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Will LED lightbar survive PC heat on a BC29 ?


TheNorthernLight

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TheNorthernLight

Ok,

 

So I installed this new LED light bar, and now it seems as though I'm getting A LOT of heat increase.

 

My tank temp has gone up a full 2'f throughout the day...

 

Here's the question... does anybody know if the heat generated from the two stock 38W PC bulbs would be too much heat, and cook the LED's prematurely?

 

Reason I ask is right now the LED bar is outside of the protective plastic shield, if I move it inside would the heat from the PC's be a problem to the LED bar...

 

Should I consider a fan upgrade kit for this light hood ?

 

Is the SilenX fans really worth the extra $$ ?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Spyrule. :ninja:

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If you decide to move the LEDs inside the splash guard, then I would upgrade the fans, but SilenX fans aren't the way to go. SilenX fans are quieter with less flow. You need more flow.

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TheNorthernLight

Yeah, I bit the bullet last night, and removed the .03 PC and installed the actinic lights inside, and then I upgraded the stock fans to Techcraft 70 x 70 x 15 mm fans. They definitely seem to move A LOT more air. They are powered off of the stock location, but because I took out the PC bulb itself, this wire becomes a glorified fan controller now.

 

I then also trimmed off the metal vanes on the shield that goes over the fans. I also attempted to "seal" the space between the fan and the shield, so that all the air being blown, goes INTO the lighting section (and not under the heat shield). The only thing I'm thinking of adding is a piece of plastic angled

(infan O \ .... / O outfan)

between the two fans, to force the air in the bulb direction.

 

It droped the temps somewhat, but my tank is still running quite warm atm (81'f).

 

I'm suspecting that the stock pump is what is generating most of my heat. My ambient temp is a little warm (77'f).

 

Do you think drilling to fans at the back pulling hot air OUT would make a big difference on the tank temp?

 

Also, I should mention that I can't afford/have room for a chiller.

 

Any suggestions are welcome...

 

Spyrule :ninja:

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I find it a little bit odd that you think the LED bar is heating your tank that much. I have a BC29 with a 12 LED Ecoxotic 453 nm Blue panorama module mounted in exactly the same place as your have yours. I run my PC daylight bulb for 12 hours, the Actinic for 14 and the LED for 12 and they are all on for about 10 of the 12 (staggered timers) and I have not noticed any heating of the tank above setpoint (80 f) ever, in fact my heater is on a fair amount of the time.

 

We do live in UT and it is winter so it could be we are in different places, but I cannot even really tell the LED strip is on by touching the top of the hood just over the light bar, if your tank is heating from the bar that piece of plastic should be VERY hot as its adjacent to the heat sink and LED's project virtually no heat to the tank from the front. Its just me, but could something else have caused this?? Seems like a big change with very little input. Do you KNOW that your temp is accurate? Do you know how stable it was prior to bar install?

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Don't know if this helps any since its a bit different set up, but I have 2 of the LED stunner strips affixed to my MH fixture. When the MH is on and you put your hand near water level you can definitely feel the heat. I've done the same with the stunners and I can't feel any heat at all. I'm sure they produce some but I wouldn't think LEDs would raise your system temp that much.

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TheNorthernLight

I live in Canada... so I presume I'm colder then you... however I live in an apartment that I don't have any major control of the temperature (besides just opening windows), and the apartment is quite warm.

 

This is a new setup, but I'm using both a coralife cheapo digital temp, and my Reefkeeper Elite secondary temp (I've got 2) to monitor the temps.

 

I've determined the lightbar being a source because as soon as I turn it on... within 20 minutes I'm up a full degree, 2 hours later I'm up 2'f. When I turn it off, within a few hours it drops back to 81'f.

 

Anybody know if you can order replacement hood flap if needed? (so if I drill holes for fans, that I can replace it, if it doesn't make a difference).

 

Thanks for the info...

 

Spyrule.

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