Making LEDs look like halides

[needmorecowbell]

After looking around the web for something that would show me what diodes I would need for my corals to thrive under LEDs, I came up blank. I decided to make my own. I thought, if halides have worked for this long, why not make LEDs as close as possible in likeness to them? I wanted all the pros of halide with all the pros of led.

With that said, this is how I went about doing it. I searched sanjay from Michiganreefer's thread for a spectroscopy of a good 20k 250w fixture which is shown below. I used that information against the spectroscopies of some LEDs, mainly royal blue and cool white, the diodes that almost all units have. I found that we are missing some parts of the spectrum, which might be why we aren't getting all the results we would like. We are missing the 390nm-420nm range, the 540nm-550nm range, and the 680nm-690nm range. These colors are violet, green, cyan, and red. The only problem is that the red isn't obtainable in the aquarium industry to my knowledge. It is called far red, and is used in plant keeping. The main ones to worry about are cyan and violet, because that is where we miss the most. Then green and red, but in much less intensity.

Right now i have a 120w dimmable led unit with royal blues and cool whites. I will be making a DIY strip that will have cyan and uv on it over the summer, and will post back with results. I will be adding a small amount of red and green to the mixture at a later time.
Questions, comments, constructive critisism are welcome.

Here's the pics..ImageUploadedByTapatalk1338840976.546484.jpg

[jrpark22000]

Here is a thread where I am looking to do the same. I started with AI as a base then am adding uv, cyan, and different whites. One of the problems is dimming a LED color shifts the output. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2165340

[needmorecowbell]

I was thinking about that.. Do you know how big of a difference it is? Like 445nm instead of 450 or 445 instead of 470? Im sure it cant be that much..

[BonsaiNut]

Check out this thread for what you're looking for...

It's all about the multichip...

[needmorecowbell]

Very good links, I'll be sure to use them. I skimmed through the latest link, I have to take a break though, I'm going to go crazy trying to grasp all this lol.

[jrpark22000]

Originally Posted by needmorecowbell

I was thinking about that.. Do you know how big of a difference it is? Like 445nm instead of 450 or 445 instead of 470? Im sure it cant be that much..

I don’t and there is no way to accurately estimate the shift. Each LED would need to be tested at any given current rating to determine the spectrum. The few places I’ve seen references for shift show the peak can move 20nm or more. This is one of the links from the thread I referenced. It goes into greater detail.
http://www.molalla.net/members/leeper/pwm_cc.htm

[Mikez1207]

EcoTech does this with thier led fixtures...they have reds, blues, greens, and whites...thats why its the best led fixture out there....

[needmorecowbell]

Just checked out those radions.. Here's the graph they give.. It's almost a perfect match lol..

But for 750$, Im not sure.. Its just like the mp40, great product, but is it really worth it?

[Mikez1207]

Originally Posted by needmorecowbell

Just checked out those radions.. Here's the graph they give.. It's almost a perfect match lol..

But for 750$, Im not sure.. Its just like the mp40, great product, but is it really worth it?

But you get what you pay for my friend....remember....im still waiting on prices to drop

[needmorecowbell]

True, very true.
A DIY seems cheaper and you can have the same amount of LEDs. Maybe it's just the whole wifi, color spectrum control thing.

Don't get your hopes up too much. The mp40 has been around for a while and no drop.

[jg210302]

I just requested a quote for a multichip along the lines of what Orphek is doing, they seemed interested in making it for me... As soon as I have more info I will let you know...

100 Watt
60 Chips 18Kwhite, 10 chips 450nm blue, 10 chips 430nm actinic, 10 chips 410nm UV, 6 chips 590nm orange, 4 chips 660nm red

[needmorecowbell]

Nice! It sounds great.. And why are multichips better than regular diodes, more stability?

[screamingibis]

If I'm not mistaken, rapidled has some multi-chip crees.

[joelespinoza]

Originally Posted by jg210302

I just requested a quote for a multichip along the lines of what Orphek is doing, they seemed interested in making it for me... As soon as I have more info I will let you know...

100 Watt
60 Chips 18Kwhite, 10 chips 450nm blue, 10 chips 430nm actinic, 10 chips 410nm UV, 6 chips 590nm orange, 4 chips 660nm red

Yea, keep us informed on how that works out.... That sounds very interesting.

[klwheat]

I have 3 ecotech radions (also a vortech...lol) and love them. The light output is incredible, and the built in controllability is superb. I'm sure a DIY would be cheaper, but for a ready to use, finished looking product - the built in quality, adjustability and overall look are worth the extra to me.