Hello, I'm Italian (Rome), i have a Wave box Cube 30 these are the measures 11.82 x 11.82 x 13.79 inch.
Now i use a DIY 5 PL 18 W lighting, but i want to insert in my tank the SPS coral.

This is my tank:



Can you help me to project a new lighting for my tank ?

For buy LED i can use this site: http://www.dotlight.de/

THANKS A LOT

Bye
Luca

If thats the only place you can buy from (there are other good LED shops in Europe), they I would suggest 8 of these and 8 of these in a 4x4 array with alternating colors.

For drivers, you will need four of these (two for white and two for blue so you can adjust your color temperature), and use two of these dimmers to control them.

You will need to use a 24v power supply like this to power the whole deal.

There are other options available, but you will have to look at other stores. LED-Tech.de is another good source.

You will need a heatsink for this project also. Try and find something that is as big, or just a little smaller than the perimeter of your tank. Ebay is a good source for cheap reclaimed heatsinks.

ok.

Do you think that 4 + 4 LED is ok for my tank with SPS ?

Can i do these by myself ? There's a DYI project ?

Can i use any kind of Power supply with this characteristics 100Watt, 24 Volt, 4,5 Ampere ?

Do you think that i need of these ?

I can buy on any source in EU .... can you help me to choose the right source, vendor and model of the LED ?

THANKS

4+4 (8 LEDs)? No. You will need 4 x 4 (16 LEDs) for proper coverage.

There are some DIYs for drivers, but not with easy dimming capabilities. The drivers on that site are about the best option. You probably couldn't build them for much less than they are charging.

Any 24v power supply will work provided it has at least 4.5A capacity. And no, you don't need optics for this tank.

The Seoul LEDs I linked to earlier are just one option. Cree XR-Es and Luxeon Rebel and K2s are also other very good options. I'm not too familiar with other European vendors, but give LED-Tech.de a try.

you advise to buy these because with these i can dimmer the light ?

How i can dimmer ? Only with dimmer like these ?

If don't need to dimmer the power of the LED, can i buy these or these ?
The equivalent of non dimmerable costant current on the shop led-tech is these ?

How much LED i can power with these costant current circuit ?

Can i use these with these for put the LED on the heatsink ? I must buy 16 Star-PCB + 16 Heat-Conductive-Pads , right ?

THANKS A LOT FOR YOU PATIENCE !!!!

I personally think dimming control is very important, especially if you do not have the luxury of being able to adjust the height of the fixture to change the intensity. Also, dimming control of the seperate colors allows you to change the color temperature of the light, letting you go from 6500K to 40K (all blue).

I had linked the dimmer module for the Konlux driver in my first post.

You will only need the star pcb for the LEDs if you don't buy them pre mounted. The LEDs I linked to before are already mounted, and LED-Tech has options for buying them mounted also. The thermal adhesive pads can work. Bolting the pcb to the heatsink is prefered, as it has better thermal transfer properties, but it is a lot more work.

If you use the fixed current drivers, the number of LEDs you can drive will depend on the driver. For the first one you linked to, it can take up to 40v input which would allow you to run 10 LEDs. You won't find many 40v power supplies though. 36v is more common, and will limit you to 9 LEDs. The second driver will take a max of 24v input and will let you run up to 6 LEDs.

Ok, so the LEDs in this link are already mounted ?

If i don't use the thermal adesive, i must use this "Heat Conductive Glue Arctic Silver" so with this there is a thermal dissipation and the star is lock to the heatsink, rigth ?



The data sheet of Luxeon K2 led that you linked on the first say " Power Dissipation: 5,78 W (1500mA), 3,72 W (1000mA) " this is the watt ? So if i use this led i can attach 5 led on this, right ?

THANKS

Those LEDs are not mounted. The SSC P4 LEDs I linked to earlier are.



You can, but it's a far more permanent solution. At least with the adhesive pads you can remove the LEDs if they need to be replaced of moved.



Don't worry about watts. A watt is just a calculation of volts x amps. The K2 LED can run on anything from 350mA to 1500mA. The driver you linked can support anywhere from one to six of those LEDs.

Also, how i can put the LED to the heatsink?



If i see another driver, how i can know how much LED can supply ?
Which is the parameters to see ?

Do you think that this power supply is ok ?

The auction say :
Output DC voltage - 15/16/18/19/20/22/24/26V (adjustable);

Output DC current - 15/20 volt 5A. 22/26 volt 4A;

THANKS

Bye

hello, can anyone help me to my questions ?

THANKS A LOT!!!

For attaching the LEDs, it's already been answered. Yau actually replied to the answer. Either bolt it, epoxy it, or stick it down with the adhesive thermal pads.

The number of LEDs a driver can run is limited by the max voltage of the driver and the voltage of the power supply you use. The power supply you linked to has a max output of 24v, so you are limited to 6 LEDs (24v / 3.7v = ~6)

excuse me, but i don't understand .

In your first answer you linked this . How much of this power supply i must buy for 8+8 LEDs ?? Three ???

THANKS A LOT

Bye

You would need only one, but you would need three drivers. Lets see if I can explain this a little better.

So, to run LEDs you need a driver. The driver needs a power supply. The driver has a maximum input voltage that will set the maximum number of LEDs that it can run. With the example of the Konlux driver that was linked to before, it can take a maximum of 30v in. If you happened to find a 30v power supply, you could run 8 LEDs per driver (3.vf x 8 = 29.6v). Unfortunately, 30v power supplies are not very common, and certainly not cheap. 24v power supplies are much more common and very cheap. If you were to use one of these with the Konlux driver, you would only be able to run 6 LEDs (3.7vf x 6 = 22.2v), because the voltage of your power supply is now the limiting factor.

It depends heavily on the forward voltage Vf of the LEDs you are using.

You cannot drive more than a certain amount of forward voltage with any particular voltage supply.

Example: If you have 3.2V LEDs four in series would add up to 3.2V+3.2V+3.2V+3.2V = 12.8V

Since this forward voltage sum exceeds a 12V supply very likely the LEDs would not even glow. The supply voltage has to exceed the sum of all the LED's Vf in series by a finite amount. Typically a 1V or so. This 1V would be called "head room" and is the voltage your driver(possibly a BuckPuck) would work with to regulate the current to whatever it's data sheet specifies.

This means that if you stick with your 12V supply and if your LED's Vf is 3.2V you would only be able to use three in series to leave some head room for the driver.

This means with 16 LEDs you'd need 4 drivers to provide the 4 x 4 LED strings.

This gets pretty pricey. This is why you want a higher supply voltage. A 24V supply would allow 24V/3.2V = 7 LEDs in a string.


Alternatively you can use a 32V or 48V supply as suggested. Now 32V/3.2V = 10 per string. BUT(!) you have to keep in mind the "head room" I mentioned and since 10 LEDs leaves NO head room you must use only 9 LEDs per string.

This goes on up in a continuing manner. Furthermore driver availabilities start topping out at these higher voltages and become harder to find.

Streetlights sometimes run 80 to 100V strings of LEDs. But they are an engineered device meeting special requirements.

So protect your investment in LEDs is to dump that 12V supply.

Get a 36V or 48V supply.

Look up the Vf for your LEDs and do the math I showed above.

Then get the number of BuckPucks you need to do the job for however many strings you arrive at.

This is the only way to properly protect and drive these more expensive high power LEDs


I hope this helps...

just remember that buckpucks have a max of 6 LEDs (of the 3w variety) run in series. so a 24v powersupply is the most that you will ever need. most power supplies put out more than what is stated. for example, the potrans 6.5a 24v powersupply actually is churning out 29.6v. plenty of head room

Listen to Evil, he is the LED king*.

if i understand right,

i buy 8 white k2 + 8 royal blue LEDs

3 of this

3 of this

OK?

THANKS A LOT.

Three drivers, yes. Three power supplies, not necessarily. The power supply has enough current to run up to four drivers at 1000mA. There is nothing stopping you from running three power supplies, but it's not required.

ok summarizing, i must buy :

- 8 white k2 alredy mounted to star
- 8 royal blue LEDs
1 of this
3 or 4 of this

OK?

THANKS A LOT.

That'll work.

Excuse me for my infinite question....

I am very confused on the difference between the brand of the LED, which are the best ?

- Luxeon K2 with TFFC LXK2-PWC4-0200 without star 7,95 €
Lumen max.: 300
Kelvin typ.: 6500
mA max.: 1500 mA
Watt: 3,7 W

- Luxeon REBEL LXML-PWC1-0100 on star 6,89 €
Lumen max.: 180
Kelvin typ.: 6500
mA max.: 700 mA
Watt: 1,1 W

- CREE XR-E 7090 R2 on Star PCB XREWHT-L1-WG-R2 8,99 €
Lumen max.: 242
Kelvin min.: 5700
Kelvin max.: 6350
mA max.: 1000 mA
Watt: 1,23 W
Suppose that my project is 10 LEDs white e 10 LEDs royal blue.

Solution for the white LEDs :

1) Luxeon K2 without star
10 * 7.95 € = 79.50 €
with current at 1000mA i have 220lm (10*220lm = 2200lm)
3.7W * 10 = 37 W

2) Luxeon REBEL with star
10 * 6.89 € = 68,90 €
with a current at 500mA i suppose 150lm (10*150lm = 1500lm)
1.1W * 10 = 11W

3) CREE XR-E 7090 R2 on the star
10 * 8.99 € = 89.90 €
with a current at 750mA i suppose 190lm (10*190lm = 1900lm)
1,23 W * 10 = 12.30 W

Suppose that for my tank with SPS i need of 2200lm of white LEDs.

With Luxeon K2 the initial cost is 79.50 € , the consummated current are 37W, with 2200lm. TOTAL 79.50 € but i consume only 37W.

With the Rebel i cheap the initial cost (LEDs) and the consummated current, but i have 1500lm for arrive to 2100lm i must add 4 LEDs that cost 27,56€ add another constant current for 12 € and if i put the Lense, i must add 4 * 2€ = 8€ of lense. TOTAL 96.46 € + 12€ CC + 8€ LENSE = 116.46 € but i consume only 15W.

With the CREE the initial cost (LEDs) is major but the consummated current are less, but i have 1900lm for arrive to 2100lm i must add 1 LEDs that cost 8,99€ and if i put the Lense, i must add 1 * 2€ = 2€ of lense. TOTAL 99€ + 1 LENSE 2€ . But i consume only 13.60 W.

Using the rapport of 1 withe LEDs and 1 royalblu LEDs, Fore the Solution 2-3 i must add other constant current for the consequent major number of the blu LEDs .

If the characteristics of color is egual, and i suppose that the consumated current between white LEDs e blue LEDs, of egual brand, is the same i have that:

Solution 1 (k2) = 74 W initial cost is 79.50 €
Solution 2 (Rebel) = 30W but initial cost is 116.46 €
Solution 3 (CREE) = 27 W but initial cost is 101 €

What do you think ? Can you help me to the right choose ?

THANKS A LOT.

Bye

Your power numbers aren't right (where did you get them from?). All those LEDs when driven at the same current will have about the same wattage (watts = volts x current). All of those LEDs will have about the same light output at the same current. All of them will give you about the same overall performance in the long run. Go with the LED that is readily available to you, cost effective, and has the best selection of support components (like lenses, comes mounted, etc...).

There are some advantages to certain LEDs though. The XR-E and K2 can both be driven at higher currents if need be than the Rebel. The XR-E and Rebel runs a little cooler at the same drive current than the K2. The XR-E series also has a higher output royal blue than the Luxeon LEDs.

I found this data on the techincal information of the LEDs on the site of the seller.

What do you think if buy the lenses at 45° for concentrate the light ? My SPS will receive more light . No ?

THANKS A LOT

Bye

Using 45 degree optics will raise the light, but reduce the coverage. It will give your sps more light, but possibly to the point of too much considering how shallow your tank is. It will also be far too much for any other type of coral. Things will die fast unless you can dim the array, but that defeats the purpose of using the optics. For a tank your size, there is no good reason for using any type of optic.

Hello, i found this LED CREE in discount:

12 x Cree XR-E R2 (WG) Emitter on Premium Star link : http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15943
12 x Blue CREE LED Emitter (20mm 3.2~3.4V) link: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1775

Ship free in worlwide.

grand total: $104.38

With the actual change it cost to me € 72.57 .

What do you think ? I read that the CREE R2 is better then the Luxeon K2......

I use 1:1 realtionship between light blu e white ?

THANKS A LOT

Bye

Whites are ok. Blues, not so much. They are a much older generation of Cree LED and don't have the same output as the XR-Es. Try and find Cree XR-E Royals Blues. Try ordering from Cutter Electronics in Australia. They will have everything you need with decent prices and shipping times around the world.

Hello, this is the news of my project:

I bought:

- 12 x Cree XR-E R2





- 10 LED royalblu CREE byLuxleds.de http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

- 4 LM317 and 4 resistor for make a cheap constant current circuit.

- 2 Power supply for notebook 24V 2.5A. http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

- 1 big heat sink





- Plexyglass for put the HeatSink on the tank





At work finished







And now....

ELECTRICAL LINK:








The first power on !!!!!


ONLY WHITE:




FULL:




Now i must mount 2 Fun 80x80 and put the new light on the tank

how do you find going the CHEAP lm317 road went for you? what current are you running them at?? does the lm317 get to hot or does the heatsiink keep it cool?

on the LM317 datatsheet there is the scheme and the instructions to calculate the ohm of the resistor based on the mA OUT .

In this configuration the LM don't are hot, you can also don't put them on the heatsink.... but is good keep it cool.

Be extremely careful with how you have the LM317's mounted to the heatsink. The tab on those are usually VOUT, so you run the risk of grounding the regulator output if they are not properly isolated from the heatsink. This is a very big concern considering that you mounted metal DC power sockets directly to the heatsink.

i know this, have isolated all

THANKS

Ciao!

Il vostro carro armato è bello!

Scusi, mio italiano non è buono.

Sono italiano ma ho vissuto in America poiché nascevo. Vivrò in Napoli presto.

Is it hard to be in this hobby in Italy? Ho un Elos mini, sto andando portarmelo con.

Trying my hardest to perfect my Italian before I move, I have about 2 years to do so.. also, if you could reccomend me a better newspaper to read than La Repubblica, I'd appreciate it!

Man it's bad when I re-read my own italian and can tell which verbs I used wrong! Andare = not the right verb in that sentence is it? I really gotta get on the ball here lol.

Good. Just watching out for ya

???



It's not so hard, but in Italy thereisn't big choice of koral like in USA !



http://www.corriere.it/

Today buy 2 x Fan NB XC1 80mm only18db

Apparently my translator made "tank" be:



Instead of:



Gotta love English.

In other words: l'acquario e non il carro armato


Oh! E potete mostarci una fotagrafia di intero acquario?

È molto bene!

Ladies and Gentlemen :-D :-D :-D

The LED LIGTH:








Mounted on the tank:







Good light ....more power and more brilliant


Excuse me for the bad foto... but the photocamera is power down and i use a nokia n70. :-)

Perfetto! Voglio quello.

hows the coral going mate? hows the lm317's

This is the last photo:












How you can see, the last montipora becoming purple .

All other SPS that i insert in the last mount like Millepora, Montipora Stellata, Acropora retained their colors.

Hello Guy,
i write this post for update my tank.......

Panoramic:




some detail:


















...... and because want improve the performance of my LED light.

Because my Nanoreef, how you can see, is for SPS, i need more light as possible (like using optics) and i want improve the color (like using red, green or UV led) .

I try to read some post but my english is bad and not always understand it ...

Can you help me ?

THANKS A LOT ;-)

Before you start with changing the LED setup, I'd get your calcium up a little higher. Do you dose manually or automatically? Water parameters seem to be more important with LEDs than other light sources. Making sure they stay where they need to be, and kept constant will help a lot with color and growth.

If you want to change the LED setup, I'd advise you find a PAR/Quantum meter to borrow from a fellow reefer, or a reef club. This will show you where you stand, and will let you see the changes if you modify your setup. I would advise against red LEDs, as they are extremely overpowering. A warmer white color temp is much more subtle. I would also suggest cyan opposed to green. It blends a little easier into the tank color. UV is touchy right now, as we don't know exactly what we need in terms of wavelength and power output.

ok i keep constant the parameters.

How much bring up the calcium ? only Ca ? Mg and KH ?

I use ProlabMarine A+B and dose it manually.



excuse me, but my english is bad and i don't understand.

why not use red led ?

you think that a warmer white is better ?

you suggest me cyan led opposed to green ... 1 or 2 ? can you post me a link to this led ?

you don't advice UV led ? can you post me a link to this led ?

Don't advice the use of lens 40 degree ? which lens is good ? which brand ?

THANKS A LOTTTT !!!!!! :-D

Well, maybe you don't need to change calcium. What could be a bigger problem is if the values swing up and down. How often do you dose?

You don't want to use red LEDs because the bright red lines throughout your tank will make you sick. I tried once and it was horrible. A neutral or warm white adds more red compared to a cool white, so it's not as noticable, and won't make you ill.

For the number of cyan LEDs to use, it will be up to you to test and see what works best for you.

I can't recommend you a good UV LED, as I don't know what is required of it. The ones that I think will be close will be almost $100 each.

I don't think you are going to need optics on your tank honestly. If you want a little increase in your output, you can try some 80 degree lenses. There are many manufacturers, including Cree that make good lenses.

I dose 3ml of ProlabMarine A+B for day....

i change 4 liters of salt water every 7-10 days



OK thanks



ok... i must take a cyan led with 480nm ... right ?



will be almost $100 each

if i put this http://cgi.ebay.it/100X-5mm-Ultra-Violet-U...=item5ad677a4f7



Because, how you can see, i have a lot of SPS Acropora that need a lot of light. Like i have a 250W MH.
I think, with lenses i have more light.
What do you think of this http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=626 ?


THANKS A LOT , everything I've done to improve the light of my aquarium was thanks to you ;-)

for add some red, what do you think ?

this http://www.bizetashop.it/index.php/Rebel-P...bizeta.tpl.html

or this http://www.bizetashop.it/index.php/Rebel-P...bizeta.tpl.html

for cyan led this is ok ?

http://www.bizetashop.it/index.php/Rebel-P...bizeta.tpl.html

Luxeon Rebels are good LEDs. For the whites, the neutral whites (first link) will add less red than the warm whites (second link). You will have to experiment to see which one and in what quantity gives you the results you are looking for.

another little question, which is the right balance between LED 6000-6500°K / LED Royal Blu / LED Blu / LED Cyan ?

what do you think of insert one of this
http://www.bizetashop.it/index.php/AculedP...bizeta.tpl.html LED UV on the center ?

For a my friends, what do you think of this lens http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=625 ?

and this http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...IT#ht_500wt_977 ?

This lens is good ?

THANKS A LOT !!!!

Keep the whites and the blues in a 1:1 balance. Add the cyan LEDs a few at a time. You may not need many to get the effect you want. For the UV LED, a single one isn't going to make much, if any difference. I wouldn't bother with them at this time honestly.

The two lenses you linked to are the same. They work well. They are nice and easy to install too.