Dream tank planning

cbellm · 01/04/2012, 08:01 PM

First of, I appreciate all your information you have taken the time to place on your site. I am working on a 125g SPS, LPS and Clam tank. I have been doing my research and think I am coming close to what I want as a design. I am planning on using 3, 18 inch heatsinks with total 48 LED per. I am looking for around a 400W MW with a 14K look before highnoon.

My desire:
Configuration of 8 XP-G CW (one MW 48-60D), and mix of 40 RB and CW roughly 2:1 configuration (2 MW 48-60Ds).

Total for the tank= 24 of your premium high noon, and 120 mix rb-cw
Run from an APEX with each color controlled individually

My issue:
Meanwell driver: what is the max they will drive in reality for 2 strings in parallel and be running the LEDs around 700-750? I want the blues to shine and give that pop. To obtain those ratios. I will be running around 26-28 RB with 12-14 CW. I see you like the 2 strings of 12 in parallel I see.

Solutions? maybe run my CW in parallel as well with a few blue in the mix with the CW strings not giving me the full versitility I was wanting?

Secondly:
To obtain a truly versitile fixture I would like to try and run a potentiometer in the mix as well. This way I can continue to run my normal apex program without ulterations to all fixtures while tuning down a certain string on that heat sink (allowing me to acclimate the corals without having to alter programming or all fixtures at one time...

My thoughts that I need feedback on. Run the apex + to the pot and have the pot use that as its referance voltage. so when the apex is on and the pot is at 100% it will run its normal program. If the apex is at its full intensity at one moment in time I can scale down the pot and dim the driver as well.
Is this fesable or am I completely off? It seems to me that since the pot is getting a refrence voltage, if it is knob is turned up it should allow the apex to run its program as if the pot wernt in the circut at all?

ReefLEDLights · 01/04/2012, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbellm

First of, I appreciate all your information you have taken the time to place on your site. I am working on a 125g SPS, LPS and Clam tank. I have been doing my research and think I am coming close to what I want as a design. I am planning on using 3, 18 inch heatsinks with total 48 LED per. I am looking for around a 400W MW with a 14K look before highnoon.

My desire:
Configuration of 8 XP-G CW (one MW 48-60D), and mix of 40 RB and CW roughly 2:1 configuration (2 MW 48-60Ds).

Total for the tank= 24 of your premium high noon, and 120 mix rb-cw
Run from an APEX with each color controlled individually

My issue:
Meanwell driver: what is the max they will drive in reality for 2 strings in parallel and be running the LEDs around 700-750? I want the blues to shine and give that pop. To obtain those ratios. I will be running around 26-28 RB with 12-14 CW. I see you like the 2 strings of 12 in parallel I see.

Solutions? maybe run my CW in parallel as well with a few blue in the mix with the CW strings not giving me the full versitility I was wanting?

Secondly:
To obtain a truly versitile fixture I would like to try and run a potentiometer in the mix as well. This way I can continue to run my normal apex program without ulterations to all fixtures while tuning down a certain string on that heat sink (allowing me to acclimate the corals without having to alter programming or all fixtures at one time...

My thoughts that I need feedback on. Run the apex + to the pot and have the pot use that as its referance voltage. so when the apex is on and the pot is at 100% it will run its normal program. If the apex is at its full intensity at one moment in time I can scale down the pot and dim the driver as well.
Is this fesable or am I completely off? It seems to me that since the pot is getting a refrence voltage, if it is knob is turned up it should allow the apex to run its program as if the pot wernt in the circut at all?

In theory this may be a winner but but have not tried it yet personally. Please keep us posted on the results as this can be a huge ease in acclimation.

As far as the Mean Well 48D, 13 is the max we recommend. Some get away with 14 but if the forward voltage of the LEDs increases or the max forward voltage of the driver decreases over time you may have problems. Also The Mean Well Must be adjusted and sometimes can deliver up to 1.8A. This is bad... the most a 60-48D can do is two strings at 650mA. If tuned higher you risk over heating the driver and early failure.

Personally I prefer the Inventronics Class of drivers which can drive 15 XP LEDs at 700mA. We will launch our our version soon with better dimming.
For the 8 XP-G you are close to the low end edge of Forward Voltage compatibility. I would play it safe and use the Inventronics 1050mA 40watt driver which does not need to be adjusted and can drive up to 10 XP-Gs easily.

Honestly I could go on a rant on all the miss information there is online about Cree 3 watt LEDs but instead will give you what we use on our tanks...

If you choose the 10 Premium XP-G Cool White which are binned for 7.5K and 15 XP-E Premium D316 Royal Blue you will have two drivers and at full power will be a crisp 17-20K look.

Different Bins of cool white can be more yellow and Different Bins of Royal Blue will have less colour pop.

I really recommend this ratio with maybe substituting three Royal Blue for three Blue which is our Phoenix 25 mix.

As far as High Noon there has been a lot of debate on this. For the record we do not recommend the use of warm or neutral whites into a fixture. If you do you will have a yellow tank or one that may promote nuisance algae.

Instead we recommend a warmer bin of the cool white which is around 6K. This in our High Noon and offers the following advantages given the proper photo period.
-Increased PAR
-Additional spectrum to excite certain Pigments in SPS corals
-More natural reef light
-Limited benefit to nuisance algae if employed properly

Overall you have a good plan. Hope our input helps

If you have any questions please contact us or give us a call.

Bill

cbellm · 01/05/2012, 06:03 AM

I appreciate the quick responce.

I am glad to hear that you think the pot use was a good idea, because I am big about versatility in this project. As for the RB/CW section of the questioning I hadnt planned on using any warm whites, I concidered using your CW XP-E for my 12-14 CW and your regular hign noon kit. Do you discourage the XP-E CWs and instead opt for the XP-G for the non-highnoon color?

Your suggested 10XP-G CW and 15 RB XP- (plus the high noon) seems like too few LEDS for an 18" heatsink reading your site suggests the use of around 48 total for a 400W MH look.

I am glad you mentioned adding a few blue because I have concidered adding a few of them to get a bit of added spectrum variation.

I am certainly not opposed to going to 10 per sink for a total of 30 on the high noon so I am not under the minimum for the driver.

When you let me know about the XP-E/XP-G question I will work on my plans and see if I cant get something drawn up and let you take a final look.

Also this new inventronics driver? Can it be run in parallel as well if I want to increase LEDs in the future, or to power the RBs?

ReefLEDLights · 01/05/2012, 12:45 PM

The concept for the high noon was to increase the light and offer a slightly warmer but not too warm spectrum. This can be done with a similar Bin of the XM-L or XP-E.

Discussing Bins has caused some confusion with some so we simplified it. For the Cool White XP-G we labeled the Premium Bins as the Brightest and Coolest or R5 and 7.5K, For the High Noon the XP-G is still R5 but its 6K on colour temp.

When it comes to using a XP-E or XP-G the XP-G is more efficient but more expensive. The cost of the XP-G is coming down and will soon replace the XP-E Cool White across the board.

You are correct in 25 XP LEDs on an 18" heatsink is not a 400 watt MH equivalent. That Ratio is what most prefer when using our Premium LEDs. 10 XP-G CW and 15 XP-E RB is the rough equivalent to a 175 watt MH based on our PAR measurements. 45 XP LEDs on an 18" heatsink will be close to a 400MH. The Bins of the LEDs do matter when it comes to looks which is why we specifically Bin our LEDs and prefer the Premium Bins. If you wind up with a warmer Cool White you may need to add more Royal Blue to get the colour temp you like.

The nice thing about the Inventronics driver is it has a higher forward voltage and does not need to be adjusted. It can run parallel strings but for the XP-E you would be running them at 350mA. The Mean Well 48D can be tuned to run two parallel strings at 650mA, however based on its forward voltage range I would play it safe and use 9-13 LEDs per string.

Bill

cbellm · 06/08/2012, 08:16 PM

Just wanted to you to know that the pot/apex system is working wonderfully, I transfered LPS, SPS, fish and softies from MH and also into another tank and didnt lose one of them, and not to mention to another tank. I was going to build a second fixture for my build but I found a Radion for a price cheaper than what I build the DIY, because of the pots I have been able to fine tune it to make it resemble the rise, set, day looks yours gives... not to mention what I got from you was more powerful overall... thanks for the help. I will be building bigger and better soon I hope.

01/04/2012, 08:01 PM	#1
cbellm Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: indiana Posts: 79	Dream tank planning First of, I appreciate all your information you have taken the time to place on your site. I am working on a 125g SPS, LPS and Clam tank. I have been doing my research and think I am coming close to what I want as a design. I am planning on using 3, 18 inch heatsinks with total 48 LED per. I am looking for around a 400W MW with a 14K look before highnoon. My desire: Configuration of 8 XP-G CW (one MW 48-60D), and mix of 40 RB and CW roughly 2:1 configuration (2 MW 48-60Ds). Total for the tank= 24 of your premium high noon, and 120 mix rb-cw Run from an APEX with each color controlled individually My issue: Meanwell driver: what is the max they will drive in reality for 2 strings in parallel and be running the LEDs around 700-750? I want the blues to shine and give that pop. To obtain those ratios. I will be running around 26-28 RB with 12-14 CW. I see you like the 2 strings of 12 in parallel I see. Solutions? maybe run my CW in parallel as well with a few blue in the mix with the CW strings not giving me the full versitility I was wanting? Secondly: To obtain a truly versitile fixture I would like to try and run a potentiometer in the mix as well. This way I can continue to run my normal apex program without ulterations to all fixtures while tuning down a certain string on that heat sink (allowing me to acclimate the corals without having to alter programming or all fixtures at one time... My thoughts that I need feedback on. Run the apex + to the pot and have the pot use that as its referance voltage. so when the apex is on and the pot is at 100% it will run its normal program. If the apex is at its full intensity at one moment in time I can scale down the pot and dim the driver as well. Is this fesable or am I completely off? It seems to me that since the pot is getting a refrence voltage, if it is knob is turned up it should allow the apex to run its program as if the pot wernt in the circut at all?

01/05/2012, 12:45 PM	#4
ReefLEDLights RC Sponsor Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Chicago Posts: 425	The concept for the high noon was to increase the light and offer a slightly warmer but not too warm spectrum. This can be done with a similar Bin of the XM-L or XP-E. Discussing Bins has caused some confusion with some so we simplified it. For the Cool White XP-G we labeled the Premium Bins as the Brightest and Coolest or R5 and 7.5K, For the High Noon the XP-G is still R5 but its 6K on colour temp. When it comes to using a XP-E or XP-G the XP-G is more efficient but more expensive. The cost of the XP-G is coming down and will soon replace the XP-E Cool White across the board. You are correct in 25 XP LEDs on an 18" heatsink is not a 400 watt MH equivalent. That Ratio is what most prefer when using our Premium LEDs. 10 XP-G CW and 15 XP-E RB is the rough equivalent to a 175 watt MH based on our PAR measurements. 45 XP LEDs on an 18" heatsink will be close to a 400MH. The Bins of the LEDs do matter when it comes to looks which is why we specifically Bin our LEDs and prefer the Premium Bins. If you wind up with a warmer Cool White you may need to add more Royal Blue to get the colour temp you like. The nice thing about the Inventronics driver is it has a higher forward voltage and does not need to be adjusted. It can run parallel strings but for the XP-E you would be running them at 350mA. The Mean Well 48D can be tuned to run two parallel strings at 650mA, however based on its forward voltage range I would play it safe and use 9-13 LEDs per string. Bill __________________ Reef LED Lights 1-309-533(LED)-7333(Reef) [email protected] www.reefledlights.com

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01/05/2012, 06:03 AM	#3
cbellm Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: indiana Posts: 79	I appreciate the quick responce. I am glad to hear that you think the pot use was a good idea, because I am big about versatility in this project. As for the RB/CW section of the questioning I hadnt planned on using any warm whites, I concidered using your CW XP-E for my 12-14 CW and your regular hign noon kit. Do you discourage the XP-E CWs and instead opt for the XP-G for the non-highnoon color? Your suggested 10XP-G CW and 15 RB XP- (plus the high noon) seems like too few LEDS for an 18" heatsink reading your site suggests the use of around 48 total for a 400W MH look. I am glad you mentioned adding a few blue because I have concidered adding a few of them to get a bit of added spectrum variation. I am certainly not opposed to going to 10 per sink for a total of 30 on the high noon so I am not under the minimum for the driver. When you let me know about the XP-E/XP-G question I will work on my plans and see if I cant get something drawn up and let you take a final look. Also this new inventronics driver? Can it be run in parallel as well if I want to increase LEDs in the future, or to power the RBs?

06/08/2012, 08:16 PM	#5
cbellm Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: indiana Posts: 79	Just wanted to you to know that the pot/apex system is working wonderfully, I transfered LPS, SPS, fish and softies from MH and also into another tank and didnt lose one of them, and not to mention to another tank. I was going to build a second fixture for my build but I found a Radion for a price cheaper than what I build the DIY, because of the pots I have been able to fine tune it to make it resemble the rise, set, day looks yours gives... not to mention what I got from you was more powerful overall... thanks for the help. I will be building bigger and better soon I hope.