DIY LED Array build

[sphil876p]

Originally Posted by menthol

This is an excellent thread, gives me new ideas on building/upgrading my next LED fixture.

I also like the talk about health and coloration of sps's. A friend of mine has been having problems with color loss as well with LED's. I on the other hand are all success stories to tell about the LED's lighting my 135gal. So i am anxious to hear some more about the matter.

hey wesley6610, do you have comparison photos on your sps after you turned down you LED's power?

Can you give us some details regarding your setup and success that you have experienced?

[nitjt]

How many drivers can I wire to one plug? I plan on 108 LED's on 3 arrays. Could I do three drivers per plug, each plug with it own dimmer? Would that mean six plugs total because I would need a wall wart for each dimmer?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally Posted by nitjt

How many drivers can I wire to one plug?

Depends on the circuit you're plugging in to and the rating on the materials you're using (wire for the power cord and plug.) Give us the specs on these and we can tell you.

Would that mean six plugs total because I would need a wall wart for each dimmer?

The dimming circuits are pretty low-power, it's likely you could drive them all off even the smallest wall wart you can find.

[nitjt]

What kind of wire would I need to use for the plug to be able to power the 3 meanwell dimmable drivers?

[wesley6610]

menthol please share some picks of your DIY build and the results that you have gotten.

I didn't have much better results when I turned the LEDs down to 500mA from 700mA; however, I did take photos of their recovery once I put the T5's back on the tank for just 4 days after taking the LEDs off and they have bounced back considerably!!! The only truly funny thing is that my crocea clam didn't mind the increased intensity and looks the same under the LEDs as it did the T5s, not that is a trooper for real!

This was taken 10-10-2009 @ 700mA


10-24-2009 @ 500mA


11-10-2009 under T5s....see the difference!

[g8gxp]

You may have to go down even further. A friend who did a similar build on a smaller tank runs at a max of 350. anything higher he said was too much. At least for his tank anyways.

[wesley6610]

I agree that 350mA at a good spacing of LEDs and no optics should be good! I think that after about 2 months of recovery I will test out my arrays again and see if I can maintain the corals the second time around at lower current. The pro is that the LEDs will last longer and may not need as much cooling. The con is that the tank won't "look" as bright as we are use to, so some supplementation might be necessary. To my eyes, the tank looked really dim when I adjusted it to 350 initially on a spare tank and then up to 500 as middle ground once I noticed decline in coral health.

Does your friend have any pics for you to share with their lights at 350mA?

[CaptiveReef]

I am researching a company in California, who have a full spectrum fixture for corals, they are claiming a bulb life of 50,000 hours and a power consumption of 119 watts. Here is info from this fixture.

High Power WHITE + BLUE LED Aquarium Reef corals grow light
High Power WHITE + BLUE LED Aquarium Reef corals grow light

Product Information

BENEFITS: Solid State, Cooler Running, High Efficiency, Dual Color Blended Full Spectrum LED plant lighting, This panel has no ballasts to burn out like other aquarium or plant lights. It runs at a warm temperature rather than very hot which is common with most other inefficient plant lights. This more controlled running temperature reduces water evaporation and keeps rooms with tanks and plants from getting uncomfortably hot in the summer months requiring additional air conditioning. They save electricity dual fold. This state of the art BLUE + WHITE LED panel tank and plant light is extremely energy efficient paying for itself many times over each year in electricity savings. It saves 50% to 90% in energy consumption compared to incandescent bulbs or fluorescent tubes. Wide angle projection insures uniform coverage. This specialty WHITE + BLUE LED Aquarium and grow light panel is designed to allow you to custom tailor the light spectrum for maximum growth and breeding condition.

The purity and power of this Blue + WHITE LED panel has been scientifically designed to provide large illumination coverage of 8 to 10 square feet. 14 to 16 hours per day is all that is necessary for maximum fish metabolism and Coral Reef. The typical white (metal halide) plant lights that run at high temperatures consume excessive electricity, wasting money. LEDs turn on instantly and can be turned on and off by hand each day or work well with all standard lamp timers.

These LED light panels are perfect as all year permanent Aquarium and Plant lights for Fish, Reef, Corals, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals, Insects and Plant tanks and benches. They are especially productive for spring vegetable and flower seedling development.

Specifications:

LED quantity: 119pcs x 1 Watt LED (71 White + 48 Blue)

LED configuration: BridgeLux 1w/LED

Color: White and Blue mixed, White: 14000K(14000-20000k),

Blue: 460nm

Dimension: 15.75” x 8.38” x 2.80” Or 400X213X71 mm

Gross weight: 11 Pounds or 5kg



2" depth - 1537 Par

12" depth - 423 Par

24" depth - 182 Par

I'll post info after the purchase.
Captive Reef

[wesley6610]

Sounds good, do you have any photos of this unit to share just yet? Any information about dimming ability?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally Posted by nitjt

What kind of wire would I need to use for the plug to be able to power the 3 meanwell dimmable drivers?

I'd feel comfortable with 16 gauge. A cheap source is the 99 cent extension cords available at hardware stores.

Your drivers are going to be around 60w each, so three is 180w, or around 1.5A on 120V AC at the wall.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally Posted by CaptiveReef

I'll post info after the purchase.
Captive Reef

Please do. The lack of specifics about the particular LED they're using, combined with the rather broad statements about applicability (spring vegetables, fish metabolism?) and the typical unbelievable output numbers make me skeptical, but you never know.

[CaptiveReef]

Here is the link to the Company's page.
http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/...&productId=512

CaptiveReef

[menthol]

Well i can share some photos but i really do not have "build" photos of my LED fixture, i wish i did.

Here is what it looked like when i finished it...




Here is how it is hanging over my tank...





It is way too hard to find a decent power supply here in my country so i made my own...



Using this power supply setup, it is still under-powered, my PS can only supply 21V max when it is supposed to be powered @24V.

Here are photos of my tank from last month i think....






Tank is almost a year old. Been running on this LED fixture for 7-8months now. Coral growth is very nice.

My LED fixture has 36/36 white/blue Cree XR-E Q5 on a 6ft. aluminum frame. heatsinks are just 1inch thick and that includes the fins already.

[g8gxp]

That is freakin amazing! This just makes me more motivated to hurry up and finish my build.

[CaptiveReef]

Excuse my wording, but Holy Crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to get the LED Lighting. The corals colors look fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great job on building your own power supply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CaptiveReef

[wesley6610]

Beautiful tank and great spread of light! What current are you running them at again?

[sphil876p]

Originally Posted by g8gxp

That is freakin amazing! This just makes me more motivated to hurry up and finish my build.

X 2 on the amazing comment

Also, if you guys noticed from his pic Menthol used far less LEDs per square foot than what we have been doing here, and no optics even though his tank looks to be fairly deep.
Maybe this is why we are getting to much light to the corals.
Glad you shared Menthol, thank you

[Patroclus]

Originally Posted by g8gxp

That is freakin amazing! This just makes me more motivated to hurry up and finish my build.

X3! Love that tank. I'm running T5/MH combo but this makes me want to convert to LED.

[saf1]

Originally Posted by sphil876p

X 2 on the amazing comment

Also, if you guys noticed from his pic Menthol used far less LEDs per square foot than what we have been doing here, and no optics even though his tank looks to be fairly deep.
Maybe this is why we are getting to much light to the corals.
Glad you shared Menthol, thank you

That could be - I counted roughly 18 per row 72 total.

I currently am building a prototype just to play and have 6 over a 6 gallon nano and may actually drop it down.

[wesley6610]

Originally Posted by sphil876p

X 2 on the amazing comment

Also, if you guys noticed from his pic Menthol used far less LEDs per square foot than what we have been doing here, and no optics even though his tank looks to be fairly deep.
Maybe this is why we are getting to much light to the corals.
Glad you shared Menthol, thank you

Agreed! He is using way less LEDs and seems to be able to turn them up without any issue for 7 - 8 months! I think that I'm going to redo my fixture now that my T5s are healing the tank in the interim. I will downgrade from 36 LEDs per array to about 24, space them better, still no optics, blue and white individual drivers and push them at 500mA and ramp up from there once I'm done. I will do the thermal tape this time instead of screws and thermal paste!

[yardartist]

Menthol thanks for the post details!

[AFWX]

Menthol,

Couple questions:

What is the spacing between your LEDs? Where did you get your heatsink? (link if possible) How did you make the top of the light fixture, or is that just the top of the heat sink? Did you use regular aluminum angled metal from a hardware store for the frame? Is that regular acrylic you are using for the shield, or are you using some kind of UV filter?

Thanks for the help, your setup looks amazing!

[menthol]

Ok guys, i had to go to sleep over here, at the other side of the world, haha.

My tank's depth is 22+in. with a water depth of roughly 20in.

Spacing is about 3-4in, i did this thinking that i may still add/upgrade in the future but fortunately, it is not letting me do that, yet!

The frame is just made up of 1in. alumunim angle bars, the heatsinks are just the ones they use for amplifiers and other general projects. Third world = less supplies, haha! The DC fans are keeping it VERY cool.

Shielding is just a cut-to-size sheet of 1/8in acrylic.

LED drivers are 1000ma for the white and 700ma for the blue, like I said, i can only get 21V out of my current power supply so i do not know what that equates to.

OT:
I have a full thread on my tank at reefphilippines, from start to recent if you are interested. I also have a thread here in RC at an attempt to share my tank details, http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1736627


Thanks!