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03/11/2009, 12:43 AM | #226 |
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Soundwave, I've been following from the beginning. I haven't posted though. Kudos to you my friend. You've done a great job on the design, nice and neat and very presentable. The 'hand holding' through the build was super. I'm no engineer, rocket scientist or electrician, and I was able to follow along. Thank you.
As for the comments by a lot of the followers, those are very useful to the next generation of this project as well. Some comments are said more constructive than others, but all were useful. Some people are just less diplomatic in their presentation. Thanks again for taking the time during your project to photo catalog the process. You didn't have to do that. I for one appreciate it. Good luck and I hope the growth and success you've encountered, preliminarily, continues. swimmer
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I said, "look honey, we paid the mortgage and we have all this money left over for the tank." Her response confused me. She said we still needed to buy food and pay the utilities. Current Tank Info: 75 10ecor, SLS TEK 6 x 54w T-5, Lifereef sump & VS2-24" skimmer, 15 gal. AGA fuge |
03/11/2009, 05:18 AM | #227 |
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^ Well said!
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Eddie Current Tank Info: 40 Breeder with Dwarf Lionfish |
03/11/2009, 08:32 AM | #228 |
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Thank you masterswimmer.
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03/11/2009, 08:44 AM | #229 | |
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Quote:
By the way, do you have the DIY on that foil suit? That might be a fall project! |
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03/11/2009, 09:08 AM | #230 |
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Tagging along here as well...Thanks for doing the work!
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No current tank. Current Tank Info: No current tank, two current sons. |
03/11/2009, 09:50 AM | #231 |
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I'm really excited to see the results of the lighting, and how everything grows. I think I can get those LEDs for cheap thru work.
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03/11/2009, 10:04 AM | #232 |
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Soundwave's been a good sport throughout this thread.
Thanks!
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lu·te·fisk (lôô'tə-fĭsk') n. A traditional Scandinavian dish prepared by soaking air-dried cod in a lye solution for several weeks, a process that gives the dish its gelatinous consistency. Current Tank Info: 155 bow front plus misc other tanks. Last edited by Lutefisk; 03/11/2009 at 10:14 AM. |
03/11/2009, 10:18 AM | #233 |
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I agree, Lute. I mean getting the load tester and such... top notch effort to supply fodder for the forum.
Soundwave, what would you guess would be a good setup for an amateur 55g Tank. I have a 36" T5 (I think)... do you think a row of whites up each side of the 2 actinics would cut the mustard? Like this W___W___W___W___W___W B------------------------B B------------------------B W___W___W___W___W___W
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If you don't agree with me, that's fine... just go, think about it some more, and come back when you do. Current Tank Info: 120g Freshie, 55g salty with a 2/3 BeanAnimal. BA METHOD - TESTIFY! I am a DIY Disaster, but I am saving money! Damsel FREE since 07/08/09! |
03/11/2009, 10:18 AM | #234 |
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Agreed.......well done bud! Show some updated images of your growth yeah?
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03/11/2009, 10:44 AM | #235 |
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Soundwave,
It has been about a month or so since you LED setup, have you noticed any irregularities with your tank life since adding the LEDs? by the way great build thread |
03/11/2009, 11:15 AM | #236 | |
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You saw decent growth in less then a week? I too would like to see pictures of that...... |
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03/11/2009, 11:58 AM | #237 | |
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Quote:
Photo properties indicate 2/27 picture with fixture on tank. Growth post by owner was on 3/10. The fixture would appear to be on the tank for some time greater then 10+ days by the time of the post.
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Scott Current Tank Info: Glass 2.5's |
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03/11/2009, 02:28 PM | #238 |
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No irregularities as of yet. Well the only irregular thing is that everything opens up and looks prettier. I'm using my iPod right now to check this thread so when I get home I'll try to respond to the new qustions and post pics. I have a 4 day weekend this week so I'll show updates as well.
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03/11/2009, 02:30 PM | #239 | |
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Quote:
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The 0ne. The 0nly. The0wn4g3. Current Tank Info: 40 gallon Rimless- 39Wx4 T5HO on Ice-Cap 660, 29gallon sump, DAS EX-2, Deltec Phosphate Reactor, Koralia 3, 50lbs LR |
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03/11/2009, 03:37 PM | #240 | |
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I was going by what soundwave said that "On a side note, I got home from Wisconsin a few minutes ago and noticed some pretty decent new growth on my green monti that didn't do any growing under my PCs. I hope this trend continues." I assume he saw growth from the time he left and when he came back was less then a week. By the way I review all "available data" be it bad or good...... It's the interpretation of this data which usually leads to a bad conclusion. All I offered was some opinions of the design that I saw was flawed. Here is a list of problems that I see so far whether you agree or disagree : 1. Total LED count per 24" is not enough for high PAR. 2. LED driver will not provide the current required. 3. Fan airflow should be perpendicular to heatsink cooling fins. 4. LEDs are can not be removed easily from heatsink. 5. Light must be placed close to the surface of the water because of the lack of optics. All these problems can easily be fixed but soundwave and it seems most on this thread don't want to hear it...... |
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03/11/2009, 04:20 PM | #241 |
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lynxvs
perpendicular? Is that a pretty word for vertical? or do we just say "that-way".......and what do you mean by #2 so what does your mind recommend [#1] per 24"
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03/11/2009, 04:22 PM | #242 |
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"1. Total LED count per 24" is not enough for high PAR.
2. LED driver will not provide the current required. 3. Fan airflow should be perpendicular to heatsink cooling fins. 4. LEDs are can not be removed easily from heatsink. 5. Light must be placed close to the surface of the water because of the lack of optics." I don';t think any of these things are "problems" though. I hope soundwaves design works out well over the long run and look forward to hearing about it. Just a quick reply with my opinion. 1.His PAR readings seem pretty high to me aleast higher than PC's and T5's I would imagine. Or do you not believe the reading soundwave is getting? 2. his driver seems to working just fine from the pics posted 3. Is it REALLY all that important which way the fan is mounted? Piont is to reduce the heat which he seems to be doing. 4. The LEDs can't be removed easily but if the LED's last 50,000 hours why worry about it really. 5. the lack of optics is Soundwaves preference which results in the lights being placed closer. Although they didn't seem all that close in the pics if I remember correctly but I could be wrong. |
03/11/2009, 04:25 PM | #243 |
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goofyreefer your missing the context of the point. I don't feel lynxvs is being ill towards soundwave. He is just brash in his explanation. Most of the discussion is about improving the "soundwave version +"
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03/11/2009, 05:44 PM | #244 |
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This is AWESOME! It's making me want to give it a shot!
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03/11/2009, 07:51 PM | #245 | |
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Quote:
At this point I guess I would have to take the option you offer of disagreeing on a practical basis. I think that it would be safe to say that about anyone, including Soundwave, can do a better job based upon lessons learned from this project. Let's keep this "fun" and be helpful rather than judgmental. 1. Total LED count per 24" is not enough for high PAR. Some people use 150 watt MH and others use 1,000 watt. It all depends on what you're trying to do and want to spend. "Not enough" is very subjective. 2. LED driver will not provide the current required. See #1 3. Fan airflow should be perpendicular to heatsink cooling fins. Yes, it could be more effective but it still gets the job done. 4. LEDs are can not be removed easily from heatsink. See goofyreefer's point #4 5. Light must be placed close to the surface of the water because of the lack of optics. Must? Should? Could? You pick. Early in engineering I did a lot on paper. Later I learned from a brilliant engineer that it's often better, when you can, to just try it out and see what works best. Soundwave can see what it looks like as he raises and lowers the fixture. Can you? Now of course I'll have to confess to doing the same thing to your post that I'm complaining about you doing to Soundwave's design Have fun
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lu·te·fisk (lôô'tə-fĭsk') n. A traditional Scandinavian dish prepared by soaking air-dried cod in a lye solution for several weeks, a process that gives the dish its gelatinous consistency. Current Tank Info: 155 bow front plus misc other tanks. Last edited by Lutefisk; 03/11/2009 at 08:01 PM. |
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03/11/2009, 08:34 PM | #246 |
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Soundwave,
First of all great writeup! Second of all, am I inspired by your directions and I am planning a fixture to suppliment a 250 MH fixture that will use 12 Royal Blue's. A quick question; Am I reading the data on the buckpucks correctly when I saw that they can use 12VDC for input voltage? Is there a benefit to using 24V? Thanks for the input, RandalB
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Have Membrane, Will Travel... Current Tank Info: 32 Biocube, 30 Half circle, 120 in wall coming soon all reefs |
03/11/2009, 08:43 PM | #247 |
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A smaller version of this system would be awesome for a nano. Cheap, high output, low heat...
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03/11/2009, 09:47 PM | #248 |
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OK, let's see what I can answer...
Imzadi: For a 55g, Two rows of whites sounds like it would work just fine. However, if they are spaced too far apart, you will get two rows of white in your tank. If it were me, I would put the whites in the middle and the actinics on the sides. RandalB: The buckpucks can handle anywhere from 5 to 32V. The number of LEDs you want to run will determine what voltage you want. For instance, with 12 volt, 3 is pretty much the limit. You could do 4 but they would be under-driven. Just consider that each LED will use 4 volts. It's only 3.6ish but use 4 when you calculate how much. Looks like that was it for now. Like I said, I will have some pictures this weekend. FYI: LEDsupply has sold out of the cool white Q4 LEDs that I used. They are going to be stocking the Q5 cool whites soon, though. They reach a higher K rating and have a higher output, as well. I may look into upgrading... already. Thank you for all the positive replies and I hope to see any systems you guys build! |
03/11/2009, 10:35 PM | #249 | |
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fwiw: I am using some old aquaspacelight rails in my projects and this is the only choice I had, but it looks applicable to your giant heatsinks as well.
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03/11/2009, 10:43 PM | #250 |
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I'm just toying with the idea right now. I don't necessarily want to change the white LEDs, I'm just tossing it around in my head.
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