leds vs max milli amp drivers

[ontop27]

Hi yall. I am designing my next build and I am thinking or recycling my DIY leds on my current build. I currently have a 50 breeder with 4 t5s and a rapid led solderless build. 6 x 32" heat sink, Here is the driver
0-10V Dimmable Nano Driver with Potentiometer - Rapid LED

1 string I have 8 true violets, 1 string I have a mix between cyan, blue, and royal blue. I love the look but for the next build I want all leds. Rather then buying a new fixture (I'd love the maxspect) I would rather just spend like another $100 and upgrade my fixture. The question I have is with the whites. I like the drivers because it is easy to use with the potentiometer. Problem is (maybe) it is 700ma max. Most of my current leds are 700 - 1000 max. So I figure if I running 700 max leds I am running them at full power and 1000's at 7/10s full power when turned all the way up right? So if I get whites I would basically be running them at 700/1500 so less than half power right? I love a blue tank anway but I dont know if I would be seriously underpowering them. I am thinking the next tank would be 45g or less, 24"-30" wide and rather rather shallow 18" or less. So the question would be, am I understanding it currently and if I am would 8 TVs at full power, 9-10 blueish leds at 7/10's full power, and 8-10 whites run at half power be enough? Most of the leds would be 3 watt crees except the TV's which would still be 3 watts and I would guess I would use 90 degree optics. Not a huge fan of green or red leds just to add.

Any help would be great!

 

[ReefLEDLights]

ontop27

I prefer to under drive LEDs. The Cree XT-E and Cree XP-G are both rated for 1500ma. They are most efficient around 350mA. You double this and you get about 95% more light. Take it one step further and drive them at 1000mA or 30% more current you will only get 20% more light out of them. These are rough numbers because they do not factor in heat. The hotter the LED gets the lower the output. Its very possible to drive a LED at 100% and get less light than if you drive it at 85 or 90%.

I'm not familiar with that driver but have had great results with the Inventronics EUC42 series on my personal system. If you want to drive the 5 watt LEDs at 1050mA or 1280mA, I would consider these: Inventronics(Hangzhou)Inc.ou can solder a potientiometer for manual dimming or use their controller and choose 700, 1050 or 1280mA. I've also found the Inventronics EUC Series more Reliable than than the Meanwell ELN series.

BTW what cool white spectrum bins is Rapid offering?

Bill

 

[ontop27]

Thanks for your help.. See I'm not that fancy with bins and all. I know I can solder with no problem but it let's me sleep (and my fiance) at night knowing that everything is connections and not solders.

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[ontop27]

And I guess I should also add with this system I primarily going to make it a zoa garden, maybe 2-3 sps at the top. I think I'm over the mixed reef thing

Older pic of my current setup

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[ReefLEDLights]

Thanks for your help.. See I'm not that fancy with bins and all. I know I can solder with no problem but it let's me sleep (and my fiance) at night knowing that everything is connections and not solders.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Personally I prefer the BJB as you can keep the wiring simple and then if you choose you can swap out any 20mm LED Star at any time. The other solderless option has merit as its a little less expensive but I never did like the wiring options.

If you prefer that crisp blue Radium MH look bins really matter http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/C...odules/XLamp/Data and Binning/XLampXTE_BL.pdf. The Last thing I want in my tank is more yellow. I'm sure you heard the complaint the light is too yellow you need more blue....

Here is a pic of two cree cool whites I tested over my mixed reef. One the right is 5-5.5K the other is 7.5k.

6K or 2A is a common colour bin less common than 7.5K.

Hope this helps

Bill