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8G Biocube full spectrum led build


seniorgreenpants

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seniorgreenpants

so im looking to get my feet wet with my first led build. its gonna based on the ecotech radion fixture. ive seen them in person and deff. liking.

 

first, my heatsink will be 4.25" x 9" should beable to make the fit under the hood.

 

second, id like to use the dim4 for dimming (duh :o )

 

third, leds. i want to use about a 2:1 of blue's to white. some green and some deep red

 

forth, my drivers id like to have 2 25w 850ma dimmable's and 1 25w 1250ma dimmable. from thomas research.

 

i thought about wiring up 4 cree xp-e blues, 1 osram red and 1 cree xp-e green to one 850ma

4 cree xt-e royal blues 1 osram red and 1 cree xp-e green to the other 850ma

and 4 cree xp-g cool whites to the 1250ma

 

talked to evilc66. he said run the blues on one 850 ma, royals on the other, and whites on the 1250. tie the blues together, and run reds on one channel and greens on the other.

 

i like that idea but dont want 3 greens and 3 reds. but i might have too.

 

he also said i can get 700ma drivers instead and not have any problems. so im wondering if i should tie the greens and reds to blues. or run them seperately. if i run them seperately i might get some 3-ups. just like " its a me, mario!"... ha but only cause i was planning on having 16 or so leds on my heatsink.

 

also what about optics. if i use the 3ups i can only get 40 deg. the others except for red i can go 40,60 or 80 degree?

 

so maybe someones .02 cents?

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Milad LEDGroupBuy.com

So there are a couple suggestions here..

 

3UPs as you can imagine are ideal for your situation. 2:1 ratio of XTE Royals and Neutral Whites. One star gives it to you all.

 

What I would suggest on the "green" and "red" is that you don't go copy the radion. We carry these but what we find is the 495nm Turquoise and 660nm Red together are much better than a green + red. They really bring out the colors of corals. Take a peek at this thread: Full Spectrum Builds

 

As you can see, the colors of corals on the tanks using the 495nm Turquoise and 660nm REALLY make a huge impact. Those builds will hands down out match the radion.

 

All our Exotics come with matched optics (built into the LED board) rather than secondary optics which reduce the efficiency.

 

For the 3UPs, currently on the 2RB to 1NW there are only 40 degree optics or no optics (120degree). If your light is under 20" from the sand bed you don't need optics on the 3UPs.

 

The driver situation, you can take a look at Inventroincs, they are the manufacturer for thomas research. We carry the ones matched nicely for the Exotics and CREEs. 700mA for XTE and up to 2100mA for the XML which is about 70% which is the ideal for LEDs to stay cool and increase their lifespan.

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seniorgreenpants
So there are a couple suggestions here..

 

3UPs as you can imagine are ideal for your situation. 2:1 ratio of XTE Royals and Neutral Whites. One star gives it to you all.

 

What I would suggest on the "green" and "red" is that you don't go copy the radion. We carry these but what we find is the 495nm Turquoise and 660nm Red together are much better than a green + red. They really bring out the colors of corals. Take a peek at this thread: Full Spectrum Builds

 

As you can see, the colors of corals on the tanks using the 495nm Turquoise and 660nm REALLY make a huge impact. Those builds will hands down out match the radion.

 

All our Exotics come with matched optics (built into the LED board) rather than secondary optics which reduce the efficiency.

 

For the 3UPs, currently on the 2RB to 1NW there are only 40 degree optics or no optics (120degree). If your light is under 20" from the sand bed you don't need optics on the 3UPs.

 

The driver situation, you can take a look at Inventroincs, they are the manufacturer for thomas research. We carry the ones matched nicely for the Exotics and CREEs. 700mA for XTE and up to 2100mA for the XML which is about 70% which is the ideal for LEDs to stay cool and increase their lifespan.

 

Im tracking the Full Spectrum Builds, and getting the ghist (sp?) of the colors. Also my LEDs are only 3-4" away from the waters surface. So im thinking ,after further reading, optics are not needed.

 

I was looking into the Turquoise/ Cyan. maybe mixing them. and yes the 660nm Red still. Also the 3UPs were nice because if i needed to add the TV's i would have some spots left on my heatsink.

 

I ordered yesterday 3 drivers. 2 25w 700ma dimmable Thomas Research Products, and One 25w 1040ma dimmable Thomas Research Products.

 

Could i mix 2 Turquoise/ Cyans with one Green XP-E? or should i just use the Turquoise/ Cyan? still up in the air about the which color. The Turquoise is strong in 495nm (Im thinking Turquoise might still have some nm's left but peaking right at 495nm), Cyan is strong from 490-520nm, and Green tops it out at 520-535nm. Seems like Cyan is my strongest contender. Maybe with a hint of Green thrown in but is the 15nm really needed or worth it?

So that leaves my build with up to 7 Whites Cool or Netual (depents about using 3UPS) or both. up to 22 Blues/Royal Blues, three leds close to the 500nm spectrum. And three 600nm+ leds. with the posibility to add some TV.

 

Questions about the TV. If i added them, id like to dim them but i have all the Channels on the Dim4 used one for Whites. One for Blues, One For 500nm's and one for 600+nm's. So could i use the TV all the time? like "moonlights" with total darkness at some point? I was gonna still use the 2 stock moonlights in the hood, are they close to the same spectrum? Thanks for you help im still planning all this out and getting alot of info but still always more questions. :D

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Milad LEDGroupBuy.com

I wouldn't use the TVs as moonlights because even though they produce very little light, they effect the corals alot. They are in the range where your eyes can almost not see the light.

 

Cyan being strong in 490-520 (which I dont think it is, I believe its normally distributed over that range which would make it something like a 505) doesnt make it a strong contender. 495nm is the sweet spot for the colors. Orange/Red florescent peak at 490-495nm.

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seniorgreenpants

DANG Milad. Thanks for responding so fast.

 

Okay sounds good. Ill get the Turquoise. Can they be ran at 500ma? Whats the max for them? How bout the Reds?

 

Can you drive less than 3 LED's on the Dim4 directly? Like 2? or how bout more? like 4? 5?

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Milad LEDGroupBuy.com
DANG Milad. Thanks for responding so fast.

 

Okay sounds good. Ill get the Turquoise. Can they be ran at 500ma? Whats the max for them? How bout the Reds?

 

Can you drive less than 3 LED's on the Dim4 directly? Like 2? or how bout more? like 4? 5?

 

For the DIM4 you should really do 3 in series, thats the sweet spot. It will deliver 10v so at a certain point something bad could happen if it maxes out the LEDs.

 

Turquoise at 500mA will be plenty of light. They are there for aesthetics so even at 500mA they will make a big difference. Less is more in this case. Max is 700mA but 500mA is 70% which is what we recommend.

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seniorgreenpants

Using the Dim4. Id need one relay for Whites, and can i just use one relay for the Blues and tie 2 drivers to the one? Can the relay handle that?.

 

Should i run all the LED's at the standard 120 degree optics?

 

Also what about buying LED's in singles? Cause i only need 3reds and 3 greens but to get those #'s i have to buy 2 sets of 2. That leaves me with extras. And depending on how this build goes i might not do another, or have a reason to do another.

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Milad LEDGroupBuy.com
Using the Dim4. Id need one relay for Whites, and can i just use one relay for the Blues and tie 2 drivers to the one? Can the relay handle that?.

 

Should i run all the LED's at the standard 120 degree optics?

 

Also what about buying LED's in singles? Cause i only need 3reds and 3 greens but to get those #'s i have to buy 2 sets of 2. That leaves me with extras. And depending on how this build goes i might not do another, or have a reason to do another.

 

I would go with the 120 degree optics instead. It will be fine for your tank.

The Relay can handle multiple drivers. They however will be turned on/off at the same time if they are on the same relay.

 

To keep the prices low we have to package them from the factory in twos to keep overhead down. For 95% of people this is fine but for 5% that need singles every once in awhile its not ideal.

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seniorgreenpants

Perfect on the drivers. Like i said i was gonna wire the Royal Blues and Blues together. That would be channel one, Channel 2 would be Whites, Neutral and Cools mixed, Channel three would be Turquoise, and lastly Channel Four for Reds. Both 3 and 4 would be for direct drive leds, Maybe wire one fan into the Relay channel for Blues and one fan into the relay channel for Whites.

 

Depending on heat though from the Blues Reds and Turquoise might need both fans on at the same time. then when Whites turn on there would still be enough cooling for them aswell.

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Milad LEDGroupBuy.com
OH also when do you expect 3UPs to come in?

 

Thinking ill order everything this week

 

Nothing should be on back order by the end of next week... hopefully.

 

Basically only pre order items are the U2 XML, XTE RB and 3UPs right now.

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  • 2 years later...
seniorgreenpants

So after ONE year of anticipation I have More info on my build, with pics to come later once I figure out how to do that one.....

 

For my build I have

 

~ A 4.25" x 9" Heat sink Drilled and Tapped for 12 leds....Added 6 more spots in between the pre-drilled led spots, for a grand total of 18 spots for leds

 

~3 660nm Deep Red Exotic Leds @120 Degree Optics

 

~3 495nm Turquoise Exotic Leds @120 Degree Optics

 

~4 3up XT-3 w/ 2 XT-E Royal Blue's and 1 XT-E Neutral White

 

~6 Blue XP-E Leds

 

~2 25w 700ma Dimmable Thomas Research Products Led Drivers

 

~1 25w 1040ma Dimmable Thomas Research Products Led Driver

 

~5ft 18ga 8 Conductor Bulk Wire

 

~5ft 22ga 8 Conductor Bulk Wire

 

~1 DIM4

 

~2 DIM4 Relays

 

~2 DIM4 Relay Sockets

 

~1 5v 12a Power Supply

 

~1 Aluminum Project Box

 

Im running The 8 Royal Blues on one 25w 700ma Driver and the other 6 Blues on the other 700ma driver

 

The Whites are getting ran on the 25w 1040ma Driver

 

The Reds are being powered by the DIM4

 

The Turquoise are also being powered by the DIM4

 

Pictures and Write-up to follow.....

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