New thread: LED info only for ATS's only....

Floyd R Turbo said:
it's more for the basics thread vs the lighting info thread but IMO that's an iffy install, you're trapping all the heat from the heat sinks against the plastic and even though those are IP65 fixtures I would still hesitate to put them into a semi-closed box. JMO though.
Click to expand...

So remove the top? Or remove them from the box completely?
 
Floyd R Turbo said:
it's more for the basics thread vs the lighting info thread but IMO that's an iffy install, you're trapping all the heat from the heat sinks against the plastic and even though those are IP65 fixtures I would still hesitate to put them into a semi-closed box. JMO though.
Click to expand...

So remove the top? Or remove them from the box completely? Or is the whole design shotty? I have several friends that use it with great results.
 
While I didn't start this thread I would like to see it more focused on just the light fixtures, info, reviews, etc...instead of this thread turning into another general Algae Scrubber Q&A thread, FF337 I'll post a reply for yours over there

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1977420

niladride

"7 red, 3 dark red and 2 blue LEDs this grow light emits light on 660nm, 630nm and 460nm wave lengths"

this is a plant growth light, which doesn't necessarily make it an algae scrubber light. 630s are much more intense than 660s, but the fixture lists 600mA drive current so you could do worse.

However you will need 4 of these per side for a 12x10 screen just based on coverage, usually the PAR type floodlights are adequate for about a 6x6 area. You might do 2x/side maybe, the issue with the 630s is that you'll likely have to back them off a bit to find the sweet spot where they don't photosaturate. Also you could probably remove the bezel on that fixture and take the lenses off, which would spread the light out more.

I would revisit the screen size first.
 
The second link looks like the better fixture, the UFO is a 10 band plant growth and would make a super bright hot spot, plus there are LEDs halfway under the bezel, who designed that lol
 
"Latest 36W theoretical power, 12X3W, 36W"

"Actual power consumption 14.4W"

Both seem about the same real power. 14 watts used, probably means about 9 watts of LED power. So might as well get the cheaper one.
 
azjohnny said:
https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/PPB1001
Click to expand...

That one has 15 LEDs and says it's 15W, so the good bet is that it actually draws ~75% of that in actual wattage, 1W LEDs usually operate a little closer to the actual wattage "rating" vs 3W LEDs. So yeah, probably drawing 9-11Wish.

As far as all red vs red+blue, the latter is not going to be worse, IMO it's good to have a little blue just not too much

azjohnny said:
What I presently have

http://www.amazon.com/Litom-Latest-...for+Indoor+Garden+Greenhouse+Hydroponic+Lamps
Click to expand...

This fixture states that it is using 3W LEDs so their 36W is again based on marketing that 3W rating = 3W output. But at least they are honest that is actually consumes 14.4W

14.4W / 12 = 1.2W per LED (average) the thing that throws it off is that this lamp is a mixture of 660s, 630s and 460s. The latter 2 will have a different Vf, usually higher than the 660s. But let's say the average Vf is about 2.4V, then 1.2W / 2.4V = 0.5A or 500mA, so these are not running at a very high current but that is typical for a stock PAR type lamp. If they ran them at 700mA (or higher for the 630s or 460s) then the heat sink couldn't keep up with them and the lifespan would be decreased.

^^ this is typical of a PAR type lamp. They might be 3W LEDs but that doesn't mean they run them full-out, because they know that doing so will significantly decrease lifespan, as the heat sinks on these fixtures are pretty minimal. So they knock the current back, keep the heat down, but still sell them like they are full power "triple the output of 1W" <- calling BS on that statement.

I will say though that running a DR (660) at 500mA will get you pretty good output. I would say overall, that's a decent lamp. Just gotta know what you're getting, that's all. Almost every company plays the marketing card.
 
Those are all SMD 5730 (SMD = surface mounted device) and if you google that you'll see those are 0.5W chips not 1W chips to this manufacturer has no knowledge what they are selling. That's not a 90W lamp, it's 45W at best and that's at full current. Most of those SMD chips have an absolute maximum forward current of 200-300mA so that's not a ton of power, hence why you can group them so tight and put them on a cheap heat sink, they just don't generate a lot of heat = not much punch.

Might do well for a screen sized between 4x4 and 6x6. For a 9x9 screen, maybe...I think it's too small. It might work OK, but you could get spotty growth - a hotspot in the middle with brighter green to yellow, possibly a dead spot if it was too close, then a ring of nice green growth that produces pretty well, and as you got further away it would go to a darker green growth.

From some spec sheets, Vf is nominally 3.2, current is ~250mA = 0.8W but that's when you push it, my guess is in a stock fixture it's kept to 0.5W so that means that lamp is 45W at best.

That all being said, it matches up with recommendations

http://algaescrubber.zohosites.com/lighting-led.html

80 sq in -> 40W actual per side, it's the form factor that affects this, and the "punch" level delivered by SMD LEDs. Form factor being that it's a tight array which means if it's too close, it'll photosaturate, and if it's too far away (to get the spread/coverage you want) then it won't be intense enough. There is probably a sweet spot. For the punch factor, the SMDs are not very directional compared to 1W or 3W domed/lensed LEDs which are (a bit more). So the further away you get, the much wider the spread and you lose intensity.

Overall, I would say worth a try but just be aware that placement is gong to be key and it might limit the overall capacity due to the above
 
Do we have a specific fixture that is considered the best performance and value identified yet? I was at a reef club members house the other day and he's using two Chinese black boxes with only the white LEDs running. He's getting pretty impressive growth, and those are not super expensive. Are there better options?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
Floyd R Turbo said:
While I didn't start this thread I would like to see it more focused on just the light fixtures, info, reviews, etc...instead of this thread turning into another general Algae Scrubber Q&A thread, FF337 I'll post a reply for yours over there

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1977420

niladride

"7 red, 3 dark red and 2 blue LEDs this grow light emits light on 660nm, 630nm and 460nm wave lengths"

this is a plant growth light, which doesn't necessarily make it an algae scrubber light. 630s are much more intense than 660s, but the fixture lists 600mA drive current so you could do worse.

However you will need 4 of these per side for a 12x10 screen just based on coverage, usually the PAR type floodlights are adequate for about a 6x6 area. You might do 2x/side maybe, the issue with the 630s is that you'll likely have to back them off a bit to find the sweet spot where they don't photosaturate. Also you could probably remove the bezel on that fixture and take the lenses off, which would spread the light out more.

I would revisit the screen size first.
Click to expand...

These lights are growing the algae very well already. I have a 8"x13.5" screen. One light on each side has the screen covered in algae already.
 
Sorry, yes, that light has been used by many people, some have reported that it fries after continued exposure to moisture though so it's not very water-resistant, so don't "push it" with that fixture. Also scattered reports of bad customer service, incorrect configuration for custom requests, etc, nothing you don't expect out of China (which is where most of these fixtures come from). But if you get a good one, it should do you well
 
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