Changing LED Diods???

steallife904 · 03/03/2017, 09:32 AM

Has anyone ever changed out there LED diods? I have 2 reefbreeder photon 16s and have never been happy with the amount of white they have. They have 14 neutral white diods I believe and was thinking about changing say 6-8 or them for some 450nm blues, 480 blue and 420 violet (not sure what mix of those yet). My problem is I have never used a soldering iron before and just not sure what I would be getting into doing it and do not want to break the unit. How hard is it? I am a do it yourselfer person and can do things just never worked with solder before. There website also say to use thermal grease.... no idea what that is and if it really is needed. Any help?

mcgyvr · 03/03/2017, 11:45 AM

Well... Its not "super difficult" but its really not something that one who has never soldered before will be able to do without a struggle..

I'm not sure which diodes they use in those lights though and some are more difficult than others to remove..

But its entirely possible..

Thermal grease (VERY thin layer) is applied between a heatsink and a metal clad circuit board that the LEDs are mounted on (star boards,etc..)

If they just use star boards then those are much easier to replace as a unit vs removing the individual diodes from the PCB..

oreo57 · 03/03/2017, 11:55 AM

most of these use Bridgelux 3W "egg" diodes (no starboard).
From those I know have swapped some out.. doesn't seem too difficult.
Only careful part from a diode standpoint is you can use too many reds and the drivers have problems.
Going white to blue should be no problem.

Second problem is some boards solder the center pad, not just the legs. Makes getting the old diodes off a fairly destructive process.
Once off though, it is just a dab of heatsink compound in the center and solder the 2 legs..making sure you have the correct polarity..

If you are uncomfortable, w/ any of this, Logan probably can swap them out..

steallife904 · 03/03/2017, 12:12 PM

I PMed him about cost to do it. pending a response

am trying to see if it is something I would want to do though.

steallife904 · 03/03/2017, 12:59 PM

also.... anyone have any input on which LED bulbs I should replace with. I am either going to do 6 or 8, leaning toward 8 which would leave 6 neutral whites. I was thinking 4 450nm blues, 2 480 and 4 420.... or should i drop the 480s all together? my overall goal is to reduce the amount of white they currently are. i guess closer to 20k spectrum. not straight blue light but more of a blue than white.

frankv702 · 03/03/2017, 04:24 PM

It's really pretty easy.. you'll want to compare the data sheets with the originals to make sure you don't overdrive the Diodes you're replacing.

Oreo57 above mentioned the diode sometimes is soldered onto the pcb board, those can be a PITA to get off, but do-able. Just have to make sure you don't mess up the foil on the board.

Also, a lot of he soldering irons at the store aren't very good. The weller irons Home Depot sells aren't adjustable and are factory set at like 750 degrees. That's too hot in my opinion to do a proper job. I use a Hakko soldering station with adjustable temperature. You can dial it in to where it's needed to get it done properly.

oreo57 · 03/03/2017, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankv702

It's really pretty easy.. you'll want to compare the data sheets with the originals to make sure you don't overdrive the Diodes you're replacing.

Drivers are usually constant current from 500-700mA..
Problem is some drivers have a minimum cumulative V(f) so go into limp mode if it is too low.
You probably won't find data sheets..

Keeping the above in mind eliminates most incompatibilities..short of cheap violets smoking themselves..

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankv702

Also, a lot of he soldering irons at the store aren't very good. The weller irons Home Depot sells aren't adjustable and are factory set at like 750 degrees. That's too hot in my opinion to do a proper job. I use a Hakko soldering station with adjustable temperature. You can dial it in to where it's needed to get it done properly.

Second the Hakko (personally love mine)..

But few want to shell out the $'s..
not everything looks "correct" here but. an idea..Lets see if it ia verboten web site..
yep.. never mind..

Ron Reefman · 03/04/2017, 04:03 AM

Are you currently running the blue channel at 100% over your tank? If not, why add more blue?

I had 3 of these over 2 tanks for 5+ years. I ran 80% to 90% blue and 30% to 50% white and was quite happy with the color and the sps & lps coral growth.

BTW, if you need leds, I have some I got from EverGrow, the manufacturer of these fixtures. I'll probably never use them now that I have switched to the Photon V2.

steallife904 · 03/06/2017, 09:17 AM

yes I have turned the blue up to 100 and had whites under 20%... just has a too white look for my taste, they grow coral just fine I am just trying to bring the color to a more blue look. Also when I ran the blue that high it was burning corals so I had to adjust back down. I run them at there peak around 55 or 60 (cant remember exactly) blue and 10% white. I also have a retro t5 mixed in that I run for 2 hours mid day (power the leds back down some during this time). just seems like the white color on these leds is really strong regardless of the power % they are on. Just my opinion and can only say that because I had another LED to compare against (my old ones).

Ron Reefman · 03/07/2017, 07:39 AM

Man, I don't know how blue you want it? At 100% blue and 20% white my Photon V1 is a very cool white hinting at blue. Dial the white back to 10% and it's a very blue white.

Changing out white leds for blue will make a difference though. Good luck.

03/03/2017, 09:32 AM	#1
steallife904 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 944	Changing LED Diods??? Has anyone ever changed out there LED diods? I have 2 reefbreeder photon 16s and have never been happy with the amount of white they have. They have 14 neutral white diods I believe and was thinking about changing say 6-8 or them for some 450nm blues, 480 blue and 420 violet (not sure what mix of those yet). My problem is I have never used a soldering iron before and just not sure what I would be getting into doing it and do not want to break the unit. How hard is it? I am a do it yourselfer person and can do things just never worked with solder before. There website also say to use thermal grease.... no idea what that is and if it really is needed. Any help?

03/03/2017, 11:45 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Well... Its not "super difficult" but its really not something that one who has never soldered before will be able to do without a struggle.. I'm not sure which diodes they use in those lights though and some are more difficult than others to remove.. But its entirely possible.. Thermal grease (VERY thin layer) is applied between a heatsink and a metal clad circuit board that the LEDs are mounted on (star boards,etc..) If they just use star boards then those are much easier to replace as a unit vs removing the individual diodes from the PCB.. __________________ Who me?

03/04/2017, 04:03 AM	#8
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Are you currently running the blue channel at 100% over your tank? If not, why add more blue? I had 3 of these over 2 tanks for 5+ years. I ran 80% to 90% blue and 30% to 50% white and was quite happy with the color and the sps & lps coral growth. BTW, if you need leds, I have some I got from EverGrow, the manufacturer of these fixtures. I'll probably never use them now that I have switched to the Photon V2. __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

03/07/2017, 07:39 AM	#10
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Man, I don't know how blue you want it? At 100% blue and 20% white my Photon V1 is a very cool white hinting at blue. Dial the white back to 10% and it's a very blue white. Changing out white leds for blue will make a difference though. Good luck. __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

03/03/2017, 11:55 AM	#3
oreo57 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,793	most of these use Bridgelux 3W "egg" diodes (no starboard). From those I know have swapped some out.. doesn't seem too difficult. Only careful part from a diode standpoint is you can use too many reds and the drivers have problems. Going white to blue should be no problem. Second problem is some boards solder the center pad, not just the legs. Makes getting the old diodes off a fairly destructive process. Once off though, it is just a dab of heatsink compound in the center and solder the 2 legs..making sure you have the correct polarity.. If you are uncomfortable, w/ any of this, Logan probably can swap them out..

03/03/2017, 12:12 PM	#4
steallife904 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 944	I PMed him about cost to do it. pending a response am trying to see if it is something I would want to do though.

03/03/2017, 12:59 PM	#5
steallife904 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 944	also.... anyone have any input on which LED bulbs I should replace with. I am either going to do 6 or 8, leaning toward 8 which would leave 6 neutral whites. I was thinking 4 450nm blues, 2 480 and 4 420.... or should i drop the 480s all together? my overall goal is to reduce the amount of white they currently are. i guess closer to 20k spectrum. not straight blue light but more of a blue than white.

03/03/2017, 04:24 PM	#6
frankv702 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 132	It's really pretty easy.. you'll want to compare the data sheets with the originals to make sure you don't overdrive the Diodes you're replacing. Oreo57 above mentioned the diode sometimes is soldered onto the pcb board, those can be a PITA to get off, but do-able. Just have to make sure you don't mess up the foil on the board. Also, a lot of he soldering irons at the store aren't very good. The weller irons Home Depot sells aren't adjustable and are factory set at like 750 degrees. That's too hot in my opinion to do a proper job. I use a Hakko soldering station with adjustable temperature. You can dial it in to where it's needed to get it done properly.

03/06/2017, 09:17 AM	#9
steallife904 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 944	yes I have turned the blue up to 100 and had whites under 20%... just has a too white look for my taste, they grow coral just fine I am just trying to bring the color to a more blue look. Also when I ran the blue that high it was burning corals so I had to adjust back down. I run them at there peak around 55 or 60 (cant remember exactly) blue and 10% white. I also have a retro t5 mixed in that I run for 2 hours mid day (power the leds back down some during this time). just seems like the white color on these leds is really strong regardless of the power % they are on. Just my opinion and can only say that because I had another LED to compare against (my old ones).