poolkeepers LED build

Too much inspiration!! Id like to see LEDs the subject of a meeting. We could discuss different led lights 1watt vs. 3 watt, par and so on..... Maybe we could also put together a small DIY right there on the spot. And maybe...just maybe it would lead to an LED group buy. Sorry Bill didn't mean to hijack your thread:spin1: Good Stuff!:thumbsup:
 
The Difference between 1w and 3w is that 3w's work 1's are junk! Brandon can tell you more about this but they do group buy's every three weeks on one of the LED source sites that saves you big time. Also just throwing one together at a meeting is most likely not a real prospect as there is a lot of work involved in putting these all together. Good Planning goes a long way from what i have learned so far!
Bill
PS Photo to follow of how it looks lit up today!
 
LED Build

LED Build

Here is the latest photo.

DSC00212.jpg


In this photo you can see the right side is fully lit, While the Left side still has one bank out and another not running correctly. We have had a driver that was not able to get operating correctly and another that was bad from the seller. So when all the needed parts arrive to finish it we will maybe be able to get it all working next time out.
The photo does not do the brightness justice as it is very bright!
Bill
 
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Purple?

Purple?

jbeard82 said:
Looks great! To purple for my liking. But its still awesome!!
Click to expand...

In reality it looks more like 10K than even a 12K look, The photo is decieving as it is crisp white light and much brighter than my 2 250W Metal Halides. It actually needs another row of Blue LED's added to the back row that is still empty.
Bill:wavehand:
 
# LED's

# LED's

gannmann9876 said:
how many leds are in the fixture i want to get a led setup for my tank just tring to get an idea of how many i need
Click to expand...

For a 48" x 24" tank they Reccomend 96 3W with a mixture of Blues, Whites and there are several different kinds of both and then you have Violet, Red Green Yellow Etc to tune it to your liking. So far as i understand it all and that is limited knowledge at this time but i am a quick learner!
Thanks for all the comments, And they are welcomed both good and bad if you don't think it is for you we want to hear that too.
Bill:beer:
PS I will have right at 100 when we are finished FYI
 
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i am waiting for tank shots with the leds!! i have been looking around trying to find a affordable fixture for my tank and the pics i see with leds are real nice.
 
Its not nearly as purple as it looks. Originally it looked very crisp. VERY crisp. Probably like a 12k metal halide, close to a 10k. We're bluing it up a little bit with some more royal blues, but you guys will just have to wait until its completely finished to see it. Its going to be awesome. :) I'll be doing mine soon, too, which will be about 1/3 of what this one is, but my tank is only a 30g. :)

Brandon
 
Affordable

Affordable

gannmann9876 said:
i am waiting for tank shots with the leds!! i have been looking around trying to find a affordable fixture for my tank and the pics i see with leds are real nice.
Click to expand...

Most of the Pre made fixtures are very expensive still. The cheaper ones are 1W LED's and are not going to be what you want.
As far as Par goes I have not gotten the Meter from Zef yet and the Fixture is not yet finished. So it would be pointless at this time.
Bill:wave:
 
its hard to find the pre made fixtures with 3w leds and when you do they are extremely expensive. i told my wife i would build my own but she says she likes are house and doesnet want it burnt down.
 
Me too, Chuck. :) Bill is trying to find out where the PAR meter is as well. We'll be waiting about 2 weeks before we have everything else in that we need to have this 100% done.

Also, I want to speak on cost real quick. LEDs are NOT cheaper up front. Period. If you want a good fixture, you're going to pay out the nose for it (with your eye on ROI). If you want to DIY a fixture, it generally costs the same as a high end/really good MH setup. However, you're putting less than half the wattage back into your tank as heat and you're also saving the same amount on your electric bill. Bill's lights should be pulling about 200w or so as compared to around 600w including the inefficiencies of the LED drivers and the MH ballasts.

As far as the colors, the cool white and royal blue LEDs generally give people what they want. That's what we've used on this build. However, we're also adding at least 2 or maybe up to 6 warm whites to add some amber/red to the overall color. That's simply because we already had the cool whites. If you're planning a new build, most people recommend having all neutral whites if you want to add the amber/reds. On my build, I'll be mixing 8 neutral whites with 4 cool whites, along with 15 royal blues and a few regular blues to add some green. :) I'm going to be adjusting everything to find what works best.

Brandon
 
Nice, Bill and Brandon. I'm not far behind you. I plan on starting with a small one for the seahorse tank that can be placed over other systems to see what I like. Then I'll move to one fixture (48-60 bulbs) to replace a 250MH over the 280 to see what I think. If it all goes as it looks like it will from Bill's pictures, I'll follow suit for the rest of the tank. At $600 for a DIY kit, the ROI (replacing (3)-250W MH and (4)-160W VHO's) is there in just under 2 years (no chiller/AC costs added into analysis).

What mix/ratio of bulbs? Doesn't look like 1:1, but doesn't look like 1:2 either. Are they somewhat symmetric in terms of placement (alternating white/blue), or something more custom?
 
Awesome, Gary! I can't wait to get my fixture going.

This one is 1:1. The pictures don't show that very well, but it is. :)

I do have a question, though... how are you replacing 3 250w MHs with a $600 DIY kit? The seems a little low, to be honest. For a 120g, its usually around $500 for the LEDs alone (96 of them at $5 each).

Brandon
 
Oh, forgot to mention, they just alternate in each row blue/white. A few overlap due to that side by side. Let me dig up the picture...

IMAG0533.jpg


That shows it fairly well.

Brandon
 
Ahh. I see on the layout.

The replacement for the (3) 250's and VHO's will start with one fixture, then expand to (3), if I like what I see. 48 or 60 bulb fixtures on a 24" heat sink (turned the 3' width of the tank x 3 for 6' length). I've got a few debts before I can start with the first fixture, but I've done the math and am ready to give it a shot. The par values I've seen from various OEM fixtures are very promising.
 
Oh, ok... gotcha. Are you looking at $600 per 2 foot section?

For what its worth, if you're just going to use 3w or less LEDs, Aluminum C channel from Lowes (the kind designed for 3/4" plywood) works great as a heatsink if its actively cooled with fans. Probably cheaper than 24" full-fledged heatsinks.

Sounds like you've got some fun stuff in mind, though! :)

Brandon
 
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