LED lighting for a 62x24x36 aquarium

[Telo]

Hello,

 

I'm getting the above mentioned tank built for delivery within 4-6 weeks. I want to build my own LED lighting to have more control over what it has in it, what it can do, and of course, if it can even handle such a deep tank.

 

A little more about the tank, the overflow location removes a 8x24 section from the capacity [it is basically placed at one of the ends of the tank], so in reality the fixture is for a 54x24x36 tank.

 

I went on your site and the Lumia 5.2 caught my eye; so my initial questions are these:

 

1] Is the Lumia 5.2 strong enough to penetrate about 34" of water and provide the necessary spectrum for the little guys lower in the water cloumn?

2] How many would I need?

3] Would I require to supplement them with additional, surrounding LEDs?

4] I'm considering the CoraLux 5Up board with 5x MeanWell LDD 1000H, paired with the MeanWell 250w 48v power supply; can it handle a daisy-chain of the required Lumia 5.2's along with the extra LEDs I may add?

5] Can the LEDs I add be integrated into the 5 channels of the Lumia 5.2, so they can be controlled with a StormX concurrently?

6] If I shelf the StormX idea, and go for a Neptune Apex controller, what else would I need to accomplish the above statement?

 

Thanks in advanced for your time and help.

 

Regards,

Telo

 

 

[jedimasterben]

1) Sure, with a lens or with multiple Lumia.

 

2) Each covers around a 16x16-18x18 area at 24" height - for a 36" tall tank, the total height would be around 44", I would imagine you'd need ~8 to get the job done.

 

3) If you get 8x of them, you shouldn't need to. Multiple sources of light is a plus and reduces shading, but having 8x Lumia already is multiple point-sources, so you should be ok.

 

4) 5x LDD drivers will power two of the 5.2, so to run 8x you'd need a total of 20x LDD, 8x LDD-1000H and 12x LDD-700H. For power supply, I would look at something more robust like the Meanwell HLG series, as they are basically waterproof and are better suited for being around aquariums in general. You can run 4x Lumia from the HLG-320H-48A, so you'd need two of those.

 

5) Each channel on the Storm can dim up to ~40x LDD drivers each, and the Storm X can power many, many more than that per pin.

 

6) Don't. The Apex sucks as far as lighting control goes. Either the Storm/Storm X or the Bluefish controller.

[Telo]

1) Sure, with a lens or with multiple Lumia.

 

2) Each covers around a 16x16-18x18 area at 24" height - for a 36" tall tank, the total height would be around 44", I would imagine you'd need ~8 to get the job done.

 

3) If you get 8x of them, you shouldn't need to. Multiple sources of light is a plus and reduces shading, but having 8x Lumia already is multiple point-sources, so you should be ok.

 

4) 5x LDD drivers will power two of the 5.2, so to run 8x you'd need a total of 20x LDD, 8x LDD-1000H and 12x LDD-700H. For power supply, I would look at something more robust like the Meanwell HLG series, as they are basically waterproof and are better suited for being around aquariums in general. You can run 4x Lumia from the HLG-320H-48A, so you'd need two of those.

 

5) Each channel on the Storm can dim up to ~40x LDD drivers each, and the Storm X can power many, many more than that per pin.

 

6) Don't. The Apex sucks as far as lighting control goes. Either the Storm/Storm X or the Bluefish controller.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping it would be like 3-4 max, but geez, 8? LOL. Might need to look into going the single-triple LED way.

If I go that route, which types [XM-L, XP-G, etc] of LED would I need and how many? What should the LED driver arrangement look like instead?

[jedimasterben]

Well, that's what happens when your tank is 36" tall lol. You'd need a pair of 400w halides to have the same punch, so power use from those would be in the 900-1000w range depending on your ballast. Using quality LEDs, a rough estimate is 1/2 the wattage of halides or T5 arrays that you would 'typically' use.

 

You'd need a lot of single LEDs, and it's a lot of soldering. Stay away from the XM-L series due to bad color, I would steer you towards the Nichia 219XT. You'd need about the same amount of LEDs as found in the Lumia, though I would keep a 2:4:1 ratio of neutral white to royal blue to blue, so start with about 40 whites, then 80 royals, and 20 blues, then add your extra colors (cyan, deep red [not necessary to add], violet). The Luxeon M royal blue will be there in the next week or so, they replace four XT-E or Rebel ES royals each, so that will cut your soldering by quite a bit.

[Paleoreef103]

Well, that's what happens when your tank is 36" tall lol. You'd need a pair of 400w halides to have the same punch, so power use from those would be in the 900-1000w range depending on your ballast. Using quality LEDs, a rough estimate is 1/2 the wattage of halides or T5 arrays that you would 'typically' use.

 

You'd need a lot of single LEDs, and it's a lot of soldering. Stay away from the XM-L series due to bad color, I would steer you towards the Nichia 219XT. You'd need about the same amount of LEDs as found in the Lumia, though I would keep a 2:4:1 ratio of neutral white to royal blue to blue, so start with about 40 whites, then 80 royals, and 20 blues, then add your extra colors (cyan, deep red [not necessary to add], violet). The Luxeon M royal blue will be there in the next week or so, they replace four XT-E or Rebel ES royals each, so that will cut your soldering by quite a bit.

You could always move towards the Evil Clusters. Much less soldering than using a ton of 3W LEDs and 36" depth won't be a huge problem for Vero 18s with Ledil Angelina-Ms

[Telo]

You could always move towards the Evil Clusters. Much less soldering than using a ton of 3W LEDs and 36" depth won't be a huge problem for Vero 18s with Ledil Angelina-Ms

 

How well do they work without the T5s? What I'm I looking at in terms of driver requirements?

 

I'm trying to go all LED to save on electricity; I'm aiming at 1KW/hr or under for the entire reef system [hopefully 750W/hr] since I live in NYC and we have one of the highest [if not THE highest] KW/hr prices.

[Telo]

Well, that's what happens when your tank is 36" tall lol. You'd need a pair of 400w halides to have the same punch, so power use from those would be in the 900-1000w range depending on your ballast. Using quality LEDs, a rough estimate is 1/2 the wattage of halides or T5 arrays that you would 'typically' use.

 

You'd need a lot of single LEDs, and it's a lot of soldering. Stay away from the XM-L series due to bad color, I would steer you towards the Nichia 219XT. You'd need about the same amount of LEDs as found in the Lumia, though I would keep a 2:4:1 ratio of neutral white to royal blue to blue, so start with about 40 whites, then 80 royals, and 20 blues, then add your extra colors (cyan, deep red [not necessary to add], violet). The Luxeon M royal blue will be there in the next week or so, they replace four XT-E or Rebel ES royals each, so that will cut your soldering by quite a bit.

 

I do a lot of modding [gaming consoles, custom PC PSU cabling, etc], so I'm pretty good with a soldering iron, and have a digital soldering station. Where would I find the Nichia 219XT LEDs?

 

I was considering making clusters of 2 Neutral White, 4 Royal Blue, 2Blue, 1 Hyper Violet, 1 True Violet, 1 Cyan over a 48" length of heatsink; any thoughts?

[Mr. Microscope]

36" deep tank?! Sounds like an epic build. I hope you start a tank thread for it.

 

to Nano-Reef!

[Telo]

36" deep tank?! Sounds like an epic build. I hope you start a tank thread for it.

 

to Nano-Reef!

 

I might be scratching that depth, LOL! I just came back from the builder's shop, and he brought up a few good points.

 

1] Aqua-escaping it will be extremely hard to accomplish due to the height [40" stand + 36" tank].

2] Maintenance is going to be extremely hard, due to not only the height but to where it will placed.

3] It will require 3/4" glass sheets, and since I'm looking to have the front, one of the sides, and back panel in Starphire it will skyrocket the price.

4] Providing adequate lighting for corals at that depth will cost a boat-load [as you can see here].

 

I trying to assess the available space and how large of a footprint I can get away with, without the wife flipping out; but it is looking like I'm gonna switch to a 63" x 30" x 22" [180 gallons on the dot!].

[jedimasterben]

That's why my tank is only 16" tall LOL, I can stick my hand right to the bottom and only be elbow deep

[Telo]

That's why my tank is only 16" tall LOL, I can stick my hand right to the bottom and only be elbow deep

 

Jedi,

 

Any comments on the LED selection I have planned?

 

2 Neutral White, 4 Royal Blue, 2Blue, 1 Hyper Violet, 1 True Violet, 1 Cyan per cluster.