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Coral Vue Hydros

Advice for new DIY build - not nano though


somebloke

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Hi Guys

 

I have a Malawi Mbuna tank that measures 66x24x24 inches and is currently lit by on aold light bar from my previous tank.

 

This means Im using a pair of 36" T8 Grolux tubes to light my tank.

 

I want to build an auto sunrise/sunset system, using W/R/B Leds, and to be able to adjust each colour intensity/brightness to obtain a spectrum Im happy with.

 

I dont need coral or plant levels of brightness, as its just for viewing. Critically, close to natural spectrum and the all important "shimmer" are my main aims. I want my tank to look as close to natural as possible.

 

I think the MakersLed controller will fulfill my needs, but after that Im a bit lost as to what drivers and aslo LED selection itself.

 

I have no idea how many, what colour mix etc I need.

 

Also, whats the likely shipping cost to the Uk please ?

 

Any help greatfeully recieved.

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jedimasterben

I would just use white LEDs, half cool white and half warm white, and maybe some OCW mixed in. You don't need many, maybe 12x white LEDs and 2-3x OCW to bring up color rendition. You can use a single MakersDriver for that, run the white LEDs on a 700mA driver and the OCW on a 500mA driver, will be plenty.

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jedimasterben

A mix of 470nm, 495nm, and 660nm on one star. Standard Cree whites don't have the best color rendition, and the addition of these chips can help with that, and can help make the colors in the fish stand out more.

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Thinking about your reply Jedi, that doesnt sound like very many LEDs at all. What sort of spacing are you thinking of, and will that cause spotlighting ?

 

Will I need optics ?

 

Which actual chip ? Cree xml ?

 

What size power supply ?

 

Will I need a heatsink ?

 

How much for shipping to UK ?

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jedimasterben

Thinking about your reply Jedi, that doesnt sound like very many LEDs at all. What sort of spacing are you thinking of, and will that cause spotlighting ?

 

Will I need optics ?

 

Which actual chip ?

 

Cree xml ?

 

What size power supply ?

 

Will I need a heatsink ?

 

How much for shipping to UK ?

Since you're not looking for intensity, you don't need to have a lot of LEDs. Run no optics and and you will have the spread you need.

 

The XM-L series has terrible color (cool white are mostly all blue, neutrals and warms are typically green-tinted off-axis) and are very expensive for what you would need them to do.

 

Drivers depend on a few things. There's Inventronics which are 0-10v dimmable, so you'd need the DIM4 controller to dim them, or use potentiometers. Meanwell LDD are PWM only, so you'd need the Storm or Storm X controller for dimming, no manual dimming. The MakersDriver needs the MakersController to dim them, or a 0-10v controller. The MakersController is superior to the DIM4, but the Storm and Storm X are vastly superior to both.

 

All LEDs need a heatsink. The Makers heatsink is good, but shipping is expensive overseas. You may be able to source something locally for much less if you're going to enclose it, but if you weren't planning on a hood, then the MakersLED is the best choice.

 

Shipping you calculate on the site, add the stuff to your cart and put in your country and zip code and it'll tell you.

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Ben, thank you.

 

Ive put together a proposed list, but I dont know what drivers to use or what power supply....

 

Storm Controller

4x OCW

4X 13" 5.88 heatsink

6x XTE cool white

6x XTE warm white

 

 

Your thoughts please?

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jedimasterben

If you're using the Storm, then you can only use the bare LDD drivers. Use one 700mA for the white LEDs and one 500mA for the OCW. The LDD can handle up to 14x XT-E, so you can add another of each XT-E if you want to.

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jedimasterben

Yes, the LDD drivers, one 700mA and one 500mA. You can use the HW that have wire leads or you can use the H that don't have the wires, but you'll need one of the Coralux boards, as well.

 

Yes, the 180w is the smallest from there, or if you could find a 48v power supply locally then that is also an option, you need one that provides at least 70 watts (gives some headroom, you want a power supply with a wattage at least 20% more than the LEDs you're powering).

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Ok, so the Meanwell 700h and 500hw and then maybe a local power supply and thats me full set up with auto sunset/sunrise, maybe moonlight ?

 

I beleive the Meanwells shut off the LEDs totally, as other cheaper ones dont ?

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Milad LEDGroupBuy.com

One last question - do you think I need a few blues or will the OCW cover that spectrum ?

 

OCW covers the cool blue spectrum

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  • 4 months later...

Ok, im going to bump this as Ive still not done it.

 

Is the list above still a good recommendation or have things moved since Jan this year?

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