Aquastyleonline.com LED questions. - Page 3

creefer01 · 10/31/2011, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman55

For a FOWLR 180, I would think the 90 LED kits would be good. You are running 320w of lights and the 90 LEDs would be a little less, but the the lenses would give good spread over the tank.

I bought the 36 LED kits and just finished installing it over my 40 gal breeder using U channel from Lowes. I was very pleased with the result. I used all the kit parts right down to the wire connectors and I did not find anything that I thought needed to be replaced other than maybe the potentiometers. They tend to dim the light in large increments and do not have much fine adjustment. I read where someone replaced these with Radio Shack parts and the fine adjustment worked much better. I think I may change these out with the Radio Shack and see if it makes a difference.

After running 12 hrs, the aluminum was barely warm to the touch. The drivers were some warmer, but nothing approaching hot. I put spacers behind the drivers when I mounted them to provide cooling all the way around. I built a canopy enclosure for the U channel and mounted everything inside with two 120mm fans for cooling.

Here is the light over the tank, the U channel with LEDs attached with the material in the kit, and the layout of the 36 LEDs on the U channel. I bought the 18 white, 14 blue, 2 red, 2 UV. Not much in the tank yet, it mainly houses a mated pair of yellow head jawfish. I am considering coverning the 8 bulb T5 over my 120 gal to LED and just wanted to build this kit to get some exposure to DIY LED. Hard to beat for $126 landed at my doorstep.

Thanks for the pics. I'm thinking about going this route with a new 40B I'm planning.

m1nh0h · 10/31/2011, 11:29 AM

By plexi u mean plexiglass? Did u tie it to your kit or do u let ur lights rest on it

symon_say · 10/31/2011, 11:59 AM

Yes, you can use some screws with butterfly nuts to easy remove it.

m1nh0h · 10/31/2011, 03:00 PM

sorry for the confusion but what exactly would you be screwing the plexi glass to on the kit? wont there be distance between the glass and the heat sink?

animalkingdom · 11/01/2011, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman55

For a FOWLR 180, I would think the 90 LED kits would be good. You are running 320w of lights and the 90 LEDs would be a little less, but the the lenses would give good spread over the tank.

I bought the 36 LED kits and just finished installing it over my 40 gal breeder using U channel from Lowes. I was very pleased with the result. I used all the kit parts right down to the wire connectors and I did not find anything that I thought needed to be replaced other than maybe the potentiometers. They tend to dim the light in large increments and do not have much fine adjustment. I read where someone replaced these with Radio Shack parts and the fine adjustment worked much better. I think I may change these out with the Radio Shack and see if it makes a difference.

After running 12 hrs, the aluminum was barely warm to the touch. The drivers were some warmer, but nothing approaching hot. I put spacers behind the drivers when I mounted them to provide cooling all the way around. I built a canopy enclosure for the U channel and mounted everything inside with two 120mm fans for cooling.

Here is the light over the tank, the U channel with LEDs attached with the material in the kit, and the layout of the 36 LEDs on the U channel. I bought the 18 white, 14 blue, 2 red, 2 UV. Not much in the tank yet, it mainly houses a mated pair of yellow head jawfish. I am considering coverning the 8 bulb T5 over my 120 gal to LED and just wanted to build this kit to get some exposure to DIY LED. Hard to beat for $126 landed at my doorstep.

Hello!
How did you set up the drivers on your build? Did you do one driver per strip or did you do it based on color. I really like the build. I am going to try to cram 14 LED on 1''x36'' U channel and put 4 of those over my 58 gallon oceanic tank. Any thoughts on led placement and wiring would be appreciated. I've got 4 drivers that power between 12-20 leds. Also I dont know if its just me but those little wire connectors in the kit...I am not sure how to use them. Any help on this would be appreciated.
Regards
Cham

roy026 · 11/03/2011, 04:17 PM

hi all!!

im also looking at these led for a wile now..
but cant realy decide what to do..
i spoke to the fellow and i can get 6500k, 10000k , royal bleus and bleus..
(will not be using the red and uv leds since i dont believe in gaining some usefull extra pice of the spectrum aquariums..)
these led wil be for a 17 gall..(45x45x35 cm)
how many do you suggest to use( i want to be able to keep some nice sps in the future but just some easy ones and at the top / middle of the tank..)
and what ratio of leds??
i want a fresh color that shows the colaration of the corals at the best..
the dimentions of the fixture will be:
20cm wide 40 cm long the leds sink around 2,5cm into the fixture and will be screwed on a 18x40 heat sink..
the fixture it self will hang around 15cm above the water..
hope some one can help me out on this..

ps im going to power them by meanwell ELN 60-48 drivers..

Gorgok · 11/03/2011, 06:08 PM

Do you want 2 drivers and independent dimming? I think with these LEDs you need 7 minimum on those drivers to stay in their voltage adjust range (24V min). The max for a single driver is 13 LEDs. So you can go anywhere from 7 to 26 LEDs, but i think with 2 drivers (ideal) and 7 or 8 on each is probably the number you want.

As for the color, i have 2:3 10K white to royal blue, with blue dimmed slightly and its an ok balance, but the white is too clean. I am waiting for some 6500 LEDs still and will try one fixture with no 10Ks at all first; still 2:3 white to blue though. I figure with a little less blue coming from the warmer whites it may end up being spot on, letting me turn the blues up a little more.

However, you will not have that option if you want to keep the colors separate and at roughly 14-16 LEDs. I would probably do 7:9 whites to blue, but am not sure how many of which white to use... I might get the package tomorrow, so i may have more input then.

spc1spc1 · 11/04/2011, 11:42 AM

how long did it take to get your order from them? I ordered the 90 kit last week going to mix them in with my t-5 for now.

Lanimret · 11/04/2011, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spc1spc1

how long did it take to get your order from them? I ordered the 90 kit last week going to mix them in with my t-5 for now.

Mine took about two weeks. Sat in Japan for a few days before they showed up.

I am getting ready to wire them up this weekend, got the fixture made, so I will let you know.

MADtanks · 11/04/2011, 05:09 PM

mine was about a 6 or 7 days if i remember correctly.

Gorgok · 11/05/2011, 04:24 PM

Just got another shipment from these guys, only took a week. I ordered 2 UV, 18 red and 24 4500K whites. I got 3, 19 and 26 instead. Now to put together my second fixture for side by side comparison...

Neurovet · 11/05/2011, 05:06 PM

I have read a this thread on the aquastyle build. I'm planning on getting a 72 dimmable for my 90gal bowfront for LPS, SPS and a few ricordea. I would appreciate your consensus on a few things.
-Could I get away with a 5.8x 14 heatsink from heatsinkUSA or should I get the 7x176 from aquastyles
-Are you glad you went with all 10,000K white or wish you have gotten some lower K LEDs?
-Maxwellen or meanwell drivers?
-Ratio of white/blue?
-Anything else you would have done differently
Thanks,
Fred

Gorgok · 11/05/2011, 06:14 PM

I ordered 4500K whites to replace my 10,000K whites, its just very very white and i didn't like the color. However, i have not tested if i will end up with half 10,000K and half 4500K or just full out replacement. I'll start on that tonight.

I can't comment on the drivers, i decided not to use any pre-made one so i could have more control over the LEDs.

My ratio of white to blue is 2:3, and i think that will be fine when my whites are a little less blue. But 1:1 with cool whites might be good too.

AS for the heat sink, for me it ended up being down to cost. I could get a larger (just a bit) heat sink from the same guys, with shipping counted in as well, than i could get from heatsinkUSA and their shipping. That didn't really make any sense to me, but i got the bigger and cheaper one and its perfectly fine.

Only thing i really wish is that they offered a heat sink without powder coating on it. But i had the means to remove it, so i did.

Gorgok · 11/05/2011, 06:15 PM

I ordered 4500K whites to replace my 10,000K whites, its just very very white and i didn't like the color. However, i have not tested if i will end up with half 10,000K and half 4500K or just full out replacement. I'll start on that tonight.

I can't comment on the drivers, i decided not to use any pre-made one so i could have more control over the LEDs.

My ratio of white to blue is 2:3, and i think that will be fine when my whites are a little less blue. But 1:1 with cool whites might be good too.

AS for the heat sink, for me it ended up being down to cost. I could get a larger (just a bit) heat sink from the same guys, with shipping counted in as well, than i could get from heatsinkUSA and their shipping. That didn't really make any sense to me, but i got the bigger and cheaper one and its perfectly fine.

Only thing i really wish is that they offered a heat sink without powder coating on it. But i had the means to remove it, so i did.

Neurovet · 11/05/2011, 06:21 PM

This is

Neurovet · 11/05/2011, 06:24 PM

This is very helpful information, thanks! I look forward to hearing how the 4500K workout, any reason you didn't go with the 6500K? Do you have any concern about algal growth at these lower temps?

roy026 · 11/05/2011, 06:52 PM

but how much do you recomend for a 35cm high 17gall??

Gorgok · 11/05/2011, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neurovet

This is very helpful information, thanks! I look forward to hearing how the 4500K workout, any reason you didn't go with the 6500K? Do you have any concern about algal growth at these lower temps?

I went with 4500K because of the CREE LED builds i have read here. Cool white in CREE is 5000K to 8300K, so i figure 6500K may be pretty much the same as cool white. Many of those builds ended up putting some (or all) neutral white in, which is 3700K to 5000K instead of cool whites. The really warm colors are 2600K to 3700K based on CREE data sheets, so i didn't want to go that low.

I am also now running an ATS so i hope that algae will grow on the screen rather than the tank (that is what i got the reds for too). Currently i run 2700K bulbs on the ATS and that is definitely yellow.

lotsoftats · 11/05/2011, 10:18 PM

I have been looking at these for a long time and I think I have finally talked myself into getting them.....What kit do you guys recommend for a standard 75g tank? Will be mixed but heavy SPS...also what mix do you recommend....How many of the Reds and uvs should I add to the mix.

milkman55 · 11/05/2011, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by animalkingdom

Hello!
How did you set up the drivers on your build? Did you do one driver per strip or did you do it based on color. I really like the build. I am going to try to cram 14 LED on 1''x36'' U channel and put 4 of those over my 58 gallon oceanic tank. Any thoughts on led placement and wiring would be appreciated. I've got 4 drivers that power between 12-20 leds. Also I dont know if its just me but those little wire connectors in the kit...I am not sure how to use them. Any help on this would be appreciated.
Regards
Cham

I had 18 white on one driver and all the blue, red, and UV on the second driver.
The 14 LEDs on each U channel is fine. I had 12 on each of my 3/4" x 36" channels. The connectors work great. Just raise the plastic levers, insert the wire and close.

milkman55 · 11/05/2011, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lotsoftats

I have been looking at these for a long time and I think I have finally talked myself into getting them.....What kit do you guys recommend for a standard 75g tank? Will be mixed but heavy SPS...also what mix do you recommend....How many of the Reds and uvs should I add to the mix.

You could go with the 72 LED kit with four 48" channels with 18 LEDs on each spaced 2 1/4" which would give you a couple of inches of space on each end.. If you want the red and UV, just go with the pre-configured suggestion on the website. That's what I did anyway.

Neurovet · 11/06/2011, 06:40 AM

OK, now that I'm thoroughly confused about which combination of whites to get I have another question. I am installing my 72 kit in a canopy over a 92 gal bowfront (24' in depth) The lights will be approximately 6-8' above the water unless I modify it which is possible. As this is a relatively deep tank and the lights are so close tot he water, would I be better with the 60 or 80 degree optics?

milkman55 · 11/06/2011, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neurovet

OK, now that I'm thoroughly confused about which combination of whites to get I have another question. I am installing my 72 kit in a canopy over a 92 gal bowfront (24' in depth) The lights will be approximately 6-8' above the water unless I modify it which is possible. As this is a relatively deep tank and the lights are so close tot he water, would I be better with the 60 or 80 degree optics?

The 60 degree optics should give you better penetration over the 80's.
6-8" above the water is what Ray at Aquastyle recommended. I have mine sitting at 7" over the water (not the top edge of the tank) and I went with the 60 degree optics.

Can't help you with the white LED combinations. I used the 10k LEDs spec'd in the kits. It is fairly "white", probably about 12k maybe with the 18w, 14b, 2r, and 2UV. I might play around with mixing some 10k and 6500 white vs. all 10k? Ray did say it takes less blue LEDs with Bridgelux than Cree where you see 50/50 and greater weighting of blue LEDs.

RotaryGeek · 11/06/2011, 08:49 AM

So we have seen that they do put out at least 200 par on the sand. Does anybody else have par measurements so we can get a god average?

Neurovet · 11/06/2011, 09:04 AM

Thanks for the tips Gor and Milk. Appreciate it. With the 72 kit I'll have 4 drivers. 2 for the Blues and 2 for whites. I'm thinking I may put 10K on one driver and a combo for neutral and cool on the other so I can play around a bit? The only downside to that is it means I have LEDs from two heatsinks feeding one driver. I don't think it should matter as they will be secured to the canopy. Make sense?

I was thinking of adding a fifth driver to light 4 RB as moonlights

11/05/2011, 10:18 PM	#69
lotsoftats Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: 40356 Posts: 1,148	I have been looking at these for a long time and I think I have finally talked myself into getting them.....What kit do you guys recommend for a standard 75g tank? Will be mixed but heavy SPS...also what mix do you recommend....How many of the Reds and uvs should I add to the mix. __________________ Current Tanks: 40 breeder with 40 breeder sump/fuge

11/06/2011, 08:49 AM	#74
RotaryGeek Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Central Texas Posts: 712	So we have seen that they do put out at least 200 par on the sand. Does anybody else have par measurements so we can get a god average? __________________ 125 w/ 30 gallon sump. ASM G3 w/ Sedra 9000 and gatevalve. Two Little Phishies 550 phosban reactor. 3x150w XM 10k MH, 2x 96w PC.

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10/31/2011, 11:29 AM	#52
m1nh0h Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Fullerton, CA Posts: 344	By plexi u mean plexiglass? Did u tie it to your kit or do u let ur lights rest on it

10/31/2011, 11:59 AM	#53
symon_say Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Dominican Republic Posts: 552	Yes, you can use some screws with butterfly nuts to easy remove it.

10/31/2011, 03:00 PM	#54
m1nh0h Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Fullerton, CA Posts: 344	sorry for the confusion but what exactly would you be screwing the plexi glass to on the kit? wont there be distance between the glass and the heat sink?

11/03/2011, 04:17 PM	#56
roy026 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 17	hi all!! im also looking at these led for a wile now.. but cant realy decide what to do.. i spoke to the fellow and i can get 6500k, 10000k , royal bleus and bleus.. (will not be using the red and uv leds since i dont believe in gaining some usefull extra pice of the spectrum aquariums..) these led wil be for a 17 gall..(45x45x35 cm) how many do you suggest to use( i want to be able to keep some nice sps in the future but just some easy ones and at the top / middle of the tank..) and what ratio of leds?? i want a fresh color that shows the colaration of the corals at the best.. the dimentions of the fixture will be: 20cm wide 40 cm long the leds sink around 2,5cm into the fixture and will be screwed on a 18x40 heat sink.. the fixture it self will hang around 15cm above the water.. hope some one can help me out on this.. ps im going to power them by meanwell ELN 60-48 drivers..

11/03/2011, 06:08 PM	#57
Gorgok Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 661	Do you want 2 drivers and independent dimming? I think with these LEDs you need 7 minimum on those drivers to stay in their voltage adjust range (24V min). The max for a single driver is 13 LEDs. So you can go anywhere from 7 to 26 LEDs, but i think with 2 drivers (ideal) and 7 or 8 on each is probably the number you want. As for the color, i have 2:3 10K white to royal blue, with blue dimmed slightly and its an ok balance, but the white is too clean. I am waiting for some 6500 LEDs still and will try one fixture with no 10Ks at all first; still 2:3 white to blue though. I figure with a little less blue coming from the warmer whites it may end up being spot on, letting me turn the blues up a little more. However, you will not have that option if you want to keep the colors separate and at roughly 14-16 LEDs. I would probably do 7:9 whites to blue, but am not sure how many of which white to use... I might get the package tomorrow, so i may have more input then.

11/04/2011, 11:42 AM	#58
spc1spc1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: frederick, maryland Posts: 96	how long did it take to get your order from them? I ordered the 90 kit last week going to mix them in with my t-5 for now.

11/04/2011, 05:09 PM	#60
MADtanks Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: CT Posts: 4,719	mine was about a 6 or 7 days if i remember correctly.

11/05/2011, 04:24 PM	#61
Gorgok Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 661	Just got another shipment from these guys, only took a week. I ordered 2 UV, 18 red and 24 4500K whites. I got 3, 19 and 26 instead. Now to put together my second fixture for side by side comparison...

11/05/2011, 05:06 PM	#62
Neurovet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 29	I have read a this thread on the aquastyle build. I'm planning on getting a 72 dimmable for my 90gal bowfront for LPS, SPS and a few ricordea. I would appreciate your consensus on a few things. -Could I get away with a 5.8x 14 heatsink from heatsinkUSA or should I get the 7x176 from aquastyles -Are you glad you went with all 10,000K white or wish you have gotten some lower K LEDs? -Maxwellen or meanwell drivers? -Ratio of white/blue? -Anything else you would have done differently Thanks, Fred

11/05/2011, 06:14 PM	#63
Gorgok Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 661	I ordered 4500K whites to replace my 10,000K whites, its just very very white and i didn't like the color. However, i have not tested if i will end up with half 10,000K and half 4500K or just full out replacement. I'll start on that tonight. I can't comment on the drivers, i decided not to use any pre-made one so i could have more control over the LEDs. My ratio of white to blue is 2:3, and i think that will be fine when my whites are a little less blue. But 1:1 with cool whites might be good too. AS for the heat sink, for me it ended up being down to cost. I could get a larger (just a bit) heat sink from the same guys, with shipping counted in as well, than i could get from heatsinkUSA and their shipping. That didn't really make any sense to me, but i got the bigger and cheaper one and its perfectly fine. Only thing i really wish is that they offered a heat sink without powder coating on it. But i had the means to remove it, so i did.

11/05/2011, 06:15 PM	#64
Gorgok Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 661	I ordered 4500K whites to replace my 10,000K whites, its just very very white and i didn't like the color. However, i have not tested if i will end up with half 10,000K and half 4500K or just full out replacement. I'll start on that tonight. I can't comment on the drivers, i decided not to use any pre-made one so i could have more control over the LEDs. My ratio of white to blue is 2:3, and i think that will be fine when my whites are a little less blue. But 1:1 with cool whites might be good too. AS for the heat sink, for me it ended up being down to cost. I could get a larger (just a bit) heat sink from the same guys, with shipping counted in as well, than i could get from heatsinkUSA and their shipping. That didn't really make any sense to me, but i got the bigger and cheaper one and its perfectly fine. Only thing i really wish is that they offered a heat sink without powder coating on it. But i had the means to remove it, so i did.

11/05/2011, 06:21 PM	#65
Neurovet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 29	This is

11/05/2011, 06:24 PM	#66
Neurovet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 29	This is very helpful information, thanks! I look forward to hearing how the 4500K workout, any reason you didn't go with the 6500K? Do you have any concern about algal growth at these lower temps?

11/05/2011, 06:52 PM	#67
roy026 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 17	but how much do you recomend for a 35cm high 17gall??

11/06/2011, 06:40 AM	#72
Neurovet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 29	OK, now that I'm thoroughly confused about which combination of whites to get I have another question. I am installing my 72 kit in a canopy over a 92 gal bowfront (24' in depth) The lights will be approximately 6-8' above the water unless I modify it which is possible. As this is a relatively deep tank and the lights are so close tot he water, would I be better with the 60 or 80 degree optics?

11/06/2011, 09:04 AM	#75
Neurovet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 29	Thanks for the tips Gor and Milk. Appreciate it. With the 72 kit I'll have 4 drivers. 2 for the Blues and 2 for whites. I'm thinking I may put 10K on one driver and a combo for neutral and cool on the other so I can play around a bit? The only downside to that is it means I have LEDs from two heatsinks feeding one driver. I don't think it should matter as they will be secured to the canopy. Make sense? I was thinking of adding a fifth driver to light 4 RB as moonlights