1
I plan on using some of the 20w hybrid LEDs you guys pointed out as well.
Perhaps like this.

If need be I would put addition color around these.


My question is do you think that the 6 is overkill? Do you think I should do dream chips over L5.1 or should I use 4 L5.1 and 2 dreams in the middle ?

Would it be possible to run all six LEDs on single channel per 5 colors.

So 1 channel all six white
1 for blue
1 for uv
1 for blue
1 for 15k

What's a suitable driver for this. I would like something 0-10v dimmable. Would the makers led driver with the ldd1000 be able to run 2 strings of 6.

Would it be acceptable to run all LEDs at 700ma since the L5.1 is only 700ma and still have enough penetration for the 32" depth. I plan on going with the adjustable lens from ac/rc

And lastly do you think this heat sink is capable of all this power with 2 large 8" ball bearing fans ontop ?

 

[e55driver]

Where did you get a heatsink that big?

 

[Spazdad]

It was made for a 3w build custom some time ago. I figured it would be good to repurpose it. I paid 75$ for it. Was made by a local in the reef club.

 

[rickyb]

I am planning on a multichip build and wanted some info.

I've been reading a fair amount lately and read some back about 100pages or so some months ago.

Tank is a 400g oceanic 72"x36"x36"
I plan on having 3-4" sand bed.

My tank has a twin! I'll keep an eye on you build since you are closer than I am on putting this together. Looking great so far and I love your tank stand.

 

[Spazdad]

Thanks. Sorry to derail.

Built the stand about 5 months ago and just got the tank in the house about 2 months ago. It's plumb leveled and plumbed to my 750g existing sps system. I'll start a build thread some day when I'm closer.

 

[007Bond]

I'm not sure if your heatsink will cool the DC adequately, but I'm sure someone else will post some input.

 

[Spazdad]

Much less 6 of them. ? Even with fans ?