90 Bridgelux LED, ELN-Ds, c-channel heat sink

[Clarence01]

Originally Posted by CaliO

IF you want spot lights then yes... I figure [SchnitzelReef] 180g tank is 72" x 24" x 24" and he has 90 leds.. (6 drivers? WHY?)

So I figure because your 375g is 2' longer, 6"wider and 6" deeper.

IMO You will need something like 160 - 200 leds... With 45* degree optics.
Granted this is too be able to keep clams on the sea bed too... But if your serious send Ray an email at aquastyleonline.com He is awsome for as much business as they get he handles it all.. Throws in a few extra leds "in case" the whole nine. Plus will tell you what he thinks without trying to make a bigger sale...

not sure why aquastyleonline.com doesn't work.... Can anyone advise?

[RonMidtownStomp]

Can someone point me to a good comparison of Cree vs. Bridgelux?

The website works just fine for me. Even just control-clicking the link above opens it in another tab no problem.

[Clarence01]

Just read from anothe thread. It Philips Luxeon ES was highly recommended. From the web stevenled.com. It even powerful than Cree. Can anyone comment?

[Daka]

Hey Just tried it I got into site ok. Try again.

[SchnitzelReef]

Hey guys I haven't been on in a few days. Still at work. I'll jump on when I get home and answer everyone's questions


Sent from my iPhone

[Commandoe]

Heard from Ray today, he suggested for my 240G tank this color ratio!

For 8'x2'x2' tank, 3 of 48 LEDs kit is enough.

as for the color ratio, we recommend 22 RB 11 white 10000K 11 white 6500K 2 pink 2 Cyan.
the color temparature would be about 14000K

What do yall think of that?

[RonMidtownStomp]

I think you should take a really good look at the Luxeon bulbs before going with the Bridgelux based on my research and feedback that I have received. The price is not very much more and instead of being a lesser product than the Crees, they're better based on everything I've heard so far.

I've also read at least twice that the 10k Bridgelux bulbs do not produce a very attractive color of light.

[Daka]

Ron,
Where are you getting prices for the lux LEDS? I just look at the site and they are twice the amount of Bridgelux and maybe even alittle more than cree. Did you find a kit for them?
Daka

[RonMidtownStomp]

$3.50/each with lenses for the Lexeons. Compared to $2.80 for Bridgelux and $4.40 for the Cree. The Luxeons are so much brighter in comparison that I'm pretty sure you would need fewer of them. I sent you the link via PM.

[Daka]

Ron,
Was on that site, does look interesting, I would buy the parts seperate, I have a machine shop at work and they are making my heat sinks, plus I have wire and solder. If they are as good as they say it is worth looking into. Fast calc it would be about $121 more the Bridgelux ,but that is 56 lux vs 72 Bridge.
I am going to do more research.
Thanks for the info.
daka

[Commandoe]

Whats that site address guys?

[RonMidtownStomp]

Can't post links to non-RC sponsor sites.

[rwb500]

Originally Posted by RonMidtownStomp

Can't post links to non-RC sponsor sites.

that cant be true... i cant post a link to www.google.com?

[Commandoe]

No problem, got the PM, Thank Ya!

[RonMidtownStomp]

You can post them, but it's against the rules.

[Clarence01]

Originally Posted by RonMidtownStomp

$3.50/each with lenses for the Lexeons. Compared to $2.80 for Bridgelux and $4.40 for the Cree. The Luxeons are so much brighter in comparison that I'm pretty sure you would need fewer of them. I sent you the link via PM.

Can you PM me as well? Please.

[RonMidtownStomp]

This is getting a little silly. Google "Steven Custom LED" -- mods can I link please? Maybe if we send enough people to the site, they'll become RC sponsors. Also, you could let me know if the rules have changed. Thanks.

[geo]

Originally Posted by RonMidtownStomp

Can't post links to non-RC sponsor sites.

You can post links as long as the destination is not a competing board or a business or site that has found its way onto the RC word filter for one reason or another. If you need to use creative spelling in order to post a link it is one not welcome on RC.
And FWIW instructing people to PM, remove spaces, change a letter or whatever for the link is using RC resources to get the information out and is not appreciated.

[RonMidtownStomp]

Thank you, Geo. If I understand you correctly, I can post this as long as it isn't blocked when I try to post it.

http://shop.stevesleds.com/Philips-L...t-LEDs_c27.htm

Thank you for the clarification.
Ron

[SchnitzelReef]

[/COLOR]

Originally Posted by Commandoe

Just found this post and its very good! Can you help/direct me in choosing what would be best for my application? I have a 240g acrylic tank, 8X2X2 ft. I need 3 - 24 inch fixtures! I don’t want them to hang but sit on lid of tank which makes them 3-3 1/2 inches from water surface! Please tell me what number of LED’s, the color ratio of LEDs and lenses you would recommend for per fixture?

I would recommend running a solid fixture instead of 3 seperate ones. IMO u will get better cooling and better coverage. I have 2 braces on my tank, and the leds penetrate fine. Unless ur braces are black acrylic, u should be fine. Using the C-channel heatsink method has worked great for me and many others. I would recommend hanging ur leds, i dont think setting them on top of ur tank will be a good idea. As far as how many leds i would probably get about 150LEDs minimum. The only advice i can offer from my own experience is that 150 leds will give u even coverage. I have 90leds on my 180, and i have clams,sps,nems etc etc and everyone is doing great. Im sure if u searched a bit u could probably find someone that would recommend 150+leds for a 180. BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE. Only thing u need to watch out for is bad coverage, i have seen many tanks that look spot lighted or shadowed from not using enough leds. also i would def run 3:1 on blue:white ratio. Those white leds are very powerful and at 100% with 3:1 ratio, they will still drown out the blue....good luck

Originally Posted by Commandoe

My tank is acrylic and has 3 openings and that’s the reason for 3 fixtures! I was thinking about 2 48” or maybe even 1 8 footer, but it would be easier IME for maintenence. I can DIY another canopy to move the fixture up to the height if I had to, so that’s also not a problem. I was thinking of 48 LEDs on each fixture, so that would put me almost to your recommendation, so that’s cool too! The greens and cyans seem to be the way to go in making the corals pop as someone else said, so I’m cool with that too! Nice to see that I’m not totally off point with this thing, and hopefully Scnitzelreef and more will chime in! But, can you tell me why the RapidLED dimmable 48 kit has 4 drivers and the AquaStyle dimmable 48 kit has only 2 drivers?

The reason why rapid sells them with 4 drivers, is because u are supposed to wire the leds in series. The aquastyle led drivers are designed to be run in paralled. Better off googling this to understand it better. I ran the bridgelux leds from aquastyle, but i used the Meanwell ELN60-48D drivers, and ran my LEDs in series. For me it was a little more wiring and little more money, but from all of my research running them in series is safer

Originally Posted by Daka

Been readng tons of threads on different sites.Thought I would jump in here.
Schnitzeleef you stated that you think 3:1 is better. I am about ready to place an order with aquastyle, What leds should I get for a 90 gal. tank? I printed off that you have but the was 2:1 with some other colors added.
Please let me know what would work. Also do you still use moon lights or just adjust the leds? I will be controling with PWD using an Arduino controller.
I am picking the tank up sunday. Its a used 90gal and a 30gal sump both oceanic .
I plan it to be an"everything reef"....I hope. So any help would be great.
Thanks in advance
Daka

IMO for a 90 gallon 72 LEDS will be more than enough. The reason i am recommending 3:1 is because with 2:1 at 100% the whites drown out the blues almost compoletely. I have a friend with 3:1 and at 100% u can barely see the blue lighting. I run my whites at 50% and it gives me a nice 15-18k look......I am using moonlights, but they are a strip of low power led lights i got from a website. its kind of a hokey setup, but i already bought them....also i am adding more royal blue, cyan and 420nm actinic to my 4th strip of c channel

Originally Posted by Clarence01

Just read from anothe thread. It Philips Luxeon ES was highly recommended. From the web stevenled.com. It even powerful than Cree. Can anyone comment?

I also saw this. For the money i would rather stick with Bridgelux. I researched and researched for literally months before i bought my kit. I do not doubt that cree and luxeon are more efficient leds, but i gurantee u that they will NOT grow ur coral any faster than with my bridgelux leds. If u are hyped on having the ABSOLUTE best most efficient leds, than go with Cree.

Originally Posted by Commandoe

Heard from Ray today, he suggested for my 240G tank this color ratio!

For 8'x2'x2' tank, 3 of 48 LEDs kit is enough.

as for the color ratio, we recommend 22 RB 11 white 10000K 11 white 6500K 2 pink 2 Cyan.
the color temparature would be about 14000K

What do yall think of that?

I would do less whites. TRUST me the white are wayyyy more powerful than the blues. wattage is the same, YES. But the whites way overpowerrrrr the blues.

Originally Posted by RonMidtownStomp

I think you should take a really good look at the Luxeon bulbs before going with the Bridgelux based on my research and feedback that I have received. The price is not very much more and instead of being a lesser product than the Crees, they're better based on everything I've heard so far.

I've also read at least twice that the 10k Bridgelux bulbs do not produce a very attractive color of light.

I have a friend with all 10000k bridgelux and royal blues and he is super happy. He likes the 20k blue look and thats exactly what he got. As far as it affecting the coral, or slowing their growth that is not true. His corals are growing just fine.

U said the luxeon are not that much more money, i guess if u are only buying 1-12 leds than yes that is true. But Your talking about $1+ more per led...multiply that times 90-150 leds and now ur talking a BIG diff. And i think they are more than just $1 more.

Originally Posted by RonMidtownStomp

$3.50/each with lenses for the Lexeons. Compared to $2.80 for Bridgelux and $4.40 for the Cree. The Luxeons are so much brighter in comparison that I'm pretty sure you would need fewer of them. I sent you the link via PM.

I have not seen any luxeons in person, but i can assure u that the bridgelux leds are SUPER BRIGHT and the bridgelux leds are $2.30 a piece, but when u buy a kit they are much cheaper.

Like i said before even though the luxeon and crees are brighter, they still have the same angle lens (120degrees, or close to that) so even though they are brighter, they still will only cover a certain area of ur tank. Lets say ur building a led fixture for a 90g tank and ur debating between Cree or Bridgelux.Lets say the Crees put out twice as much lumens as the BRlux do. So does that mean that u can run half as many Crees? i recomended earlier to run 72 BRlux leds on a 90g tank, so if u were to go with crees u could only run 36??????? I DONT THINK SO these are the tanks u see with huge shadows and spotlighted colors from people trying to spread the LED light farther. IMO regradless if its cree or BRlux u should run 60-72 leds. NOT because u need 72 leds to grow SPS, but because u need 72 leds to give u enough even coverage across ur tank. I hope this makes sense, and there are some people that may doubt what i say, BUT i promise i have seen this exact problem in person. Just because Cree gives out more lumens, doesnt mean u can run half as many. Now if u wanted to save electricity, but get awesome coverage, THAT IS WHERE CREE WILL BENEFIT YOU. U can run 72 crees at 50% power and get the same light output as BRLux at say 100%....I hope someone out there gets this, cuz it seems pretty simple to me

[SchnitzelReef]

Any other questiones feel free to ask...I am waiting for me new leds to come in for my 4th row. When they do, i will post some more pics and do an update.....im gunna do 28 leds



14-Royal Blue
8-420nm
4-Cyan
MAYBE 2-Red (still debating on that one) if i dont do the red, i will prolly add 1 more 420 and 1 more cyan

[Daka]

Originally Posted by SchnitzelReef

Any other questiones feel free to ask...I am waiting for me new leds to come in for my 4th row. When they do, i will post some more pics and do an update.....im gunna do 28 leds



14-Royal Blue
8-420nm
4-Cyan
MAYBE 2-Red (still debating on that one) if i dont do the red, i will prolly add 1 more 420 and 1 more cyan

Shnitze,
So for my 90 gal i plan to run four rows. you said 72 would do the job, what combo of colors and what opics. I am going to run leds off an Ardunio control and set it up to do day/night sunset an rise and moon. Also how many drivers should i use?
Thanks
Daka

[SchnitzelReef]

Originally Posted by Daka

Shnitze,
So for my 90 gal i plan to run four rows. you said 72 would do the job, what combo of colors and what opics. I am going to run leds off an Ardunio control and set it up to do day/night sunset an rise and moon. Also how many drivers should i use?
Thanks
Daka

72 will be more than enough if u wanted to do less u would be fine..i would say 65 leds and run 5 ELN60-48P drivers, each running 13 leds.

I would suggest probably something like this:

3 Drivers:
39-Royal Blues

2 drivers:
13-6500k
2-4500k
8-420nm Actinic
3-Cyan
If u want to run Red then go ahead and try it out. Personally i am scared of it growing algae, so i think im gunna stay away. My color spectrum looks awesome as it is right now with no cyan,420,or red. If u dont like the 4500k, then ditch that and just add more 420 or cyan. Its not exactly 3:1, but sometimes the way that the drivers are setup it makes it hard to get exactly 3:1...just a good start if u think u want more of one color then u can adjust it from there..good luck

[Zoanut]

Originally Posted by SchnitzelReef

If u want to run Red then go ahead and try it out. Personally i am scared of it growing algae, so i think im gunna stay away. My color spectrum looks awesome as it is right now with no cyan,420,or red. If u dont like the 4500k, then ditch that and just add more 420 or cyan.

Have you thought about running the pink ones? I thought the same about the reds so went for pink instead. Plus I thought it would give me a better dawn/dusk look and I love them. The added bonus is that they have abit of the blue spectrum in them as well so they aren't just for looks. I run:

10 x 420 (actinic)
2 x cyan
2 x pink
26 x RB
5 x 6500K
15 x 4500k

I love the colour that I get. I have this over my 35g SPS and zoa tank.

[Daka]

Originally Posted by SchnitzelReef

72 will be more than enough if u wanted to do less u would be fine..i would say 65 leds and run 5 ELN60-48P drivers, each running 13 leds.

I would suggest probably something like this:

3 Drivers:
39-Royal Blues

2 drivers:
13-6500k
2-4500k
8-420nm Actinic
3-Cyan
If u want to run Red then go ahead and try it out. Personally i am scared of it growing algae, so i think im gunna stay away. My color spectrum looks awesome as it is right now with no cyan,420,or red. If u dont like the 4500k, then ditch that and just add more 420 or cyan. Its not exactly 3:1, but sometimes the way that the drivers are setup it makes it hard to get exactly 3:1...just a good start if u think u want more of one color then u can adjust it from there..good luck

Thanks
If I would like a less bluish color what would I change?
Optics...80s?
I would like this light to be able to handle all livestock too.(looking into the future..
For night time Do I use these lights and just dim or have certain ones on or do I use Moon lights. As you can see NEWBIE here...lol
Thanks
Daka