120 gal LED DIY for SPS

[da5speed]

Ive been thinking and thinking about switching to LEDS for months now. Tank is 120 gal tech tank 48*24*24. Mainly SPS with some softies. Rock work is setup like a valley, high on the sides and open in the middle. As of now im running 2 250 watt Pendents with 15k bulbs and 2 VHO actinics. Getting to the time where i have to change my bulbs and need a new ice cap ballast for my actinics so i figure ill put that money + some toward a DIY LED setup from Rapid LEDS.

Been doing my research on ratios, numbers of leds needed, lenses and heat sink size. I was thinking 48 LEDS would do it but from what Ive been reading I will need more. Any one with experience please chime in Im open for any suggestions advice.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

you will need more than 48 3W LEDs for you tank for reef application.

If you are coming to the swap, I probably can show you much PAR you get for a given amount LEDs over a certain area.

You can first research on how much PAR you want for your tank and send me the data over email: [email protected]

We can run hand-ons experiment

 

[btldreef]

IMO 2x Heatsinks with 48 LEDs each would be perfect. That is for heavily dominated Sps. For a mixed reef I would do 40 each. I am noticing a 24x24 area usually needs about 48 3w LEDs for the best /high output. As far as optics I would put 80 -65 degree optics on the center strings. This way it makes acclimation easier and you can really get your Sps growing. Without optics my 40 3w LEDs have a par of 600 at the surface. Now I have a 24x24x72 and its a mixed reef. Middle of pendant and near middle of tank was aprox 350-400 par. So if you wish to achieve higher... Run more LEDs and optics.

 

[da5speed]

So if i need 96 Leds. 48 on each sink. What size sink should i put them on? 10x20? 5 rows with? 2 rows of 9 and 3 rows of ten evenly spaced( just under 2" on center?

 

[da5speed]

Heres a pic of the tank I want to do the LEDS on

 

[btldreef]

Reefledlights.com has a 8x12 drilled and tapped that will fit 48 LEDs tightly or get a custom sink 9 x14 to give you some more room.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

If you go the very "diy" way of DIY, consider heat sink with 4.25" x 48" give 204 sq inch of heat sink at $85

You will want 2 pcs to keep the coverage.

The last build I made with them run 120 pcs of Cree at 4W each. Using only 4 60mm fan, the fixture is below 30 degree Celsius after 24 hours of non stop max power.

However, this type of heat sink does not provide you with splash guard. You should first consider how you want to deal with water/salt spray.