Am I right ? Lumia 5.2 build

[Maxreefan]

After paying $1200 for a LED ramp malfunctioning now after 2 years. Idecided to try the experience and do my project for my tank 75g ( 48 x 18 x 20 ) mix reef.

 

i hesitated between 3 or 4 Lumia 5.2

 

Here is my shopping list:

 

 

for 3 Lumia 5.2

 

1 x makersled heatsink kit 36''

3 x Lumia 5.2

3 x Lumia optic lens

2 x makersdriver 5up pro or 2 x coralux 5up

4 x meanwell ldd-1000h

6 x meanwell ldd-700h

1 x makers controller or 1 x storm-x led controller

1 x power supply 500w 48v 10.4a

 

for 4 Lumia 5.2

 

2 x makersled heatsink kit 18''

4 x Lumia 5.2

4 x Lumia optic lens

2 x makersdriver 5up pro or 2 x coralux 5up

4 x meanwell ldd-1000h

6 x meanwell ldd-700h

1 x makers controller or 1 x storm-x led controller

1 x power supply 500w 48v 10.4a

 

 

I need your advice to choose between 3 or 4 Lumia 5.2 and to choose between the makers controller and storm-x led controller option.

 

And of course if i miss something or am i mistaken with the number of component.

 

Thank you very much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[farkwar]

I would definitely do 4 over 48 inches.

 

The 5.2s seem perfectly designed to be used in pairs.

 

Run them lower and cooler if they give off too much par for your corals.

[Horerczy]

Agree with Fark on the 4 lumia 5.2 stance

 

As for the Storm or Makers Controller. I'll say this.

 

Makers Controller:

 

Pros:

Comes in case so no need to purchase individual cases

User friendly interface

Plug and play interface with makers drivers

fan control (If fan is linked to makers driver)

 

 

Cons:

Only works with makers drivers which are expensive compared to coralux boards

Fewer dimming levels (100)

5 Channels only

need an ftdi cable to upgrade software

 

Storm:

Pros:

Interfaces with any PWM drivers

255 levels of dimming (Storm-X has 40XX levels of dimming)

Fan control

Temperature probe add on

6 channels (16 for storm-x)

 

Cons:

Bare boards (case available from coralux)

Leads need to be monitored to make sure you do not plug them in backwards (a minor quip but still)

some soldering required if you want to upgrade software

ftdi cable requried to update software

[donb]

My 2 cents would go to using 4 rather than 3. I thought I was going to be able to get more out of a single Lumia and it just didn't happen. Not that the design is flawed, just my interpretation of the application. Great device has been working well for about 8 weeks or so now. The folks at LED GB are great to work with.

 

I went with the Storm-X and am happy as a tang munching on nori I used the 5 up with the same driver combo you are looking at. Once the end of the month comes, I will be adding a 2nd Lumia to the first and it ought to be pretty straight forward with the extension molex cable LED GB sells. No re-wiring. Down the road (next 2 or 3 months) I will be replacing the other 2 250W MH with a pair of Lumia in the same config.

 

The only thing I did was to use a single 180W PS because I planned on one (and now 2) Lumia from the get go.

 

Move forward, as based on my experience you will be happy with the company and the product.

 

If you never have, find a good light meter and measure the PAR in the tank, if your are like me, you will be surprised by the results.

 

Don

[hothamp]

I have a question I'm new to the DIY idea and I am actually looking at almost the exact same idea with 4 5.2 lumia's. My question is do you need the Storm controller/Makers controller if you want to use an Apex to control the lights?

[donb]

Never done this, don't use the apex, but googled 'apex controll diy led' and found the following

 

http://www.reefs.com/blog/2012/12/13/diy-guidedimming-diy-led-lights-with-neptune-systems-apex-controller/

 

Apparantly can be done, maybe someone else will have more experience.

 

Don

[Maxreefan]

Thank you all, i'll go for 4.