Jump to content
ReefCleaners.org

Budget pico pendant LED ratio


jgoldsney

LED Ratio for Pico fixture  

5 members have voted

  1. 1. Which LED configuration (assuming all run at same level from same driver)

    • 3 RB + 1 NW
      3
    • 2RB + 1 NW
      2


Recommended Posts

Here is the mission....

 

Build a nice LED fixture for my sons Dymax IQ3 that looks good and doesn't break the bank....

Much of my insperation has come from these threads

 

cdelicaths awesome pico pendant

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=180447

sammy113s AIO with custom LED fixture

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=203706

 

The fixture is going to use a CPU heat sink and will be mounted into a custom fixture that is attached to the back of the tank. In order to keep $$ I looked at my wants/needs and tried to reduce things to a minimum.

 

I was looking at going with one dimmable buck puck , a 16VDC 4A laptop power supply scrounged from spare parts and a free CPU heatsink from a friend. The fixture will be made out of PVC/ABS plumbing parts. I think I have figured out a way to make it nice and self contained. (although some ideas work great in the brain and not so good in the real world)

 

Where I am stuck right now is on my LED selection.....I have read through the threads on here and on RC and I am not sure which direction to go.All I know is that I will be using a NW instead of a CW :lol:

 

I don't like things looking too purple/blue but as getting a good representation of LED color with a camera seems to be a bit of a struggle. I don't know if what I have seen from user pictures is an acurate representation of what I will get when I put it on my tank.

 

Please vote and provide your thoughts to help me make up my mind.....Thanks!!

Link to comment

Going with 3 royals to a single neutral white will make the tank very blue. I don't know if I'd go that way without using two Buckpucks for individual color control, but, I don't know how blue of a tank you like.

Link to comment
Going with 3 royals to a single neutral white will make the tank very blue. I don't know if I'd go that way without using two Buckpucks for individual color control, but, I don't know how blue of a tank you like.

See thats what I think.....but that is what was done on deli's pendant build and that looked nice in most of the pics.

 

I am really leaning hard towards the 1NW + 2RB but will wait for a few other comments before hitting the order button :D

Link to comment

The neutral white will change the color from what you see in deli's pictures. They are typically dimmer than cool white's at the same current, so the blue will come out more. Can't swing another $15-ish for a second Buckpuck? It would make life easier.

Link to comment
The neutral white will change the color from what you see in deli's pictures. They are typically dimmer than cool white's at the same current, so the blue will come out more. Can't swing another $15-ish for a second Buckpuck? It would make life easier.

Hmmmm so would it work to run the white with a fixed current driver and have only the blue adjustable?

Link to comment

Seeing as the blues are in the majority, that would be a good way to go. Running dimmable drivers on both will let you have more control over intesity though, and the cost of a dimmable Buckpuck is only a dollar or two more than a non-dimmable one.

Link to comment
Seeing as the blues are in the majority, that would be a good way to go. Running dimmable drivers on both will let you have more control over intesity though, and the cost of a dimmable Buckpuck is only a dollar or two more than a non-dimmable one.

LOL I feel like such a cheapskate......but I am going to order the one driver and see how it looks. Its not really the money but the principle....If I can do it for cheap I want to try.

 

Nothing will be preventing me from adding another driver if I want to at a later date...

 

so I am going to order

 

2 - Royal-Blue 1-Up Cree XP-E Star

1 -118 Lumen Neutral-White Cree XP-G 1Up Indus Star

1 - 3023-D-E-1000P Wired BuckPuck, 1000mA Output, DC Powered w/ Potentiometer

 

anything wrong with this setup?

Link to comment

order placed :D

 

I realize that I am going against the majority here with a 2:1 ratio but as per evil66's comments I don't want to over power the NW with too much blue.

 

If it isn't astheticaly what I am looking for I will order another driver and more LED's and retrofit things.

Link to comment

A 2:1 blue to neutral white ratio is actually pretty common, especially when you don't have separate control over each color.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...