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How To - Aquastyle DIY LED - Coral Photos Added


Trogdor447

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UV.. I'm not sure i just tossed them in - you can honestly hardly see a 'bright' light coming from it - but i do see purple glow coming from around the tank - I dont know if this is the blue mixing on the wall or what.. I am prepping to move here - things are getting crazy!

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Why I no find the aquastyles website on google anymore :angry:

Teacher at school ordered the kit for the tank in the bio class but it's taking quite a while to get there..

Just wonderin if they went under or sumthin

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What do uv and red LEDs do for reefs and fishes?

 

i have only read about it on the boards sot take that for what its worth, although i think evil66 said it and he knows his stuff, appearantly these UV leds are not strong enough and the ones that are are very expensive at the moment. UV is supposed to enhance the color of the coral as they need to change their pigmant to protect themselve from the rays just like we tan in the sun. Isn't much but thats all i got :)

 

PS - even though i had already read this when i ordered my aq kit, i still got the 2 uv bulbs, whether they will have any effect time will tell

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Which kit would you use for a biocube 8? Would these kits fit inside the stock hood forof the biocube?

 

depends on if you want dimmable - and depending on the size of the heatsink etc that you'll have to put inside of it. The led's themselves are only a few mm thick - this wont be an issue. I would go with 12-15 lights in there just because its available :) but that will glow .. hmm Check with Ray he might have something already drawn out for a biocube 8!

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Very happy with the color - my GSP is growing like crazy - my Finger Leather is growing like crazy - My candy cane is splitting again (will be at 5 heads now).. some of my corals got choked out from GHA (its my torture from all the horrible things happening here with all the flooding etc).. I am moving VERY soon - upgrading - drilling - adding a sump - and a protein skimmer

 

Until then - My tank kind of is a mess - well its one rock more or less -.

 

 

Growth is VERY well for what hasnt been choked by GHA - I've battled this in the past .. and its a pain in the ass - it came back with a vengeance because i had a month of horrible tank maintenance. Every weekend was massive flooding - had been evacuated - hurricane power outages - just not a good time..

 

Overall I'm very satisfied with the color and growth - kit is still working fine - No duds no burn outs - the 'cheap' drivers are working just fine!

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Hi guys

 

I'm in designing stage for 40x20x14h aquarium. Do you think that 36LEDs kit mounted on 3 aluminum U profiles, 35" long, and with 3" spacing between profiles would be enough for lightning of this tank?.

I would like to keep soft corals, and maybe some SPS or LPS which does not require much light.

 

 

post-69904-1317933337_thumb.jpg

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I think the lighting would be sufficient for what you are looking to keep but I am not sure that the U channel will be able to dissipate enough of the heat generated by the LED's. I have 36 on a 24x10 heatsink and it gets warm to the touch when running.

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Hi guys

 

I'm in designing stage for 40x20x14h aquarium. Do you think that 36LEDs kit mounted on 3 aluminum U profiles, 35" long, and with 3" spacing between profiles would be enough for lightning of this tank?.

I would like to keep soft corals, and maybe some SPS or LPS which does not require much light.

 

 

post-69904-1317933337_thumb.jpg

whatever you do, just make sure the tank isn't angled like that or the water will spill out alittle..... j/k :lol:

 

seriously, IMO I think 36 LEDs would be more than enough however I would reconsider the overall width of the heatsink ( C channel)....I think you'd be better suited to reduce the width to prehaps 27"-30" and hold the LEDs closer together...

I would be concerned that a 3" spacing would produce "spotlighting" in your tank...

 

Presuming that you are using optics (either 60 or 80 degrees) the light spread should be more than sufficent with a fixture that is only 5 to 6-1/2" short on both ends

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whatever you do, just make sure the tank isn't angled like that or the water will spill out alittle..... j/k :lol:

 

seriously, IMO I think 36 LEDs would be more than enough however I would reconsider the overall width of the heatsink ( C channel)....I think you'd be better suited to reduce the width to prehaps 27"-30" and hold the LEDs closer together...

I would be concerned that a 3" spacing would produce "spotlighting" in your tank...

 

Presuming that you are using optics (either 60 or 80 degrees) the light spread should be more than sufficent with a fixture that is only 5 to 6-1/2" short on both ends

 

 

yea 60 or 80 degree optics is what you'll want.. Currently I'm just on the surface level (on a glass top) but i need to elevate it! Its coming.. Cant wait to do it all right w/ a sump this time around

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm thinking of buying the 72 dimmable kit for my 90g. Anythoughts on a cheap and easy was to incorporate some moonlighting? I was thinking 2-4 3W royal blues...would you need to buy a separate driver for them. Certainly you could turn off the white and dim the blues, but I'd rather have it on a different circuit so I can automate it.

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I'm thinking of buying the 72 dimmable kit for my 90g. Anythoughts on a cheap and easy was to incorporate some moonlighting? I was thinking 2-4 3W royal blues...would you need to buy a separate driver for them. Certainly you could turn off the white and dim the blues, but I'd rather have it on a different circuit so I can automate it.

 

 

order the 72 LED kit.. and grab an extra driver +3-4 RB LED's.. put it on a separate timer. If you ask ray he'll work with you I'm sure of it. Typically speaking he tosses in a few extra LED's depending on the size of your kit. Smart move honestly on his part - send an extra 2-3 led's to ensure in case one is failed your covered.. and there is no reason to pay for more shipping!

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Thanks for the reply...I emailed him yesterday morning. (Its the support@aquastyle email right?) L:ooking forward to his response and starting my build!

 

 

order the 72 LED kit.. and grab an extra driver +3-4 RB LED's.. put it on a separate timer. If you ask ray he'll work with you I'm sure of it. Typically speaking he tosses in a few extra LED's depending on the size of your kit. Smart move honestly on his part - send an extra 2-3 led's to ensure in case one is failed your covered.. and there is no reason to pay for more shipping!
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Update-Just heard from Ray. He recommended a 1:1 White:blue b/c the 2:1 would be over 20,000K. Is that the consensus on the bridgelux? I've read on many threads to do 2:1 Blue:White with CREE.

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Update-Just heard from Ray. He recommended a 1:1 White:blue b/c the 2:1 would be over 20,000K. Is that the consensus on the bridgelux? I've read on many threads to do 2:1 Blue:White with CREE.

 

it depends what white your talking about, neutral white, then 2:1, if cool white, then 1:1

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OK, now that I'm thoroughly confused about which combination of whites to get...don't the warmer colors 4500 or 6500K lead to more algal growth, regardless of the ratio to blue? Is there a good ratio to mix the warm and cool to get the benefits of both?

 

 

A second question... I am installing my 72 kit in a canopy over a 92 gal bowfront (24' in depth) The lights will be approximately 6-8' above the water unless I modify it which is possible. As this is a relatively deep tank and the lights are so close to the water, would I be better with the 60 or 80 degree optics?

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michelleshusband

I also purchased their dimmable led kit (36) and made 2 led light fixtures with them (19 led each on two heatsink 5x15inch).

 

The fixtures are on 20L without optics about 6-8 inches off the water surface.

 

Overall, I am happy with the price, growth, and coverage.

 

If I were to do this again, I would get 2:1 or 1.5:1 blue to white ratio. The white takes over the blue if you can't dim the lights separately as for my case because I only have 1 driver per fixture.

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  • 2 weeks later...

this is a great informational thread. Glad you had started. Easy to follow.

Gave me some ideas and all.

Thanks again for posting it.

-Mark

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this is a great informational thread. Glad you had started. Easy to follow.

Gave me some ideas and all.

Thanks again for posting it.

-Mark

 

Cheers if you need help holler

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