Ultimate LED guide

[evilc66]

I have bought from both. Slow shipping, but the products aren't bad. The pcb on the high power LEDs isn't as good quality as the ones from ETG.

[sjmusic2]

For my LED lighting, I'm using 2mm glass for splash guard.

 

To what degree will the glass filter the UV...as usually single-ended mh is enveloped in a glass sheath just for that reason.

[evilc66]

It shouldn't. UV glass blocks mainly UV-B and UV-C. We are dealing with UV-A, which doesn't get filtered out much.

[M@rine_lover]

To what degree will the glass filter the UV...as usually single-ended mh is enveloped in a glass sheath just for that reason.

 

I'm using normal glass and I think UV from LED is not as strong as MH as such do not need UV filtering glass.

 

am I right...evilc66?

[evilc66]

UV glass over MH is there for a different reason. It's filtering out most of the harmfull wavelengths of UV. You will want a splash guard of some description, but it can be acrylic.

[latteslave]

Hi Evil,

 

Going to build an LED custom light, but have some questions...

 

Been poking around Nanotuners DIY light section. What are the Rebel LED squares for?

 

Rebel LED square

 

and can I run 10 LED and a PC fan from this:

 

LED Driver

 

Finaly, I am planing a pico - 8x8x10 AIO. Thinking of running

 

w - b - w

b - w - w - b

w - b - w

 

They have 6500K daylight and 460NM Blue... Would that be sufficient to run anything in there? or is this BIG TIME overkill? I would be spacing the LED's 2 inches apart...

 

Thanks,

 

B

Edited May 30, 2009 by latteslave

[djprofd]

thanks for clearing that up evil.

 

d.

[evilc66]

Hi Evil,

 

Going to build an LED custom light, but have some questions...

 

Been poking around Nanotuners DIY light section. What are the Rebel LED squares for?

 

You can run three Rebel LEDs on the same pcb. It's the same concept that has been around for a while, but square instead of star shaped.

 

Rebel LED square

 

and can I run 10 LED and a PC fan from this:

 

LED Driver

 

No. You are limited to 12W max. That wouldn't run four LEDs comfortably. Plus, no dimming control. Stick with Buckpucks.

 

Finaly, I am planing a pico - 8x8x10 AIO. Thinking of running

 

w - b - w

b - w - w - b

w - b - w

 

They have 6500K daylight and 460NM Blue... Would that be sufficient to run anything in there? or is this BIG TIME overkill? I would be spacing the LED's 2 inches apart...

 

Thanks,

 

B

 

Run 3x3 with 2.5" spacing. That will be plenty of light over that little tank.

[latteslave]

Thanks for the fast reply... Still not sure on the squares, but I am pretty sure I am going to go with the star and not worry about it.

 

Probably end up with the buckpuck then saw what was called a bucktoot - looks like it would run 6 LED like the suggestion you made on 3x3. then I could go with a 36W power supply.

 

So you would recommend:

 

b-w-b

w-b-w

 

and are the 6500K OK??

 

Thanks again!

[evilc66]

Bucktoots are only 350mA output. Stick with Buckpucks and a 3x3 arrangement. You will need two driver to do this, and keep the blues on one and the whites on the other. This will give you the color temp control.

 

6500K is pretty much your only option. Anything higher is hard to come by. It won't create any issues though. Everyone else uses them without issue.

[land shark]

I accidentally order the buck puck with external dimming instead of the one with the pot. I saw the pot with external dimming and didnt even pay attention to the pucks next in line that said with pot. So when i got the drivers i was like wheres the pot man... did you check behind your ear, did we already smoke it? Any way, i noticed it only had two wires instead of three for the dimming controls (pots have three terminals the two ends and one wiper). Would i be able to hook up a potentiometer to these pucks and if so how? Also what type of pot would i need to pick up Ex: 1k ohm 6w,audio tapper linear tapper?

thanks again for all the help

[nvsbandit]

So when i got the drivers i was like wheres the pot man... did you check behind your ear, did we already smoke it?

 

hahaha

 

i just got my heatsink today...i ordered the wrong size...im like 3 inches short of what i wanted...haha

 

and i almost ordered the same ones you did.

[deepdvnarq]

I accidentally order the buck puck with external dimming instead of the one with the pot. I saw the pot with external dimming and didnt even pay attention to the pucks next in line that said with pot. So when i got the drivers i was like wheres the pot man... did you check behind your ear, did we already smoke it? Any way, i noticed it only had two wires instead of three for the dimming controls (pots have three terminals the two ends and one wiper). Would i be able to hook up a potentiometer to these pucks and if so how? Also what type of pot would i need to pick up Ex: 1k ohm 6w,audio tapper linear tapper?

thanks again for all the help

you want the linear pot (audio will only get your ears high! corny, i know!) 5 - 10k ohm and in the exact words from the LED gawd himself:

Connect the VREF (+5v) to the center post, and the CTRL to either of the outside posts. The different posts will just change the direction of rotation for the brightness.

[land shark]

Thanks deep i will have to go to frys tomorrow and get a couple of them.

[dtech]

Evil my question is about drivers, what in your opinion would be the best to use to ddrive 60 leds, 30w/30b, buckpucks i would need 10 of and 2 power supplies correct? is there a cheaper equally efficient way to do it, I was planning on all at 1000ma. Also where can I find the info on the spread of different angle lenses? By the way great write up and info.

[tamthapluc]

hi evil,

 

on the other thread i mentioned this led module. Do you think if i use 3 of it equal 120w total that would be enough for my RSM 250 65g? i wish i would have a par meter to compare the stock lighting and this module.

Thank you for your advise

[Sherman]

I doubt that can do the job.

[tamthapluc]

I doubt that can do the job.

Ummmmm. Can you explain why?

 

Anyway I found an interesting article about 100W LED HERE.. It's available on ebay now for $99 here

[deepdvnarq]

Ummmmm. Can you explain why?

 

Anyway I found an interesting article about 100W LED HERE.. It's available on ebay now for $99 here

 

that array has been mentioned before. if i remember correctly, the LEDs in that setup was only 1/4w to maybe a max of 1 watt. its been awhile since that one has come up. it is simply not powerful enough to support corals. maybe a fowlr. can't help you on the other one but if im guessing correctly after reading the site, it is 100 1 watt Leds. it certainly claims tremendous lumen output, but 1 watt bulbs just dont have what it takes for PAR output.

[evilc66]

The array uses 1W LEDs. They just don't have the penetrating power to do well on a reef tank. You could use it on tanks less than 12" tall, but it would be medium-ish light levels. There is a major change in PAR output and penetration power when you bump up to 3W of power.

 

The 100W LED has been around for a while and been brought up before. But like many of the other higher power LEDs (Cree MC-E, SSC P7, etc), there aren't many practical applications for us in the reef world. Remember, it's a 5500K-6500K LED and will look horrible yellow over a tank. It will also be very hard to raise the color temp to a practical level using blue LEDs. We have plenty of light using current 3W LEDs. The only next move to higher output LEDs will be when the colored LEDs we need follow the output increases of the whites, which is less likely to happen.

[deepdvnarq]

well its return of the dying buckpucks for me. now my bc14 went down and its not even in a project box to overheat. it is in the hood near a fan to give it extra air movement. im so frustarted with these things. im going to give it one more shot on these things. i'm going to mount these on the outside of the rear part of the hood, in open air. if this is not sufficient then i dont know what else will be.

[Ryan110484]

Should the LEDs be flickering slightly when the power is cut? Is this normal or is do I have something wired wrong. I have six LEDs hooked up to each individual buckpuck.

[evilc66]

Power cut from what? From the power supply? From the Buckpuck? From the pot?

[dtech]

I am reading and I need your help, I am going to use 60 cree's, 30w and 30rb, using the meanwell driver I would need 5 to run that volume of led's, the thing is 1 would not have 13 led's on it. would I need 4 of the Meanwell ELN-60-48P and 1 that is smaller?

[evilc66]

The Meanwell drivers can run UP to 13 LEDs. You can run anything up to that point.