LED Color Aesthetics: The Emperor’s got no clothes. Or does he?

[jusmee]

Originally Posted by sseaner

I just figured out my Buck Puck and LED problem. It was self inflicted. DOH! I will get some new parts and get it back in action.

I hate it when I do that At least I try to put a fuse in line to protect things now Popped a fuse the other day because of a stupid wiring error.

[ErikS]

Originally Posted by Foxy Brown

Some of the best looking T5 setups I've seen used fiji purple or procolor... I prefer the Fiji but whichever.

Well that's the issue isn't it - appearance or functionality. They are good for looks, PAR? Not so much.

[jtma508]

sseaner, awesome work. Thanks for your effort. I think what you are doing is important. I was particularly impressed with the effect the cyan had and clearly, NW is the way to go.

[DFason]

sseaner - Great stuff man! On the neutral whites, do you know the exact bin? Either way they look 100x better. I think I good balance of NW, a couple Cyan, and Royals and Blue would look unreal! Do you have any shots of all of them together?

-Dave

[sseaner]

I never got a shot before my wiring error caused the buck puck to fail. I ordered a new one along with more NW's. I am going to have 4 NW, 3 RB, 1 B, 1 C, 1 R, and 1 WW. I will get some shots once I rework it.

[chimmike]

hmm, so the red and cyan help, and you like the NW over the WW?

(thinkin i might do a combination of those, with 2 RB's and one B on my middle fixture for my 3 fixture 36x36 tank........two fixtures already have CW and RB's.)

http://www.luxeonstar.com/Luxeon-Reb...-LEDs-s/13.htm

btw, they seem to cover some good spectral info when you look at an individual color's star information.

so you used Luxeon red and cyan, Sean?

[DFason]

On the NW, are the photo's pretty close to what you are seeing?

-Dave

[DeePDiSHeD]

This is a great thread. Thank you for sharing your results with us. I'll have more confidance now when i start my own diy build.

[Foxy Brown]

sseaner, that's fantastic work... can't wait to see the combined shots. So it looks like the verdict is NW+C+RB+Red are the minimum. Do you think you could get good appearance just from the 4 channels or do you think the full 6 channel combo is needed?

[jusmee]

It would be interesting to know the chromasticity region of you NW LEDs, because, for example the 3B NW seems very close to the WG CW which I find very pleasing on my tank.

Do you know the actual bin code? - it looks like SSSCCC-BD-WWW-FF-G-AA and it's the WWW part the tells you this.

[jusmee]

It would be interesting to know the chromasticity region of you NW LEDs, because, for example the 3B NW seems very close to the WG CW which I find very pleasing on my tank.

Do you know the actual bin code? - it looks like SSSCCC-BD-WWW-FF-G-AA and it's the WWW part the tells you this.

[jtl2]

sseaner,

When you say low or mid power (red & cyan) do you have an approximate guess as to current levels? At the 750ma level (overdriven a little for the xp-e red) I'm not getting a favorable "look".

John

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Here's a first stab at a 1.5 inch square MCPCB that will hold 7 LEDs in a 6+1 circle: UV, RB, B, C, 2xW, R. It's pretty rough still. But this pattern should provide the smoothest blending without optics, and fairly high light density.

The UV and Red are from LEDEngin, Inc.
The others are Luxeon Rebels

I also did footprints for the Cree XP-E and XP-G. But I haven't used them yet.

No single LED manufacturer makes all the colors I'm interested in. They either don't have the UV and deep red or they don't have the cyan. Or both.



I'm also trying out:
3 LEDs: B, C, W
4 LEDs: RB, B, C, W
6 LEDs (2x3): UV, RB, B, C, W, R
9 LEDs (3x3): UV, RB, B, C, 4xW, R
16 LEDs (4x4): UV, 4xRB, 4xB, 2xC, 4xW, R

I'll be interested in suggestions on color combinations too.

[wesley6610]

What current are you running these combination rigs at? Are all of the LEDs being pushed at the same or various amounts so far? Are PAR measurements in the near future as well? Great work!

[chimmike]

Originally Posted by wesley6610

What current are you running these combination rigs at? Are all of the LEDs being pushed at the same or various amounts so far? Are PAR measurements in the near future as well? Great work!

IIRC we're not really concerned with PAR here. This is purely for aesthetics.

[DFason]

I just put my order in for NW, Cyan, Red and Blue. I will be doing a combo with CREE XP RB also. Once I get everything built I will also put PAR readings along with the difference in colors. I ordered directly from Luxeon so I could use the 10mm squares. I am hoping to get the same color as 14K Phoenix or Radiums.

Thanks to sseaner for starting the madness!

-Dave

[jtma508]

Koyaan... which red did you order fomr LEDEngin? They have a 5w deep red with a center at ~660nm that I think would be a much better choice than the typical ~630nm reds out there.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Originally Posted by jtma508

Koyaan... which red did you order fomr LEDEngin? They have a 5w deep red with a center at ~660nm that I think would be a much better choice than the typical ~630nm reds out there.

Ya, I'm using the 5W 660nm deep red to pick up that far end that even the WW LEDs don't reach. They're the only ones I've found so far that do a deep red. And I think at 5W I'll only need one per several white.

Still haven't found a source for ~420nm "indigo". I'm using the 400nm UV from LEDEngin. But I think that's going to leave a BIG gap between 450 and 400nm.

If anyone finds a 420-ish LED, please post a link. It's the last empty space to fill.

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by chimmike

IIRC we're not really concerned with PAR here. This is purely for aesthetics.

While the purpose of this thread clearly focuses on aesthetics, IMHO you simply can't ignore PAR - if for no other reason than determining how many LEDS would be needed in any configuration to obtain the desired aesthetics (vs dead corals.)

I believe great things can be accomplished through the efforts of those participating in this thread (it's already happening with the builds underway.) I hope we can get PAR data so we know how best to apply what is learned.

[Foxy Brown]

Originally Posted by Koyaanisqatsi

Here's a first stab at a 1.5 inch square MCPCB that will hold 7 LEDs in a 6+1 circle: UV, RB, B, C, 2xW, R.

If/when you get to the point of actually ordering custom PCBs, I would love buy some off you.

[wesley6610]

Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest

While the purpose of this thread clearly focuses on aesthetics, IMHO you simply can't ignore PAR - if for no other reason than determining how many LEDS would be needed in any configuration to obtain the desired aesthetics (vs dead corals.)

I believe great things can be accomplished through the efforts of those participating in this thread (it's already happening with the builds underway.) I hope we can get PAR data so we know how best to apply what is learned.

Agreed. It seems pointless to consider looks only and not growth benefits as well. Now that we have added actual beneficial spectrum considerations into the mix, they all become relevant to our LED rigs. I personally love my DIY setup over my 75 gallon and have seen great growth in SPS, but I would agree that colors aren't as deep as they use to be under T5's only, but that's why I have a hybrid system with ATI Blue Special and Blue plus bulbs. Once more is researched about actual spectrum needed by LEDs to replicate MH and T5's, we will all be in better standing, but at least we know that LED's can produce the PAR and color we like, now we just need the last third (spectrum) to complete it all. Again, great thread!

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Originally Posted by Foxy Brown

If/when you get to the point of actually ordering custom PCBs, I would love buy some off you.

Certainly! And the more I order, the cheaper they become. So if anyone else wants some, PM me and let me know how many you're interested in.

I haven't settled on a design yet (it will take a few weeks at least). And I may make a few different layouts.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Take a look at Sammy's 20G system. He just added a red to his fixture. Sweet!

[DaytonaJoe]

These two sketches show my current lighting configuration (cool white and blue) and an idea for the new configuration. The three black dots are empty slots I've reserved for additions down the road. The fixture is basically 20'' x 8''

white=cw
yellow=nw
blue=rb
red=r
black=empty

I know there hasn't been much experimentation yet, but do you think that this would be too much red?

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Based only on what we've talked about here recently (I've yet to do any testing myself), I'd say replace three of the reds and a black dot with 4 cyan and 2 of the RBs and 2 black dots with 4 blue. 4 reds will be WAY too much - you just want a tiny bit to warm up the spectrum a little.