poolkeepers LED build

[poolkeeper1]

U Channel

U Channel

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

And I'll bet you can find it much cheaper than the roughly 8.00 a 4' length that Lowe's charges if you look around online. It works really well with only 2 small fans on each side blowing towards each other and two larger ones venting the heat out of the canopy. All of which are very low power consumption and are very Quiet as i can not hear them at all!
Bill

 

[poolkeeper1]

Here is a shot of them while they are off to get a better look at the rails they are on.
Bill

 

[mixer911]

Pure!

 

[zef004]

Nice bill your going to love them Im already seeing new colors and growth so far out of my led fixtures.
4wks on the 180

 

[zef004]

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?

Gary I like to get some of or seahorse when they get bigger. I'm going to be following your thread on your babies.

Good luck with these.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I am following this thread with a great interest.

How do the colors of corals under the LED's look to you? I have seen a number of LED lit tanks, but so far none of them that I saw show off pink colors satisfactory to my eyes while greens and oranges pop. Pink tends to brown out a lot.

I also read that a 3W LED is actually not as bright/efficient as a group of three 1W LED's. Have you compared them like that?

 

[gflat65]

Yeah, I was looking at round $600 per 2'x3' area. I'll look into the rails from Lowes, and also at work. The electronics group is looking at new things and I've seen some heat sinks in the lab that I may be able to take at some point.

Are there different optics, or is that just Royal blue versus white? I notice some of the housings look black and some look white.

Zef-if I can get any to live, I'll put you down. This is my third full brood (the last one, I only got 5 babies because I overslept...). Except the last brood, I've had better and better luck with them each time. This time, they all were at the surface when I extracted them (different than previous times), so I'm hopeful that is a good indicator.

I'd be interested in what Tomoko's talking about on the (3)-1W versus (1)-3W, too. I've not researched it much, but does Cree have a 1W in the same colors? Of course, how much less efficient are we talking about?

Does anyone have a pic of a red planet under LED's?

 

[poolkeeper1]

1W verses 3W

1W verses 3W

Yeah, I was looking at round $600 per 2'x3' area. I'll look into the rails from Lowes, and also at work. The electronics group is looking at new things and I've seen some heat sinks in the lab that I may be able to take at some point.

Are there different optics, or is that just Royal blue versus white? I notice some of the housings look black and some look white.

Zef-if I can get any to live, I'll put you down. This is my third full brood (the last one, I only got 5 babies because I overslept...). Except the last brood, I've had better and better luck with them each time. This time, they all were at the surface when I extracted them (different than previous times), so I'm hopeful that is a good indicator.

I'd be interested in what Tomoko's talking about on the (3)-1W versus (1)-3W, too. I've not researched it much, but does Cree have a 1W in the same colors? Of course, how much less efficient are we talking about?

Does anyone have a pic of a red planet under LED's?

I'm certainly no expert here but the way I understand it the 1W bulbs are not the same when you put three of them together. They just do Not have the same intensity as the 3W Cree LED's do no matter how many you put together. I tried a 1W fixture over my tank first and It's like night and day compared to the 3W Cree bulbs you get brightness but the colors are washed out and look brown, No color to speak of like you get with the three watt bulbs. Mine actually look better than my Halides and were not even close to being done adding all the bulbs that will be on this fixture when it's complete. Right now i still have 30 more 3W crees that have not been lit up in the pictures you have seen so far. And I'm Impressed with what is there now!
Bill

The color IMO looks better with the LED's than before
Tomoko I just looked and I really do not have any pink corals to compare but all the rest look just like they did with the M/H, Some even better!
I'll wait until we are done to give a final opinion.

 

[NeveSSL]

I am following this thread with a great interest.

How do the colors of corals under the LED's look to you? I have seen a number of LED lit tanks, but so far none of them that I saw show off pink colors satisfactory to my eyes while greens and oranges pop. Pink tends to brown out a lot.

I also read that a 3W LED is actually not as bright/efficient as a group of three 1W LED's. Have you compared them like that?

I know exactly what you're talking about, Tomoko. There is an "LED Aesthetics" thread both on RC as well as Nano Reef that talks about this very thing. What most people are doing now is one of two things: Their either supplementing their cool white LEDs with warm white LEDs, which have quite a bit of red/orange/pink in them, or their switching their cool whites for neutral white, which also has more red/orange/pink than the cool whites. People are also adding in regular blue LEDs (they're being called cool blue to differentiate from royal blues) to get some of the greens back as well.

My experience with 1w LEDs is the same as Bill's, but I've never compared them under PAR. I can definitely say that I wouldn't do a 1w DIY build as that would be at least 3 times the soldering. At least if you were doing 1 at a time...

Brandon

 

[zef004]

Gary If no one post a RP pic by tonight I will when I get home tonight. Pop out of the LEDs


Pinks and reds look good with all LEDs on but with just blue LEDs they look brown.
Right now I'm testing if supplements will help bring these colors out.

 

[NeveSSL]

Whats an RP pic, Zef?

Brandon

 

[poolkeeper1]

Rp

Rp

Whats an RP pic, Zef?

Brandon

RP= ORA Red Planet coral and I do have one but my camera will not pick up the red/green colors of it. But Tomoko it does look like it should under my LED's (Forgot About that coral) Also I have a vry small piece of Pink Selage from Sniper SPS and it also looks pink, So there you go.
Bill:wavehand:

 

[pelagic7]

Bill, is that white balance issue?

 

[zef004]

RP= ORA Red Planet coral and I do have one but my camera will not pick up the red/green colors of it. But Tomoko it does look like it should under my LED's (Forgot About that coral) Also I have a vry small piece of Pink Selage from Sniper SPS and it also looks pink, So there you go.
Bill:wavehand:

Bill is this with both white and blue LEDs on. That your gettin pinks. I know my sanddoller looks good with the LEDs. But my pink lemonade don't. But I did have my SG jump to 1.037. So alote of my corals are still a lil brown. But comeing back.

 

[gannmann9876]

i just got home from bills and wanted to say that the the tank looks awesome under the leds. the color of the leds is insane it makes the coral pop like crazy. seeing it in person has made my decision on making the switch to leds.

 

[poolkeeper1]

Thanks

Thanks

i just got home from bills and wanted to say that the the tank looks awesome under the leds. the color of the leds is insane it makes the coral pop like crazy. seeing it in person has made my decision on making the switch to leds.

That say's it all the Photos just don't get the actual look that you see in person.
Thanks and hope those frags do well for you
Bill

 

[poolkeeper1]

Hmmm!

Hmmm!

Bill, is that white balance issue?

Cheap Camera issue or i just don't know how to use it.
Bill

 

[poolkeeper1]

Both

Both

Bill is this with both white and blue LEDs on. That your gettin pinks. I know my sanddoller looks good with the LEDs. But my pink lemonade don't. But I did have my SG jump to 1.037. So alote of my corals are still a lil brown. But comeing back.

That's with both White/Blue Plus some of those new Cool Whites that are like looking at the Sun they are bright as can be!
Bill

 

[zukmancdr]

Cheap Camera issue or i just don't know how to use it.
Bill

lol. Jenn got a Canon Rebel, and still can't get a good pic.
:lmao:

 

[orthokardia]

brightness

brightness

I also read that a 3W LED is actually not as bright/efficient as a group of three 1W LED's. Have you compared them like that?

I do not have experince with LEDs, but when dealing with laser diodes multiple emmiters are almost never as bright as a single emmitter with the same avg power. the brightness is governed by how small of a spot the light output can be focus down. the effect people are seeing with 3x1w is likely due to optics selection.

-bart