Reef Discussion

[slin1977]

Nice thread. I run an old DIY system. Used to be all Crees, but over time these have fizzled out. All replaced with Bridgelux LEDS now. I'm very happy with them. Currently run 4 banks of 13 LEDS over a 4' tank.

Colour is a mix of B/RB / 6.5K-10K W / 450 nM pinks / Greens. I have experimented with reds, but these were overpowering so replaced with pink which gives a nice hue. I also invested in UV LEDS, gave them a run for 4 months, bloody things done a lot of damage, so now gone.....all are driven between 9 to 12V / 750 mA. The Bridgelux LEDS so far are coping at this level fine. I also run 80 degree optics.

I also run a vertex blue LED setup used for additional asthetics which I run in the morning / evening.

My reef is mixed, and my SPS / LPS are going well. I do struggle with purple SPS, but pinks go fine. My shortcake and milli go well and growth throughout is great.

My PAR throughout was a little down, 300 at the water line down to 75 at the substrate, but the optics really improved this where now I have 450 at water level, 300 at most SPS to 125 at the substrate.

Thanks for posting a nice thread, very interesting.

Please put up a photo of your build, I am keen to see your heat sink and method of joining your LEDs to the heat sink . It's a pity about your Crees deteriating and fizzling out. I can only imagine that the bond between heat sink and LEDs or ratio of H S size to led number had something to do with this.
With regard to SPS colour, iodine has a positive effect on your blues. Especially a combination of Potassium, iodine and fluoride.

 

[MagicJ]

@chrispc66 - where do you buy your Bridgelux led's? Also interested in your use of green - what benefits do you think you get from this wavelength?

 

[Kharn]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before :( but if it has I would appreciate if I could get a link to the page...

Rite now I'm having difficulty coming to terms with how to mount my chosen LED lights (e-shine) the problem lay in the fact that the fixtures are around 5-6kg each and cannot be hung and due to the tanks style & dimension I also cannot use the standard mounting brackets for the lights.

So I'm looking for a DIY mount that will be sturdy enough for the 5-6kg's and be around 4-5inchs high.

Good thing is that the E-shine light fixtures shortest sides each have a lip about an inch long on the very edge (likely to prevent the glass/lights making contact should the light fall with those raised edges acting as a last resort guard), either way the idea is to have the edges of the fixture (thus the lips) over hanging the custom mounts to help it stay in place, to add further grip I was thinking about adding marine grade velcro strip tape on both the fixture and mount where they make contact.

Here is quick sketches.

Need to make 6 of them, 3 to support 4.5kg's e.a. & 3 to support 6.5kg's e.a. any ideas appreciated.

 

[chimaera]

Have you looked at the Bunnings Connect stuff? I used it, and so did @Synodontis for his massive LED fixture (last pic here shows the lights, there are better pics somewhere but I couldn't find them!): http://www.thereefuge.com.au/threads/ken-jens-10x2-5x2-5-project.256/page-4#post-44568

 

[Kharn]

Have you looked at the Bunnings Connect stuff? I used it, and so did @Synodontis for his massive LED fixture (last pic here shows the lights, there are better pics somewhere but I couldn't find them!): http://www.thereefuge.com.au/threads/ken-jens-10x2-5x2-5-project.256/page-4#post-44568

Perfect :) thanks for the idea, I asked the same question on another forum and got the same response so it must be a popular way of mounting lights :)

 

[Rob]

Small qty bunnings is great although is cheaper if you go to an aluminium supplier as you end up needing a few lengths. It also depends on how heavy your light ends up being. Suggest you go to bunnings and click a few pieces together so you get an idea of flex at the joints. My ATI 6x54WT5 powermodule was real heavy so needed a heavier gauge extrusion which cost alot more. See my TJ link in sig for my design.

PS an aluminium supplier also will also cut your pieces to the desired length "square cuts". So just bring it home and snap together.

 

[Kharn]

Will likely go and have a look in bunnings tomorrow have a fair Idea of how to do it :)

 

[Damjan]

Hay Magic

The questions that i have in relation to the LED kits are as follows:

Firstly as the rapid kit comes from the US, are the drivers 240V capable or do you have to specify this when ordering?
and secondly as the kits are dimmable, how is this achieved? they state that the drivers are compatible with various marine controllers however if you do not have one is this just dome with a dialed dimmer switch or do you have o purchase one of their controllers?

Thats it for now but I am sure I will have more questions.

I am currently running a Chinese crappy led as it was the cheapest at the time and am now trying to gather info to help with the my choice in DIY or upgrade. Your threads are swaying me towards LED...

 

[MagicJ]

@Damjan - Sorry mate you have to play in the sandpit for a while before you can ask any questions

 

[MagicJ]

Only joking :)

 

[Damjan]

What are you talking about, I already have sand in my eye!!

 

[MagicJ]

What are you talking about, I already have sand in my eye!!

That was one of the girls wasn't it :p

You will find a fair bit of recent discussion in this thread http://www.thereefuge.com.au/threads/diy-led-lighting-questions-for-those-who-have-done-it.5158/

Most of the drivers we use have a wide range of input voltage and so they will operate at both the 110v and 240v - they don't actually come with plugs and so you need to add your own.

The dimming function depends on the driver. With some, the dimming circuit is controlled by a 1-10v analogue signal which can be provided by some controllers or a simple potentiometer, or pot. Others are controlled by a 5 or 10v PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control signal which can be provided by various controllers, a lot of which are Arduino based.

In my opinion, you will want to be able to automatically control the dimming of your leds - this is one of the reasons to have them.

Now, as it happens, I am currently doing some work with the Meanwell LDD drivers and an Arduino based controller :) I am guessing that the cost of this controller, with a nice graphical interface, touch screen etc will be in the order of $100.

 

[Damjan]

Thanx... I have been reading the thread on the controller, way over my head but an going to keep up to date... and yes it was one of the girls!:(
I have also been looking at the P & D drivers and trying to come to terms with it all, will keep researching and see what I come up with.

 

[MagicJ]

Given the cost of Arduino based controllers, and the flexibility they provide, I would strongly recommend you look at the PWM controllable drivers i.e. the P Series Meanwell drivers for example.

 

[Damjan]

Hay guys,

I know that the preferred led kit is the rapid from rapid.com using the cree leds, however I came across the aquastyle website who sell Bridgelux and I have read that they are not as efficient however from a price point of view they are really appealing. You can get a 120 led kit with 5 Meanwell drivers and 60deg. optics for about $350 delivered. which is almost half the price of the rapid comparison. Just posting to see if anyone has used Bridgelux les and if they are any good.

Also I have read somewhere that you get a better ripple effect compatible to MH if you group the leds together rather than spacing them out over the tank is this true or not? I have seen the Radions on a tank which had an awesome ripple effect and would like to try to emulate that if possible with a diy kit.

Any thoughts?

 

[MagicJ]

Hay guys,

I know that the preferred led kit is the rapid from rapid.com using the cree leds, however I came across the aquastyle website who sell Bridgelux and I have read that they are not as efficient however from a price point of view they are really appealing. You can get a 120 led kit with 5 Meanwell drivers and 60deg. optics for about $350 delivered. which is almost half the price of the rapid comparison. Just posting to see if anyone has used Bridgelux les and if they are any good.

Also I have read somewhere that you get a better ripple effect compatible to MH if you group the leds together rather than spacing them out over the tank is this true or not? I have seen the Radions on a tank which had an awesome ripple effect and would like to try to emulate that if possible with a diy kit.

Any thoughts?

Many people use Bridgelux with no problems so I don't have an issue with this option. You will get more than enough 'ripple' with the leds spread out so I would not necessarily make that a consideration when designing your layout. The effect is created by the number of light sources and I might have thought you got more ripple effect when they are spread out.

 

[Joshwaaaa]

I run bridgelux with no dramas, they just aren't efficient as cree.

By the way @MagicJ I have been meaning to ask where you sourced the ldd's I would love to have a play with a few so I can build something not quite so bulky as the p's and can dim to zero

 

[chimaera]

Hay guys,

I know that the preferred led kit is the rapid from rapid.com using the cree leds, however I came across the aquastyle website who sell Bridgelux and I have read that they are not as efficient however from a price point of view they are really appealing. You can get a 120 led kit with 5 Meanwell drivers and 60deg. optics for about $350 delivered. which is almost half the price of the rapid comparison. Just posting to see if anyone has used Bridgelux les and if they are any good.

Also I have read somewhere that you get a better ripple effect compatible to MH if you group the leds together rather than spacing them out over the tank is this true or not? I have seen the Radions on a tank which had an awesome ripple effect and would like to try to emulate that if possible with a diy kit.

Any thoughts?

I believe that clustering provides you with better colour blending, but not sure it provides greater ripple. As long as your clusters are not too far apart (which will 'spotlight'), there is less risk of a 'disco' effect with colours dominating the tank.

 

[Damjan]

hay
Ye I am thinking of getting the 120 led Brigelux kit from Aquastyle and getting the option with the 5 Meanwell P drivers this should give me 2 display lights and o small one for the fuge. I am looking at using 2 X 42 Leds in a cluster about 500mm X 600mm as my tank has a cross brace in the center. This will use 4 drivers and the fifth will be a smaller fuge light of about 15 - 20 leds. I am also looking at chucking in 2 UV leds in each of the 2 display lights as I have a mate who recently upgraded to the GHL leds with UV and his SPS have become brighter. I cant believe the price difference from the rapid to the aquastyle kit, they are less than half the price. Lets just hope that Bridgelux are not half as efficient.

 

[chimaera]

Bridgelux are just fine. Many CREE builds run at way less than 100% power anyway, so it's not that you nee the power. CREE are more efficient for sure which may mean better $ to power ratio, but I'd doubt you would spend more on power than you would save going Bridgelux.

Not saying I wouldn't choose CREE, but at double the price I would go Bridgelux for sure.