Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

[dwolson2]

It looks good, if you could put a number on it, instead of replacing 1-250 MH, could you replace 2-250 MH with 3-50W chips?

[kaos666]

hello maglofster is possible to you send for my by pm the links off the drivers and leds i intent to send to you one PM but have this message "Sorry, you can only send messages to the RC Moderator group until you have 10 posts."

Send me the links by PM please.
Thanks

[spark82]

I was just wondering if you would be able to dim the fixture you are making
and if so how could be done or did I miss something when I read the post

[spark82]

oops double post

[stormrider27]

Originally Posted by dwolson2

It looks good, if you could put a number on it, instead of replacing 1-250 MH, could you replace 2-250 MH with 3-50W chips?

See post #31

"The Aqua Medic MH:s hanging over the tank are 250w each. The 50Ws are not equal to them, but a 100W chip would be I think. As soon as I get those drivers home I will do another series of pictures and will include the MH's as a reference. "

[dwolson2]

Originally Posted by stormrider27

See post #31

"The Aqua Medic MH:s hanging over the tank are 250w each. The 50Ws are not equal to them, but a 100W chip would be I think. As soon as I get those drivers home I will do another series of pictures and will include the MH's as a reference. "

I had seen that post, I guess I mis read it(I thought 50 was to little the 100 just a tad too much, since LED's tend to put out a little more par/visible bightness than MH)

[SUMMERS]

This is a 50w blue led. Extremely bright. Still waiting optics and 14k light to arrive.

[007Bond]

Summers, did you buy a driver that will dim? how high above your tank will the light be? what optics are you waiting on? Thanks---Rick

[SUMMERS]

Rick I went with the standard waterproof driver that the seller had. It was $47 shipped for the driver and led. Wanted to get the "proper" driver initially to make sure I could spec out a DIY driver correctly.

I will be building a dimmable driver soon.

I bought a 90 degree 44mm optic and a 78mm optic. Want to see which gives better coverage for me. There are a ton of optics out there from what I see.

[kaos666]

SUMMERS is possible to you send the links where you buy?leds and optics
Thanks

[kaos666]

SUMMERS thanks a lot for PM.

[007Bond]

Summer, Thanks for the input. I hope you will post some further info on your build along with Maglofster so we can compare some notes for a better understanding what you guys are doing. Maglofster gave me a link to where he is buying his leds from, and they have some dimmable drivers. In all it looks a lot cheaper than single 3w leds for a build.

[ViPeR_930]

Interesting thread. I have a similar (or maybe the exact same) multichip 50W LED that I thought about using about a year ago. I stuck it on a simple CPU cooler and tried it out with a small peltier cooler as well. I decided to ditch the idea though. Heat builds up on these boards very very quickly, even with a good cooler, and kills the efficacy of the module super fast. It's also not as efficient per watt at its best as most of the smaller LEDs like a Cree XP-G or even an XP-E. It does save space and is cheaper, but not nearly as power efficient.

I was able to dim mine using a simple 24V PWM dimmer from ebay. Works well, but I would bet the dimmer isn't that great and doesn't produce a good sine wave.

Ecoxotic's LED Cannon is an example of using this.

[coreyg]

I ordered a 50 watt 10000k chip. At the time I had 36 3 watt single leds over my 65 gallon tank. I removed 12 led out of the original set up and replaced them with the 50 watt multi chip. My par value went up from round 300 at 3" deep to about 700 at the same depth. So I decided to order 2 20 watt 20000K chips to put on both sides of the 50 watt chip. The light out put of the 50 watt was crazy. I lite up a 27x15' room like it was day time. I'm still waiting for the 2 20 watt chips to come in, they should be here next week. I'm using a cpu heat sink and fan to cool the 50 chips and it does a great job.

[dwolson2]

Anyone find a dimmable driver that can be controlled by the APEX? I just bought one with the intension of going leds , so I would like to find the right driver for it.

[Orochimaru]

tagging along

[coreyg]

Originally Posted by dwolson2

Anyone find a dimmable driver that can be controlled by the APEX? I just bought one with the intension of going leds , so I would like to find the right driver for it.

I'm using a meanwell eln-60-48D for my 50 watt.

[dwolson2]

coreyg are you the same coreyg in Simi CA?

[dnejdl]

so the meanwell eln-60-48D will work with the 50 watt chip ?

[pooldude]

nice!

[SoCal LowBaller]

im following along my self

[maglofster]

looks like my stuff just cleared customs! Yay! Now, hurry up MR. Postman.

[cediss]

Ok. I've been catching up on thread. Was about to do a redo/ add-on to my DIY 3w LEDS, but this is making me have second thoughts! I could accomplish my goal with adding a couple 50w blue multichips. Keep info flowing! Need the DIY for dummies post!

Any specs on chips like voltage and wavelenghts?

[Orochimaru]

I wonder if this is any good....just for discussion...hopefully the MODs are ok with it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-50W-Acti...item256d74f190

[maglofster]

I have used that exact model of driver, it has worked well for me. It's not dimmable and you need to attatch your own wall plug (grounded). I have not used the chip but it looks like it would work very well!