need some advice on leds

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

so I want to add to my par30. its got great color and power but not enough blues. this is what im looking at.

itll be a pretty simple install. this will go on a round heatsink that will fit around the outside of my par30, the par30 and this led "halo" setup will be fitted into round canopy I will build with a small fan at the top to pull heat out. Issue im having is coming up with a heatsink that will work... im looking at just a regular 6 inch aluminum ring that can be used, but will it be efficient? any suggestions?

twilliard · Dec 9, 2015

Do you know someone with a mill?
You can cut out your own cooling fins
Now what you dont state is the wattage per chip?
My be just fine on an aluminum ring.

jduck · Dec 9, 2015

Skip the uv, unless you want to fry the corals. Stick with the blue and royal blue

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

twilliard said:
Do you know someone with a mill?
You can cut out your own cooling fins
Now what you dont state is the wattage per chip?
My be just fine on an aluminum ring.

theyre all 3watts per, but on the dimmer will probably be set at 50% or less. I may know someone with a mill actually. ill have to call them and ask.

jduck said:
Skip the uv, unless you want to fry the corals. Stick with the blue and royal blue

all the best lights use UV. however youre correct about burning the coral, I don't need 4 of them. not sure why I put 4 of them up. as stated above, all will run at 50% or less. im not dead set on these chips or this combination. this is just a rough plan that will likely be changed a few times before I put in the order.

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

twilliard said:
Do you know someone with a mill?
You can cut out your own cooling fins
Now what you dont state is the wattage per chip?
My be just fine on an aluminum ring.

theyre all 3watts per, but on the dimmer will probably be set at 50% or less. I may know someone with a mill actually. ill have to call them and ask.

jduck said:
Skip the uv, unless you want to fry the corals. Stick with the blue and royal blue

all the best lights use UV. however youre correct about burning the coral, I don't need 4 of them. not sure why I put 4 of them up. as stated above, all will run at 50% or less. im not dead set on these chips or this combination. this is just a rough plan that will likely be changed a few times before I put in the order.

Reefrookie220 · Dec 9, 2015

Is this going on the reef bowl?

Will 24w give that much heat?

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

yeah itll go over the bowl. but it will be high enough over the bowl that the heat wont make much of a difference. itll also have a cooling fan in the canopy to pull heat away from the light and I also keep good airflow in my home so that will help prevent the heat from hitting the tank as well. but itll be more than 24 watts lol. my par30 is 35 watts by itself lol

but considering its going over such a small tank, ive still got a lot to look at before I make the order and build the light. I want more blue and royal blue. this light has a great spectrum but not enough blue for me. but I also want the blue to be adjustable so that's why im going with dimmable chips and driver. still got a bit to figure out lol

domination2580 · Dec 9, 2015

Where did you find such parts? And how much do you think would go on a 125

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

this is from rapidled.com

you can build a great DIY light. just buy a kit from them or build it yourself and go from there.

domination2580 · Dec 9, 2015

But is it worth the cost

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

well, that depends on what youre looking to get out of it. DIY leds like this can save you a ton of money and often can produce the same or better results as the mass produced lights. but even doing it this way can add up and cost a decent amount of money. what you should do is make a plan for what you want out of the lights and go from there. do you want built in timers and ramping lights, or do you want to use a controller? do you want digital control over the spectrum or do you want to build it to your specific spectrum and leave it be? there are several things to take into account to decide if its worth it for you.

if you don't want to deal with the technical aspect of it you could always buy this kit for 685
http://www.rapidled.com/solderless-125g-tank-diy-kit/

but at that point you could buy 3 SB Reef lights from this site and spend about the same. these lights will grow anything.
https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/3-sbox-elite-ramping.html

in the end what you decide to buy will be based on your needs and what you want. the DIY route is a good route to go for some. like for me, if an LED burns out I want to be able to replace it easily. the solderless leds are easy to replace. you disconnect it, put the new one up, reconnect it. its that simple. the prebuilt lights tend to be more of a pain if something goes wrong. however, most prebuilt lights have a warranty that can cover anything that goes wrong so long as the company will honor their warranty.

domination2580 · Dec 9, 2015

But at the same time the sb reef lights do cost a bit. Like 450$ for a 32". For a 110 probably like 2 or 3

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

you should only need 3 of the 16 inch or 2 of the 32. whats your tank dimensions?

domination2580 · Dec 9, 2015

That's like 800$ for two light when I can get 2 Mars aqua about the same length for like 400

Dtackett · Dec 9, 2015

not sure where youre getting 800 for 2 lights. theyre 299 each..

the mars aqua work. theres no doubt about it. that's actually what the SB Reef lights started out as. from there mike worked on the lights, changed the spectrums, improved par, installed quieter fans, added timers and ramping timers and all around turned it into a much better light. its really up to you on what you use. the mars aqua will grow most anything, but the SB Reef lights will grow it better, make it look better, has a deeper blue spectrum, uv, less red, higher kelvin whites and is a better built light. the mars aqua will give you almost a windex look in your tank. I used the mars aqua for my previous tank and really liked them. but I didn't like the light blue look, nor the low kelvin leds.

domination2580 · Dec 10, 2015

The ones I'm looking at were the Wi-Fi one. The Mars aqua I'm looking at has dimmers....and from there I was going to figure out how to hook it up to a reef keeper...and let it do all the effects and ramping

Dtackett · Dec 10, 2015

its actually a bit of work to hook the mars aqua up to a RK or apex. im not sure about the SB Reef lights. you would have to email them and ask. but mike knows how to hook them all up so he can give you advice from there.

the wifi is nice and all, but not needed. if youre going to hook it up to a controller you can go with either 3 of the 16 inch (will allow for better ramping as each can ramp on its own in a sunrise setup) or 2 of the basic 30 or 32 inch. youll save some money that way. you could do it all cheaper through rapidled but you would have to put it together and email them to see how to hook it up to your controller.

domination2580 · Dec 10, 2015

I could do the basic but I think I'd want the pro. Just in case my controller fails or something

Dtackett · Dec 10, 2015

if youre controller fails you may have more issues than just your lights lol but its completely up to you. lights are a very important decision when it comes to a reef tank. you need to go with the ones that make the most sense to you. I wouldn't worry about a couple hundred dollar difference. im not saying go for the most expensive lights on the market but while im suggesting the basic or the ramping, if you want the wifi go for it.