So we all know led is the new wave. Led are the baddest most efficient lights to ever come along. Well kinda.....
While led are very good and getting better they just don't have what it takes for a stand alone. (For most people) We also know a brand name fixture will cost your first born with cash to boot. Lots of people have good success with the Chinese fixtures but those lack the function of more expensive units.
When I set my 125 up I wanted led lights but couldn't afford the good fixtures and I don't really like the look of diy and didn't want 3 d120 hanging. When the it2080 came out I almost pulled the trigger but the reviews were still mixed and now they have gotten expensive. So I got a t5 odyssea. I know they suck and will burst into flames but I've had good luck with it so far.
I've been looking and reading on LEDs ever since. The spectrum has gotten better and people have learned more what to do. Then it hit me. Led with t5 supplementation. So the search was on.
After searching and researching and re researching.....then re searching my r&d team found a controllable diy fixture from aqua style. It seems to be a pretty good with up to 84 led. It has a power source with 4 controllable channels and 2 non for fans and other unnecessary crap lime moon lights.
Now we all know more is better so I'm going to use 84 led and some how retro 3 heatsinks into my existing cheap t5 fixture to make a ultra clean ultra bright reef light. Now for the technical side of the plan!
The heat sinks I got are approximately 2"x0.9"x22". I'm going to split the existing reflector down the middle and bend each half at 1 inch making 2 sperate reflectors with a 2 inch gap between them. Hopefully the new LEDs will fit right in. The power supply will be either mounted behind the tank or on top of the light depending on the wiring. All the driver boards will be mounted inside the fixture. We will be running a mix of 49-450 14-420 7-4500 7-6500 and 7-10k. Im shooting for a real blue light with that actinic pop.
I just ordered these lights yesterday so it will be 6-14 days before I will even get them but I don't think the build will take very long.
Have you considered using more up to date 5 watt LEDs. After you factor everything in they are actually less expensive the older generation 3 watt LEDs.
My First DIY I replaced 2 400 watt Radiums and 3 250 watt 10K XMs. I kept the 8 110 watt VHO 420nm.
Growth was a bit better.
Eventually I got tired of replacing the VHOs and went 100% LED. With Binned Cree LEDS I found the look slightly better and loving the fact that my 30 Amp Circuit Breaker is only delivering 12 Amps to light a 10 foot long tank. Thats at max high noon. I only run the LEDs max for 4-6 hours a day.
Growth has been outstanding and my Red Carpet is almost twice its original size.
Have you considered using more up to date 5 watt LEDs. After you factor everything in they are actually less expensive the older generation 3 watt LEDs.
My First DIY I replaced 2 400 watt Radiums and 3 250 watt 10K XMs. I kept the 8 110 watt VHO 420nm.
Growth was a bit better.
Eventually I got tired of replacing the VHOs and went 100% LED. With Binned Cree LEDS I found the look slightly better and loving the fact that my 30 Amp Circuit Breaker is only delivering 12 Amps to light a 10 foot long tank. Thats at max high noon. I only run the LEDs max for 4-6 hours a day.
Growth has been outstanding and my Red Carpet is almost twice its original size.
This is a very cool discussion. Ive been caught up in the whole having halide/t5 and wanting to switch to LED but being afraid to stage also. LoL. Are there any really good tutorials on all of this? I have a 48" Current Outter Orbit unit with 150 watt halides and 4 t5s
This is a very cool discussion. Ive been caught up in the whole having halide/t5 and wanting to switch to LED but being afraid to stage also. LoL. Are there any really good tutorials on all of this? I have a 48" Current Outter Orbit unit with 150 watt halides and 4 t5s
I didn't even really consider cree this time. The first time I looked into cree they had xte and St something else. You were basically stuck with 2 colors and I didn't like that. I'm no expert but I can't understand why you would use 5 watt. It seems that everyone with the bridgelux 3 watt have to dim them anyways. From what I see most people don't run over 70% on a d120 anyway. I'm not saying the 5 watt LEDs are bad I just don't understand it.
There is an absolute mind boggling amount of info on led builds and fixtures. Its impossible to keep up with everything. IMO you need full spectrum with 4500 and as many different color blue as possible. Even then I feel as led are still lacking something. That is why I am keeping my t5.
I haven't had an update to my order yet so I'm still unsure when it will be. There will be plenty of pictures when it comes!
Binned is a term used for LEDs that are tested and sorted. We as reef keepers seem to be more specific in what we want in a bulb. With certain bins you can get better color and more light with the same model of led
The Cree Cool White is basically a full spectrum Light with the exception of Red which IMHO does little for coral growth compared to the 420-450nm. It is also blocked rather quickly in the ocean and corals harvested even at shallow depths rarely see it. The below chart is Cool, Neutral and Warm if you really want some Red the Warm works.
As far a colour choice according to this chart you have over 28 different Cool Whites to choose from. The Cooler Bins are less available and harder to get as flashlight manufacturers really dont care if its 5.5K of 7.5K.
Here is the difference in looks on my tank. Yes these are both Cool White but different Bins
The Royal Blue also has different Bins with some giving a Colour Pop similar to a VHO Atinic Bulb others a more Blue.
Binning is also for intensity with some bins being 15% or more less bright with the same current.
Bridglux LEDs although less efficient are tighter in their spectrum so one may not have to consider Bins as much to achieve the desired look. I've seen a lot of good tanks using these LEDs.
As far as the 5 watt XT-E when driven at 2 Watts or 700mA is exceptionally efficient and with a 50,000 rating to 75% intensity and greater thermal efficiency makes it my first choice.
OK I see now. Y'all use the 5 watt but drive them at 2 to help efficiency. Since you seem much more knowledgeable than I am I've got a question.
There are 2 types of dimmers. Pwm and voltage. What I don't get is how the voltage dimmer works. If you reduce voltage to the point below what the amperage consumption the led will just stop working...right? From what I can figure amperage is what determines light output as long as voltage is high enough to supply forward voltage for the string.
I'm no expert on led but I would like to think I've got a general idea of how it works before I try to build a system. The reason I went with bridge lux and more specifically aqua style was because it was a simi controllable kit at a decent price and I can tweak color spectrum easily. I have no doubt the cree is a more efficient and better leD.
The power supply has 4 channels at around 26v and something like 2.4 amp per channel (I think) they have meanwell drivers that do 1000 ma but the ones I got are around 650. Anyways I think I could fire cree 5 watt on the drivers but I don't know forward voltage.
I almost did a multi chip build instead of this....
The forward voltage of the LEDs are similar and the drivers are interchangeable.
PWM turns the LEDs on and off quickly to simulate dimming.
Analog 1-10VDC simply lowers the drive current to make the LEDs Dimmer.
2.4A is a lot the Bridgelux LEDs are older generation and like the newer generation LEDs they loose efficiency and produce heat when driven too hard. 700mA should be max 500-600mA is what most of the Chinese Fixtures use for this LED.
I personally prefer Analog dimming as the better controllers like Neptune APEX use this.
You will be happy with the results as the Bridgelux Kits are more efficient than MH and you will be easily able to tweak the colour by swapping out the LEDs especially if you go solderless.
If you are soldering it is an art and requires practice.
OK just an update. Fed ex tried to deliver Friday and I wasn't home. It would have been perfect to have all weekend to work on it but heck no! Oh well hopefully I will get em tomorrow and I can get to work!
So that was a lot more labor intensive than I had planned! Getting everything laid out and even was a pain in the rear not to mention trying to squeeze it all in one unit. I've still got a few tweaks and adjustments and I've got 1 led that blinked a few times but other than that it looks pretty good
