LED lights (need help0 :)

TX..r33f · 04/30/2012, 06:06 PM

So i want to keep sps in my 40g and also with softies. My question is led the best way to go besides MH? i would do a diy led system.

reefgeezer · 04/30/2012, 07:48 PM

IMO. LED's work well. I did a DIY retrofit into my old Coralife fixture. It's been running for about 6 months now and I really like it. I used 48 Cree 3W LED's over my 75. They run @ 100%.

36 Cree 3W LEDs, 24 Royal Blue/8 Cool White/4 Neutral White might be a good plan. Make them dimmable so you can adjust intensity and color. Look at the DIY forum. There's lots of good instruction and advice there.

atarjanyi · 04/30/2012, 07:56 PM

If your set on going DIY led's I would recomend going over and have a look at Rapid Led's solderless kits. After working on my own DIY led build for a month now in my free time (most of it spent trying to get good solder joints) I wish I had just bought their modular kits that come with everything needed. They actually look like they would take a 4-5 hour streatch to fully asemble and get hung. Best of they are modular and since the leds are screwed down you can easily swap them out to fine tune color balance as more is learned and posted.

Avoid the Buck Puck current drivers, I wasted a lot of money on them to learn that maybe 1 in 3 performs acording to the spec sheets.

Rapid Led can be found in the sponsors tab at the top of the screen (they help pay for this site).

Alex

TX..r33f · 04/30/2012, 09:09 PM

Thank you so much

04/30/2012, 06:06 PM	#1
TX..r33f Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Houston Tx :) Posts: 611	LED lights (need help0 :) So i want to keep sps in my 40g and also with softies. My question is led the best way to go besides MH? i would do a diy led system.

04/30/2012, 07:48 PM	#2
reefgeezer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wichita KS Posts: 2,621	IMO. LED's work well. I did a DIY retrofit into my old Coralife fixture. It's been running for about 6 months now and I really like it. I used 48 Cree 3W LED's over my 75. They run @ 100%. 36 Cree 3W LEDs, 24 Royal Blue/8 Cool White/4 Neutral White might be a good plan. Make them dimmable so you can adjust intensity and color. Look at the DIY forum. There's lots of good instruction and advice there. __________________ John, Current Tank Info: In-process, 90 Gallon SPS Reef

04/30/2012, 07:56 PM	#3
atarjanyi Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 41	If your set on going DIY led's I would recomend going over and have a look at Rapid Led's solderless kits. After working on my own DIY led build for a month now in my free time (most of it spent trying to get good solder joints) I wish I had just bought their modular kits that come with everything needed. They actually look like they would take a 4-5 hour streatch to fully asemble and get hung. Best of they are modular and since the leds are screwed down you can easily swap them out to fine tune color balance as more is learned and posted. Avoid the Buck Puck current drivers, I wasted a lot of money on them to learn that maybe 1 in 3 performs acording to the spec sheets. Rapid Led can be found in the sponsors tab at the top of the screen (they help pay for this site). Alex

04/30/2012, 09:09 PM	#4
TX..r33f Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Houston Tx :) Posts: 611	Thank you so much