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My DIY LED Build (1 Viewer)

JayJeep

JayJeep

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Messages
376
Location
Farmington, MN
I'm still doing some research on which colors to get and where to get them but I would like to start my build thread.

Right now, I'm not really going to be having any really expensive corals or any sps. I currently have frogspawn, GSP, Pulsing Xenia and Zoa. If I get more of anything it would probably be more Zoa. I also have a RBTA. The tank is a standard 75 gallon

LED Colors:
24 - XT-E Royal Blue
18 - XT-E Cool White
6 - XT-E Warm White

Drivers and Controller:
2 Meanwell ELN-60-48D
Currently have a Reefkeeper Lite so I'm going to use the ALC module to control the dimming. Until I get that I will use pots.

Assembly:
I'm planning on using Aluminum channel to mount the LED stars to. I'm also going to wire the LEDs using 2 strings in parellel on each driver with resistors and fuses.

Other notes:
I'm planning on mounting my 2 bulb Hagen fixture to the aluminum frame to add some T5 actinic lighting.

My main concerns right now are color choice and whether or not to use optics. Opinions on that would be great.
 
Just wondering if only two ELN-60-48 drivers will handle that many leds? I thought that they were rated for 8-14 leds?
 
It's 8-14 leds if you wire them in series. I'm wiring the leds in (2) 12led parallel strings per driver.
 
With 14 per driver you're still looking at 4 drivers. I would also add some violet (420nm) LEDsLEDs to your array. I also like the OCW multi chip from ledgroupbuy.com. I would go 28rb and 14 neutral white with 8 to 14 violet. Then 3 or 4 ocw multi color (optional). Could still get away with 4 drivers (5 with the OCW).
 
Personally I'd switch the WW with NW's; all three (CW/NW/WW) have the red green spectrum.. adding WW pushes more of the red spectrum which is not needed in that concentration

MrBill, although most CREE LEDs used in this application are rated at 1400ma optimum performance (lumens/watt) is in the 700-1000ma, so if the desire is to run the LEDs at an optimum level one driver can run twice the LEDs (upto 28 per driver), the driver runs at the set limit (could be max) and the current gets split between the strings ~equally
 
I could add violet, would I add them to the white string? I'm not going to do the ocw right now. Just trying to keep this build simple.
 
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add the violets to the blue strings or their own string.. from what I hear they simulate dawn/dusk nicely.. I bought a few from LEDgroupbuy more than a month ago but havent hooked them up.

I chose to keep each color on its own driver; that helps with tweaking them individually but also controlling the on/off timing or if I plain dont like something I dont have to redo the string and load balancing in parallel strings

When doing parallel strings expect the drivers to run hotter.. so plan on heat removal so the driver doesnt melt
 
LED Colors:
18 - XT-E Royal Blue
18- XT-E Cool White
6 - XT-E Neutral White
6 - True Violet

I'm on a budget for this one (That's what i'm telling the wife) so I would like to keep it on 2 drivers. RB/Violet on one and whites on the other.
 
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I'm also planning to use T5 for some actinic lighting because I have the fixture and don't feel like selling it right now.
 
Do the opposite then. Use the T5 for the day and the LED for the supplement. The blue/rb/violet LEDs give pretty unique coloration that T5s can't ( or at least not as unique as the LED counterparts ) so concentrate your LED efforts on those and leave the more daylight for your T5s. At least that's what I'd do.

T5s for the day and strip in the front and strip in the back of LEDs. Your choice of what combinations of Blue / Royal Blue / Violet. Although since day will have some UV you could just stick with some Blues/ Royal Blues.
 
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David Grigor said:
Do the opposite then. Use the T5 for the day and the LED for the supplement. The blue/rb/violet LEDs give pretty unique coloration that T5s can't ( or at least not as unique as the LED counterparts ) so concentrate your LED efforts on those and leave the more daylight for your T5s. At least that's what I'd do.

T5s for the day and strip in the front and strip in the back of LEDs. Your choice of what combinations of Blue / Royal Blue / Violet. Although since day will have some UV you could just stick with some Blues/ Royal Blues.
Click to expand...

That is a good idea, but I'm thinking I want the led fixture to be able to be used without the T5 fixture just in case I change my mind. With that said I could do day bulbs with the t5 and keep the leds with white/blue/violet. Will probably have to try different t5 bulbs with this setup to see what I like.
 
Since your going to use aluminum frame instead of a big fat heatsink, just add a new strip of whites when you decide to sell the T5s. No need to waste $ on something you may or may not use anytime soon.

Use the bulbs you have, do a couple of blue/royal blue strips then go from there. Likely whatever white t5s your using now will work then just replace any blue ones with whites when they get old. Until it looks like you wanted it to.
 
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Changed my mind. The Hagen fixture is too bulky to try to work it into the design. I'm going to use the hagen 2 bulb fixture on my African Cichlid tank.
 
JayJeep said:
LED Colors:
18 - XT-E Royal Blue
18- XT-E Cool White
6 - XT-E Neutral White
6 - True Violet

I'm on a budget for this one (That's what i'm telling the wife) so I would like to keep it on 2 drivers. RB/Violet on one and whites on the other.
Click to expand...

I think your going to want more blue...
 
Had some time to draw it up on AutoCAD.

LEDLightTop.jpg


LEDLightBottom.jpg


The top picture shows the top of the fixture. The two blue boxes are the drivers. The bottom picture shows the LED layout.

Black Circle - CW
Blue Circle - RB
Yellow CIrcle - NW
Red Circle - Violet

I plan to have a splash guard just below the fixture. Also, planning to put in fans at the top of the canopy going out and venting the sides. I'm hoping to get the frame welded by a friend so that it will be sturdy.
 
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Regular Blue instead of some of the royal blue or add more leds to the blue string or replace some of the whites with blues/RB?

I can add 4 more blues to the blue string and have 28 on that driver.
 
Can't really tell how far apart those rails are but they probably should be right up against each other or very close. With that kind of distance, I would be worried they aren't going to blend very well.

I probably wouldn't weld anything, just use screws so you can rework the distances based on trial and error once it's up and running.

It does look like to many of the whites only becuase your probably want to use the space for other spectrums.

I know for my tank 72" long, I've got 26 UV and still isn't enough. They give corals a different flouresce than blue and royal blue that I really like but with that few you probably will never notice.
 
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