LED Q&A (You ask, I'll answer)

[Edventure]

Drivers

Looking at the various Driver brands out there, do you have any comments on them. I know this may be hard to do without bashing any one brand and if thats so then let's drop this.

One of the points I'm looking at is the feature of setting the max drive current. Sounds nice but wouldn't a quick blow fuse do the same or am I missing something. Also whats the difference between Class II and Class 2 and any thoughts on where to mount them. On the fixture over the water or off to the side?

Anything else you can think of would be appreciated too.

 

[lemonyx]

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/members/anemonekeeper.htmlanemonekeeper

Currently I have a 180gal 48"x36"24"H mixed reef SPS/Clams/LPS and my first build, thinking that I need 112 total LED's: split between two heat sinks and all with 80degree optics, hooked up to my Apex

20 cool whites Cree XP-G R5 for High Noon driven @ 1050ma 4-5 hrs

30 cool whites Cree XP-G R5 driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

60 Royal Blues XT-E driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

12 XP-E Blues driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

What do you think of this combo?

Will be using the MeanWell ELN 60-48D's, how many LEDs can I run per driver?

With the XP-G's for high noon, will the Apex be able to ramp

them up to the 1050ma during the "noon" period and then back down to 700ma?

And what size heat sink will I need for this current tank? 24"L x ??"w

thanks for your time and help -


I'm sure I'll have more questions

 

[AQUAMAN22]

How many leds for a 375 gal tank 96 x 30 x30 my 400 watt m/h's are killing me. I want it to be clean looking & how would i mount them to make for easy adjustment highth wise and to access tank? i just started my tank about 8 months ago and i want a mixed reef without the killer electric bill

 

[Pumbooris]

I got myself a 36 dim. led kit from rapid led and i also added 4 uv 2 warm whites, and 2 greens to go along with the cool white, royal blue, and blue leds that came with the kit. Now my question is do people wire resistors into the set up or will I be fine without using them? also im using the meanwell eln 60-48d drivers thanks!

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

Looking at the various Driver brands out there, do you have any comments on them. I know this may be hard to do without bashing any one brand and if thats so then let's drop this.

One of the points I'm looking at is the feature of setting the max drive current. Sounds nice but wouldn't a quick blow fuse do the same or am I missing something. Also whats the difference between Class II and Class 2 and any thoughts on where to mount them. On the fixture over the water or off to the side?

Anything else you can think of would be appreciated too.

A fuse will not set the max drive current, if it is at 1.2 amps, and you put a 1 amp fuse on ite to get it down to 1 amp, the fuse will simply blow. I recommend meanwells above all. How many of what kind of LEDs do you want to drive?

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

anemonekeeper

Currently I have a 180gal 48"x36"24"H mixed reef SPS/Clams/LPS and my first build, thinking that I need 112 total LED's: split between two heat sinks and all with 80degree optics, hooked up to my Apex

20 cool whites Cree XP-G R5 for High Noon driven @ 1050ma 4-5 hrs

30 cool whites Cree XP-G R5 driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

60 Royal Blues XT-E driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

12 XP-E Blues driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

What do you think of this combo?

Will be using the MeanWell ELN 60-48D's, how many LEDs can I run per driver?

With the XP-G's for high noon, will the Apex be able to ramp

them up to the 1050ma during the "noon" period and then back down to 700ma?

And what size heat sink will I need for this current tank? 24"L x ??"w

thanks for your time and help -


I'm sure I'll have more questions

I would double the amount of whites, and ditch the high noon LEDs. run the royal blues at 1300ma max, same with the cool whites. Add more violets, reds, and greens to complement the blues. I would do 2 18" x 10.080" heat sinks.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

How many leds for a 375 gal tank 96 x 30 x30 my 400 watt m/h's are killing me. I want it to be clean looking & how would i mount them to make for easy adjustment highth wise and to access tank? i just started my tank about 8 months ago and i want a mixed reef without the killer electric bill

I would do 36 XT-Es (18 royal blue, 18cw at 1300ma max), plus colored LEDs, like reds, blues, violets, and greens for every 400watt mh pendent. As for mounting and making it look clean, that is up to you, get creative with your build, there are a ton of different options.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I got myself a 36 dim. led kit from rapid led and i also added 4 uv 2 warm whites, and 2 greens to go along with the cool white, royal blue, and blue leds that came with the kit. Now my question is do people wire resistors into the set up or will I be fine without using them? also im using the meanwell eln 60-48d drivers thanks!

You never need resistors, unless you have too few LEDs on a driver, like only 3 for an ELN 30-48 D, which is 12-24v, so you need to pick up an extra 3v or so. Resistors are for testing. That is why you see them in so many builds.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

anemonekeeper

Currently I have a 180gal 48"x36"24"H mixed reef SPS/Clams/LPS and my first build, thinking that I need 112 total LED's: split between two heat sinks and all with 80degree optics, hooked up to my Apex

20 cool whites Cree XP-G R5 for High Noon driven @ 1050ma 4-5 hrs

30 cool whites Cree XP-G R5 driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

60 Royal Blues XT-E driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

12 XP-E Blues driven @ 700ma 9-10 hrs

What do you think of this combo?

Will be using the MeanWell ELN 60-48D's, how many LEDs can I run per driver?

With the XP-G's for high noon, will the Apex be able to ramp

them up to the 1050ma during the "noon" period and then back down to 700ma?

And what size heat sink will I need for this current tank? 24"L x ??"w

thanks for your time and help -


I'm sure I'll have more questions

And also, no optics. You need all the spread you can get, believe me.

 

[Surfage_Breakage]

I was thinking about going with the Ocreef x series 144w CREE X Series LED Aquarium Lighting - CREE 3 Watt Aquarium Lights on my 75g. I have sps, lps, softies, clams so I wanted to make sure that it would be intense enough. Right now I have 6 t5ho and a 90w reef brite blue led strip. I wanted to get the best color and growth that I can get, so I am looking to upgrade my lights. What do you sigest?

 

[Isoprene]

Ok I have two questions, mind you I know next to nothing about LED fixtures or how to put these custom kits together. What im looking for is a close to plug and play unit for 2 different tanks. One is a corner 55 bow front and the other is a 20 gallon long. I want to do all types of corals. If you could just suggest some good units that are under like 300 (if that even exists) or under 500 at the most. Thanks.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I was thinking about going with the Ocreef x series 144w CREE X Series LED Aquarium Lighting - CREE 3 Watt Aquarium Lights on my 75g. I have sps, lps, softies, clams so I wanted to make sure that it would be intense enough. Right now I have 6 t5ho and a 90w reef brite blue led strip. I wanted to get the best color and growth that I can get, so I am looking to upgrade my lights. What do you sigest?

That is about 2 thirds of the power you need, and not full spectrum. The regular white/blue combo will not cut it, and you need at least 36 XPEs per 24" of tank.

 

[saratj1]

What do you think about hybrid or blue and white on one emitter epistar has a 10w 20w 50w 100w that im aware of. These are availible on ebay. I am thinking of using one 100w to make a diy kessil style light.

 

[reef life]

I have 3 250 w MH's with a 48" reefbrite led over a 180 gal, 6' x 2' x 2'. I was thinking of a change of lighting. I have a lps and sps reef tank. What would you recommend for led lighting to replace MH's for growth and color? Will led's morph high end chalices? Thanks.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I have 3 250 w MH's with a 48" reefbrite led over a 180 gal, 6' x 2' x 2'. I was thinking of a change of lighting. I have a lps and sps reef tank. What would you recommend for led lighting to replace MH's for growth and color? Will led's morph high end chalices? Thanks.

If you are worried about chalices, you would be best off doing a hybrid system. I would use 18 7500k cool white XT-Es, and 18 450nm royal blue XT-Es, along with 3 reds, and 3 greens, for every 24" of tank. The violets would be added by the the 420nm actinict T-5s, and give you a better chance that your chalices would not lose color. I am confident in LEDs not shifting colors, so I would start out using 6 420nm LEDs per 24" of tank to pick up that spectrum, and add T-5s if the color fades after initial light acclimation.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

What do you think about hybrid or blue and white on one emitter epistar has a 10w 20w 50w 100w that im aware of. These are availible on ebay. I am thinking of using one 100w to make a diy kessil style light.

You can do that, but I would go a little bit whiter than you want, say 14k instead of 20k, and add some violets, reds, and royal blues to supplement the colors, and bring it up to 16-20K if needed.

 

[Kworker]

How are you thanks for putting the time in to educate us on LED's. My father is an electrician as well but he is not nearly as interested in fish/reefkeeping as I am. He just wants to look at it when its done and will give me a hand with things here and there.

We had plans to get a kit from rapidled and make a DIY fixture but I would rather go the easier route I just discovered by either using pendant lights or track lights and using Par38 bulbs because I have seen people have had great success with them plus i like the idea of easy plug and unplug. My plans were to be able to eventually have SPS if i chose but ATM I want simple and easy stuff so I would be able to just add new bulbs into the track down the road for the sps. I would just need to find a tracklight that uses e26/7 sockets. What do you think about this plan and do you think 4 mixed color par38 bulbs with 80 degree lenses are enough in the beginning for some shrooms and softies possibly LPS? My main goal is to make it easier for myself without my fathers help since he's pretty busy always working OT and the lack of interest in the hobby

there was a main reason I was posting but I lost it in my mind haha, thanks again for the time.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

How are you thanks for putting the time in to educate us on LED's. My father is an electrician as well but he is not nearly as interested in fish/reefkeeping as I am. He just wants to look at it when its done and will give me a hand with things here and there.

We had plans to get a kit from rapidled and make a DIY fixture but I would rather go the easier route I just discovered by either using pendant lights or track lights and using Par38 bulbs because I have seen people have had great success with them plus i like the idea of easy plug and unplug. My plans were to be able to eventually have SPS if i chose but ATM I want simple and easy stuff so I would be able to just add new bulbs into the track down the road for the sps. I would just need to find a tracklight that uses e26/7 sockets. What do you think about this plan and do you think 4 mixed color par38 bulbs with 80 degree lenses are enough in the beginning for some shrooms and softies possibly LPS? My main goal is to make it easier for myself without my fathers help since he's pretty busy always working OT and the lack of interest in the hobby

there was a main reason I was posting but I lost it in my mind haha, thanks again for the time.

PAR 38s are an OK option but we stopped offering them due to their reliably. The Cree LEDs are good for 50,000 hours but the drivers in the PAR 38s we tested are all over the board in terms of reliability.

DIY Offers the best parts at close to half the cost. If you go solderless its as simple as plug and play.

Bill

 

[BriGuy31+]

What is the best retro fit LED hook-up for a 28g JBJ Nano cube? I'm not really looking to put in a bunch of time into a DIY but if a kit goes together easily then I may consider it. If possible, looking for a plug and play. Just doing this tank with mostly LPS. Thx.

 

[BebeCR]

Right now I am looking for some new "no-so-expensive" LED fixtures for both of my mixed SPS-SPS-Softies tanks: one 36g (31" long) and one 75g (48" long). You wrote about the bridgelux fixtures, I search the Internet and found them. Are they ok for the job?

Here are the specifications:

HY-A03-SD series intelligent LED aquarium light can be manually controlled by remote controller,and also automatically simulate the sunrise,sunset,lunar cycle in 28days.
1.Customers can be set up own User-defined Programming Function on Brightness/Time by SD-card "hy.txt" file.
2.Five Time Mode Inner Programming Choice as Factory Setting. On the build-in functional system in 5-MODE (Normal,Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter).
3.Without fans, no noisy. Passive cooling system
4.External Power Supply. Comply to UL,ROHS, CE, FCC certification
5 .Aluminum housing case with good heat sink

1 unit 24" HY-A03-24X3W for my 36gallon tank. Unit price is $205USD. available color ratio 4pcsx3w White 10000k
4pcsx3w White 14000k
4pcsx3w White 18000k
5pcsx3w blue 460nm
5pcsx3w moon bule 453nm
1pcsx3w purple 427nm
1pcsx3w green

1 unit 48" HY-A03-48X3W for my 75gallon tank. Unit price is $315USD. available color ratio
8pcsx3w White 10000k
8pcsx3w White 14000k
8pcsx3w White 18000k
12pcsx3w blue 460nm
8pcsx3w moon bule 453nm
2pcsx3w purple 427nm
2pcsx3w green