Help me with DIY led's. Please?

[Elwood Dowd]

I can go buy a pre-made rig, I get that. However, I derive much more personal satisfaction out of a well done DIY project than just buying something. Its why I got into this hobby in the first place.

Current setup:
40b peninsula mixed reef- zoas, acans, chalices, euphyllia, acro, monti a little bit of everything except for softies. i may toss some of those in to fill out low light areas as well.


I currently have 250w 14k MH mounted 8.5 inches over the water, and centered.
Old picture, very little coral when it was taken, but shows the rock work.

I'd like to do two 7" heatsinks ( http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/8cm-X-3cm-X-18cm-(3.1"X1.2"X7")-Aluminum-Heatsink.html ) and mount them over each of the islands. Id also like to put a programmable controller on it. I have about 7-8 months until I need to change bulbs on the MH rig so I have time for my project. I can handle the build and wiring without issue.

Here are the big questions.
I am interested in some red/orange for sunrise and sunset. What bulbs and colors do I need to buy for growth and coloration?

Are two 7" heatsinks going to be able to handle enough led's for a sps heavy mixed reef and still light the negative space in the center for my euphyllia?


Any and all help is truly appreciated!

 

[Donovan Joannes]

I am not an expert on this but I have built quite a few LED lights before. I think for a generic 3W led you can mount up to 12 nos of bulb with passive cooling, 16 to 18 bulbs with active cooling. Assuming you are going for 16 bulbs, 6 royal blue + 4 cool blue + 2 warm white + 1 cool white are roughly suitable for mixed reef. I would add one or two UV/purple and a single deep red or amber to fill up the spectrum. A lot will disagree with the addition of color LED but personally I do believe it does have some impact on coral color shades if properly done.

 

[Elwood Dowd]

I appreciate any guidance!!! the shift from kelvin ratings and massive watts/gallon to leds hasnt made a lot of sense to me. The last time I kept a reef, MH was the end all and LED's were the unrealized future. so much so that this time around I just went out and got a MH retrofit kit without even looking towards led's at all. I am really looking forward to moving on with led's.

thanks!

 

[GoVols]

I appreciate any guidance!!! the shift from kelvin ratings and massive watts/gallon to leds hasnt made a lot of sense to me. The last time I kept a reef, MH was the end all and LED's were the unrealized future. so much so that this time around I just went out and got a MH retrofit kit without even looking towards led's at all. I am really looking forward to moving on with led's.

thanks!

Is this the first time for your going led?

 

[Encore]

I built diy for my 40b frag tanks with a piece of 24" C channel. I used 20 royal blue and 10 neutral whites. to do for a tank id swap it and make like 4 of the whites as lime led. Budget wise it depends on what you want to do with drivers and controllable and stuff. I was unimpressed with the UV. when you get into controlling each color led separate it will get more expensive and stuff because each set of colors would need their own driver..

 

[Fish Werx]

@Encore this one is right up your alley!
Beat me to it....

 

[Elwood Dowd]

Is this the first time for your going led?

Yes it is. the last reef I had, I took down 2006 - 2007. At the time it was "but when led's come around" " yeah but, they aren't up to par yet. (haha get it)"

I didn't even consider led's when I set this one up. I just went straight to what I knew. 250 watts of 14k mh for 46 gal tank. I quite like the flexibility that led's offer particularly when paired up with a programmable controller. I would love to have a new led rig built up by the time MH is ready for a new bulb.

 

[GoVols]

@saltyfilmfolks

Do you keep up with the diy leds, like you do with all other lighting?

I'd like to tag along if you have some input for Elwood Dowd.

Thanks, Freddie

 

[Encore]

These are a couple i am not using at the moment. Get optics so you can hang it high so salt creep dont get them or retrofit an old power compact unit. Make sure they are dimmable because its like burning ants with a magnifying glass

 

[Elwood Dowd]

@Encore I much prefer white lighting over really blue. A little blue is ok, how blue are we talking with 20 royal blues, 6 neutral whites, and 4 lime?

 

[Encore]

The limes give a halide-ish tint. The neutral white arent as white as cool white so it evens out at 2:1 with royal blue. Id stay away from regular blue. Ill take 3 pics real quick. My display is 120 royal blue, 60 neutral and 24 lime over 6 heatsinks. 8' long tank

 

[Elwood Dowd]

The limes give a halide-ish tint. The neutral white arent as white as cool white so it evens out at 2:1 with royal blue. Id stay away from regular blue. Ill take 3 pics real quick. My display is 120 royal blue, 60 neutral and 24 lime over 6 heatsinks. 8' long tank

I really appreciate that!!

 

[GoVols]

Ill take 3 pics real quick.

Now that's some serious customer service!
Gotta Love It.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

@saltyfilmfolks

Do you keep up with the diy leds, like you do with all other lighting?

I'd like to tag along if you have some input for Elwood Dowd.

Thanks, Freddie

Nope not a clue really. But I do have some friends.
Check out buildmyled.com.
And also @mcarrol is diy led guy.

 

[Elwood Dowd]

Now that's some serious customer service!
Gotta Love It.

I love when people share their knowledge. If anybody needs to know about plc's, guns, or kitchen knives I will jump right in.

I am just so out of what is the latest in reef keeping. like I said, the last time i kept a reef we would strive for 0 nutrient systems. Now that there is a way to get there, we find out its bad lol. dose vodka to strip nutrients and dose stump remover to put them back..... makes me want to cuss.

 

[GoVols]

Nope not a clue really. But I do have some friends.
Check out buildmyled.com.
And also @mcarrol is diy led guy.

Salty,
Thanks!

 

[Encore]

Just blues



Blue white and lime




Just blue and lime

Thr lime is nice addition. The UV dont add much at all. Kind of a dim purple but not very noticable. Red and green together is basically white so i dont get that either. If you want to control them all seperate you have to get a driver for each color. I do like the lime. I know internet pics dont really do any led pics justice

 

[Encore]

Did my first 2 pics not upload?

 

[Elwood Dowd]

No, they didn't. But, all is well. I appreciate your guidance more than you know!

 

[GoVols]

I love when people share their knowledge. If anybody needs to know about plc's, guns, or kitchen knives I will jump right in.

I am just so out of what is the latest in reef keeping. like I said, the last time i kept a reef we would strive for 0 nutrient systems. Now that there is a way to get there, we find out its bad lol. dose vodka to strip nutrients and dose stump remover to put them back..... makes me want to cuss.

Lol,
Now you want to do your own diy led's

I'm running a hybird and waiting to see if the Philip's "Coral Care" EVER hits the USA.