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DIY LED questions...

E.intheC

E.intheC

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Let's say I want to build a DIY LED Fixture.. using Cree XR-E LEDs (100 bin, say.. Q4's or Q5's..)

How many LED's would the experts suggest I use on my 45 cube tank?

Dimensions are 24 x 24 x 18h.. mixed reef.

Thanks in advance.:eek:rangehat
 
cali_reef

cali_reef

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Something else to consider while figuring out how many LED's you need:

1. How many ma\watts you plan to drive them with?
2. Reflector\lenses?
3. How high above the water you plan to place the LED's?

These will greatly affect "how many LED's I need?" question.
 
E.intheC

E.intheC

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To answer those questions... Let's see.. Height is adjustable. I have about 16-18 inches of space to work with in my canopy, and could get as close as 4-5 inches off the water or so, provided there is enough coverage overall.

As for powering them.. I'm not sure yet. I guess I'm just going for run of the mill specs with drivers/etc.

The reflectors/lenses follow pretty much the same rule. ...I don't want them to be too focused, as again, the tank is a 2ft cube and I'd like the fixture to be close enough to the tank for adequate coverage while still getting the necessary PAR ratings.

For now I'm just throwing some ideas out there. Not really looking to get an exact number yet, but more of an overall budget/total wattage savings/etc.. Idea. Once I get that down, I'll be able to start looking at the specifics in a lot more detail.
 
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cali_reef

cali_reef

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I ordered few kits of Cree LED's to play around last week. From lighting a string of them up temporary in the garage, I feel a spacing of 2"-3" between each LED gives a pretty "even" coverage with 40 deg optics at 28" height. Not so sure if this configuration will give me enough PAR for a SPS tank since I didn't get a chance to measure the PAR values as I ran out of hands to hold things in place.

In your case I am guessing a maximum of 49 LED's (7x7 rows and about 147 watts of LED) would be optimum, if you plan to cover and light the 24"x24" space evenly. The issue (big) will be that your heat sink and light unit will be rather large. Most units I have seen tends to concentrate the LED's in a much smaller heat sink foot print, therefore give these units a "cone" shape light effect like a MH. IMO, I think the LED allows the flexibility to have a more even spread and should be design to as such.
 
joseney21

joseney21

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I'm no expert by any means but here's what i'm doing and how i would start with your tank

i'll be getting some q5s for my 90 gallon within the next week and plan on using 60 degree optics. i'll have a total of 48 (50:50 whites to royal blues) leds over the tank to start and will add more as needed. before adding more i'll play with fixture height, degree of optics, less dimming etc to try and figure out how to best suit my lighting needs.

with your rockwork being in the middle of your tank i would start off with 24 q5s, 60 degree optics, 12 white and twelve royal blues and add more as necessary only after playing with optics, drive current, fixture height etc...

i'm doing the build along with some friends with different tanks and different lighting requirements. i'll be posting many pics of the setup once we get the leds in and get our project started. btw we ordered our LEDs, meanwell drivers and optics from nanotuners.com (will follow up on that with a review of there service once we get the package).
 
E.intheC

E.intheC

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cali_reef said:
The best part about building your own is that you can cut thru all the BS and learn how it works, LED upgrades and repairing it later on won't be an issue too.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. I felt like that when I built my stand/canopy and sump.

Problem with the DIY LED's is they require skill with soldering, which I have nothing of the sort.
 
bad coffee

bad coffee

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I'm doing a fixture with 12 RB and 12 CW's on a 8.5x8.5 heat sink, probably going on a solana or a 18" cube tank.

I'm using drivers I bought from China, they turned out to be $25 each shipped. They'll run up to twelve 3w LED's so I only need 2. They're also dimable.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=58657] These are the drivers

Soldering is pretty easy, once you do it a few times. If I were you I'd practice on different types of things before you try it with your LED's.

B
 
cali_reef

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
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On the waste coast, again.
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E.intheC said:
That's a good point. I felt like that when I built my stand/canopy and sump.

Problem with the DIY LED's is they require skill with soldering, which I have nothing of the sort.
Click to expand...

You can start with a decent soldering iron, You can get a decent Weller with a temperature control for less than $50 at amazon.com, get a small tip (.031) too. Practice by soldering two 20 or 22 gage braided wires together end to end, strip off only a 1/4 inch of the shield. You will be ready to go if you can attach the two ends together without melting any of the shield. Use solder with flux in them will save you a lot of time and make things easier.

Here is a good video I found on how to solder.
 
cali_reef

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Location
On the waste coast, again.
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
bad coffee said:
I'm doing a fixture with 12 RB and 12 CW's on a 8.5x8.5 heat sink, probably going on a solana or a 18" cube tank.

I'm using drivers I bought from China, they turned out to be $25 each shipped. They'll run up to twelve 3w LED's so I only need 2. They're also dimable.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=58657] These are the drivers

Soldering is pretty easy, once you do it a few times. If I were you I'd practice on different types of things before you try it with your LED's.

B
Click to expand...

BC, how do you adjust the current on it? take off the cover and there is a POT inside?
 
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