Retrospectz Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Some months ago I decided to plunge in the world of nano reefs. I was quite on a budget so for my lighting system i settled for 2 cheap 10w multichips with cool white and royal blue. While the lights proved capable of sustaining and growing(slowly) soft-corals, I was quite disappointed by the color rendition, which of course I expected. But now I have decided to get a larger tank and set up my own DIY led lightning system Due to limited space I have settled for a tank with these dimensions 95cm -> ~38 inches X Length 55cm -> ~22 inches X Width 40cm -> ~16 inches x Height After doing some research I came out with this list of leds. I want to be able to keep mixed species, from zoanthids to the "entry level" sps. Channel 1 : 24 x CREE XT-E Royal blues (450-465nm)(Wrote on a single channel for simplicity's sake) Channel 2 : 14 x CREE XP-G Neutral White Channel 3 : 4 x CREE XP Red (620-630nm) Channel 4 : 5 x CREE XP-E Blue (465-485nm) Channel 5 : 5 x Semileds True Violet (400-410nm ) Channel 6 : 5 x XP-E Green(520-535nm) Each channel will be dimmable separately and the royal blues will be split on two different drivers having 12 leds each. What do you guys think? Feedback is much appreciated Link to comment
farkwar Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Why separated stars? That cause color banding. Why not use an existing puck with tight matrix arrays? Without looking, there are over a dozen well designed(arguably) pucks availabke now with colors pretty close to what youre going for. You mention that money is tight, are you doing DIY to save money? Cuz' you wont! Link to comment
farkwar Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 If youre strapped for cash. Or think that that extra $500 should go into frags. Something like this will be way less expensive than quality DIY http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/350084-the-superlux-is-in-stock-19999-shipped/ I would get 2 depending in dimensions. 16" long, 2 would fit well. $400 k@hing. Link to comment
Retrospectz Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 Why separated stars? That cause color banding. Why not use an existing puck with tight matrix arrays? Without looking, there are over a dozen well designed(arguably) pucks availabke now with colors pretty close to what youre going for. You mention that money is tight, are you doing DIY to save money? Cuz' you wont! I did some research and found quite a few people who use separate stars for their systems, but then again I'm no led expert so i may have got the wrong idea . I really like the idea of using a ready made puck like the Aurora,Lumia etc, but I have not found a lot of reviews on these yet. I was also considering the Arctic T247 by OR as i don't have to write code, or solder with this one! Link to comment
farkwar Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 When reef lights were 50/50 cool white to royal blue in big panels, color separation was difficult to see. When you add red, amber, and green, the colors stand out in an ugly way. The violets and ultra violets are very dim to our eyes, doubt you could see color banding from these. To overcome this, tighter placement is required. Tighter than stars allow. Kinda sad that LED makers spend all this effort to break up white light into all the different colors, then they all get put back together. The Storm, StormX, Bluefish, and RLL are all controllers requiring no coding. Another way to mitigate color separation is to diffuse them. NanoBox pucks are $60 RLL pucks are $75 Radion G3 non pro, $150 for 2 pucks. Radion G3 Pro are $250 for 2 pucks. Aurora is $125 per puck, can use Radion TIR lenses So why are you using individual stars? Not quite a few people, this is your light. Have you seen the Philips K arrays? very nice. And whats your budget? Link to comment
HM3105 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Have you looked into any of the Evil cluster builds? I just built one for my 40b and I think the dimensions are similar to your tank. Mine has good color and no banding. Depending on what your budget is though, maybe try a Reefbreeders build. There really doesn't seem to be much savings in DIY especially if you don't already have the tools. Link to comment
Retrospectz Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Hi Guys, sorry for taking so long to reply but got really busy and forgot this thread. I have decided to with farkwars suggestion and will be getting some nano box pucks. Will keep you updated Link to comment
farkwar Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Agree with HM3105. Not much savings with DIY, with a few exceptions. Its mostly because you can make the exact light you envision. There are too many full spectrum lights out now, to have that as a reason. An exception would be, I want a Vertex Illumina over a 30" tank. They have a 24", not big enough. And the 36" is too long. The 36" Illumina costs about $2,000. I can build one 30" based on Radion G3 Pucks for about $1000 or so. So thats what Im doing. Also remember that resell value of DIY is about half your parts cost(your labor costs are lost into the air). Resell on commercial lights is about 75% new cost. Link to comment
Retrospectz Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 I mostly decided to go the DIY route partly because of budget, but also because ordering a good unit from the US would cost me hundreds on shipping and possibly hundreds on duty which makes it not really worth it. I live in Malta(EU) and there ain't really alot of selection when it comes to LED fixtures.On the other hand Multichips are small ,not heavy so shipping is not prohibitive but they do pack a punch, not to mention that I don't have to solder each individual led and whatnot. Controller wise it's not a problem as I study software development and have a spare arduino laying around, PWM does magic . Will post photos when I finish my fixture Link to comment
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