larrybeck Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 *subscribed* I'm totally contemplating this for my 300g freshwater. I've already got LED lighting on my 125g (Marineland) and my 55g (DIY) show tanks but I really like the idea of these higher-wattage "fixtures" that I can set up like pendants. Saves me a ton of soldering and wiring emitters onto a heat sink and even more money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 *subscribed* I'm totally contemplating this for my 300g freshwater. I've already got LED lighting on my 125g (Marineland) and my 55g (DIY) show tanks but I really like the idea of these higher-wattage "fixtures" that I can set up like pendants. Saves me a ton of soldering and wiring emitters onto a heat sink and even more money! That was one of the reasons I liked these as well, I didnt want to have to solder an entire array of 3w LEDs. With this light I will have a total of 2 solder points and 2 wire nuts and I am done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrokate Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Any noticeable effect on your corals? I tried a very early cheapo led over my reef tank as a spot on a clam, and the light was visibly brighter than 4 54 watt t5ho bulbs next to it and the clam reoriented toward it. Then I tried a super bright LED from Ikea over the clam and another over a chalice. Burns holes in the coral. Oops. Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 Haven't tried it over any corals yet, still wiring it up and testing it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrybeck Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 So I'm wondering how you picked that particular shape for the heatsink. Is it the shape that is recommended? I'm just more accustomed to the flatter finned models being used recent LED builds, and I'm wondering if this would be more or less efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 This heatsink is designed for the 10-100w sized multichip LEDS. Its designed be be used with a fan on it instead of having a large surface area to dissipate the heat on. This one is definitely less efficient than using a larger heatsink, but I was going for a very compact design overall so it was a tradeoff I was willing to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Got it wired up an made a quick disconnect power cable to run the driver and the fan. HERE'S THE LINK TO THE VIDEO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackaninny Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Looks good. Can't wait to see what it does over corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrybeck Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Are the drivers you're using dimmable? I'm thinking 4 of those across a tank could do a pretty nice sunrise-sunset effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 These ones are not dimmable. They do sell dimmable ones, but they are a bit more expensive, I wanna say right around $100 a piece on ebay just for the dimmable driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 The light that is normally on the tank in the video is a very simply water proof LED strip light. The one I'm holding over the tank is a single DIY 50w LED with no optics on it yet. Total cost as is: $55. http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg100/Stuwobbe/?action=view¤t=VID_20110410_214245.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrybeck Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Ouch. I didn't see a link for the driver you're using, do you have it handy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Ouch. I didn't see a link for the driver you're using' date=' do you have it handy?[/quote'] Yeah sure thing THIS IS THE LED AND DRIVER I AM USING THIS IS THE HEATSINK I AM USING THIS IS THE 60 DEGREE LENS AND REFLECTOR I'LL BE USING WHEN IT ARRIVES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergebmw3 Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 o my goodness iam loving the Look without the optic on there you are very tempting with this its saves energy and heat!!!! i would love to see this in person when you have it done and i might get the 20k do they make them in 15 k ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrybeck Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I believe I saw a set of emitters producing 16k (rather than 14k) on the site, which seemed odd. I trying to decide which color range to use on my freshwater, I think 20k might be too purple on freshwater, even though I love it on reef tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 o my goodness iam loving the Look without the optic on there you are very tempting with this its saves energy and heat!!!! i would love to see this in person when you have it done and i might get the 20k do they make them in 15 k ? I like it too, I dont know if you can see it in the video but there is a ton of over hang on the light pattern. You can see it hitting the wall when I have it anywhere besides a few inches over the tank. So I'm hoping the optic will let me put the light more like 2-3ft over the tank and get the same spread. I dont know what all spectrums for sure they make them in, but they do sell on Ebay a 10k, 12k, and 20k. I dont know how true the spectrums are though and if you go with one of these as a primary light I would invest in a higher quality bulb like one from Bridgelux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Well we got a PAR meter under the 50w LED last night and here's what we got: 8" it was putting out 300 par. 12" down it dropped to about 180 16" down it dropped to 100 or so. Keep in mind that this ratings were measured without any optics on it, and right now this light is casting almost as much light out to the side as it is straight down. I should have a 60 degree optic sometime this week which will direct all of that escaping light downward and then we will retest it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Looking forward to the results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Following along I am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I'm loving this!!! I need about 7 of them!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 I'm loving this!!! I need about 7 of them!!! Thats the awesome part is that even if you did buy 7 of them, you'd still be under $400 and only using 350w of power total and have 7 overlapping areas pushing 300 par at 8". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 What bulb are you using? From the video it looked quite white, it looked good!!! With the bulb you are running, do you think you would need act? I can't seem to find 20k bulbs you had mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 We are going to see how it looks with the optics and then decide if we want to change bulbs. It is a 6500k white LED, I think the next step on bulbs will be the 20k bulb and see if that is too much and then we will know if we need to supplement it, or step back to the 12k. Heres links to those bulbs: 50W 20K LED BULB $51.99 50W 12K LED BULB 50W 20K LED BULB FOR A LITTLE CHEAPER $39.99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 I have to re-wire the whole setup because I fried the converter plug that was running the fan when we were testing it. But it gives me the chance to move the LED driver into its own little prject box closer to the plug in so that the only thing sitting over the tank will be the LED, heatsink, and fan to cool it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaunMonahan Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks for posting the PAR readings. Just to be clear, these readings where done dry, correct? Meaning these (measurements) were not taken below the water's surface... Thanks and great thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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