LED lighting

[egq]

whats special about each individual light bulb?

i know i can make an LED lighting system, but i hear that the diodes arent the simple 1/4 watt diodes.... also does the ratio in color matter? i have seen somewith a total of about 50 diodes and the ratio is like 9 to 1 white and blue.... (45 white 5 blue)... i have also seen some red diodes and UV diodes...

[pnavarro170]

i dont know what you mean by each one being special. and each led would have to be the 3w version, that seems to be the norm of getting the most out of it and enough power for corals.

if your just doing blues and whites the ratio should be 1 to 1 at least to get a good look in the 14k range.

but now they are adding royal blues to most, green, red, uv. and more to come.

[egq]

ok cool.... the 3w ones are a bit pricy but it should still be cheaper to make one....and the best arrangement would be a square inch enough to cover the entire top of the tank... right?

[egq]

would a 5W work better than a 3 W?

[pnavarro170]

Well they would be a nice addition to use the 5w ones. And it really is going to depend on the size of your tank and you don't need that many LEDs per square inch. Only if you use the 1w ones. With the 3 and 5 watt ones you would be adding optics or lenses to spread the light out.

[egq]

so say i was to use the 5W one since my tank is 48 inches long and 1.5 wide... i could use 2 rows with 2 every foot (in length) maybe do 1 every 3/4 of a foot to make it an even 20 diodes.... pshh this sounds way easier than the little 1/4 watt bulbs.... i had already made one that measures about 2" by 3" (one of those plastic things where new bulltes come from when the box is new).... that thing took me a while to get done just cuz it wasnt fitting right, and i ofcourse could get the wires crossed.... this one with 5 w bulbs sounds a lot easier and more effective...

[pnavarro170]

i am no expert on leds. but going by what i would do and what i have seen. you dont understand how bright these things really are, you would only need at least 8 of those 5w Whites in a row with lenses spread out using 70-90 degree optics, maybe 10 of those. the rest would be 3w blues and royal blues if you just want simple but good looks. just look at the way AquaIlluminations leds are set up. you only really need 150-250 watts of total power on a 48" tank again depending on the optics.

[egq]

i am just always over or under haha.... the second row isnt necessary then.... i kinda was thinking that... but i was rather be over than under.... so i figure.... 2 rows..... 7 LEDS in each....alternating blue and white....so it works out... yay

[pnavarro170]

well where would you order the leds? what type of heatsink ? at that wattage they do need to be non actively cooled at least. what type of controller or just on off ? any dimming capabilities ? you dont want to run these 100% all day, its alot of light.

[egq]

Leds are easy to get.... i was thinking an aluminum heat sink... and i have old computer fans haha i could wire them suckers onto it to extract the heat....... and the switch could be a normal on off switch... but i am also sure that i can use a regular house dimmer.... the entrance to my house has one and it runs 2 100W bulbs.... and yea we turn the lights on at 3 and leave them on till 9 pm everyday....thats the only time it runs

[pnavarro170]

nice well hopefully you can start a thread on the build. that would be sweet

[egq]

i will do my best... i usually dont document my builds.... i am currently building a cutter for work and i have nothing written down... but i will definitely try to when doing the lighting

[puffin04]

In all fairness you are better off buy a module then designing your own. Also if you have never solder before or really dont know how to i would not recommend it. If you mess up on one of your connection you can blow the whole strand of LED lights in a second. Also i would recommend dim-able drivers but even then you dont have the full control like you do with the AI Sol or the radions. Thanks

Steffen Sparks

[mtcoins123]

i think the harder part is the lensses and sealing it all properly imu that the lensses you use are critical to its functioning at all as a reef light and i have seen many complaints about the manufactured models not being sealed well enough to stop corosion so it must be an issue but i am all in favor of DIY keep posting

[egq]

Soldering is easy.... been doing projects here and there since like 10..... everything is labeled with a + or - for polarity.... and if it isnt its relatively easy to figure out with a DMM... one question i do have is what is the point of dimming? is it to simulate sun down and sun up?

[puffin04]

The point of dimming or having control is so you dont fry your corals. Like my AI sol over my prop tank are at 40-45 percent right now. If they where on fully they would roast them. lol I think soldering is easy bit it is also an art. If you dont have a good solder you will fry would strand of LED and that can get expensive.

Steffen Sparks

[egq]

AHHH.... ok then i shall put a dimmer on it... cant be too too hard.... and yea soldering is an art.... but i have been doing it for a long time... and i have seen my dad do it for as long as i can remember, i think it use to be his job to check and fix solder connections....

[egq]

http://elpaso.en.craigslist.org/tls/3049915884.html

I think i have found the solution to my problem! 2 of these should do the trick

[pnavarro170]

Lol