DIY led question

puck3 · 03/21/2011, 10:19 PM

Diving into my first DIY project. Want to build an LED retrofit setup for a 65 gallon mixed reef tank. Will be building into a hood approximately 8" off the water level. How many LED's are needed for a tank 24" high, 36" long, 18" wide?

kma408 · 03/21/2011, 10:30 PM

I think about 48 Leds, 32 blue or royal blue and 16 white. You can use dimming drive too. so you can control color.

puck3 · 03/21/2011, 10:36 PM

any reason you use more blue than white?

bamf25 · 03/21/2011, 10:43 PM

The blues put out less lumins than the white by a significant amount. Many people like the bluer look, if you go 1 to 1 your tank will be very white about 10k in look with everything at full power. Many people seem to aim for a 15 to 20 k look and by going 2 :1 or even 3:1 you get much closer to this while getting the most output out of the fewest leds.

phillyblunt · 03/21/2011, 11:21 PM

go for the 3:1. looks great

kma408 · 03/21/2011, 11:38 PM

You can go 2:1 and dimming white low to 70 percent is look good too.

puck3 · 03/22/2011, 08:47 AM

ok thanks for all the help

Jimmy54 · 03/22/2011, 10:08 AM

There's no such thing as too much light over a marine-tank .... that's what we all say.
But in this case - assuming you're going with XP-G and RB LEDs - I think 36 LEDs (3x12) will lighten up your tank more than enough.
Have a look at this thread by Cesar (katchupoy)

03/21/2011, 10:19 PM	#1
puck3 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Long Island Posts: 137	DIY led question Diving into my first DIY project. Want to build an LED retrofit setup for a 65 gallon mixed reef tank. Will be building into a hood approximately 8" off the water level. How many LED's are needed for a tank 24" high, 36" long, 18" wide?

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03/21/2011, 10:30 PM	#2
kma408 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: San Jose Posts: 128	I think about 48 Leds, 32 blue or royal blue and 16 white. You can use dimming drive too. so you can control color.

03/21/2011, 10:36 PM	#3
puck3 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Long Island Posts: 137	any reason you use more blue than white?

03/21/2011, 10:43 PM	#4
bamf25 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Central NJ Posts: 1,419	The blues put out less lumins than the white by a significant amount. Many people like the bluer look, if you go 1 to 1 your tank will be very white about 10k in look with everything at full power. Many people seem to aim for a 15 to 20 k look and by going 2 :1 or even 3:1 you get much closer to this while getting the most output out of the fewest leds.

03/21/2011, 11:21 PM	#5
phillyblunt Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 33	go for the 3:1. looks great

03/21/2011, 11:38 PM	#6
kma408 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: San Jose Posts: 128	You can go 2:1 and dimming white low to 70 percent is look good too.

03/22/2011, 08:47 AM	#7
puck3 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Long Island Posts: 137	ok thanks for all the help

03/22/2011, 10:08 AM	#8
Jimmy54 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sweetlake city (Netherlands) Posts: 298	There's no such thing as too much light over a marine-tank .... that's what we all say. But in this case - assuming you're going with XP-G and RB LEDs - I think 36 LEDs (3x12) will lighten up your tank more than enough. Have a look at this thread by Cesar (katchupoy)