MeepNand Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I love evil clusters! Even the name is great. But, alas, the bridgelux chips are too pricey and have weird forward currents and voltages, except the really big ones. And those are too big fro my tanks and budget. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 I love evil clusters! Even the name is great. But, alas, the bridgelux chips are too pricey and have weird forward currents and voltages, except the really big ones. And those are too big fro my tanks and budget. They are adjustable to pretty much any size. Link to comment
MeepNand Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Well, if I want one over a 10g, then I might as well just use an XML run at 9w instead of an array. Link to comment
reefone Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Jedimaster you should have aside build you one of those sweet enclosures for your light. Link to comment
MeepNand Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 It would look badass. I'm replacing the enclosure though. Aluminum should be here by tuesday. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Yeah, no thanks, but I'll keep it in mind. Oh wait, no I won't, my mind is too busy with Kate Upton in body paint. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 , just what's going on in my head right then Link to comment
McJosh13 Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Jedi, Where will you be sourcing the bridgelux leds and optics from? Link to comment
MeepNand Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 You can get them from mouser.com. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Jedi, Where will you be sourcing the bridgelux leds and optics from? You can get them from mouser.com. Newark.com is much cheaper for everything. I will be updating the OP soon with links to everything. Link to comment
eddiecorrea Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Shitty light and Radion. Not possible. As good as a custom led cluster? Probably not. But my time putting it together is worth well more than the $600 a Radion costs. I'm sure you are gonna spend about $300 on LED parts so there is a Radion Pro if I really wanted it. BTW I'm not saying this is a bad LED. It will probably blow a Radion out of the water. But it wouldn't be worth it to me as a Radion will easily sustain anything I can put in my tank. Link to comment
MeepNand Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Just checked Newark. Buy from there, not mouser. Newark is way cheaper and has optics. And the Radion is overpriced. 34 crees for $600 is a terrible price, especially because 4 of those are greens (useless). This doesn't take that long; you could finish it in an afternoon. For people that don't like DIY, then DIY is a bad choice. /endrant Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Ben, i hope you plan on wearing a good spf lotion in your place now... Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Well, if I want one over a 10g, then I might as well just use an XML run at 9w instead of an array. But the color on a Bridgelux is so much better than any XM-L. These aren't for everyone, but there is a good reason to at least look at these as an option. Just remember, Bridgelux != "Bridgelux" Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 But the color on a Bridgelux is so much better than any XM-L. These aren't for everyone, but there is a good reason to at least look at these as an option. Just remember, Bridgelux != "Bridgelux" Good god, I can't explain that enough to people! I've gotten several PMs here and on R2R of people asking why I want to use Bridgelux chips when I tell people not to use Bridgelux. That god-awful Aquastyle shit is NOT Bridgelux, except for the royal blue. Bridgelux does NOT make any '3w' LEDs that are white, only royal blue. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 That's why I "Bridgelux" You and I both know that, but explaining that to everyone else is almost like pulling teeth. We should totally be dentists. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Only if I get to use a hammer Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Got the stuff from Newark already!!! Link to comment
blasterman Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Evil has seen pretty much everything in the market, and also built the first Evil Cluster of course. I've also seen pretty much everything in the industry, and would happily put up a properly built 'Evil Cluster' against a Radion, AI, Maxspect, or anything with the typical distributed 2-3watt array anyday. Put 10 people in the room, don't tell them 'what's what', and see what's preferred. Oh wait.....Evil has kind of done that. The sheer 'impact' of seeing that much white light being generated with a reflector and having RB in a criss-cross pattern lights up a tank like nothing else, except maybe a 350 Kessil. On a smaller tank....meh. On a bigger tank though the light density of Kessil's and Evil Clusters seriously set them apart. It's an entirely different aethestic and far closer to how a halide looks, but with better color. 2-3watt based fixtures have a different look to them. Kind of....half fluorescent / half LED. Newark or Digi-key (same company?) for Bridgelux parts. The prices on the 1000-1500 lumen arrays are far better than Cree, and once you roll the numbers the XM-L doesn't walk away on better efficiency. For that matter, good luck finding an XM-L with the same same color as a Bridgelux. Link to comment
MeepNand Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Good god, I can't explain that enough to people! I've gotten several PMs here and on R2R of people asking why I want to use Bridgelux chips when I tell people not to use Bridgelux. That god-awful Aquastyle shit is NOT Bridgelux, except for the royal blue. Bridgelux does NOT make any '3w' LEDs that are white, only royal blue. Really? You should put a thread up and link it to your sig about "common misconceptions". Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Newark or Digi-key (same company?) for Bridgelux parts. The prices on the 1000-1500 lumen arrays are far better than Cree, and once you roll the numbers the XM-L doesn't walk away on better efficiency. For that matter, good luck finding an XM-L with the same same color as a Bridgelux. I think I remember you saying something about color consistency among the XM-L being an issue, right? And with my array, keeping to the same maximum power output levels, I would need about 12x XM-L chips at 2.8A over just the main tank. That's $8 each, roughly, and to drive them, I'd need two drivers along the lines of Meanwell ELN-60-27D to run them around 2.8A each, they're about $30 each. Optics are another buck apiece, so that brings the total to around $175ish, compared to the $95 it costs to buy and run the Bridgelux chips. Link to comment
Acielot Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Really? You should put a thread up and link it to your sig about "common misconceptions". Or even an "Introduction to LEDs" thread that discusses all the basics and touches on the advanced stuff then have a mod sticky it Link to comment
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