DIY Full Spectrum LED pre-build questions

[MisterMiniS]

Hello,
As part of my DIY focused reef tank, I will be designing and building my LED lighting. I have absolutely 0 experience with LED lighting, but have tons of practical knowledge and technical abilities.


So, first off, this is going on a 100 gallon tank. It's dimensions are 60"x18"x18". In the middle of the tank, there is a foot wide brace that is .25" in glass to stop bowing. Please see below


http://i.imgur.com/RB4SjOg.jpg?1


I will be using primarily ledgroupbuy.com for the equipment. For the heatsink, I have been mulling over two options; one 4' heatsink that I will have 3 clusters of lights on or three 1' sections that will be spaced out and have their own light clusters. Any thoughts? Does that really even matter? Also, if one light cluster is directly above the glass brace, how will that effect lighting if any? As a part to this question, should I be adjusting the angle of the lighting on these, or is the stock angle fine? I have seen some builds with and without.


Also, I will be using dimmers so I can adjust intensity, but what is a good height to hang the lights from knowing the depth of the tank and the tank's purpose?


I will also be using a controller to run the tank (including the lights). I had originally thought of using an Apex controller, but after some negative feedback I saw about quality, I have been thinking about doing the Reef Angel controller (yes I know it is open source and yes I am ok with that). Has anyone run their lights from either of those controllers? Thought?


Finally, I will be going full spectrum, and at the generally accepted 1 LED/15 in^2 means that I need 72 LED's. If they are placed in 3 clusters, that is 24 each. Does that sound acceptable, or does the LED/in^2 change as tank size increases? What is a good limit for LED's per driver? I have heard as low as 15 and as high as 25.


Thanks in advance!

 

[DerekFF]

Hello,
As part of my DIY focused reef tank, I will be designing and building my LED lighting. I have absolutely 0 experience with LED lighting, but have tons of practical knowledge and technical abilities.


So, first off, this is going on a 100 gallon tank. It's dimensions are 60"x18"x18". In the middle of the tank, there is a foot wide brace that is .25" in glass to stop bowing. Please see below


http://i.imgur.com/RB4SjOg.jpg?1


I will be using primarily ledgroupbuy.com for the equipment. For the heatsink, I have been mulling over two options; one 4' heatsink that I will have 3 clusters of lights on or three 1' sections that will be spaced out and have their own light clusters. Any thoughts? Does that really even matter? Also, if one light cluster is directly above the glass brace, how will that effect lighting if any? As a part to this question, should I be adjusting the angle of the lighting on these, or is the stock angle fine? I have seen some builds with and without.


Also, I will be using dimmers so I can adjust intensity, but what is a good height to hang the lights from knowing the depth of the tank and the tank's purpose?


I will also be using a controller to run the tank (including the lights). I had originally thought of using an Apex controller, but after some negative feedback I saw about quality, I have been thinking about doing the Reef Angel controller (yes I know it is open source and yes I am ok with that). Has anyone run their lights from either of those controllers? Thought?


Finally, I will be going full spectrum, and at the generally accepted 1 LED/15 in^2 means that I need 72 LED's. If they are placed in 3 clusters, that is 24 each. Does that sound acceptable, or does the LED/in^2 change as tank size increases? What is a good limit for LED's per driver? I have heard as low as 15 and as high as 25.


Thanks in advance!

Generally speaking a piece of glass depending on clarity can cut your par by anywhere from 0-15%. It'll be fine as long as its kept relatively clean.

The heat sink setup is entirely your preference for looks. I like the 3x1 foot pendant style but any arrangement will work and 90 degree lenses will most likely be suitable here also.

12" is a good hang height, but make sure it's adjustable just in case you need to go higher or lower for better light spread or intensity.

I have no experience with controllers.

72 LEDs should be fine for that. You could always go more or less to change the color spectrum you're getting but as a total 72 is pretty appropriate.




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[DerekFF]

Oh and LEDs per driver. I've had issues with less 10 per driver (totally dependent and variable by driver type) but I've found that doing the minimum rated for the driver causes problems for some reason. Again it's dependent on the driver, but anywhere from 10-24 is pretty standard per driver.


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[MisterMiniS]

DerekFF,
Thanks for being direct and to the point. Much appreciated. That answers everything except the question about the controller, so if anyone has feedback regarding that, please pipe in
Thanks!

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I have an APEX and really like it. My system is a tad on the large size, 330 gal SPS 570 Mix and over 2000 in the sump room. I have actual seasonal sunrise and sunset programmed and on my 570 have cloud movement simulated.

As far as drivers go is the Reef Angle your considering PWM or Analog? The APEX and Profilux are analog 1-10VDC and work well with the common Inventronics, Hyperon or Thomas Research Drivers. The 40 watt versions can run 7-15 XT-E LEDs

When you choose your LEDs make sure you pick the right Bins. Some Bins of the Coll White are on the yellow side. For the Royal Blue you want as close to 450 nm as possible.

Bill

 

[sjmusic2]

I run my leds with my Reef Angel and absolutely love it. I have the RA+ and the dimming module, the expansion hub and an extra relay box. It helps if you are somewhat comfortable programming, especially if you want to really customize your controller, but this is not essential as there is a wizard that will write the program for you (for routine stuff) and if you get stuck the support is first class on the forums or directly with Roberto/Curt at RA.

I run full-spectrum and LEDGroupBuy are very good, but I would also recommend looking at Steve's Leds - the luxeon 3-ups are outstanding. I have added several Cool Blue/Cyan/Deep Red over my tank, in the 3-up anti disco format, to my Cool White, Warm White, Royal Blue, Cool Blue and True Violet (I have UV too, but never use them).

There isn't enough info provided to advise on which driver is most suitable. First work out how many channels you want - I have all of my colors on separate channels so they can be dimmed independently and the leds on each channel are wired in series. Assuming you go the same route, you need to find out the forward voltage (Vf) of the leds and the max current. Once you know this you can take a look at the available drivers, eg. I use Meanwell ELN-60-48P which can typically output a max of 48v. So for example, if your Vf is 3.5v then you could run a maximum of 13 of these leds in series (13 x 3.5 = 45.5v). Keep in mind that you want to have a little headroom on the voltage so you are running a few volts under the max. This Meanwell driver can be adjusted somewhat for current and voltage. Also know that there is a minimum voltage output too, so keep the total forward voltage between the min and max listed on the Meanwell datasheet.

Also decide how you are going to dim the channels - I use PWM from my RA+ (hence the 'P' on the ELN-60-48P), but you could also use an analog signal (eg. using a pot). Which method you choose will determine which drivers you can use.

Hopefully this makes sense and good luck !