Jump to content
Pod Your Reef

HM's Evil Cluster Build


HM3105

Recommended Posts

Hello all,

 

I was wondering if you kind folks would mind helping me build my first ever DIY LED project. I’ve been researching the “Evil Cluster” and really love the idea. The plan is for two of these to go over a 40B mixed reef.

 

Here is my final build list with links.

 

- 2x Bridgelux - BXRA-40E0950-B-03 - Newark
- 4x Luxeon M Royal Blue 12 Watts - Steve's LEDs
- 4x Cree XP-E Blue - LED Group Buy
- 2x Luxeon ES Cyan - Steve's LEDs
- 6x Exotic Hyper Violet LED Group Buy
- 6x True Violet LED Group Buy
- 2x 74 degree reflect for Bridgelux - Mouser
- 4x 63 degree reflector for Lux M. Steves LEDs
- 18x 60 degree reflector for XP-E, Lux ES, Exotic - LED Group Buy
- 2x LED holders for Bridgelux chips - Mouser
- 1x Storm X Controller LED Group Buy
- 5x 1000MA LDD Meanwell drivers LED Group Buy
- 3x 700MA LDD Meanwell driver LED Group Buy
- 1x 5 up LDD Board – LED Group Buy
- 1x Meanwell HLG-240H-48A - bought mine from Jedi, copy and paste into Google and you'll find places to buy it. - Its IP65 rated which means its safer around water.

- 2x 8.45 x 9 T-Slot Heat sink Heat Sink USA
- 2x 120MM Fans LED Group Buy
- 1x Power supply for fans – LED Group Buy

- 1x Artic Silver Cermique 2 thermal grease - LED Group Buy

- 1x 40 watt soldering iron (Amazon)

- 1x Multimeter

- 1x 63/37 0.032" solder (Amazon)

- 1x "helping hands" (Amazon)

- 50ft each - red and black 22 awg stranded - to run between the LEDs (local)

- 15ft 18 awg sprinkler wire from Lowes. (its 10x 18 awg wires individually wrapped INSIDE of a big casing) This is only to run between the LDDs to the LEDs. (local)

- 100 #4-1/2 machine screws and nuts (local)

- 50 #4 nylon washers (local) These go between the screw and the LED chip when affixing them to the heat sink.

- 2x project boxes, one for the Storm controller and one for the LDD board. Skip it for the Storm and just buy the 3D printed one. (Amazon)

 

 

I apologize in advance if all of this has been covered a million times already, I was trying to find all of these answers on my own and the more I read the more my conclusions didn’t seem to make sense so I decided it was time to ask the experts.

 

Thank you in advance

 

Link to comment
  • Replies 64
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Use cree XP-E chips for cool blue. The luxeons have a cyanish hue to them.

 

There's no advantage in two Luxeon M NW boards over a Bridgelux NW board.

Link to comment

How high are you planning to hang this? If you are using 60* optics, I'd plan on at least 14". At 10" above the water (restricted due to canopy), the 60* were too tight on my 40. I would strongly consider going without optics, if you have a canopy. I tried a test fixture of two clusters of (3RB,2HV,2NW,1CW) with 60* optics on everything, and measured (UNCORRECTED!) ~175 par 24" below the light, 380 par 18" below the light, and 560 par at 12"--at 700mA on everything (this was just me messing around with a PAR meter). Problem was that PAR dropped of significantly if you moved 6" away. At 18", PAR was 380 directly underneath the center of the two clusters. If I moved 8" out, it dropped to 100. All this to say, for proper coverage using the 60* optics and reflectors, you will probably have to have 4 clusters, and dim them WAY down, unless you can hang them REALLY high. And by dimming them that far down, you may not be happy with the visual aspect.

Link to comment
jedimasterben

There actually is a difference between the BXRA and M - the BXRA has superior color compared to the 5K M.

 

2x BXRA-40E950-B-03

4x Luxeon M RB

4x Rebel blue or XP-E blue

2x Rebel cyan

8-12x LEDDGroupBuy hyper violet

 

LDD drivers are superior to the CAT4101-based drivers. You'd need 4x 1000mA and 1x 700mA, and a 48v power supply that gives at least 5A.

 

They'll need to be hung fairly high to have the proper spread (around 16-18" off the water).

 

I would space them out a bit more than 10", other wise you'll have a hotspot in the middle.

Link to comment
There actually is a difference between the BXRA and M - the BXRA has superior color compared to the 5K M.

 

2x BXRA-40E950-B-03

4x Luxeon M RB

4x Rebel blue or XP-E blue

2x Rebel cyan

8-12x LEDDGroupBuy hyper violet

 

LDD drivers are superior to the CAT4101-based drivers. You'd need 4x 1000mA and 1x 700mA, and a 48v power supply that gives at least 5A.

 

They'll need to be hung fairly high to have the proper spread (around 16-18" off the water).

 

I would space them out a bit more than 10", other wise you'll have a hotspot in the middle.

 

Thank you all for the input!

 

Jedi are you saying the above list is for a SINGLE cluster or is that for TWO clusters? I presume one but better safe then sorry...

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Did you build your fixture yet?

 

Not yet, it will probably be early 2014. I might get the Bridgelux chips early seems like sometime they are hard to come by.

Link to comment
  • 3 months later...

So it is finally time to start ordering parts, I'm planning to put my orders in next week. Would you LED gurus kindly review my list before I start buying stuff.

I included links for everything, I hope that is ok. I am trying to buy as much as I can from our sponsors and I think my choices reflect that.

2x Bridgelux - BXRA-40E0950-B-03 - Newark
4x Luxeon M Royal Blue 12 Watts - Steve's LEDs
4x Cree XP-E Blue - LED Group Buy
2x Luxeon ES Cyan - Steve's LEDs
6x Exotic Hyper Violet LED Group Buy
6x True Violet LED Group Buy
2x 74 degree reflect for Bridgelux - Mouser
4x 63 degree reflector for Lux M. Steves LEDs
18x 60 degree reflector for XP-E, Lux ES, Exotic - LED Group Buy
2x LED holders for Bridgelux chips - Mouser
1x Storm X Controller LED Group Buy
5x 1000MA LDD Meanwell drivers LED Group Buy
3x 700MA LDD Meanwell driver LED Group Buy
1x 5 up LDD Board – LED Group Buy
1x Power supply, 48V, 9.4A, 450W - Jameco
2x 8.45 x 9 T-Slot Heat sink Heat Sink USA
2x 120MM Fans LED Group Buy
1x Power supply for fans – LED Group Buy

Just a couple of notes, I am trying to buy ONE extra of each LDD I need, since I have never done this before I want to have a spare just in case.

The best reflectors I could find for the bridgelux chip was a 74 or a 50. I figured that the 74 would be better for blending and it was "closer" to the others.

I found the power supply and *I think* it will work but will one of you pros confirm that for me?

Thank you advance, let me know if I've left anything off.

Link to comment

Looks like you have a nice build going. I like how you linked everything on your list. It makes it easier for people looking at doing the same thing and helps locate the not so easy items.

Link to comment
jedimasterben

The Lenina reflectors are EXPENSIVE! lol

 

After running single LEDs with lenses, triple puck LEDs without lenses, to multichip (BXRA, Vero, Luxeon M) LEDs with reflectors, and now my testing with no reflectors (bare LEDs, for use in my latest build), I'm finding that I'm liking the spread of that a lot more. Not as intense, but let's be honest, with how potent these LEDs are, running them full bore just isn't necessary lol. It would require more LEDs and a lower hang height, but it is yet another option :)

 

I would consider the Meanwell HLG-185H-48A for a power supply, it's more efficient than the SE series and is IP65 rated. It's $74 from onlinecomponents.com

Link to comment

The Lenina reflectors are EXPENSIVE! lol

 

After running single LEDs with lenses, triple puck LEDs without lenses, to multichip (BXRA, Vero, Luxeon M) LEDs with reflectors, and now my testing with no reflectors (bare LEDs, for use in my latest build), I'm finding that I'm liking the spread of that a lot more. Not as intense, but let's be honest, with how potent these LEDs are, running them full bore just isn't necessary lol. It would require more LEDs and a lower hang height, but it is yet another option :)

 

I would consider the Meanwell HLG-185H-48A for a power supply, it's more efficient than the SE series and is IP65 rated. It's $74 from onlinecomponents.com

Thanks Jedi

 

I was rereading what you posted when I did the first list and you mentioned spacing them out more than 10" to prevent a hot spot. Since I am actively cooling now, is that still a concern? I am planning to put the LEDs as close as the reflectors (assuming I keep them) will allow to help with blending.

Link to comment
betadeltadelta

So it is finally time to starting ordering parts, I'm planning to put my orders in next week. Would you LED gurus kindly review my list before I start buying stuff.

 

I included links for everything, I hope that is ok. I am trying to buy as much as I can from our sponsors and I think my choices reflect that.

 

2x Bridgelux - BXRA-40E0950-B-03 - Newark

4x Luxeon M Royal Blue 12 Watts - Steve's LEDs

4x Cree XP-E Blue - LED Group Buy

4x Luxeon ES Cyan - Steve's LEDs

8x Exotic Hyper Violet – LED Group Buy

8x True Violet – LED Group Buy

2x 74 degree reflect for Bridgelux - Mouser

4x 63 degree reflector for Lux M. – Steve’s LEDs

24x 60 degree reflector for XP-E, Lux ES, Exotic - LED Group Buy

2x LED holders for Bridgelux chips - Mouser

1x Storm X Controller – LED Group Buy

5x 1000MA LDD Meanwell drivers – LED Group Buy

3x 700MA LDD Meanwell driver – LED Group Buy

2x 5 up LDD Board – LED Group Buy

1x Power supply, 48V, 9.4A, 450W - Jameco

2x 8.45” x 9” T-Slot Heat sink – Heat Sink USA

2x 120MM Fans – LED Group Buy

1x Power supply for fans – LED Group Buy

 

Just a couple of notes, I am trying to buy ONE extra of each LDD I need, since I have never done this before I want to have a spare just in case.

 

The best reflectors I could find for the bridgelux chip was a 74 or a 50. I figured that the 74 would be better for blending and it was "closer" to the others.

 

I found the power supply and *I think* it will work but will one of you pros confirm that for me?

 

Thank you advance, let me know if I've left anything off.

 

Looks great! I've been lurking for years and the past year following Jedi painfully close on his build(s). I'm curious though what your driver setup will be. You've stated quantity of drivers, but I'm trying to figure out your disbursement. The 700's I know are for your violets, but I'm guessing you state 3 to have a spare? I'm looking to do very similar to you with my 40B but in a triple cluster, no optics. Are you putting the 2 BXRA's on 1 1-1000, 2 each RB's on 1,000's and so on?

 

I plan to do 3 clusters of 1 4K BXRA, 2 M RB's, 2 CW, 2 CY, 3 HV, 3 TV. I have 2-6 up Coralux boards already and all the drivers, but not sure how I should split them up to go over 48V each. I know all will say this is overkill, but the hope is to run only inches above the tank rim with no optics, like I said and have good spread, no hotspots. But reading the Farnell cut sheet on the BXRA, I might be close to issues with running the BXRA at 1A, putting 2 on 1 driver and the 3rd on it's own.

Link to comment
jedimasterben

Thanks Jedi

 

I was rereading what you posted when I did the first list and you mentioned spacing them out more than 10" to prevent a hot spot. Since I am actively cooling now, is that still a concern? I am planning to put the LEDs as close as the reflectors (assuming I keep them) will allow to help with blending.

Hot spot as in output directly under the clusters, not actually making the heatsink hotter in one place, that would be negligible :)

 

Looks great! I've been lurking for years and the past year following Jedi painfully close on his build(s).

Oh lord, I'll bet that's been a terrible experience trying to keep up with all the insanity :)

 

(speaking of which, I have some news to put in my thread)

Link to comment
betadeltadelta
Hot spot as in output directly under the clusters, not actually making the heatsink hotter in one place, that would be negligible :)

 

 

Oh lord, I'll bet that's been a terrible experience trying to keep up with all the insanity :)

 

(speaking of which, I have some news to put in my thread)

 

Indeed.... At first I was skeptical because it looked painfully purple but that's been changed up. Then you went hybrid with T5 and that bummed me out, as I want to stay with a single source of LEDs bc I have a Storm X. I think I'm set now to order but what do you feel the OP is doing for spread of BXRA's on the LDDS? I know you pumped up your PS? To get 52V for running 4 M''s per LDD but I'm keeping it at 3 each but I'm uncertain if 2 BXRA's at 1000mah could possibly go over the PS output. I can't figure out the OP's driver layout with his quantities. Maybe you've had some private discussion with him.

Link to comment
Indeed.... At first I was skeptical because it looked painfully purple but that's been changed up. Then you went hybrid with T5 and that bummed me out, as I want to stay with a single source of LEDs bc I have a Storm X. I think I'm set now to order but what do you feel the OP is doing for spread of BXRA's on the LDDS? I know you pumped up your PS? To get 52V for running 4 M''s per LDD but I'm keeping it at 3 each but I'm uncertain if 2 BXRA's at 1000mah could possibly go over the PS output. I can't figure out the OP's driver layout with his quantities. Maybe you've had some private discussion with him.

 

Jedi may give you an answer before I can get it typed up but for now assume I have too many LDDs. When I get home from work today I'm going to post the LDD spread, I found a post at another forum that has the " magic formula" for calculating how many LDDs I need.

 

For a quick answer, check out Jedi's first or second post in here. He laid how many LDDs I'd need I just didn't listen....

Link to comment
betadeltadelta
There actually is a difference between the BXRA and M - the BXRA has superior color compared to the 5K M.

 

2x BXRA-40E950-B-03

4x Luxeon M RB

4x Rebel blue or XP-E blue

2x Rebel cyan

8-12x LEDDGroupBuy hyper violet

 

LDD drivers are superior to the CAT4101-based drivers. You'd need 4x 1000mA and 1x 700mA, and a 48v power supply that gives at least 5A.

 

They'll need to be hung fairly high to have the proper spread (around 16-18" off the water).

 

I would space them out a bit more than 10", other wise you'll have a hotspot in the middle.

 

HM, you're referring to this post. So I assume Ben means to run 2 BXRA's on a ckt and the 4 M's on a ckt, bumping up your power supply voltage. If this is true then I think I have my answer for my layout. Thanks I think. Lol

Link to comment

HM, you're referring to this post. So I assume Ben means to run 2 BXRA's on a ckt and the 4 M's on a ckt, bumping up your power supply voltage. If this is true then I think I have my answer for my layout. Thanks I think. Lol

Yes that is the post..

 

I found this info on another forum using the Google machine. Full disclosure, I completely took this from another post. I will gladly provide the link just PM me.

 

Step 1: Look at the max current for each led type that you want to use, for instance the xte has a max current of 1500ma, however the largest ldd is 1000ma, so go with that. any led that has a max current of 700ma you can go with a ldd-700 series or a 500.

 

Do not forget that the LDD has voltage loss for the conversion. 48v input will give ~45v output. - Per Jedi, see below.

 

Step 2: Look at the forward voltage of each led type, for this example again the xte has a max forward voltage of 3.4, the ldd has a max vf of 52, if you divide 52 by 3.4 you will get just a little over 15 leds, however you won't find a power supply with 52v so 48v will be the choice. now 48v divided by 3.4 will give you 14 leds. So a Ldd-1000h running 14 cree xt-e series will need a power supply with 48v.

 

Step 3: for every 1000h you use you will need 1amp on your power supply 1000ma equal 1amp so if you had 2 700h you would need 2amps.

 

Amps are irrelevant on the power supply, only watts. An LDD-1000 running a single LED with a Vf of 10v will not pull 1000mA - it will only pull ~220-250mA (they convert the excess voltage into drive current). Per Jedi, see below.

 

Step 4: wattage count the total wattage of your leds, this will give you the wattage needed from the power supply.

 

Step 5: head room give yourself some headroom for everything on the power supply: 5 ldd 1000h should have a 6 amp power supply if your leds on a string equals to 48v or more, you need to remove 1-2 until you total 46-47v or right at 48v.

 

20% above the total LED wattage is recommended, so 100w of LEDs should have a power supply 120w or more, etc. - Per Jedi, see below.

 

 

So assuming I did the math right, I think I actually only need 4 1000MA LDDs and 1 700MA LDDs with my current configuration (exactly what Jedi said). Will one of the LED pros chime in and tell me if I've got this right or completely missed the mark?

 

2 1000MA LDDs to run the BXRA chips

1 1000MA LDD to run the Lux. M chips

1 1000MA LDD to the XP-E and Lux. Cyan chips

1 700MA LDD to run the Violets.

 

Note: I revised my purchase list to reduce the violets to 12 and the Cyan to 2 per Jedi's original recommendation..I wonder if he ever gets tired of being right.

Link to comment
jedimasterben

Step 2: Look at the forward voltage of each led type, for this example again the xte has a max forward voltage of 3.4, the ldd has a max vf of 52, if you divide 52 by 3.4 you will get just a little over 15 leds, however you won't find a power supply with 52v so 48v will be the choice. now 48v divided by 3.4 will give you 14 leds. So a Ldd-1000h running 14 cree xt-e series will need a power supply with 48v.

Do not forget that the LDD has voltage loss for the conversion. 48v input will give ~45v output.

Step 3: for every 1000h you use you will need 1amp on your power supply 1000ma equal 1amp so if you had 2 700h you would need 2amps.

Amps are irrelevant on the power supply, only watts. An LDD-1000 running a single LED with a Vf of 10v will not pull 1000mA - it will only pull ~220-250mA (they convert the excess voltage into drive current).

Step 5: head room give yourself some headroom for everything on the power supply: 5 ldd 1000h should have a 6 amp power supply if your leds on a string equals to 48v or more, you need to remove 1-2 until you total 46-47v or right at 48v.

20% above the total LED wattage is recommended, so 100w of LEDs should have a power supply 120w or more, etc.

I wonder if he ever gets tired of being right.

:lol: According to my wife, I'm NEVER right!

Link to comment
Do not forget that the LDD has voltage loss for the conversion. 48v input will give ~45v output.

 

Amps are irrelevant on the power supply, only watts. An LDD-1000 running a single LED with a Vf of 10v will not pull 1000mA - it will only pull ~220-250mA (they convert the excess voltage into drive current).

 

20% above the total LED wattage is recommended, so 100w of LEDs should have a power supply 120w or more, etc.

 

:lol: According to my wife, I'm NEVER right!

 

Cool thank you I will edit that post so people won't be misled..

 

Does everything else look good to go? I know I'm going to make mistakes just trying to limit them if I can.

Link to comment
betadeltadelta

Yes that is the post..

 

I found this info on another forum using the Google machine. Full disclosure, I completely took this from another post. I will gladly provide the link just PM me.

 

Step 1: Look at the max current for each led type that you want to use, for instance the xte has a max current of 1500ma, however the largest ldd is 1000ma, so go with that. any led that has a max current of 700ma you can go with a ldd-700 series or a 500.

 

Step 2: Look at the forward voltage of each led type, for this example again the xte has a max forward voltage of 3.4, the ldd has a max vf of 52, if you divide 52 by 3.4 you will get just a little over 15 leds, however you won't find a power supply with 52v so 48v will be the choice. now 48v divided by 3.4 will give you 14 leds. So a Ldd-1000h running 14 cree xt-e series will need a power supply with 48v.

 

Step 3: for every 1000h you use you will need 1amp on your power supply 1000ma equal 1amp so if you had 2 700h you would need 2amps.

 

Step 4: wattage count the total wattage of your leds, this will give you the wattage needed from the power supply.

 

Step 5: head room give yourself some headroom for everything on the power supply: 5 ldd 1000h should have a 6 amp power supply if your leds on a string equals to 48v or more, you need to remove 1-2 until you total 46-47v or right at 48v.

 

 

So assuming I did the math right, I think I actually only need 4 1000MA LDDs and 1 700MA LDDs with my current configuration (exactly what Jedi said). Will one of the LED pros chime in and tell me if I've got this right or completely missed the mark?

 

2 1000MA LDDs to run the BXRA chips

1 1000MA LDD to run the Lux. M chips

1 1000MA LDD to the XP-E and Lux. Cyan chips

1 700MA LDD to run the Violets.

 

Note: I revised my purchase list to reduce the violets to 12 and the Cyan to 2 per Jedi's original recommendation..I wonder if he ever gets tired of being right.

 

Yup got this all into account from the Zen master Jedi and some of Evil's posts. What I still wasn't clear on is specifically the BXRA. The Farnell cut sheet only lists a few currents for the 40k950 and goes no higher than 700ma. The graph toward the end of the cut sheet shows minimum maximum and typical with quite a good spread of possible forward voltages. If it's at "typical than you can run 2 on a 1000ma LDD. BUT, should it ever exceed that you're going to go over the max of the power supply. I want to run 3 clusters so I was trying to determine if I could run 2 on 1 LDD and a single on another. To play it safe I guess I should give each BXRA a dedicated LDD. I have plenty of headroom with 2-6 up LDD boards but was just trying to combine what I could where I could.

 

So for my instance it looks like:

3 BXRA's - 3-1000ma LDD's

6 RB M's - 2-1000ma LDD's

6 CB - 1-1000ma LDD

6 CY - 1-1000ma LDD

9 HV - 1-700 LDD

9 TV - 1-700 LDD

 

Thanks. Your above cluster looks good. I'm doubling up on CB and CY from everyone's typical layout to have the adjustability and 3 extra LEDs of each color is minimal cost all things considered when you're building a nano version of the sun. Lol

Link to comment
jedimasterben

What I still wasn't clear on is specifically the BXRA. The Farnell cut sheet only lists a few currents for the 40k950 and goes no higher than 700ma.

The one they have is a preliminary datasheet. If you're looking at the BXRA-40E950-B-03 (which is the newest BXRA3 revision) then the datasheet is here: http://www.bridgelux.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DS24-Bridgelux-ES-Rectangle-Array-Data-Sheet-2014.01.27.pdf

 

The graph toward the end of the cut sheet shows minimum maximum and typical with quite a good spread of possible forward voltages. If it's at "typical than you can run 2 on a 1000ma LDD. BUT, should it ever exceed that you're going to go over the max of the power supply.

Very, very rarely would you ever find a chip with such high voltage requirements. Bridgelux's wafers are good quality and there are FAR more 'typical' chips than otherwise. I would not worry about it.

 

Cool thank you I will edit that post so people won't be misled.. Does everything else look good to go? I know I'm going to make mistakes just trying to limit them if I can.

I think that I would use one more cluster for spread in the middle like BDD is planning, though the extra cyan and violet aren't needed they won't hurt.

 

3x BXRA

6x RB M

6x CB

3x CY

6x HV

6x TV

Link to comment

Would just like to confirm that I have a 2 cluster layout above my 40B and it is plenty of light. I'm running it a little higher than "a few inches" above the tank. I was running it at about 10" with no color banding. The light spread was perfect. I'm now running it about 20" above the tank for a little to see how I like it, again without optics.

 

http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/rgwalkeriv/media/97320DED-E40B-4410-9248-3F2949F6F213_zps5nzcgrq5.jpg.html'>97320DED-E40B-4410-9248-3F2949F6F213_zps

 

http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/rgwalkeriv/media/D3517A9A-BF5D-4534-9AF0-5C699BAB315F_zpspfawezfl.jpg.html'>D3517A9A-BF5D-4534-9AF0-5C699BAB315F_zps

 

Above pictures are to reference the height of the lights, and the light spread NOT THE COLOR, these pictures are taken with my iphone just for a reference, the coloring looks absolutely nothing like that.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...