LED Accent Bar (Supplement for RB/W Fixture)

ScubaJ813 · 07/20/2012, 09:50 PM

I have (2) Chinese D120's over my brand new 120. I love them so far. However I do want to try an experiment...

After reading a ton about spectrum, colors, and looking at tanks... however pictures are deceiving. You don't know whats been photoshopped or camera settings.

I am going to create a light bar targeting some missing spectrum from the D120. Specifically red, violet, and cyan. I think the separate bar is a great idea because I can have my colors on a completely different dimmer than RB and W.

Goal: 6-10 LEDs, no optics, dimmable (600ma max), 48" aluminum flat bar. All for roughly $100.

1) What's the best route for better RED? Warm Whites (~2800K), or Red / Deep Red?

2) Do you think 8-10 LEDs over 48" aluminum flat bar is enough surface area for passive cooling? (I highly doubt this would be ran at 100% output either)

3) Pending answers to number 1, my current thought on spread would be @ 8 LEDs.
|WW V Cyan WW WW V Cyan WW|
or
| NW R C V NW V C R NW |

While this would cause my whites to out number the blues. I could just dim the main fixture CW to correct the balance.

I would appreciate any criticism and feed back.

Felixc395 · 07/20/2012, 10:13 PM

I'm very interested in this. I'm looking for a solution to my AI Sol's spectrum. Tagging along.

Just out of curiosity where are you finding these LED's and 48" bars?

ScubaJ813 · 07/20/2012, 10:22 PM

The 48" aluminum flat bar... you can find at Home Depot. As well as angle and U-shaped aluminum bar. I have seen a few DIY LED builds with it so this idea isn't original. I just think doing a full "heat sink" for what I am doing is over kill and a waste of money.

As for LEDs... since I am doing this cheap and primarily just for color. I will be using either Bridgelux or Edison. (Aquastyleonline or StevesLED) No point in going CREE when only driven at 500ma or less.

07/20/2012, 09:50 PM	#1
ScubaJ813 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 40	LED Accent Bar (Supplement for RB/W Fixture) I have (2) Chinese D120's over my brand new 120. I love them so far. However I do want to try an experiment... After reading a ton about spectrum, colors, and looking at tanks... however pictures are deceiving. You don't know whats been photoshopped or camera settings. I am going to create a light bar targeting some missing spectrum from the D120. Specifically red, violet, and cyan. I think the separate bar is a great idea because I can have my colors on a completely different dimmer than RB and W. Goal: 6-10 LEDs, no optics, dimmable (600ma max), 48" aluminum flat bar. All for roughly $100. 1) What's the best route for better RED? Warm Whites (~2800K), or Red / Deep Red? 2) Do you think 8-10 LEDs over 48" aluminum flat bar is enough surface area for passive cooling? (I highly doubt this would be ran at 100% output either) 3) Pending answers to number 1, my current thought on spread would be @ 8 LEDs. \|WW V Cyan WW WW V Cyan WW\| or \| NW R C V NW V C R NW \| While this would cause my whites to out number the blues. I could just dim the main fixture CW to correct the balance. I would appreciate any criticism and feed back. Last edited by ScubaJ813; 07/20/2012 at 09:56 PM.

07/20/2012, 10:13 PM	#2
Felixc395 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 1,612	I'm very interested in this. I'm looking for a solution to my AI Sol's spectrum. Tagging along. Just out of curiosity where are you finding these LED's and 48" bars?

07/20/2012, 10:22 PM	#3
ScubaJ813 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 40	The 48" aluminum flat bar... you can find at Home Depot. As well as angle and U-shaped aluminum bar. I have seen a few DIY LED builds with it so this idea isn't original. I just think doing a full "heat sink" for what I am doing is over kill and a waste of money. As for LEDs... since I am doing this cheap and primarily just for color. I will be using either Bridgelux or Edison. (Aquastyleonline or StevesLED) No point in going CREE when only driven at 500ma or less.