Full spectrum LED layouts

[uglybuckling]

Nice thread and great resource. I was going to add a note about passive heatsinks/fans. The reason most people want passive is because they want quite. If you want quite, the secret is getting the LARGEST fan you can running at the SLOWEST speed (RPM).

 

It boils down like this, you want to move heat off the heatsink, and do to that you need to move a volume of air. You can either move a small cross section very fast (small fan) or you can move a large cross section very slow (large fan). Fast air = noise. Fast moving parts (blade) = noise. So basically get the largest, slowest, fan that will fit on your heat sink.

 

This is a great explanation and is 100% true. Also applies to cabinet fans and fans on the water surface used for cooling. Avoid the tiny pissed-off hairdryers and buy those big old 120mm fans. Then run them at 10v or less rather than the 12v they're built for, and they're whisper quiet.

 

There are a few places you can get away with passive cooling of LEDs, but for these builds, particularly with the heavy use of 3up stars, I pretty much solidly recommend active cooling across the board.

[grinder143]

So I ordered 4 mean well eln 60-48D drivers. The fixture will be over a 40 breeder. I understand the clustering . My question is

 

Do you need optics for this shallow of a tank?

Would you recommend 3 up and OCW or individual led so they can be driven at a higher amp .

 

I want to mix this right with the tv and OCW as well as RBI and w. I am leaning towards the rebel led for rb and w. any recommendation on OCW and tv since these seem to have to run at 500 ma. Sorry this is all over the place . But.

[Purplemonkey]

So a question for the LED layout gurus: what do you recommend for a BC29?

 

Background: I've lurked these forums for the last 9 months or so watching/reading/learning about LEDs and I feel the tech has evolved to the point where I want to jump in. My BC29 is a mixed reef with a few sps (that somehow are alive under my stock lighting), LPS and zoos. The lid must stay on as happy wife=happy life.

 

Planned: 4 drivers - Meanwell 60-48D (NW and RB drivers controlled by ALC on RKL, OCW + TV manually dimmed on/off controlled by RKL)

 

1: 15 RB

2: 8 NW + 1 RB

3: 3 OCW (from Milad) driver at 500 mA

4: 8 TV

 

I want to cluster -- but I'm having trouble deciding between a massive cluster/2 clusters for excellent colour blending but some limited coverage vs mini clusters (one in each corner with 2 TV, 2 NW, 4 RB, OCW in a line down the middle) which might give some disco but good coverage

 

I know I have more LED's than necessary but I am starting to feel the SPS itch and don't want to have light as my limiter.

 

I plan on buying the kit, TVs and extra drivers from rapidled (comes with fans and everything else), OCW's from Milad, and a heatsink from whoever so I can drill and tap whatever cluster I end up going with.

 

Any thoughts/feedback is welcome. {I already have the RKL and ALC so I will be using those]

[Gahngoo]

First off I want to thank uglybuckling for your response. I completely agree with you on having the lights split up and I really hate how Red Sea designed the hood. I'm going to figure out a way to mount the fixture further forward. As for the drivers I'm going to use inventronics because they make one that will control min 6 LEDs. Also I will use 3ups to minimize disco and save space.

 

One other question, if I were able to fit a 5x20" heatsink in the middle of the hood somehow, which combination of LEDs would be best for my size tank. Which is 23x15 and 20" deep.

 

I just built a full spectrum setup for a friends red sea max. Its royal blues, natural white, ocean whites. Turned out pretty nice. Its my third led build, two of mine and now my friends. Anyway heres a pic of the electronics layout. Just in case anyone is looking for ideas... Also this is the only picture I took on my phone, but I can get pics of the led layout if anyone would like to see them. Btw. I kept the stock moonlights and relocated them to an aluminum strip along side the heat sink, now powered by an old nokia phone charger.

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

I just built a full spectrum setup for a friends red sea max. Its royal blues, natural white, ocean whites. Turned out pretty nice. Its my third led build, two of mine and now my friends. Anyway heres a pic of the electronics layout. Just in case anyone is looking for ideas... Also this is the only picture I took on my phone, but I can get pics of the led layout if anyone would like to see them.

 

Wow that looks really nice. You have a build thread somewhere?

[Gahngoo]

Wow that looks really nice. You have a build thread somewhere?

 

No build thread, I was just helping a friend out. He took some pics along the way, I'll check to see what he took. He bought all the components from you. I'm pretty particular when I build something, so I wanted this to be a clean setup. I ran out of shrink tube and had to use wire nuts on the power wires. That made it look sloppy. But he needed it asap, so I reluctantly left it that way.

 

Heres a full tank shot (with cell phone camera)... The colors in the pic are not accurate to real life. It looks nice in person. The ocean whites, when run alone, turn orange things blood red...pretty cool.

[jedimasterben]

So I ordered 4 mean well eln 60-48D drivers. The fixture will be over a 40 breeder. I understand the clustering . My question is

 

Do you need optics for this shallow of a tank?

Would you recommend 3 up and OCW or individual led so they can be driven at a higher amp .

 

I want to mix this right with the tv and OCW as well as RBI and w. I am leaning towards the rebel led for rb and w. any recommendation on OCW and tv since these seem to have to run at 500 ma. Sorry this is all over the place . But.

I don't run optics on my setup. I measured last night, 12" above the water's surface, and 25" from the sandbed. I've got a crocea clam on my sandbed whose white growth ring is continually expanding.

 

NW and RB Rebels can be ran at 1000ma, the OCW using Rebels is 700ma, as well as the SemiLED violet that Steve sells, they don't have the same heat issues.

 

So a question for the LED layout gurus: what do you recommend for a BC29?

 

Background: I've lurked these forums for the last 9 months or so watching/reading/learning about LEDs and I feel the tech has evolved to the point where I want to jump in. My BC29 is a mixed reef with a few sps (that somehow are alive under my stock lighting), LPS and zoos. The lid must stay on as happy wife=happy life.

 

Planned: 4 drivers - Meanwell 60-48D (NW and RB drivers controlled by ALC on RKL, OCW + TV manually dimmed on/off controlled by RKL)

 

1: 15 RB

2: 8 NW + 1 RB

3: 3 OCW (from Milad) driver at 500 mA

4: 8 TV

 

I want to cluster -- but I'm having trouble deciding between a massive cluster/2 clusters for excellent colour blending but some limited coverage vs mini clusters (one in each corner with 2 TV, 2 NW, 4 RB, OCW in a line down the middle) which might give some disco but good coverage

 

I know I have more LED's than necessary but I am starting to feel the SPS itch and don't want to have light as my limiter.

 

I plan on buying the kit, TVs and extra drivers from rapidled (comes with fans and everything else), OCW's from Milad, and a heatsink from whoever so I can drill and tap whatever cluster I end up going with.

 

Any thoughts/feedback is welcome. {I already have the RKL and ALC so I will be using those]

That's a ####ton for such a small tank. 6x NW, 12x RB, 3-4x OCW, and no more than 6x violet will keep SPS on your sandbed. Remember that the PAR measurements you've seen for LEDs in the past are not accurate at reading royal blue LEDs (some reports I read say as much as 30% off), and we don't have an accurate way to measure any violet LED, but they emit a ton of usable PAR.

 

Order your drivers from bravo electro, much cheaper on you. You'll need 1x ELN-30-24D (for NW), 1x ELN-60-48D (for RB), and 2x ELN-30-48D (for OCW and violet).

[Purplemonkey]

That's a ####ton for such a small tank. 6x NW, 12x RB, 3-4x OCW, and no more than 6x violet will keep SPS on your sandbed. Remember that the PAR measurements you've seen for LEDs in the past are not accurate at reading royal blue LEDs (some reports I read say as much as 30% off), and we don't have an accurate way to measure any violet LED, but they emit a ton of usable PAR.

 

Order your drivers from bravo electro, much cheaper on you. You'll need 1x ELN-30-24D (for NW), 1x ELN-60-48D (for RB), and 2x ELN-30-48D (for OCW and violet).

 

I knew I was going over board but not by that much! Thanks for the input and links on the drivers.

 

Any suggestions for clustering?

[jedimasterben]

I knew I was going over board but not by that much! Thanks for the input and links on the drivers.

 

Any suggestions for clustering?

Don't have to worry too much about clustering over such a small tank. Just make sure to get the NW and RB on 3up stars and you'll be set.

[rmatthews2269]

Wow that looks really nice. You have a build thread somewhere?

 

Milad

 

How does one know if I need optics on the build in question? Gahngoo told me to check with you.

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

Milad

 

How does one know if I need optics on the build in question? Gahngoo told me to check with you.

 

Here you go:

http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/pages/Choosing-...ight-optic.html

 

and a calculator if you need one:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=304152

[uglybuckling]

Generally for anything less than 6 inches off the top of the tank, I don't bother with optics.

 

Jedi runs his rig 12 inches off the top of the tank and doesn't use much in the way of optics either.

 

I have a new fixture that is going to be about 18 inches above the tank and I put 90 degree optics on it. We'll see how it goes.

 

Eventually I want to do a 20 or 30 foot vaulted ceiling over a 48 x 48 x 16" or 18" tank with mangroves growing out the middle of it. The optics for that, given that the LEDs will be mounted on the ceiling if I can help it, will probably be like 10 degrees. And I'll need a hell of a lot of LEDs. Also a much nicer house. =)

[uglybuckling]

I knew I was going over board but not by that much! Thanks for the input and links on the drivers.

 

Any suggestions for clustering?

 

I don't really know the dimensions of a BC29 or what heatsinks are available that fit in them (check with Milad or Steve, I think both of them sell retrofit kits of some type and might be willing to sell you just the heatsink).

 

That being said, Jedi's advice gets a +1 from me. Just make sure you cluster the RBs and NWs, and if you're using OCWs, be sure to cluster them too. And try to put some RBs near them. I usually try to put OCWs in the middle and RB-RB-NW 3ups and TVs around them. And don't worry about any of it too much over a tank that size. =)

[rmatthews2269]

Ok sounds good, my setup is like 3inches off the water and the sandbed is another 18inches from that. Wasn't sure so gahngoo said ask the guys in the know and someone would have an idea. Thanks

[ls7corvete]

I plan on upgrading my Aquapod 24g soon. I am going to put the LEDs in the stock hood. Here is my parts list;

 

1 x ELN-60-48D  LED Driver|AC/DC Power Supply|60 Watt|48 Volt|Dimmable (ELN-60-48D) = $24.50------------------------------------------------------Sub-Total: $24.50United Parcel Service (UPS Ground): $14.82Total: $39.32

 

Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive 5g	AATA-5G 	1 	$6.99 USD 	$6.99 USDCREE XT-E 3UP(Color: 2x Royal 1x Neutral)	XTE-2RB-1NW 	3 	$11.50 USD 	$34.50 USDHeatsink 4.23 inch(Length (Inches): 16)		1 	$28.56 USD 	$28.56 USDOcean Coral White(Optic Angle: 120°)	HH-3WP8RGB12 	2 	$6.88 USD 	$13.76 USDSubtotal: 	$83.81 USDShipping: 	$16.00 USDShipping Insurance: 	$2.89 USDGrand Total: 	$102.70 USD

 

I plan to run the two OCW's in parallel so they dont get pushed to hard, I doubt I will run at the full 1000ma. I also have a 9v wall wart that I plan to use to run the stock moon light, fan, submersible light (InTank) and use as the dimmable voltage reference.

 

While I am there I also plan to re-wire the hood so there is only one cord going to it. I can wire the lights to one switch, the pumps to one switch and the submersible and moon light to the third.

 

Thoughts? Will I be happy with a pattern something like 3up-OCW-3up-OCW-3up?

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

I plan on upgrading my Aquapod 24g soon. I am going to put the LEDs in the stock hood. Here is my parts list;

 

1 x ELN-60-48D  LED Driver|AC/DC Power Supply|60 Watt|48 Volt|Dimmable (ELN-60-48D) = $24.50------------------------------------------------------Sub-Total: $24.50United Parcel Service (UPS Ground): $14.82Total: $39.32

 

Why not get the 40w 700mA inventronics driver rather than the ELN. Much better driver (build quality is second to none) and you dont need a extra wall wart to run the dimming function.

 

Plus its cheaper when you consider the shipping charge.

[jedimasterben]

I plan on upgrading my Aquapod 24g soon. I am going to put the LEDs in the stock hood. Here is my parts list;

 

1 x ELN-60-48D  LED Driver|AC/DC Power Supply|60 Watt|48 Volt|Dimmable (ELN-60-48D) = $24.50------------------------------------------------------Sub-Total: $24.50United Parcel Service (UPS Ground): $14.82Total: $39.32

 

Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive 5g	AATA-5G 	1 	$6.99 USD 	$6.99 USDCREE XT-E 3UP(Color: 2x Royal 1x Neutral)	XTE-2RB-1NW 	3 	$11.50 USD 	$34.50 USDHeatsink 4.23 inch(Length (Inches): 16)		1 	$28.56 USD 	$28.56 USDOcean Coral White(Optic Angle: 120°)	HH-3WP8RGB12 	2 	$6.88 USD 	$13.76 USDSubtotal: 	$83.81 USDShipping: 	$16.00 USDShipping Insurance: 	$2.89 USDGrand Total: 	$102.70 USD

 

I plan to run the two OCW's in parallel so they dont get pushed to hard, I doubt I will run at the full 1000ma. I also have a 9v wall wart that I plan to use to run the stock moon light, fan, submersible light (InTank) and use as the dimmable voltage reference.

 

While I am there I also plan to re-wire the hood so there is only one cord going to it. I can wire the lights to one switch, the pumps to one switch and the submersible and moon light to the third.

 

Thoughts? Will I be happy with a pattern something like 3up-OCW-3up-OCW-3up?

You're gonna need more LEDs than that for a 24g tank.

[ls7corvete]

You're gonna need more LEDs than that for a 24g tank.

 

Hhmm, think so? I mean I knew it would be a lower light tank but I was thinking around 40w of LED vs 64w of CF would be a bit of an upgrade.

 

Why not get the 40w 700mA inventronics driver rather than the ELN. Much better driver (build quality is second to none) and you dont need a extra wall wart to run the dimming function.

 

Plus its cheaper when you consider the shipping charge.

Probably should have in hindsight. Good to know about the dimming, though I will need a DC source for the other lights/fans in the hood so not sure that helps much. Does the OCW do well at 700mA or do you still parallel them?

[JayPagi]

Thought I might take advantage of this thread and ask for some advice... if I wanted to convert to "Full Spectrum" from my current array what LED's should I purchase and what layout should I arrange them in?

 

My current set up is on 4.25" x 16" heatsink, 2 x Mean Well ELN-60-48D's on DIM4 Controller

 

1st row... RB CW RB CW RB CW RB

2nd row... ML CW RB RB CW ML

3rd row...CW RB CW RB CW RB CW

 

 

I would prefer to remove/replace some of the existing LED's rather than add and re-wire but I'm open to both options.

[jedimasterben]

Thought I might take advantage of this thread and ask for some advice... if I wanted to convert to "Full Spectrum" from my current array what LED's should I purchase and what layout should I arrange them in?

 

My current set up is on 4.25" x 16" heatsink, 2 x Mean Well ELN-60-48D's on DIM4 Controller

 

1st row... RB CW RB CW RB CW RB

2nd row... ML CW RB RB CW ML

3rd row...CW RB CW RB CW RB CW

 

 

I would prefer to remove/replace some of the existing LED's rather than add and re-wire but I'm open to both options.

So you've got 9x CW and 9x RB XP-E. ~250 lumens of output on the whites and about 1000mW of radiance on the royals, for each LED if you're running at 1000ma.

 

Your tank is 28"x14"x9", and for that size I would normally recommend 5x NW, 10x RB, 3x OCW, and 4-5x violet, but that would require more than just removing LEDs and such, and would need additional driver considerations if you wanted to control them separately.

 

Hhmm, think so? I mean I knew it would be a lower light tank but I was thinking around 40w of LED vs 64w of CF would be a bit of an upgrade.

I would add another pair of 3ups to the setup, as otherwise you'll beat the default configuration, but not by too much. Doesn't seem like that much more, but the additional LEDs will bring a ton of output that you would need double or triple the amount of PC to duplicate.

 

Probably should have in hindsight. Good to know about the dimming, though I will need a DC source for the other lights/fans in the hood so not sure that helps much. Does the OCW do well at 700mA or do you still parallel them?

Milad's OCW needs to be run at 500ma because of heat issues on the 3up stars, one reason I like to use Rebels for this.

[uglybuckling]

I've never run an OCW in parallel; I always just run them on a separate driver at lower amperage. Interesting idea though. Might have to try that trick in an up and coming build--I wonder if I could get all my LEDs on one driver like that. Not much control but oh so cheap. =) RBs and NWs at 1000, TVs and OCWs at 500 run in parallel. Of course parallel wiring of LED arrays brings up a whole pile of issues related to what happens if one LED in the line fails (you dump all the power on the string through the remaining LEDs; it usually fries them too.

[uglybuckling]

Thought I might take advantage of this thread and ask for some advice... if I wanted to convert to "Full Spectrum" from my current array what LED's should I purchase and what layout should I arrange them in?

 

My current set up is on 4.25" x 16" heatsink, 2 x Mean Well ELN-60-48D's on DIM4 Controller

 

1st row... RB CW RB CW RB CW RB

2nd row... ML CW RB RB CW ML

3rd row...CW RB CW RB CW RB CW

 

 

I would prefer to remove/replace some of the existing LED's rather than add and re-wire but I'm open to both options.

 

That's a super shallow tank and won't require a huge number of LEDs. I like Jedi's suggestions. Let's work with those:

 

5x NW

10x RB

3x OCW

4 true violet

 

You already have two ELN-60-48Ds. I'd use one of those for the royal blues (10 LEDs), and the other for a 500mA or 700mA chain including the OCWs (9 LEDs) and true violets (4 LEDs) (total of 13 LEDs on the second one).

 

I'd then buy a small driver capable of 1000mA that can go down to 15V to run five neutral white LEDs. A Meanwell ELN-60-27D would work well for this; the 25 and 40W Inventronics drivers only go up to 700mA. If this is cool by you, then a 25W Inventronics would work fine too.

 

You can use your current royal blues. I'd ditch the cool whites completely and replace them, as Jedi suggested, with some high-quality (Cree or Luxeon Rebel) neutral whites, around 5000K. Along with these other suggestions you should get much better color rendering, not to mention the fact that your corals will likely actually start showing better colors after a time, too.

 

So anyway, the plan I suggested would require purchase of one driver (a small one to drive five neutral whites) (~$30), as well as three OCW stars ($36), four true violet LEDs ($16) and five neutral white LEDs ($16). You should be able to use the same heatsink. There will be a good bit of rewiring involved. The Dim4 you already have should be fine to control 3 channels--one for blue, one for white, and one for everything else.

 

Edit: and a royal blue. You only have nine. Whoopsie. =)

[ls7corvete]

I've never run an OCW in parallel; I always just run them on a separate driver at lower amperage. Interesting idea though. Might have to try that trick in an up and coming build--I wonder if I could get all my LEDs on one driver like that. Not much control but oh so cheap. =) RBs and NWs at 1000, TVs and OCWs at 500 run in parallel. Of course parallel wiring of LED arrays brings up a whole pile of issues related to what happens if one LED in the line fails (you dump all the power on the string through the remaining LEDs; it usually fries them too.

One driver is the plan, dumping all the power through the remaining LEDs means....I lose one star. Oh well...

 

Always room for more LEDs (and eliminate parallel), plus I can tune the color temperature to my liking if I need to add more.

[GingerPolarBear]

Okay, so I have a 12 gal. Eclipse, which is a bit odd in size. It's 17.5" along the back, 10" on each side, 20.5" along the bow front (makes a trapezoidal shape), and 15.5" high. I was planning on running a fixture approx. 3" from the top, eventually in a custom canopy. Was thinking about a 12 X 6 heat sink and going with the Fig. 3 layout + 1 more OCW on 3 drivers. Would this be overkill? Is it enough? I would like to have enough light for a mixed coral reef. I do plan on getting the DIM-4 controller, but probably not all at the same time. And, possibly adding 3 RB's at some point for moon lights. What do you think?

 

Maybe something like this? (But, evenly spaced. Yeah, my artistic skillz are lacking!)

 

[uglybuckling]

That plan sounds pretty good; there's one thing I would change for sure: more clustering. I'd take the five on the right and cluster them, and the five on the left and do the same. The OCW in the middle can keep hanging out where he is. =)

 

I'd also consider dropping the middle OCW completely. The tank isn't that much bigger than a standard 10g, and should be fine with the 10g lighting setup. Furthermore, a ratio of four RB-RB-NW 3ups to three OCW 3ups is a whole lotta OCW. If you're using Luxeon Rebel-based OCWs that's gonna be a lot of cyan.

 

The clusters should leave six to eight inches total between them. So you'll have edge of tank; 2.5 inches of empty space; heatsink starts; 2 or 3 inches of LEDs; six or eight inches of bare heatsink (with an OCW in the middle); 2 or 3 inches of LEDs; end of heatsink; 2.5 inches of empty space, and the other edge of the tank. That gives you the 17.5 inches width that you described.

 

Jedi and I usually recommend a single white moonlight rather than multiple royal blue ones. Slightly less disturbing to the tank's occupants. It's also recommended to give a pretty reasonable period of total darkness.