Led lighting help

87ford · 01/28/2014, 02:49 PM

I have a aquatic life 4 bulb 30" t5 ho and because bulbs are not bade commonly in 30" they are made in 22-24" I have about 6-8 inches of room on the side split in half to be exact 8.5 long by 2.75 width and 2.25 depth my thought was to put leds on both sides make a small board that can fit into each side run a power supply I can either use a separate timer or tap into the white light function on the aquatic life using a relay my question is can someone tell me what less to use and where I can buy what I need this tank has no coral but has inverts and anemones

Thanks
Tom

billdogg · 01/28/2014, 02:57 PM

If it were me, I'd just replace the whole thing. I have 2 x AI Sol Blues over my 120 and it looks great, the corals love it. Had just one over my 60 cube before the upgrade and it was more than enough to keep anything I wanted there also.

hth

mcgyvr · 01/28/2014, 04:30 PM

What types of LED's do YOU want? Or what do you intend to achieve with adding LED's?

Do you want to add some more "blue" maybe "uv" maybe just some warm whites.. or maybe cool whites.. increase fluorescence? bring out more "red"? ,etc...

I vote for adding only 10 super pink ones.. Because it would be so pretty

j/k

87ford · 01/29/2014, 09:51 AM

A blend I'm running 2 blues 1 actinic and 1 10k bulb while we are on fluorescents what bulbs front to back do you recommend on a 4 bulb system I had a purple but had to replace with the actinic cause no one around here sells purple and when a bulb goes out it kills 2 bulbs at once I found out I'm trying to get more light for the tank to reach the most spectrum of lights I can I'm sure what I'm running on this tank is more than enough I'm just upset that I have plastic parts with nothing in it so why not make it into a project I already found out I can take a marine land small led board for a freshwater system and fit it in on the side but that's just going to give more white light if I'm correct but I want to try to get more white with a little blue uv and I'll through in a pink or purple led it brings out the colors lol thanks for the responses

87ford · 01/29/2014, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billdogg

If it were me, I'd just replace the whole thing. I have 2 x AI Sol Blues over my 120 and it looks great, the corals love it. Had just one over my 60 cube before the upgrade and it was more than enough to keep anything I wanted there also.

hth

I wish I could replace the whole thing but I only got it a month ago and these lights aren't cheap so I'll stick with it I'm not convinced LEDs are better yet because if you buy a light with LEDs most manufactures say that the bulbs are not replaceable however my t5 a bulb burns out I go get another one and every part on the fixture I have can be ordered which is why I wanted that one there Where ones with all different types t5 with led t5 with metal halide etc it just goes up in price lol I paid 260 for this one I got it at half price of what a local fish store was trying to sell it to me and I'm sure the power is more than good enough I don't have corals only inverts and a rbta which are all doing great so I can't complain was just looking to start a project cause I have room to do it and I figured led was cheep and easy to install and it doesn't get supper hot like mh or t5s

87ford · 01/31/2014, 07:20 AM

Bump. Nobody uses LEDs in this thread seriously?

mcgyvr · 01/31/2014, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87ford

Bump. Nobody uses LEDs in this thread seriously?

many of us use LEDs..
But again... what you add to your fixture is up to you..
There is no easy button or if you have X then use Y.. Its mostly a guessing game and an attempt to satisfy your own personal color tastes..

Tyler500 · 01/31/2014, 09:47 AM

What is the best light for my 46 bow reef would like to keep softies and Lps right now I have a wave point t5 4 balb 36inc I would like more blue

mcgyvr · 01/31/2014, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyler500

What is the best light for my 46 bow reef would like to keep softies and Lps right now I have a wave point t5 4 balb 36inc I would like more blue

Google "thread hijacking"

87ford · 01/31/2014, 01:00 PM

Lol I know but I can't seem to find a site online where I can buy LEDs I see smaller diodes but none like used there has to be a website where people buy what they need for there projects unless they are making there own diodes ! The question is not what to use but where I can get it and what people use for there own preference ie purple pink uv white light 10k 20 actinic etc I want to be able to build my own and before I spend money on something I don't know is right I rather see what others use used etc isn't that what this forum is about

Thanks
Tom

mcgyvr · 01/31/2014, 03:29 PM

Some of the sites we can't mention here..
I'm not sure which ones because its a "secret" list but lets see what comes through..
Googling "3W cree LED" or bridgelux led should get you started..
I'd recommend the first 2 in this list..

ebay.com
rapidled.com
stevesled.com
edit... 4th link removed because its on the secret list..

Most use (generic names)
cool white
neutral white
warm white
royal blue (460nm or so)
red (650nm-660nm or so)
cyan
green

In the higher power leds 10/20/30/50/100W you can find some marketed as 10000K, 15000K,etc.. but what you "actually" get might be all over the place even ordering the same led from the same vendor.. Not to mention its really not a defined standard and a 10000K of one bulb can be drastically different from an LED..

87ford · 02/01/2014, 04:48 PM

Ok thanks and secret list what is it like prohibited on this forum or what lol but thank you for the reply that's what I was looking for cause it's hard to tell the wave length and understand what is best for the tank

87ford · 02/08/2014, 01:56 PM

Ok so I went with something difrent only because it was much cheaper than LEDs and been looking into the wave lenghts of difrent bulbs and went with the addition of 120watts of halogen lights now I already found out how hot these get since it melted the plastic lens on my fixture so I will get a price of glass cut for it but has anyone had any luck with using t5s mixed with halogens ? I looked at the wave length and it reachs more of a steady line then florecent which is like up and down on a chart and I figure using the halogens during the daylight setting so it's only on like 4-5 hours anyway any thoughts would be great

Thanks
Tom

zachts · 02/08/2014, 04:26 PM

Besides them being damn hot and a fire hazard when retrofit into a hood, they will do very little for your tank, They may grow nuisance algea but I don't believe they even produce terribly good light for that.

Halogens produce mainly yellow and red/orange light which in excess will actually be detrimental to any corals you are trying to grow. and your RBTA.

If it were me I would scrap one of the T5 ballasts and two of the bulbs. and retrofit in an LED ballast and a string of LEDs in it's place, predominantly Blue LEDs Then use the remaining two T5 for spectrum fill and daylight (coral plus bulbs would be the way to go)

LEDs I'd suggest this for a simple retrofit:
driver: Meanwell LPC-35-700 (1)

Royal Blue luxeon (6)
True Blue luxeon or cree (4)
Violet either from Steve's or Rapid (4)
________________________________
((if you want a little white in the mix for dawn dusk use 3 Royal Blue and 3 neutral whites instead of the 6 Royal Blues))

Heatsink, whatever you want, Rapids are nice as you can get them predrilled and tapped to make LED replacement easy in the future, and they have a 'T' slot on top which makes bolting them into you light fixture easy.

Optics are not needed unless your tank is more than 24" deep. Just measure and make sure you will have enough space beneath you splash gaurd to fit everything in.

01/28/2014, 02:49 PM	#1
87ford Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Absecon Posts: 157	Led lighting help I have a aquatic life 4 bulb 30" t5 ho and because bulbs are not bade commonly in 30" they are made in 22-24" I have about 6-8 inches of room on the side split in half to be exact 8.5 long by 2.75 width and 2.25 depth my thought was to put leds on both sides make a small board that can fit into each side run a power supply I can either use a separate timer or tap into the white light function on the aquatic life using a relay my question is can someone tell me what less to use and where I can buy what I need this tank has no coral but has inverts and anemones Thanks Tom

01/28/2014, 02:57 PM	#2
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	If it were me, I'd just replace the whole thing. I have 2 x AI Sol Blues over my 120 and it looks great, the corals love it. Had just one over my 60 cube before the upgrade and it was more than enough to keep anything I wanted there also. hth __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

01/28/2014, 04:30 PM	#3
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	What types of LED's do YOU want? Or what do you intend to achieve with adding LED's? Do you want to add some more "blue" maybe "uv" maybe just some warm whites.. or maybe cool whites.. increase fluorescence? bring out more "red"? ,etc... I vote for adding only 10 super pink ones.. Because it would be so pretty j/k __________________ Who me?

01/31/2014, 03:29 PM	#11
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Some of the sites we can't mention here.. I'm not sure which ones because its a "secret" list but lets see what comes through.. Googling "3W cree LED" or bridgelux led should get you started.. I'd recommend the first 2 in this list.. ebay.com rapidled.com stevesled.com edit... 4th link removed because its on the secret list.. Most use (generic names) cool white neutral white warm white royal blue (460nm or so) red (650nm-660nm or so) cyan green In the higher power leds 10/20/30/50/100W you can find some marketed as 10000K, 15000K,etc.. but what you "actually" get might be all over the place even ordering the same led from the same vendor.. Not to mention its really not a defined standard and a 10000K of one bulb can be drastically different from an LED.. __________________ Who me? Last edited by mcgyvr; 01/31/2014 at 03:34 PM.

01/29/2014, 09:51 AM	#4
87ford Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Absecon Posts: 157	A blend I'm running 2 blues 1 actinic and 1 10k bulb while we are on fluorescents what bulbs front to back do you recommend on a 4 bulb system I had a purple but had to replace with the actinic cause no one around here sells purple and when a bulb goes out it kills 2 bulbs at once I found out I'm trying to get more light for the tank to reach the most spectrum of lights I can I'm sure what I'm running on this tank is more than enough I'm just upset that I have plastic parts with nothing in it so why not make it into a project I already found out I can take a marine land small led board for a freshwater system and fit it in on the side but that's just going to give more white light if I'm correct but I want to try to get more white with a little blue uv and I'll through in a pink or purple led it brings out the colors lol thanks for the responses

01/31/2014, 07:20 AM	#6
87ford Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Absecon Posts: 157	Bump. Nobody uses LEDs in this thread seriously?

01/31/2014, 09:47 AM	#8
Tyler500 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 2	What is the best light for my 46 bow reef would like to keep softies and Lps right now I have a wave point t5 4 balb 36inc I would like more blue

01/31/2014, 01:00 PM	#10
87ford Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Absecon Posts: 157	Lol I know but I can't seem to find a site online where I can buy LEDs I see smaller diodes but none like used there has to be a website where people buy what they need for there projects unless they are making there own diodes ! The question is not what to use but where I can get it and what people use for there own preference ie purple pink uv white light 10k 20 actinic etc I want to be able to build my own and before I spend money on something I don't know is right I rather see what others use used etc isn't that what this forum is about Thanks Tom

02/01/2014, 04:48 PM	#12
87ford Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Absecon Posts: 157	Ok thanks and secret list what is it like prohibited on this forum or what lol but thank you for the reply that's what I was looking for cause it's hard to tell the wave length and understand what is best for the tank

02/08/2014, 01:56 PM	#13
87ford Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Absecon Posts: 157	Ok so I went with something difrent only because it was much cheaper than LEDs and been looking into the wave lenghts of difrent bulbs and went with the addition of 120watts of halogen lights now I already found out how hot these get since it melted the plastic lens on my fixture so I will get a price of glass cut for it but has anyone had any luck with using t5s mixed with halogens ? I looked at the wave length and it reachs more of a steady line then florecent which is like up and down on a chart and I figure using the halogens during the daylight setting so it's only on like 4-5 hours anyway any thoughts would be great Thanks Tom

02/08/2014, 04:26 PM	#14
zachts Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: St. Louis, MO. Posts: 3,259	Besides them being damn hot and a fire hazard when retrofit into a hood, they will do very little for your tank, They may grow nuisance algea but I don't believe they even produce terribly good light for that. Halogens produce mainly yellow and red/orange light which in excess will actually be detrimental to any corals you are trying to grow. and your RBTA. If it were me I would scrap one of the T5 ballasts and two of the bulbs. and retrofit in an LED ballast and a string of LEDs in it's place, predominantly Blue LEDs Then use the remaining two T5 for spectrum fill and daylight (coral plus bulbs would be the way to go) LEDs I'd suggest this for a simple retrofit: driver: Meanwell LPC-35-700 (1) Royal Blue luxeon (6) True Blue luxeon or cree (4) Violet either from Steve's or Rapid (4) ________________________________ ((if you want a little white in the mix for dawn dusk use 3 Royal Blue and 3 neutral whites instead of the 6 Royal Blues)) Heatsink, whatever you want, Rapids are nice as you can get them predrilled and tapped to make LED replacement easy in the future, and they have a 'T' slot on top which makes bolting them into you light fixture easy. Optics are not needed unless your tank is more than 24" deep. Just measure and make sure you will have enough space beneath you splash gaurd to fit everything in.