buying new setup and have questions on leds

[painkilla55]

i am buying a 75g setup with custom led setup 48" 48 leds whites and blues the white are 15k but i want to change them for closer to 50k i want to add reds and violets as well. lets just say i need help on the drivers and stuff im already spoiled to my vega and idk what to do . if someone could help me all advise is wanted and needed.
23642this is what i am buying and not sure what to do

[Big_Pun]

You know 20k is very blue so 50k would be crazy


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[350gt]

50 would be pink like those ghetto pink/purple hid lights on cars

[painkilla55]

im just trying to keep my corals happy my vega is what im trying to match i wish i could just buy a 2nd one but cant find any for reasonalbe prices and i cant afford brand new with new tank being bought i already need to sell my two tanks and have to renew my charter so i can post

[alton]

Build my Led has some crazy colors

[Big_Pun]

im just trying to keep my corals happy my vega is what im trying to match i wish i could just buy a 2nd one but cant find any for reasonalbe prices and i cant afford brand new with new tank being bought i already need to sell my two tanks and have to renew my charter so i can post

Time to slow down and focus on one tank. You won't be able to replicate the vega. So think about what you have and put together one nice system.


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[painkilla55]

23648these are what i am goin to be working with i need help with changins some leds to reds greens a nd violets

[Big_Pun]

23648these are what i am goin to be working with i need help with changins some leds to reds greens a nd violets

Be carefully on reds and greens they should be on there own channel as running them 100% will drown other colors and throw off spectrum. What your doing is not easy so be ready. Why don't you put vega on this tank?


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[Zack]

Be carefully on reds and greens they should be on there own channel as running them 100% will drown other colors and throw off spectrum. What your doing is not easy so be ready. Why don't you put vega on this tank?


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That and certain Leds can only take certain currents and voltage. Why not just add in strips of colored less on there on drivers?

[painkilla55]

i would love to run 2 vegas i just dont want to have to centralize my coral with one vega. and see this is why i post i need help with a diy leds id love to make it as full spectrum as possible if anyone knows what they are doing or can help me out i would love that.

[painkilla55]

The light is a 48 LED 4 strand array with 3 watts going to each LED. Each LED has a 60 degree lens completely covering the entirity of the tank. Each strand of LED's is connected to a driver allowing for a daytime/ nighttime timer setup. LED's are blue and white. This light set up will reach 200 PAR at the bottom of the Tank.

[Zack]

What current are the drivers being run at? You can get this by isolating the driver and checking with a potentiometer.

[painkilla55]

i dont know this is my first time into leds like this i have a ai vega so havnt had to venture into this but they came with the setup i bought

[BBQHILLBILLY]

diy leds are awesome, you can create anything you want

[Zack]

I'd check that first, are you trying to add on and keep the same drivers or do you mind adding another driver?

[Big_Pun]

diy leds are awesome, you can create anything you want

ya but they don't hold a candle to a quality fixture. pun intended

[BBQHILLBILLY]

ya but they don't hold a candle to a quality fixture. pun intended

No doubt about it, LED fixtures are trully awesome.

[Zack]

ya but they don't hold a candle to a quality fixture. pun intended

I was hoping you'd have said big- pun lol

[Big_Pun]

I was hoping you'd have said big- pun lol

Thought about it lol


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[painkilla55]

lol i dont mind adding another driver but i also wouldnt mind keeping my vega

[Zack]

I'm confused, what does this light have to do with the vega?

[painkilla55]

has nothing to do with the vega i have a vega now on my 50g i am getting these diy leds on wed just wanting to make them awesome, but some ppl said i should just use my vega

[BBQHILLBILLY]

do both, never stop yourself from what you want to do. If everybody did the same thing, nothing new would ever be created.:thumbs_up:

[350gt]

The vega works as is....

Ppl just dont give them enough time or use the wrong intensities..

I agree the violet is missing though... Im running two t5s along side mine to supplement the violet, or the lower end of the spectrum and been pleased...

Ive thought about a diy strip as i have a canopy and it really doesnt matter how ugly it looks... Was thinking about a 48" heat sink with violet and UV leds to replace my t5s.

I could always upgrade the pucks on my vegas but i dont want to take away from the leds that are on there. And like i said, they are working without other colors....

[apedroza]

Does anyone have experience with BUILDMYLED? Thinking of trying them for my 180g but they are pricy!!

[Zack]

There nice but you don't get a whole
lot for what you paid for.

[apedroza]

Yeah I've seen them in person and they look nice but the rep said I would need 5 fixtures to get the kind of lighting I'd need for corals. I've had halides but don't like the bulb cost and energy use they come with and I'd rather spend it on LEDs. Any other people using them on big tanks?

[ramsey]

You might check out Austin Reef Club. They're a sponsor there and also based in Austin. Their stuff looks really nice. 5 fixtures seems excessive. What are the dimensions of your tank?

[Flyride95]

I am using 3 of the Chinese led units that are full spectrum and dimmable over my 180 and they are turned up to 50%. Any higher and my nem starts to bleach out and so do a few other corals.


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[Flyride95]

They do not have the cool features like the Vegas or any of the big named. No wave effects or storms ect.


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[apedroza]

My tank is 60x24x30. It's the deepness that I'm concerned about. Will LEDs be stron enough to penetrate that deep? I've seen the fixtures and like them just wondering if there's a better option for around the same price.

[350gt]

Hydra fifty twos are made for deeper tanks...

[jcnkt_ellis]

It depends on what type of corals you are keeping and how low you want to grow them. The leds will be bright enough to illuminate your whole tank, but it will take extra units to effectively grow colorful softies on the sand bed, and even more units to grow SPS frags down that low. All the available big name units are designed to provide enough par for softies at the sand bed on a 24" high tank.

[350gt]

For reference, i have 3 ai vega's on a 60" tank and growing sps frags on the sand bed...

Lights are 10" awl and are not set at 100%, whites are only up to 30 now and blues at 80..

[jcnkt_ellis]

Your tank is also 24" high and par does not drop like a rock until it hits the waterline so 10" above it doesn't matter

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/1/aafeature provides the par output for AI vega

At 24" you are getting 50-100 par across your sand bed. Min par for most SPS to remain colored is this threshold. Ideal par range is about 400 with the limit at around 700. I'm at work, otherwise I'd link this site as well.

Per the output graph for the Vega at 30" deep his sand around his rock work would only get 0-50 par. 6" of water makes a big difference.

[350gt]

Not what the par meter read when i borrowed it..

I dont doubt 6" makes a big difference, thats why i mentioned the 52s which are made for deeper reefs..

[350gt]

This is when i had them lower at 8"

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww125/gsrt5/Parreadings.jpg (http://s712.photobucket.com/user/gsrt5/media/Parreadings.jpg.html)

[350gt]

You are right though, the sps frags on the sand are not growing like crazy but have awesome color, higher they get the faster they grow but color is not as great...

I think ai recommends them at 4-6" which will raise par on sand bed and throughout the tank.

[jcnkt_ellis]

That is great that your par meter showed above average results for your lights.

The problem is that the op is still dealing with a very deep tank. I looked at the spectral density graph for the hydra 52s posted on AI website. You get great par with the 50 degree lenses at 24" down but in a limited radius. If you had a tank that was six inches deeper, the radius would be even smaller. The fact is that the op will need more fixtures then someone with a tank that is the same footprint but 24" deep in order to get the same amount of par on the sand bed.

At the end of the day, you can grow anything on the sand bed with any big name fixture if you have enough of them. So, the question that needs to be answered is what does the op want to grow on the sand bed?


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[350gt]

Yes sir, thats why i just posted my par results for reference... I doubt he plans to grow sps on the sand bed but #'s are sometimes over rated and im sure the hydra 52 or any fixture will work for him..... # of units is up to him and his budget..

When i first got my units, some said leds will not grow sps on sand bed, others said they would never put leds over there aquarium.... Lol the majority of the site is now running leds of some kind...

[apedroza]

Another problem is that I have a center brace on my Tank will three still be sufficient?

[350gt]

With the right rock placement....

[jcnkt_ellis]

Three means one will be centered over the brace and you will have a noticeable dim strip across the middle

[jcnkt_ellis]

When i first got my units, some said leds will not grow sps on sand bed, others said they would never put leds over there aquarium.... Lol the majority of the site is now running leds of some kind...

Lol, I know...I have LEDs on my sps only tank and I wouldn't go back. Before I switched my 150 (48x24x30high) to freshwater, I looked at switching from halides to LEDs and had to back off because of budget. I was looking at getting 4'units minimum and they add up quickly...

[DrReef]

If you can afford Radions, that's the best way to go...


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[kkiel02]

Yep two would cover that 150 nicely. But they were like $650 when I bought mine. I would keep the radions about 24-30" apart. Mine easily cover 36" which is the front to back on my tank but that on the sand bed so if you have rock structures near the end of that dimension keep that in mind as you won't get coverage there(hope that made sense) . I am debating adding some kessils sort of like what Louis is doing at his store but keep in mind I only have one sps and it was a hitchhiker. :) I'm all zoas/palys and LPS.

[slepine08]

Reef Breeders look rather affordable compared to the AI's and have some great reviews....just saying.