Feedback on this DYI LED fixture drawing please

[Northside Reef]

This fixture is roughly 9"x30" and has 58 3w LEDs

28 RB running on two separate dimmable drivers
14 CW on one dimmable driver
8 blue on one dimmable driver
8 true violet on one dimmable driver

I plan to use a PLC as my dimmer so I can control the lights throughout the day for intensity. I am real green to these LEDs so I am not going to take offense to criticism I would like an honest evaluation.

Hopefully the colors show on the drawing

Thanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/Fixture1.jpg

[Northside Reef]

Bulk of the lights minus the true violets

8 XPE-BLU-CREE CREE XP-E Blue 3W LED on star
28 RB-XTE-CREE CREE XT-E Royal Blue 3W LED on star
14 CW-139-CREE CREE XP-G R5 Cool White 3W LED on Star
3 ELN-60-48D Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable driver
2 ELN-60-27D Mean Well ELN-60-27D dimmable driver

[Northside Reef]

Talked with Eric over at Rapid. Fantastic feedback from those guys. I am going to replace 6 of those RB with CW.

Would still love to hear from some of you though.

[terry4505]

I found my CW to be VERY yellow when turned all the way up. I personally like a more "blue" look and need to at 12 or so more RBs to the 60 LEDs I have already.

[haysanatar]

don't just do CW and royal blue.
you really need some warm whites or atleast use neutral.
colors will be washed out towards the red end of the spectrum

[Northside Reef]

don't just do CW and royal blue.
you really need some warm whites or atleast use neutral.
colors will be washed out towards the red end of the spectrum

what spectrum do those two cover? How many of the WW or neutrals would you suggest?

I found my CW to be VERY yellow when turned all the way up. I personally like a more "blue" look and need to at 12 or so more RBs to the 60 LEDs I have already.

Terry, what is your current ratio?

with the 6 extra CW's I would be at a 3:2 blue to white ratio. which I was hoping would give me a 16K look.

[terry4505]

I have 60 total, 24 RB, 24 CW, 4 Green, 4 Red and 4 Blue. With the 24 CW dialed up, the tank is way too yellow. I will probably add at least 12 more RB/B (maybe 8 B, 4 RB)

[yeldarbj]

I'd recommend 3 CW to 1 WW or 1 NW to 1 CW.

The CW next to a WW makes the WW look almost orange while the CW looks white. CW next to a NW makes the NW look like it has a slight yellow hue, but if you look at just a NW by itself, it will look very white.

[Northside Reef]

I'd recommend 3 CW to 1 WW or 1 NW to 1 CW.

The CW next to a WW makes the WW look almost orange while the CW looks white. CW next to a NW makes the NW look like it has a slight yellow hue, but if you look at just a NW by itself, it will look very white.

Instead of adding the 6 more CW I maybe should add 6 WW?

I have 60 total, 24 RB, 24 CW, 4 Green, 4 Red and 4 Blue. With the 24 CW dialed up, the tank is way too yellow. I will probably add at least 12 more RB/B (maybe 8 B, 4 RB)

So is that +12 RB/B for 36 blue and 24 CW? for a 3:2 Blue to white ratio. Or are you replacing 12 of the CW with RB/B for 36:12 for a 3:1 ratio?

[terry4505]

The +12 RB/B will be in addition to. So 36/24. But keep in mind, I also have a string of 4 b, 4 Green, 4 Red. So it will really be 40 RB/B- 24 CW, 4 Green, 4 Red

[Northside Reef]

The +12 RB/B will be in addition to. So 36/24. But keep in mind, I also have a string of 4 b, 4 Green, 4 Red. So it will really be 40 RB/B- 24 CW, 4 Green, 4 Red

How are you driving the reds and greens? together on one driver or two separate drivers? I feel I am on driver overload atm.

[yeldarbj]

Instead of adding the 6 more CW I maybe should add 6 WW?

I don't think I'd go all 6 WW, maybe 4 with very wide optics to get a nice spread.

[terry4505]

I have 12 RB on a Constant Current 35-700 driver. I have 24 CW split between 2 60-48D drivers. I have 12 RB on a 60-48D, and 4B, 4G, 4R on a 60-48. So 5 drivers. 1 Constant, 4 dimmable.

[Northside Reef]

I don't think I'd go all 6 WW, maybe 4 with very wide optics to get a nice spread.

what spectrum do the WW cover?

I have 12 RB on a Constant Current 35-700 driver. I have 24 CW split between 2 60-48D drivers. I have 12 RB on a 60-48D, and 4B, 4G, 4R on a 60-48. So 5 drivers. 1 Constant, 4 dimmable.

Ok I don't feel so bad then. do you have the control you were looking for with that many drivers? It looks like I am going to have 5 dimmable drivers possibly 6 if I do decide to add additional colors.

[cet98]

I'm gonna agree with the others regarding adding some warmer white if you are looking to achieve a more colorful spectrum IMO...
I just finished my 44 LED build in which I used (10)4500K Neutral Whites, (4)6500K & (4)10000K Cool whites to go along with (26)Royal Blues...

[Devaji108]

I am in the process of my build. see" led build for dummies"
and I went with 12CW 4NW & 32 RB...I have a couple WW coming in so if it's to blue for me I can add them.
the trick I am having with color spectrum is driving them. with the driver only driving 14 MAX it's unless you run them in parallel...mixing and matching to get your spectrum and not having to many drivers.

[Northside Reef]

I agree it seems the deeper into it the more control you want to add.


Looking at these charts:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/colorchart.png

CREE XM-L T6 3W LED 5,000-8,300K color temperature

CREE XP-G Neutral White 3W LED 3,700-5,000K color temperature

CREE XR-E Warm White 3W LED 2600K-3700K color temperature



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/ColorChart2.jpg

There is something to be said for adding the WW with the CW. I can even see a need for some green. Don't think there is a need for red though

Thinking about this as my fixture now. might have to move things around a bit though

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/Fixture2.jpg

[TropTrea]

When they rate a Color Temperature of a light source they mainly look at the three separate bands where the eye is most sensitive namely blue peaking at 435nm, Green peaking at 535 nm and red peaking at 580 nm. The closer this balance is the higher the CRI rating is.

In a reef tank most individuals are looking for a more natural underwater color effect. The deeper one goes into the ocean the more light is attenuated however it is all not attenuated at the same rate. Blue light at longer wavelengths gets attenuated much less than the shorter wave lengths like red. Going deep enough into the ocean red can be attenuated to the point it is basically unmeasurable while there is still a considerable amount of blue light getting through.

Corals through millenniums have adapted to receiving loads of blue light compared to the other lights in the spectrum. there fore as long as some red light gets through and a lot of blue light gets through corals are generally happy. Some deeper corals do not even need any red or green light.

However in our home reef we are looking at view-ability where we do not just want to see the colors that fluoresce from corals but also these that reflect color. Therefore we generally want a spectrum with a lot more red and green in it than what we see in nature. However there is one issue with this being that if over do the red some corals are very sensitive to red light and will bleach out from an excess of the red light.

If you notice the spectrum's posted aerier here show each of the full spectrum LED's produce light in the same colors only in different ratios. If someone took a Warm White 2,600K LED and combined it with a Royal blue LED they would have a very similar wave form to a 6,500K bulb. So the ratio between Royal Blues and whites will vary to get the same effect dependent upon which full spectrum bulbs you use.

On a side note with most LED's it is difficult to find a way to beef up the Aqua part of the spectrum around 490 nm. The green drop considerably as well as the blues leaving a valley in this area. Similarly the full spectrum bulbs lack in that area as well since they are primely trying to balance the key frequency areas.

If you notice Christmas lights outside one can always notice which ones are LED lights. This is because these LED's are more narrow spectrum-ed than conventional lights.

[Northside Reef]

So add green? My reason for saying I did not think I needed to add red is it looks like it is pretty much covered by adding the WW. Where non of the LEDs except green hit the 535 mark. Some of the things I've read (as in I don't know anything at all about this) appear to suggest some corals use that wavelength.

Trying to decipher these but it does look look like I want that wave length if I am reading it correctly.

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/120/m120p185.pdf

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/120/m120p185.pdf

But I am just now starting to look into these things since before I just bought bulbs and replaced them annually and didn't need to think about it. So I really appreciate the help here. Thank You

[yeldarbj]

How are you mounting your LEDs to the heatsink? Consider using the BJB solderless connectors from ReefLEDLights - http://reefledlights.com/shop/solderless-led-holder/

The connectors make it very easy to make changes and move LEDs around. I'd recommend you buy some LEDs - RB, Blues, Cool White, Neutral Whites. Set up some strings and get a better feel for the colors that you like.

[TropTrea]

Where reds are nice is when you run a Dawn to Dusk period where none of the white bulbs are on. Usually just Royal blues that make things look overly blue in some peoples eye. Then a little red kick does make it a lot more pleasing to the eye.

However when running whites of any kind they are all giving off a considerable amount of red light and the red LED's are not only not needed but they can also kick that red spectrum over the edge where it start damaging the corals. The red light that needs to avoided or minimized is at that magic 685 nm wave length. Many corals just do not like that frequency of light. It is so long of a wave length that very few corals see any appreciable amounts of it in nature unless they are growing within a few feet of the water surface.

[Northside Reef]

How are you mounting your LEDs to the heatsink? Consider using the BJB solderless connectors from ReefLEDLights - http://reefledlights.com/shop/solderless-led-holder/

The connectors make it very easy to make changes and move LEDs around. I'd recommend you buy some LEDs - RB, Blues, Cool White, Neutral Whites. Set up some strings and get a better feel for the colors that you like.

Yeah, you're right I should start small, and go from there. We'll see. If I feel confident enough is my choice of spectrum I may build the entire fixture and see how it looks. I will need two of these for the tank. and I have tweaked the layout once again to add more lights overall. But I will absolutely build them one at a time and see how I like the first one before I order parts for the second one.

Soldering is no big deal for me. I've done it for years. Plus I kind of feel I owe Eric over at Rapid my business. The guy has emailed replies all weekend long as I try to figure this thing out, and as of yet I haven't spent a dime with his store. That kind of service really needs to be rewarded.

Where reds are nice is when you run a Dawn to Dusk period where none of the white bulbs are on. Usually just Royal blues that make things look overly blue in some peoples eye. Then a little red kick does make it a lot more pleasing to the eye.

However when running whites of any kind they are all giving off a considerable amount of red light and the red LED's are not only not needed but they can also kick that red spectrum over the edge where it start damaging the corals. The red light that needs to avoided or minimized is at that magic 685 nm wave length. Many corals just do not like that frequency of light. It is so long of a wave length that very few corals see any appreciable amounts of it in nature unless they are growing within a few feet of the water surface.

I agree 100% on the reds. I do not plan to add them. I think the true violets (420 nm) will make a nice dawn and dusk lights. It's the greens I am still not 100% sure about although I do think I will add them, put them on their own dimmer and go from there. I just won't really count them as a huge contributor much like the UV's.

[Northside Reef]

Latest version. This is one of two fixtures I will need. this fixture should be about the equivalent to 750 Watts not counting the true violets or greens as contributers.

The build as proposed will consist of:

6 XR-E Warm White 3W LED 2600K-3700K color temperature
8 XPE-BLU-CREE CREE XP-E Blue 3W LED on star
32 RB-XTE-CREE CREE XT-E Royal Blue 3W LED on star
26 CW-139-CREE CREE XP-G R5 Cool White 3W LED on Star
8 True Violet LEDs (420 nm) not sure of model number yet.
5 ELN-60-48D Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable driver
2 ELN-60-27D Mean Well ELN-60-27D dimmable driver

laid out like this:

RB will be 14/14 on two dimmable drivers.
4RB/8 blue on one dimmable driver.
8 UV on one dimmable driver
6 green on one dimmable driver
6WW/2CW on one dimmable driver
14/14 CW on two dimmable drivers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/Fixture4.jpg





Feedback?

[Northside Reef]

I see I messed up my count I will need 3 of the Mean Well ELN-60-27Ds not two.

I plan to run the 6 Green on a Mean Well ELN-60-27D as well as 8 True Violet on their own Mean Well ELN-60-27D and 6 WW on a separate Mean Well ELN-60-27D

so a total of 3 Mean Well ELN-60-27Ds

14 RB on two different Mean Well ELN-60-48Ds
8 Blue and 4 RD on one Mean Well ELN-60-48D
14 CW one Mean Well ELN-60-48D
12 CW one Mean Well ELN-60-48D

for 5 Mean Well ELN-60-48Ds

That will give me three white zones, three blue zones and one each of Violet and Green.

I plan to use 55 degree lenses on all of the Blue/RB and CW LEDs no lens on the Green, Violet, and WW LEDs.

[TropTrea]

As I'm working on my future design I noticed some things with yours. Considering your dimensions for the heat sink are 8.75" X 30" can I assume using this on a tank with a surface area of about 12 X 36 or 18 X 36?

My second observation is that they recommended 9 square inches of heat sink for 1 Watt LED's and 16 square inch of heat sink for 3 Watt LED's. Since your using 3 Watt LED's that would mean 16 LED's. If your running fans and a finned heat sink you can drastically increase the number of LED's. What are you using for your Heat Sink?

Looking at your division on the LED's your running 14 LED's on one driver that is rated for 48 Volts. At 700ma the XML list a target voltage of 2.9 volts and would be running at about 2 Watts meaning your drawing a little over 40 Volts per string to hold 700 ma. But you also list XPE LED's that at 700 ma run about 3.4Volts so a string of 14 of those would run at 47.6 Volts right on the edge of the limit of the 48 Volt Driver. With 5 drivers wouldn't it be safe for you to run 12 LED's on each driver. This would still allow your 60 LED's and roughly 142 Watts of LED lighting which is lot for a 36" tank.

You seem to love the cool white LED's but I as well as several others think a warmer white would look much better. A warm white color helps with the red end of the spectrum and yellows much better than the Cool Whites with there predominant blue color.

[Northside Reef]

Note the fixture is one of two so it is for a 72x30x30 tank. Also note the revised drawing above is 11"x32.75" I don't think I need more LEDs as it is that fixture is the equivalent of 750 watts x 2 not counting the green or violets. that's 1500 watts.

As for driving the LEDs too close to their max voltage. I doubt any of these will be running at 100% I think 1500 watts on that tank would be over kill. but they are rated for 14 LEDs so they should be able to run 14 LEDs IMHO. But I will make a note of that and ask Eric to confirm. Although I have run pretty much all of this by him and I would hope he would have raised that question if it were a problem. We're both of the mindset I would be running much less than 100% though so I really doubt it's an issue.

The fixture above has 6 WW LEDs and 86 LEDs in total, but as I said I really am not counting the violet or the green as contributors since they do not put out much light and will only be turned up enough for their reflective value.

The fixture is 1/4" aluminum plate alloy 6061 and I will add fins to the back of the plate 1/16"x1"x1" aluminum alloy 6061 (comes in 8' lengths for about $7.50 per length McMaster-Carr)

I have been told be several people that the WW come off as very yellow and to only add a few. Also not listed above is I plan to use 55 degree lenses on all CW/blue and RB LEDs and no lens for the WW, Green or violet LEDs I want max spread on those

[Northside Reef]

Changed my mind on the heat sink and going to go with this instead. It won't change my layout too much.

http://www.heatsinkusa.com/products/10.000%22-Wide-x-33%22-Long-Heatsink.html

Worried about front to back coverage though. Will this be wide enough?

[TropTrea]

The link is for a 10" wide heat sink. your tank is listed at 30" wide so you will have 10 " in front and back of the heat sink. Your listing your lenses at 55 degrees so to get full coverage at the water surface you would to put your fixture roughly 20" above the surface.

Running two of these heat sinks with a 2" space between them would make them about 22" wide leaving about a 4" space in the front and back of the tank. For that you would only need to run your lights about 8 inches over the surface.

With your dimensions I would look a getting a 3/8" plate of aluminum 6061 26" X 68 inches. This would give you enough room for 110 3 Watt LED's without having to worry about the fins or the fans for cooling. It should also be a lot less expensive than the commercial heat sinks.

[Northside Reef]

Yeah finally used the tools available to me IR dumb :(

Single LED

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/Spread.jpg


Actual distance between the two LEDs front to back


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/totalspread.jpg



I do not know why I did not think to lay this out before now. I don't really think I need the full 30" at the surface. But 20" from the water surface will be no problem.

[Northside Reef]

The link is for a 10" wide heat sink. your tank is listed at 30" wide so you will have 10 " in front and back of the heat sink. Your listing your lenses at 55 degrees so to get full coverage at the water surface you would to put your fixture roughly 20" above the surface.

Running two of these heat sinks with a 2" space between them would make them about 22" wide leaving about a 4" space in the front and back of the tank. For that you would only need to run your lights about 8 inches over the surface.

With your dimensions I would look a getting a 3/8" plate of aluminum 6061 26" X 68 inches. This would give you enough room for 110 3 Watt LED's without having to worry about the fins or the fans for cooling. It should also be a lot less expensive than the commercial heat sinks.

Your dimensions from the tank were pretty much right on. Once I got my head into the game and laid this out for myself.

I had the heat sinks already ordered and I was all set to go that route. Today I got a call from heat sink USA that they're out of that size heat sink. You're the second person to mention that going thicker on the aluminum will eliminate the need for the heat sink.


The best part is I can reconfigure the whole thing (once again) and get that fixture closer to the tank since I can go as wide as I want if I just go with plate.

Here is the current layout not trying to hit the entire surface of the tank. 16" would not be bad IMO (this would be without changing the current size of the plate).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/spreadw_tankII-1.jpg

[TropTrea]

Keep in mind that greater the distance between the coral and the light the less light yu will actually have hitting the coral. Try aiming for about 6" above the water line as I think that is about the best compromise height. If you start getting to close you can get salt water build up on your LED's and Salt water is very conductive.

Looking at your idea of full coverage at 4" below surface that would mean you would need full coverage roughly 10" above the corals. So instead of having the LEDs 10" from the back and front of the tank you would want them roughly 5" from each. So the front and back rows would be roughly 20" apart. Since you not putting the LEDS right on the edge of the Heat Sink you want it at least 1/2 extra on the front and back giving you a width of 21". For a rough calculation then your heat sink being 21" by 68" you can be running 158 LEDs at 700 ma or 90 at 1,000 ma. If you had 90 LED's at 1,000 ma you would need sunglasses to look at your tank.

[Northside Reef]

Keep in mind that greater the distance between the coral and the light the less light yu will actually have hitting the coral. Try aiming for about 6" above the water line as I think that is about the best compromise height. If you start getting to close you can get salt water build up on your LED's and Salt water is very conductive.

Looking at your idea of full coverage at 4" below surface that would mean you would need full coverage roughly 10" above the corals. So instead of having the LEDs 10" from the back and front of the tank you would want them roughly 5" from each. So the front and back rows would be roughly 20" apart. Since you not putting the LEDS right on the edge of the Heat Sink you want it at least 1/2 extra on the front and back giving you a width of 21". For a rough calculation then your heat sink being 21" by 68" you can be running 158 LEDs at 700 ma or 90 at 1,000 ma. If you had 90 LED's at 1,000 ma you would need sunglasses to look at your tank.



I would not want to mess around with a 68"x21" fixture lol that would be a bit unruly. But now that I have changed heat sinks I am going to go wider for sure. But it will still be two sections possibly more.

The idea of more LEDs really is not as much about how much they put out at max. it's how much I can blend each of the zones together to give me a look I like and still provide enough light for the coral. That's why I have so many different blue and white zones planned. So far a lot of the tanks I've seen look really blue or really pale. One of the local FS has some Radions on his display. They look very good and he ran a demo that was pretty cool with the way he could get different colors to display. But at minimum you would need 6 of those things to cover my tank. Not worth the money. Sorry, gorgeous lights but way over priced.

Now that I have actually sat down and looked at the spread of these LEDs It's getting clearer. But I have a lot more to learn before I pull the trigger.

[Northside Reef]

So another day another drawing I guess. Today I am looking at angling the front side of the fixture by 10 degrees so I am not throwing so much light outside of the tank.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/WideFixture.jpg

with 55 degree optics still: Going wider really helps with the spread, and now I am only 10" off the top of the surface. I can also bump those LEDs out a little closer to the edge

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/AngledSpread.jpg

[TropTrea]

Your 10 degree angle is giving me some nasty ideas.

Actually across the glass light only causes algae to grow on the glass. So why not even increase that angle to 27.5 Degrees.

You could step each row of lights at a slightly different angle from the rear to the front 0 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees and finally 25 degrees. Or even a completely different approach go from the back to front -27.5 degrees, -13.75 degrees, 0 degrees, 13.75 Degrees, and again 27.5 degrees. Basically everything would be focused on the center of the tank.

Now the question falls is how equally is the light distributed from each 55 degree wide beam. Does it have a hot center point or is fairly equally divided?

On your earlier note about the 68 " long stock being to big to work with Let me ask how many suport braces are there in your system? If there is one at center then you could go with 32" long sections, or if you have three than 20" long sections.

[Northside Reef]

Your 10 degree angle is giving me some nasty ideas.

Actually across the glass light only causes algae to grow on the glass. So why not even increase that angle to 27.5 Degrees.

You could step each row of lights at a slightly different angle from the rear to the front 0 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees and finally 25 degrees. Or even a completely different approach go from the back to front -27.5 degrees, -13.75 degrees, 0 degrees, 13.75 Degrees, and again 27.5 degrees. Basically everything would be focused on the center of the tank.

Now the question falls is how equally is the light distributed from each 55 degree wide beam. Does it have a hot center point or is fairly equally divided?




I started with a 20 degree angle, but I did not like how much I was missing in the front of the tank. I can go wider yet and fix that if I go with a steeper angle. I think your point about possible hot spots is a valid one and something I was also curious about. I think I can offset that somewhat by concentrating more of my LEDs (the greens and violets) I plan to have more of a "reflective" role (as opposed to an active role) on the angled portion.

I will probably play around more with this concept after the holidays, and get more feedback from the Rapid LED gang. I really cannot say enough good things about their support staff BTW.



On your earlier note about the 68 " long stock being to big to work with Let me ask how many suport braces are there in your system? If there is one at center then you could go with 32" long sections, or if you have three than 20" long sections.

It's two large openings. Old pic below.

I am still in the build stage of this setup and I am sort of stalled right now until after Christmas. Link ( http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2097264) to the build thread. Before you click on it know it's not conventional and designed beyond what it needs to be. But I think in the long haul it will be a very solid build. Kind of like the fixture I am trying to build here.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/tank.jpg

[haysanatar]

you mentioned the violets and cyans turned down AND 14 per strand.... I have 14 per strand no problem so far..
I'm really looking to throwing some cyans and violets. perhaps a few pinks to warm my spectrum without red spot lights...
ps blue purple is great.. and I will say with the combo I have no I have some AMAZING growth.. but i have been carbon dosing and feeding frequently... but my growth is noticuble by teh day if not week

[Northside Reef]

you mentioned the violets and cyans turned down AND 14 per strand.... I have 14 per strand no problem so far..
I'm really looking to throwing some cyans and violets. perhaps a few pinks to warm my spectrum without red spot lights...
ps blue purple is great.. and I will say with the combo I have no I have some AMAZING growth.. but i have been carbon dosing and feeding frequently... but my growth is noticuble by teh day if not week

Where did you get the pinks and what spectrum are they? I was reading more of your thread you went withCW, NW and WW was that for a higher red spectrum? How do you like the combination?

I've been thinking about adding just a couple of the NW per fixture.

[haysanatar]

yeah it was for reds and oranges as of now I love the combination but I'm looking at throwing more light into the spectrum I've noticed some color shift especially in the red area
plus I like a more purple actanic than a blue I think

[Northside Reef]

Could you send me a link regarding the pink LEDs?

Thanks

[Northside Reef]

I think I am inching closer to the final fixture layout. The goal is to keep as much of the light as possible inside the tank. and also hopefully add enough spectrum to not only supply the necessary light for the corals but also bring out as much color as I can.

So I added another bend to the fixture the first one is a 10 degree angle the second is a 19 degree off the first bend or 29 degree off the main fixture.

Looks like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/WideFixtureL.jpg


Both of them to see how they space the LEDs

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/doublefixtures.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/AngledSpread1019degrees.jpg

[Northside Reef]

Feedback please.

I do not have a LED here I am using a generic .9 Hexagon for my LED layout. I should have an actual one here sometime this week. But could one of you who has an LED check out this hole alignment?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/LEDholeplacement-1.jpg

[haysanatar]

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Bridgelux-LED-3W-Pink.html

i assume the bend is for the front correct?

[Northside Reef]

Correct. The back will have rock attached to it, so I don't think I need to worry about angling that light away from the back wall.

Thank you for the link. I agree that would make a nice addition. How many did you add?

Rock:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/00712_15_2011.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/00512_15_2011.jpg

[haysanatar]

havent yet about to order some though..
I'm in the process of seeing how many of what to add to my fixture purples cyans and some pinks( maybe a red I already have them but can't decide if I want to use them)
Are you going to wire the strands by color if that makes sense?
Its Nice to be able to independently dim your strands.

[Northside Reef]

havent yet about to order some though..
I'm in the process of seeing how many of what to add to my fixture purples cyans and some pinks( maybe a red I already have them but can't decide if I want to use them)
Are you going to wire the strands by color if that makes sense?
Its Nice to be able to independently dim your strands.

Yes, it will be someting like this but the numbers have changed a bit since I wrote this so the numbers won't quite add up. Also this is per fixture

RB will be 14/14 on two dimmable drivers.
4RB/8 blue on one dimmable driver.
10 420nm Violet on one dimmable driver
6 green on one dimmable driver
6WW/2CW/2 NW on one dimmable driver
14/14 CW on two dimmable drivers

[haysanatar]

I'm really debating throwing in some cyan
but I know for a fact I'm throwing in some violet and probably some pink.
as of now I'm using a dimmer from rapid led but I found an adrino based one that I'm debating switching too all my dimmers are pwm

[kcress]

Hi Northside Reef.

I believe you're over thinking this whole thing but you seem to be having fun.. :)

A few points:

Thickness of a plate has nothing at all to do with its ability to dissipate heat. Using a thicker plate, void of fins, is not going to help cool your LEDs much. You need more surface area NOT thickness. If you want to use "just a plate" you need to have a zillion holes in it, in the right locations, to increase the surface area and the air flow around it. It's function will probably be dependent on fans too.

I'd suggest using U-channel for a good price, individual row point-ability, and a quarter the weight.

Your numbers like "1000 watts" confounds me.. ?? The numbers point at something around 135 LEDs white and blue running @ 700mA for the whole tank. That's something like 300W. 1000W would probably make for a bright sterile water filled art form. :) (Unless I've missed some point about that wattage discussion)

So something like 70 LEDs per half.

I wouldn't constrain myself to just the openings like you are, but have at it.

As for placements... I'm not sure... Using optics and having them tight in a row seems like it might invite a white stripe down the center of the tank, but I'm not sure. Probably it will all be too bright for human eyes to realize you have a stripe if it happens.

I'll be interested to see what happens.

[haysanatar]

he's definitely right on the number and the heat sink
I'm using high fin alluminum blocks and they run cold to the touch passively (got my fans set up and realized I didn't need them)
he has a good point on the rows perhaps not really sure on that

my arrangement goes about like this

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a396/haysanatar/finishedcompletelylights-1.jpg

[Northside Reef]

Hi Northside Reef.

I believe you're over thinking this whole thing but you seem to be having fun.. :)

A few points:

Thickness of a plate has nothing at all to do with its ability to dissipate heat. Using a thicker plate, void of fins, is not going to help cool your LEDs much. You need more surface area NOT thickness. If you want to use "just a plate" you need to have a zillion holes in it, in the right locations, to increase the surface area and the air flow around it. It's function will probably be dependent on fans too.

I'd suggest using U-channel for a good price, individual row point-ability, and a quarter the weight.




Originally I was going to use a heatsink from Heatsink USA but I think I took some mistaken advice on going thicker to eliminate the heatsink. I do not pretend to know everything there is to know about LEDs or making a fixture.

Trust me, I am not doing this just for the exercise I use SolidWorks everyday I don't need to throw my spare time at it as well.



Your numbers like "1000 watts" confounds me.. ?? The numbers point at something around 135 LEDs white and blue running @ 700mA for the whole tank. That's something like 300W. 1000W would probably make for a bright sterile water filled art form. :) (Unless I've missed some point about that wattage discussion)

So something like 70 LEDs per half.



I am going by the numbers given to me by the LED supplier where a 24 kit is equal to 250 watts.




I wouldn't constrain myself to just the openings like you are, but have at it.

As for placements... I'm not sure... Using optics and having them tight in a row seems like it might invite a white stripe down the center of the tank, but I'm not sure. Probably it will all be too bright for human eyes to realize you have a stripe if it happens.

I'll be interested to see what happens.

I apologize for taking your time. I do have the LED now so I can see for myself that they are much smaller than the 0.9 I was told they were. I will be able to lay them out correctly with that.

Thanks

[kcress]

No problem! Thanks for clarifying the 'watts' for me. That makes way more sense now. Like CFL lamps being equated to "100W".

[TropTrea]

with my LED's that came in a few days ago they gave me a sheet on heat sinking them. They recommended 16 square inches per LED when you run at 1,000 ma, 9 square inches when running at 700 ma. Now if you take both sides of the plate into consideration as surface area you only need 8 or 4.5 square inches. That means a grid with the LED's 3" apart should work great. If your adding fans you can even go closer.

[haysanatar]

i know with my heatsink I don't need fans.. but before I realized I didn't need them i found 3 cheap laptop cooling pads that had 3 fans per cooling pad (all usb powered) and mounted them onto some angular aluminum and set them in the fin channels and powered them with a powered usb hub cheap and easy cooling solution (which I didn't need)

[Northside Reef]

No problem! Thanks for clarifying the 'watts' for me. That makes way more sense now. Like CFL lamps being equated to "100W".

that's probably why I used the word "equivalent" when I posted the wattage numbers. Sorry for the confusion I should have been clearer.

Each fixture is the equivalent of 750 watts based on the information I have of 24 LEDs having the equivalent of 250 watts MH. That would be if they were turned all of the way up. Which I doubt I would ever have these turned all the way up.

I really had hoped I could get a better color distribution or maybe appearance would be a better word. So many people have commented on the "washed out" appearance of their corals when they have made the switch to LEDs and there is no denying that LEDs have a much narrower spectrum then T5's or MH

As for the layout. I don't think having that many LEDs in a row is going to be a huge problem.

At least it does not seem to be a problem for these two popular fixtures. Especially with as many dimmers as I plan.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/Orphek.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/Ecoxotic-Panorama.jpg

[Northside Reef]

he's definitely right on the number and the heat sink
I'm using high fin alluminum blocks and they run cold to the touch passively (got my fans set up and realized I didn't need them)
he has a good point on the rows perhaps not really sure on that

my arrangement goes about like this

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a396/haysanatar/finishedcompletelylights-1.jpg

I would love to see how this looks over your tank that many NW really has me interested.

Also really rethinking the heatsink kind of wish I had not told Heatsink USA to cancel the order when they called to tell me they were back ordered.

[haysanatar]

i got 3 heatsinks from rapid led they had some great as is where someone missed a drill/tap for preset fixture (which I didn't need) but I got some great heatsinks for next to nothing.
what is it you want to see a tank shot?
as of now I'm redoing my rock work (pegging it wow what a difference) and I still can't get a white balance on my camera to take pictures that look how they look in real life

[haysanatar]

I tell you was reading through this
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/9/aafeature
and I really see the reason for some cyan/green and am REALY debating getting some uva leds... i found a source for some and I really don't think 3 scattered leds with no optics are going to cause too much havoc
anyone found any good cyan leds though?

[Northside Reef]

Rapid has green LED's 520-535 nm they're also going to start selling the violet 420 nm LEDs soon


green ( http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-LEDs-cln-Green-LEDs/Categories)

Cyan I am not sure of I always thought that was a blue/green or teal color so I am not sure if that is the same thing.

[haysanatar]

it looks blue green its 500-520 if memory serves

[Northside Reef]

with my LED's that came in a few days ago they gave me a sheet on heat sinking them. They recommended 16 square inches per LED when you run at 1,000 ma, 9 square inches when running at 700 ma. Now if you take both sides of the plate into consideration as surface area you only need 8 or 4.5 square inches. That means a grid with the LED's 3" apart should work great. If your adding fans you can even go closer.

Kcress makes a solid point and I think it would be a good idea to add the fins to the back of the heat sink. It cant hurt for sure and C channel at HD is like $10.00 for an 8' section. One chunk of that behind each row of lights would be $40.00 so a small investment to help dissipate the heat.


it looks blue green its 500-520 if memory serves


If you find those I would definitely be interested in them as well.

[TropTrea]

Kcress makes a solid point and I think it would be a good idea to add the fins to the back of the heat sink. It cant hurt for sure and C channel at HD is like $10.00 for an 8' section. One chunk of that behind each row of lights would be $40.00 so a small investment to help dissipate the heat.

If you find those I would definitely be interested in them as well.

I just went through what our local HD has to offer in Aluminum. Basically a choice of angle iron up to 1" wide for $17.00 or 1 1/8" X 1/8 flat bar for 10.00 a 4 foot section. Since I'll have mine spaced out and running at 350 ma I went with the flat bar. Getting a 1" X 1" U channel might be the ideal since then you really have 6 square inches of surface for each inch of material. Unfortunately my HD does not sell it. When I build my bigger fixture I'll probably try to get 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" U channel through mail order. That should give me 9 square inches of surface per inch of material allowing me to run the LED's 2" apart on each run.

Thinking 36" run at 2" per LED =17 LED's X 5 runs = 85 LED's Would be real over kill for my 40 gallon breeder tanks I use to grow frags out.

[haysanatar]

try to find as is finboard best way to go about it honestly...
otherwise you will need to do some active cooling and even than you might especially if you stick with your numbers I have 28 leds on a 4.25" by 23" piece and its still failry cool to the touch but much more and you'd need some extra airflow

[Northside Reef]

I just went through what our local HD has to offer in Aluminum. Basically a choice of angle iron up to 1" wide for $17.00 or 1 1/8" X 1/8 flat bar for 10.00 a 4 foot section. Since I'll have mine spaced out and running at 350 ma I went with the flat bar. Getting a 1" X 1" U channel might be the ideal since then you really have 6 square inches of surface for each inch of material. Unfortunately my HD does not sell it. When I build my bigger fixture I'll probably try to get 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" U channel through mail order. That should give me 9 square inches of surface per inch of material allowing me to run the LED's 2" apart on each run.

Thinking 36" run at 2" per LED =17 LED's X 5 runs = 85 LED's Would be real over kill for my 40 gallon breeder tanks I use to grow frags out.

check online to see if another HD in your area has it. fortunately the one closest to me has several in stock.

HD Link ( http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100338033/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)

try to find as is finboard best way to go about it honestly...
otherwise you will need to do some active cooling and even than you might especially if you stick with your numbers I have 28 leds on a 4.25" by 23" piece and its still failry cool to the touch but much more and you'd need some extra airflow

I'm not too sure I understand the first part of your post, but pricing out actual heatsink to run down the length of those lights x 12 would be about $250.00, adding a fan won't be a problem if I need to. I will go cheap first and monitor the situation.

I have an idea forming for the housing so fans are starting to look like a real addition anyhow.

[Dirrk]

I'm not too sure I understand the first part of your post, but pricing out actual heatsink to run down the length of those lights x 12 would be about $250.00, adding a fan won't be a problem if I need to. I will go cheap first and monitor the situation.

following your tank build and LED build. .. I see large numbers of DIY LED builders using 1" aluminum channel with great success. Most don't find fans required, but that is always an option to extend performance. HD is an expensive place to get it. Do a search for metal suppliers in your area. local metal suppliers will cut to length very cheaply. you should be able to get 12 pieces 36" long of 1"x 1"x 1/8" for for less than $100. They can be cross mounted on bar or angle, allowing you to angle them as shown on your plate. a fraction of the weight and cost. since you look like a overbuild it kinda guy(me too), you could upgrade to 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" for not much more. Or go 3" and mount 2 staggered rows of LEDs. be sure to look for "architechtual" and not "structural" channel. 1/8" thick is plenty.
Keep up the good work.

[haysanatar]

I know I bought 3 finboards for 20 dollars as is for my 4.25 x 23 you can find them cheap if you look

[Dirrk]

[QUOTE=TropTrea;19657839]Your 10 degree angle is giving me some nasty ideas.

Actually across the glass light only causes algae to grow on the glass. So why not even increase that angle to 27.5 Degrees.

You could step each row of lights at a slightly different angle from the rear to the front 0 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees and finally 25 degrees. Or even a completely different approach go from the back to front -27.5 degrees, -13.75 degrees, 0 degrees, 13.75 Degrees, and again 27.5 degrees. Basically everything would be focused on the center of the tank.

Trop and North......My 2 cents...don't forget about the light you will lose to reflection, off the surface, when you angle the fixtures. Don't get me wrong, I think it's slick and could get radical sunrise / sunset effects if done on left and right. (being a diver, I know how dramatic low angle light can be.) You may also end up with wild shimmer effects on the wall behind the tank, depending on canopy structure. (I saw a video somewhere of light angled front to back.)

[Dirrk]

[QUOTE=Northside Reef;19647184]I see I messed up my count I will need 3 of the Mean Well ELN-60-27Ds not two.

I plan to run the 6 Green on a Mean Well ELN-60-27D as well as 8 True Violet on their own Mean Well ELN-60-27D and 6 WW on a separate Mean Well ELN-60-27D

so a total of 3 Mean Well ELN-60-27Ds

14 RB on two different Mean Well ELN-60-48Ds
8 Blue and 4 RD on one Mean Well ELN-60-48D
14 CW one Mean Well ELN-60-48D
12 CW one Mean Well ELN-60-48D

for 5 Mean Well ELN-60-48Ds

soooo ....8 Meanwell drivers times 2 fixtures=16 meanwells? wow, I'm going thru this a second time, maybe you change drivers later in the thread..? forgive me if I'm lagging.....I'm reading alot of these builds...Looks like you are gonna be well LIT.

[Dirrk]

[QUOTE=Northside Reef;19671411]Correct. The back will have rock attached to it, so I don't think I need to worry about angling that light away from the back wall.

How will you attach the rock to the back wall....looks like a sweet idea. I have some cut coral that I might retrofit. not sure about what to stick it to the wall with, since my tank is up and running. please excuse the tangent.

[haysanatar]

I'd be afraid to do that in a running tank I think.

[Northside Reef]

[QUOTE=Northside Reef;19647184]I see I messed up my count I will need 3 of the Mean Well ELN-60-27Ds not two.

I plan to run the 6 Green on a Mean Well ELN-60-27D as well as 8 True Violet on their own Mean Well ELN-60-27D and 6 WW on a separate Mean Well ELN-60-27D

so a total of 3 Mean Well ELN-60-27Ds

14 RB on two different Mean Well ELN-60-48Ds
8 Blue and 4 RD on one Mean Well ELN-60-48D
14 CW one Mean Well ELN-60-48D
12 CW one Mean Well ELN-60-48D

for 5 Mean Well ELN-60-48Ds

soooo ....8 Meanwell drivers times 2 fixtures=16 meanwells? wow, I'm going thru this a second time, maybe you change drivers later in the thread..? forgive me if I'm lagging.....I'm reading alot of these builds...Looks like you are gonna be well LIT.

Actually, no I was sitting down last night and looking at the whole thing and seeing where I can go parallel and how I would do both fixtures. and I Think I have streamlined quite a bit

I was sort of in tunnel vision mode when I was looking at a single fixture that once I widened my scope I was able to see it all a little clearer.

What I have come up with, but am still wrestling with is this

Each fixture as of now is:

32 RB
8 Blue
6 Green
6 WW
2 NW
24 CW
10 violet (420nm)

But I don't need to single a lot of that up they way I was originally thinking because so much of it can be parallel

So Fixture 1 and 2 each have 1 48D running 12/12 RB and another running 12/12 CW each that's 4 48Ds (one for each color per fixture 2 fixtures)

then both fixtures share

1 48D 10/10 for the violet 10 per parallel string
1 48D 6WW + 2 NW/ 6WW + 2 NW on parallel strings
1 48D 8/8 RB
1 48D 8/8 blue
1 27D 6/6 green

that would be 9 drivers total for both fixtures. Now the tempting thing to do but then it goes against my trying to keep the spectrum's separate is to change that 27D to a 48D and go 6 green + 6 RB per parallel string and then 8 blue + 2 RB on a second 48D that would eliminate the 27D altogether and put me at 8 drivers total for both fixtures. Still wrestling with this though as we're really only talking about $35.00 in savings and for the extra driver I get to keep all of my colors separated.

So there is still some over-thinking to do before I pull the trigger but it's getting closer and I still have not broached how I will add Haysanatar's pink LEDS :) but if I go with them they will probably replace a couple of the blues and fit on a current driver like the white mixture

[Northside Reef]

How will you attach the rock to the back wall....looks like a sweet idea. I have some cut coral that I might retrofit. not sure about what to stick it to the wall with, since my tank is up and running. please excuse the tangent.

sorry for the double post but since the two questions were unrelated it felt better this way.

I plan to use black acrylic outside of the tank and build the back wall in sections. That is after I cut holes in the black acrylic that will match the opening I will need for my bulkhead fittings (the entire fitting not just the same size as the through hole) that are going through the back wall of the tank for the closed loop.

that way I can safely test how well it all adheres. obviously it will be a lot easier to work with outside of the tank. once I am happy with it I will glue it all to the back wall. I am not sure yet what I need to use to glue it to the black acrylic the guys over at Marco Rocks will probably be able to lend a hand there once I get that far.

[haysanatar]

I'd think silicon. Make sure you use 100% silicon won't work in a running tank though.

[Northside Reef]

I'd think silicon. Make sure you use 100% silicon won't work in a running tank though.

I bet your right. But it is so far down the road I don't even want to think about it yet.

Right now I am all about sheetrock and vent fans lol

Any luck on the cyans?

[TropTrea]

[QUOTE=TropTrea;19657839]Your 10 degree angle is giving me some nasty ideas.

Actually across the glass light only causes algae to grow on the glass. So why not even increase that angle to 27.5 Degrees.

You could step each row of lights at a slightly different angle from the rear to the front 0 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees and finally 25 degrees. Or even a completely different approach go from the back to front -27.5 degrees, -13.75 degrees, 0 degrees, 13.75 Degrees, and again 27.5 degrees. Basically everything would be focused on the center of the tank.

Trop and North......My 2 cents...don't forget about the light you will lose to reflection, off the surface, when you angle the fixtures. Don't get me wrong, I think it's slick and could get radical sunrise / sunset effects if done on left and right. (being a diver, I know how dramatic low angle light can be.) You may also end up with wild shimmer effects on the wall behind the tank, depending on canopy structure. (I saw a video somewhere of light angled front to back.)

Actually today I did a 45% angle on my front LED's It did make a much more dramatic effect as well as magnified any little ripples on the tank surface. since this is not my main lighting if worked out fantastical fr some of the effect I want. But I'm still thinking about dropping the wattage on these LED's from 350 to around 200 to 250 ma.

[haysanatar]

hm you've got me thinking about putting on angled strip infront of my main one?
did you use whites whites and blues etc?
for some reason I feel like the blues at that angle would give you blue shadows

[Northside Reef]

Actually today I did a 45% angle on my front LED's It did make a much more dramatic effect as well as magnified any little ripples on the tank surface. since this is not my main lighting if worked out fantastical fr some of the effect I want. But I'm still thinking about dropping the wattage on these LED's from 350 to around 200 to 250 ma.

I would like to see how it looks Trop. I don't think I am going to change the angle from the 10+19 degree bends I have now. But would still like to see how yours came out.

thought about a couple of things a bit more. Looking at the pinks vs the CW,NW,WW wave lengths I don't think I gain much by adding the pinks.

Pink:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/pink_LED.jpg

CW,NW,WW

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/ColorChart2.jpg


Also rethought the driver layout:

So Fixture 1 and 2 each have 1 48D running 12/12 RB and another running 12/12CW each that's 4 48Ds (one for each color per fixture 2 fixtures)

then both fixtures share

1 48D 10/10 for the violet 10 per parallel string
1 48D 6WW + 2 NW + 4 Blue/ 6WW + 2 NW + 4 Blue on parallel strings
1 48D 8RB + 4 blue/8 RB + 4 Blue on parallel strings
1 27D 6/6 green on parallel strings

8 Drivers total and I don't think having the blues on the white mixture will be a big deal. If I think it's too blue I can turn down one of the other blue/RB strings.


Edit: should I switch the numbers on the WW and NW? 6 NW and 2 WW instead?

[TropTrea]

I would like to see how it looks Trop. I don't think I am going to change the angle from the 10+19 degree bends I have now. But would still like to see how yours came out.:?

I'm only running one strip in front of my T-5's. Even without lens it did not cover the whole tank front to back. So I played wing angels and when I pointed them directly at the rear back corner they lighted everything up fairly equal. They also than produced a beautiful shimmering effect on the entire system. Pictures with just the LED's came out very poor but it is on my build thread.

thought about a couple of things a bit more. Looking at the pinks vs the CW,NW,WW wave lengths I don't think I gain much by adding the pinks.

Pink:?

Yes actually if you want to supplement with another color you want the opposite of the pink. You will get more than enough reds from the white LED's. But there is gap in that blue green range.


Also rethought the driver layout:

So Fixture 1 and 2 each have 1 48D running 12/12 RB and another running 12/12CW each that's 4 48Ds (one for each color per fixture 2 fixtures)

then both fixtures share

1 48D 10/10 for the violet 10 per parallel string
1 48D 6WW + 2 NW + 4 Blue/ 6WW + 2 NW + 4 Blue on parallel strings
1 48D 8RB + 4 blue/8 RB + 4 Blue on parallel strings
1 27D 6/6 green on parallel strings

8 Drivers total and I don't think having the blues on the white mixture will be a big deal. If I think it's too blue I can turn down one of the other blue/RB strings.:?

Actually I'm not found of the idea of running one driver on three different sections of the light. I'd try to go with two drivers on each section. On driver being a fixed 1,300 ma driving 16 to 26 Blue and Royal Blue LEDs, and one adjustable current driver at 0 to 700 ma running 8 to 13 whites or other colors on each section. Remember that a white LED does put out a lot of light and will neutralize that blue look very fast. there fore you need less whites and by having them adjustable you can adjust to the color temp that pleases you.

[Northside Reef]

Yes actually if you want to supplement with another color you want the opposite of the pink. You will get more than enough reds from the white LED's. But there is gap in that blue green range.



found some cyan (505 nm) but they only run at 350 ma. Edit: hmm now that I think about it the blues are also 350 ma I think that might help make up my mind on this.

yeah I am vacillating on the 8 vs 9 drivers 9 gives me more overall control but it would be nice to keep it at 8 if I can. the analog outputs I plan to use for the dimming come in groups of 4 per slice so it would mean adding another slice of those as well. I have them sitting on a shelf but I do have a few projects that I do use them on. But originally I had planed to use more of them so I guess it's not a big deal.

So new driver map:

So Fixture 1 and 2 each have 1 48D running 12/12 RB and another running 12/12CW each that's 4 48Ds (one for each color per fixture 2 fixtures)

then both fixtures share

1 48D 10/10 for the violet 10 per parallel string
1 48D 6WW + 2 NW / 6WW + 2 NW on parallel strings
1 48D 8RB/8RB on parallel strings
1 48D 8 Blue + 4 cyan/8 Blue + 4 cyan on parallel strings
1 27D 6/6 green on parallel strings

9 drivers and I am cool with the blue and cyan on one driver. also means I need to add 4 LEDs per fixture or replace current ones. Possibly CW.

[haysanatar]

I'm only running one strip in front of my T-5's. Even without lens it did not cover the whole tank front to back. So I played wing angels and when I pointed them directly at the rear back corner they lighted everything up fairly equal. They also than produced a beautiful shimmering effect on the entire system. Pictures with just the LED's came out very poor but it is on my build thread.



Actually I'm not found of the idea of running one driver on three different sections of the light. I'd try to go with two drivers on each section. On driver being a fixed 1,300 ma driving 16 to 26 Blue and Royal Blue LEDs, and one adjustable current driver at 0 to 700 ma running 8 to 13 whites or other colors on each section. Remember that a white LED does put out a lot of light and will neutralize that blue look very fast. there fore you need less whites and by having them adjustable you can adjust to the color temp that pleases you.

That really burst my bubble with the pink.. but better now than when I got them and put all the time and money into it.

I'm really considering putting that strip in you said you did yours at a 45 angle?

I also have had the hardest time geting pictures of the leds to come out right. The white balance automatically kicks in and skews the colors around tried resetting it new settings etc with no luck.

As for running your drivers over multiple sections. Thats what I'm doing as of right now I have strands of 14 going down 3 sections. Those sections are bolted together though so I dont have to worry about movement. I personally feel that doing it that way makes it easier to get a consistent color blend going over your entire tank. Better than having to tune every section little at a time to get it to match.