Suggestion on a DIY LED cluster

[antnida]

Tank dimension is 60" x 36" X 30" (l x w x h) however it will be in-wall this time so the viewable area will likely be only 48" out of 60". At first I was thinking of 2 Sunbrite 48" fixtures with (20 xpg cool white, 12 xpe blue, 24 xpe royal blue, 4 xpe green, 4 red and 8 uv). However, they did not use natural white and I preferred NW more so I am going DIY route and start planning to see how much this project will cost me going DIY route.

Right now I am thinking of either 4 pieces of 18"-24" heatsink each will be identical as far as they layout go. Either 3 to 4 clusters of 12-15 LED on each heatsink depend on the size. All channel will be independently controlled via Arduino controller. I am likely going to use either 80-90 degree optic.

With a cluster of 12 LED and 2:1 blue to white ratio that would be 3 NW, 6 Blue (not sure how many blue and royal blue yet), 1 red, 1 aqua and 1 UV. I am not sure at this point if 1 red, 1 aqua and 1 UV is enough or I need to bump up the UV LED?

Thanks

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Have you considered using Warm White over Neutral White?

I've always felt the Cree Neutral added too much yellow and a limited number of Warms without optics tweaks the colour better to the warmer or full spectrum side.

Also the UV are much dimmer than the Cree Royal Blue. Especially the newer XT-E. I would add at least 8 on its own driver to make a difference in looks.

The Ratio would depend on which LED Bins and which MH or colour temp you want to replicate.

Bill

 

[antnida]

I used many different MH bulbs from 10K to 20K on both electronic and magnetic ballast suplimented by actinic VHO. I would say that it will likely be in the 16K range, as I used 12K Reeflux and VHO actinic before and really like it, the current lights that I have now is 400W 20K XM on HQI ballast with VHO actinic, although it's a 20K bulb but with the HQI ballast it's not all that blue.

 

[sjmusic2]

I started with cool white, blue and royal blue but have subsequently added warm white, so I think you are on the right track with the neutral white. Just be sure to check the datasheets so you know what K they are rated at. I have also added True Violet - is this what you are calling UV ? Be careful because real UV is not what you want (and it's very expensive). My latest addition to my 'full-spectrum' build was luxeon 3-ups (from Steve's LEDs) using blue, cyan and deep red and these are fabulous. With a 3up format the chips are so close together that the colors blend and when you mix these 3 colors you get white light to our eyes.

By using an arduino you can obviously dim the color channels separately which will give you total control over the appearance of the tank, eg. 12K or 16K etc...

Depending on the height of your fixtures above the water and considering the depth of your tank you may need tighter optics to light well all the way to the bottom - depends on your needs !