Ultimate LED guide

[soundwave]

Holy...

 

I got PAR numbers!

 

At 12" dry, 460

 

at 24" dry, 150

[manhatton]

Holy...

 

I got PAR numbers!

 

At 12" dry, 460

 

at 24" dry, 150

 

 

Siiiiiiiiiiick

 

When's that write-up coming?

[moneyman6891]

Can I use Leds for actinic supplementation, I have a sunpod and want a very blue tank and still want the shimmer. So I was thinking about 6 royal blues to go with my sunpod on my 24 gallon aquapod.

[Scott Riemer]

Can I use Leds for actinic supplementation, I have a sunpod and want a very blue tank and still want the shimmer. So I was thinking about 6 royal blues to go with my sunpod on my 24 gallon aquapod.

Why not use a bluer bulb in the SunPod?

[soundwave]

Why not use a bluer bulb in the SunPod?

 

You could get away with 2 of them on a 24.

[soundwave]

I posted the entire write up on RC but this is the final product with PAR readings.

 

 

 

Also, I KNOW that optics will increase the output. I'm not using them.

[Marteen]

I posted the entire write up on RC but this is the final product with PAR readings.

 

 

 

Also, I KNOW that optics will increase the output. I'm not using them.

 

 

Looks good. Feel free to make a thread for your build here as well.

[Inkidu]

Hello great right up evil I have also been looking into led setups for numerous applications. I am mainly interested in taking advantage of the rebel leds. After reading through the posts I noticed no one mentioned http://www.asiansignals.com/Products/LED-Circuit-Boards.aspx Sorry If that doesn't post as link I am new to some of this. The company sells the pcb to mount 1 rebel alone or 1, 2, or 3 on a single pcb square. What makes them different than a star is the ease of connected the separate squares. They are connected in series very easily with a small bridge wire with only a soldering iron. This would make very concentrated arrays possible. The mounting of the rebel itself to the square is quite a bit more complicated. I found a post somewhere if I remember correctly said that the hot plate method for connecting the led to the square doesn't work that well because the squares use copper and gold i.e. they absorb heat differently than aluminum. I will try to locate again and post back. I am new to all of this so any help or corrections will be appreciated.

To give an example of a possible lighting configuration. The company sells a sheet consisting of 48 squares 6 across and 8 down if you broke them into strips of 6 squares something a buckpuck could power mattering how many volts used and then each individual square could have say a 6 degree lens one each rebel led. This give only 10mm or 20mm between each bulb. Something I would think would give good concentration of light at a great depth in a small package. Several parallel strips could be created with a power supply with enough amps.

Another example would be to use the squares that hold 3 rebel leds on a single square. There are a 100 squares per sheet. You could break off a strip and wire each of the leds in the first position as a single series say of one particular color and all of the leds in the second position on the board as another series and color and so on. Giving the possibility with the right controller of many different light settings.

I hope some of this helps the forum and I am quite honestly trying to figure it out myself.

[Catfishboy747]

There is a much better solution with less headache and money:

 

 

 

Umm. why do you insist on trying to sell those over rated highly expensive tubes that won't last long. $200 a bulb, and I would need what, 5? HECK NO. I'll stick my HP LED setup thank you very much.

[evilc66]

Hello great right up evil I have also been looking into led setups for numerous applications. I am mainly interested in taking advantage of the rebel leds. After reading through the posts I noticed no one mentioned http://www.asiansignals.com/Products/LED-Circuit-Boards.aspx Sorry If that doesn't post as link I am new to some of this. The company sells the pcb to mount 1 rebel alone or 1, 2, or 3 on a single pcb square. What makes them different than a star is the ease of connected the separate squares. They are connected in series very easily with a small bridge wire with only a soldering iron. This would make very concentrated arrays possible. The mounting of the rebel itself to the square is quite a bit more complicated. I found a post somewhere if I remember correctly said that the hot plate method for connecting the led to the square doesn't work that well because the squares use copper and gold i.e. they absorb heat differently than aluminum. I will try to locate again and post back. I am new to all of this so any help or corrections will be appreciated.

To give an example of a possible lighting configuration. The company sells a sheet consisting of 48 squares 6 across and 8 down if you broke them into strips of 6 squares something a buckpuck could power mattering how many volts used and then each individual square could have say a 6 degree lens one each rebel led. This give only 10mm or 20mm between each bulb. Something I would think would give good concentration of light at a great depth in a small package. Several parallel strips could be created with a power supply with enough amps.

Another example would be to use the squares that hold 3 rebel leds on a single square. There are a 100 squares per sheet. You could break off a strip and wire each of the leds in the first position as a single series say of one particular color and all of the leds in the second position on the board as another series and color and so on. Giving the possibility with the right controller of many different light settings.

I hope some of this helps the forum and I am quite honestly trying to figure it out myself.

 

Asiansignals product have been discussed here before. For shallower tanks looking for a lot of light, it brings another option to the table. The major downfall to them is that lack of optic support. Even for the star based triple Rebels, there is only one lens option.

[evilc66]

Looks like exotic aquarium got busted for doing the same crap he did over at RC. Sorry dude, can't sell your products like that.

[keli]

http://www.bestofferbuy.com/700ma-40v68v-c...put-p-7626.html

 

 

Did you get this driver yet? Any idea how it performs?

[evilc66]

Just showed up yesterday, although I'm not sure they sent me the right one. Still investigating.

[Jammaroo]

Anyone try the endor rebel tri rgb emitter?They seem to be a good choice for getting all the colors

that make up white light.Also are the power requirements for one tri rgb considered as one LED or the

individual LEDs that make up the tri?Lastly , how would you go about wiring , I mean do you have to wire up

all the + and - on a single tri to a power supply to light the LED?

Yes I know , I am a total LED newb

[keli]

Probably not powerful enough, and no real advantage.. RGB LEDs usually have a common cathode or anode, and then you need 3 extra wires to power up individual colors.

[jiriki76]

http://smgsllc.com/parts.html

 

Would you recommend using the pre-wired quad board? Instead of wiring each of the LED's in series, this basically does it parallel.

 

I'm really considering making an LED over my frag tank as a start. I'd like to start with one panel good enough for a 2 ft width. If it works out, make 2 more and mount it over my 180g that's 24" tall.

[skeet103]

Evil great post, as the comments get longer and longer I can see there is some great info that would be great for some additions later: or if you could add some notes in the original post...

 

For example:

 

Bradly88, for a 150W system, you would need 48 LEDs (16x3, ~2" spacing) with 60 degree optics. For a 250W array, something like 78 LEDs (20, 19, 20, 19, ~1.5" spacing) with 40 degree optics.

 

I only point this one out because I spent 30 minutes searching for it

 

That being said I was curious and I think I already know the answer but would love a second opinion.

 

I am planning on doing a 250W equivalent setup therefore I am going to use 40 degree optics, however I am going to set this up on a brand new tank as I want to look at growth rates...in two years i'll let everyone know LOL.

 

Since it will be a new tank I am going to add a dimmer to the setup to bring down the PAR levels for acclimation. I just wanted to know your opinion on spotlighting if a dimmer is brought in? I a pretty sure at a distance of 1.5" I shouldn't have a problem but let me know what you think.

 

Also just curious but do you typically build 10 light strings as you posted earlier made up of 4 white/5 blue/1 UV ?

 

Cheers and thanks again for a great post!

[evilc66]

Anyone try the endor rebel tri rgb emitter?They seem to be a good choice for getting all the colors

that make up white light.Also are the power requirements for one tri rgb considered as one LED or the

individual LEDs that make up the tri?Lastly , how would you go about wiring , I mean do you have to wire up

all the + and - on a single tri to a power supply to light the LED?

Yes I know , I am a total LED newb

 

The RGB setup isn't of any use. High levels of red have been found to quickly bleach corals and can lead to algae issues, and green is just reflected off the coral and provides no photosynthetic benefit.

 

White and royal blue are the way to go.

[Catfishboy747]

Yep, and if you want to use Rebels, but find soldering difficult, hold on for a day or two, I'm about to release a vid on youtube showing how to do it with a simple $15 iron.

[Jammaroo]

The RGB setup isn't of any use. High levels of red have been found to quickly bleach corals and can lead to algae issues, and green is just reflected off the coral and provides no photosynthetic benefit.

 

White and royal blue are the way to go.

Never quite liked the icy blue look of some tanks I've seen.Thought maybe I could get more color variation

with the rgb tri.Wouldn't the mix bring about other colors like yellows for instance since the rgb forms white

light?I do know that reds will get filtered out at certain depths , but my tank is shallow and I recall while searching the web that green plants ( caulerpa? ) could benifit from it.I like the fact that the rebel stars are three LEDs in one which to me will be good for color blending.Reading the LED guide has proven very useful

though I am still confused about power requirements and whatnot.I want to do more of a warmer tone to a

DIY LED fixture , like how natural sun light has that yellow look to it.Found that I could solder my own rebel

and thought about a cool white , warm white and royal blue blend.The warm white could bring out the reds

and yellows and maybe help the green plants to grow without overpowering with reds and useless greens

in the rgb tri.Want to get this right before I take the plunge $$$

[Jammaroo]

Yep, and if you want to use Rebels, but find soldering difficult, hold on for a day or two, I'm about to release a vid on youtube showing how to do it with a simple $15 iron.

I believe I know the DIY iron your talking about.Can't wait for the vid.The iron I know of will really help a lot

with those rebels if one is inclined to solder your own.It is the poor mans reflow station

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/07/how-to-...soldering-iron/

Edited March 4, 2009 by Jammaroo

[n0rk]

Evil, you give me hope that someday LEDs will be the standard for the majority of lighting applications. I've actually been reading through your guide in an attempt to find a more efficient way to light the house... nerdy much? Hahah.

[Catfishboy747]

I believe I know the DIY iron your talking about.Can't wait for the vid.The iron I know of will really help a lot

with those rebels if one is inclined to solder your own.It is the poor mans reflow station

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/07/how-to-...soldering-iron/

 

Actually no, you can buy it at the local Lowes store all ready to be used. http://www.amazon.com/Bernzomatic-19132-Mi...4722&sr=8-4 . You use the hot air attachment to actually heat up the star, melt the solder at the top of the board, and the LEDs will seat and your done.

 

Believe it or not, its pretty easy to maintain a pretty good temp if you use the hot air attachment, dunno about the quality of the tool, but its what was available to me, better quality exists if your aiming to to alot of soldering.

[Jammaroo]

Actually no, you can buy it at the local Lowes store all ready to be used. http://www.amazon.com/Bernzomatic-19132-Mi...4722&sr=8-4 . You use the hot air attachment to actually heat up the star, melt the solder at the top of the board, and the LEDs will seat and your done.

 

Believe it or not, its pretty easy to maintain a pretty good temp if you use the hot air attachment, dunno about the quality of the tool, but its what was available to me, better quality exists if your aiming to to alot of soldering.

Hot air attachment aye.When I saw torch I immediately thought , fire and burnt LEDs.Need to hone my soldering skills , where's the vid

[Marteen]

http://smgsllc.com/parts.html

 

Would you recommend using the pre-wired quad board? Instead of wiring each of the LED's in series, this basically does it parallel.

 

I'm really considering making an LED over my frag tank as a start. I'd like to start with one panel good enough for a 2 ft width. If it works out, make 2 more and mount it over my 180g that's 24" tall.

 

Those boards only run 4 rebels at a time, you would need some 8-9 boards depending on how many LEDs you wanted to put over the tank. For a 24" tank I'd probably recommend at least 30 LEDs probably closer to 34-36. That would be a lot of pre-wired boards just to get parallel circuits. Save yourself $200 and just run it in series, if a LED does go bad you can just replace it, you'd have to with the other boards anyways.