Where to buy good led to DIY

[noblex]

Hello,
I am designing my future LED lamp for my tank, which is a (imho) enhanced clone of some of the state of the art solutions out there.

However, I am struggling to find, worldwide, the LEDs I am looking for (which in commercial lamps are actually very common).
I am looking for 0.2/0.3 W SMD 12000K with an efficacy value above 150 lm/W (both Cree and Philips are already dispatching >200lm/W cold white LEDs, so I know they exists) and a decent CRI.

Any help? Any link or contact is appreciated!
Thanks

 

[MTBake]

I've used Rapid Led in the past. They were very helpful when I placed my order. They seem to have most of the new, popular leds out today.

Edited for link:
https://www.rapidled.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhpDAx6r_3gIVjf_jBx3s2AGsEAAYASAAEgJwpvD_BwE

 

[Kampo]

I would avoid the sub 1watt leds just don't have enough punch for reef uses.

there are a couple levels of diy leds I see. you have the high end "botique" kits made by people like Blueacro, Stevesled, Nanobox led. those use the latest diodes from Cree/Luxeon and are very nice, but once you build out a light you will be close to commercial cost, but arguably better light spectrum
Mid level you have some chinese companies making pucs that use cree and semiled diodes, and there are some very attractive options, (see my "radeon clone" thread for some chat on this option)
Low end you have cheap diodes available like the style used in black boxes, these are old technology at this point and prolly not the best option.

 

[User1]

Pretty much what @Kampo said already. The boutique chips like those from Blueacro or Nanobox are a great start. Off the shelf productions like the Radion's or Kessil's have a nicer look (package) and in some cases features for control but often come with stuff we don't want or need. They really don't integrate nicely with our controllers without some middle layer or dongle. There isn't a single presentation layer which personally keeps me away from their products. One would think they would offer the light without the BS in the middle.

Let us then talk actual light. Single Radion Gen 4 is what, between 700 - 800 dollars? Defuse? More money. Mounting? More money. See the pattern? To put it into perspective I built my eight Blueacro setup for less than the cost of a single Gen 4 or a pair of Kessil's. This is just my opinion but the off the shelf products like I noted are more of a convenience thing. Buy it, hook up, and done. That is really nice - I get it. On the other hand with 2 in college and thinking about the number I may need to buy, mount, and control it isn't cost effective almost pushing 2k in lighting alone. Makes no sense. So if I can get what I need for less than 800 I'm in.

Now - I also need to be honest in that while I kept a 40 breeder ok with a lower size array my upgrade is still in progress and the tank hasn't matured. So maybe in a year I could come back and say you know, the DIY thing didn't work the way I expected it to. However, my gut tells me that I have the right spectrum and it is controllable via my Aped or Reef Angel. So I think I'm going to be ok. But...that end result is a time thing that I'm ticking through now.

Really comes down to what your price point is and comfort level. Oh, and patience. The darn P word. I always forget to buy a part that delayed my work I'm sure some here are 100x more better at lists than I am...if not everyone

 

[noblex]

Wow you surely are fast! Thanks for all the reply

I've used Rapid Led in the past. They were very helpful when I placed my order. They seem to have most of the new, popular leds out today.

Edited for link:
https://www.rapidled.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhpDAx6r_3gIVjf_jBx3s2AGsEAAYASAAEgJwpvD_BwE

I took a look, great High Power Leds, but still I wasn't able to find the 12000K I am looking for

I would avoid the sub 1watt leds just don't have enough punch for reef uses.

there are a couple levels of diy leds I see. you have the high end "botique" kits made by people like Blueacro, Stevesled, Nanobox led. those use the latest diodes from Cree/Luxeon and are very nice, but once you build out a light you will be close to commercial cost, but arguably better light spectrum
Mid level you have some chinese companies making pucs that use cree and semiled diodes, and there are some very attractive options, (see my "radeon clone" thread for some chat on this option)
Low end you have cheap diodes available like the style used in black boxes, these are old technology at this point and prolly not the best option.

Sorry to disagree with you, here in Italy we have tons of 0.25W based led lamps, and the results are pretty much amazing. This 750 liters tank is under 2 GNC Bluray (130W LED lamp equipped with ~550 x 0.25W )

Anyway, thanks for the useful links and explanation, I will try to get in touch with them

 

[noblex]

Pretty much what @Kampo said already. The boutique chips like those from Blueacro or Nanobox are a great start. Off the shelf productions like the Radion's or Kessil's have a nicer look (package) and in some cases features for control but often come with stuff we don't want or need. They really don't integrate nicely with our controllers without some middle layer or dongle. There isn't a single presentation layer which personally keeps me away from their products. One would think they would offer the light without the crap in the middle.

Let us then talk actual light. Single Radion Gen 4 is what, between 700 - 800 dollars? Defuse? More money. Mounting? More money. See the pattern? To put it into perspective I built my eight Blueacro setup for less than the cost of a single Gen 4 or a pair of Kessil's. This is just my opinion but the off the shelf products like I noted are more of a convenience thing. Buy it, hook up, and done. That is really nice - I get it. On the other hand with 2 in college and thinking about the number I may need to buy, mount, and control it isn't cost effective almost pushing 2k in lighting alone. Makes no sense. So if I can get what I need for less than 800 I'm in.

Now - I also need to be honest in that while I kept a 40 breeder ok with a lower size array my upgrade is still in progress and the tank hasn't matured. So maybe in a year I could come back and say you know, the DIY thing didn't work the way I expected it to. However, my gut tells me that I have the right spectrum and it is controllable via my Aped or Reef Angel. So I think I'm going to be ok. But...that end result is a time thing that I'm ticking through now.

Really comes down to what your price point is and comfort level. Oh, and patience. The darn P word. I always forget to buy a part that delayed my work I'm sure some here are 100x more better at lists than I am...if not everyone

I didn't know those BlueAcro set. They look quite sleek for the price, but I cannot see details about lm/w ratio, nor the spectrum and the exact LEDs used in these so-called "stars", do you know where to find this information?

 

[Kampo]

I didn't know those BlueAcro set. They look quite sleek for the price, but I cannot see details about lm/w ratio, nor the exact model used in these LEDs, do you know where to find this information?

he uses mostly luxeon z line
https://www.lumileds.com/uploads/415/DS105-pdf

nanobox led has moved on to luxeon c I beleave though

 

[User1]

I didn't know those BlueAcro set. They look quite sleek for the price, but I cannot see details about lm/w ratio, nor the spectrum and the exact LEDs used in these so-called "stars", do you know where to find this information?

It is tucked away in his site - try this: https://blueacro.com/acrostar/products#mega4z

I currently have 4 of the chips below. I just received another 4 which will bring my total to 8. I'm going to be making some changes to how I have them laid out and also swapping heat sinks and drivers around a bit to reduce wires and get better coverage. My tank is 210 gallons coming in at 54" wide x 30" tall and 30" deep. Using his reflectors I can punch down to the bottom of the tank with little to no issues. For spread I have a pair of multi channel chips from Rapid Led, the Borleas which are no longer made without reflectors. Those spread light everywhere and have 12 lime LED's in them so I use those to give more spectrum control.

There are a lot of options - well, not a lot, but you have options. Steve's and Rapid LED's have singles to multi's while blue acro and nanobox have custom multi channels. Just need to see what you want to do and packaging.

20k Blue Pro With Violet
Full spectrum LED arrangement in 4 channels:

• Channel 1: 4x Royal Blue (450nm), 1x Warm White (2700k, 80+CRI); 1A max current, 15V required
• Channel 2: 2x Royal Blue (450nm), 1x 425nm Violet (Luxeon UV), 1x 415nm Violet (Luxeon UV); 1A max current, 12V required
• Channel 3: 1x Lime, 1x Warm White (2700k, 80+CRI), 1x Royal Blue, 1x Neutral White (4000k, 80+CRI); 700mA max current, 12V required
• Channel 4: 1x Blue (485nm), 1x Royal Blue (450nm), 1x Cyan (500nm); 1A max current, 9V required.

 

[noblex]

Hi saf1 and thanks, I will go take a look.

I saw they also make "stars" on request, I will have to contact them, since I like their concept, but I don't like all those warm white leds (I see them as something to cut blue light for the please of the eye, not giving much to corals). Still I wasn't able to find a single "ice white" / "cold white" led (12000K)

 

[BCSreef]

Try these. They work well. Easy builds. https://www.ledgroupbuy.com/cree-lumia-5-2-70w-full-spectrum-5-channel-cree-led/

 

[theatrus]

Hi saf1 and thanks, I will go take a look.

I saw they also make "stars" on request, I will have to contact them, since I like their concept, but I don't like all those warm white leds (I see them as something to cut blue light for the please of the eye, not giving much to corals). Still I wasn't able to find a single "ice white" / "cold white" led (12000K)

Always happy to customize the loadout - let me know