AquaStyleOnline Club

[jedimasterben]

He is genius. I don't need another tank. I'll sell the extra LEDs when I'm done building

Nobody needs another tank, but we get them anyway.

[albertthiel]

That sounds like a plan and I am sure there will be lots of takers out there esp if the price is right ...

 

Albert

 

 

 

 

He is genius. I don't need another tank. I'll sell the extra LEDs when I'm done building

[tone2607]

Yep, drivers won't be an issue, but I would highly, highly, highly recommend running at least three drivers. One for white only, one for royal blue and violet, and one for red, cyan, and cool blue.

 

10x 4500K

15x royal blue

3x red

3x cyan

3x cool blue

4x violet

Ok this is what iam gonna shot for and iam placing my order tonight iam just trying to put together clusters..thinking about going mayb three..as this will be in a bc29 hood..this is what I have got so far.......

 

 

.......R......CB..... ............... ......CY.......V...... ...................R........CB.....

....RB................RB.... .............. ...RB.......RB......RB... ........".....RB.............RB.....

4500.....4500.....4500... ............. . .4500.....4500.....4500.... ........ 4500.....4500.......4500....

...RB......RB........RB.... ..................RB ........RB .........RB..... ..............RB...........RB....

.........CY........V........ .................. .....R...............CB... ....... ..................CY............V.....

 

 

How does that look iam OPEN to all comments and opinions ...if I need change I'll change it it's just a first idea so far.....

 

 

 

That would be three clusters all in a row

[jedimasterben]

Ok this is what iam gonna shot for and iam placing my order tonight iam just trying to put together clusters..thinking about going mayb three..as this will be in a bc29 hood..this is what I have got so far.......

 

 

.......R......CB..... ............... ......CY.......V...... ...................R........CB.....

....RB................RB.... .............. ...RB.......RB......RB... ........".....RB.............RB.....

4500.....4500.....4500... ............. . .4500.....4500.....4500.... ........ 4500.....4500.......4500....

...RB......RB........RB.... ..................RB ........RB .........RB..... ..............RB...........RB....

.........CY........V........ .................. .....R...............CB... ....... ..................CY............V.....

 

 

How does that look iam OPEN to all comments and opinions ...if I need change I'll change it it's just a first idea so far.....

 

 

 

That would be three clusters all in a row

You would ideally need all the clusters to be identical. That way you don't have uneven-ness of colors in the tank.

[tone2607]

You would ideally need all the clusters to be identical. That way you don't have uneven-ness of colors in the tank.

Ok I gotcha...so the middle cluster will just have to b flipped around...how does the color balance seem..?

[jedimasterben]

Ok I gotcha...so the middle cluster will just have to b flipped around...how does the color balance seem..?

Looks ok to me - you have a 3:5 ratio of NW to RB, a bit different than the 2:3 ratio but should still look good, it will be close.

[tone2607]

Looks ok to me - you have a 3:5 ratio of NW to RB, a bit different than the 2:3 ratio but should still look good, it will be close.

I was thinking same thing about the ratio..iam just stuck on where to place everything so they would be all set.and nothing would really get flushed out...should I take som out or add.....?

Mayb start a fourth cluster....I dunno kinda stuck here

[jedimasterben]

I would do four clusters on a BC29, anyway.

 

So that's:

8x NW

12x RB

4x deep red

4x cyan

4x cool blue

4-6x violet

[tone2607]

I would do four clusters on a BC29, anyway.

 

So that's:

8x NW

12x RB

4x deep red

4x cyan

4x cool blue

4-6x violet

Ok now that looks alot Better and a lil less confusing...thanks Ben I've been a huge help with this....

Now i allready ordered the cool blue Dom ledgeoupbuy so I will b four short of the 36 mark for Ray do u think I should add another color or just add one more each to the exotics...?k

[jedimasterben]

Ok now that looks alot Better and a lil less confusing...thanks Ben I've been a huge help with this....

Now i allready ordered the cool blue Dom ledgeoupbuy so I will b four short of the 36 mark for Ray do u think I should add another color or just add one more each to the exotics...?k

Have some extra, you never know when they will come in handy. Ask me how I know.

[RaikOu]

Hi guys, my first post here! I bought the 36 LED kit from aquastyle + 4 violet LEDs,

and they will arrive on Monday, but i have one question, the Maxwellen drive is for

12-20 LEDs, can i use 20 LEDs in drive or the driver will be overloaded? if yes, i will use

18 in each drive and buy another drive for the 4 violet. Thanks

 

sorry for the bad English, im from Brazil.

[land_lubber]

Yes you can use 20 on the one driver.

[jedimasterben]

Hi guys, my first post here! I bought the 36 LED kit from aquastyle + 4 violet LEDs,

and they will arrive on Monday, but i have one question, the Maxwellen drive is for

12-20 LEDs, can i use 20 LEDs in drive or the driver will be overloaded? if yes, i will use

18 in each drive and buy another drive for the 4 violet. Thanks

 

sorry for the bad English, im from Brazil.

I am assuming that you will run the 18x RB with 2x violet, and 18x white with 2x violet. If so, the first string's forward voltage would be 72.4v, and the second string would be 74.2v. The 12-20 driver has a maximum forward voltage output of 70v. If you go over that, you will put unneeded stress on the driver and either blow it (and possibly the LEDs, too) immediately, or die very, very quickly.

 

You will need to either:

1) Buy another driver to run some of the LEDs.

2) Not use four of the LEDs, so run only 18x on the "white" string and 19x on the "blue" string.

3) Dim the LEDs to around 80-85%, which will reduce the forward voltage the string requires.

 

 

Also, you cannot run just 4 LEDs on the smaller LED driver, it needs a minimum of 7x LEDs to function at all.

[land_lubber]

I've got 60 leds running on 3 drivers and have been for some time now and they are all fine.

[Kazooie]

So I'm thinking of replacing the whites on my setup with some that are a little better... where and what would be better?

[jedimasterben]

I've got 60 leds running on 3 drivers and have been for some time now and they are all fine.

Different LEDs run at different forward voltages. If you are overvolting the driver, it will die prematurely.

 

So I'm thinking of replacing the whites on my setup with some that are a little better... where and what would be better?

4500k. Keep in a 2:3 ratio of NW to RB, and cluster as tightly together as possible.

[RaikOu]

I am assuming that you will run the 18x RB with 2x violet, and 18x white with 2x violet. If so, the first string's forward voltage would be 72.4v, and the second string would be 74.2v. The 12-20 driver has a maximum forward voltage output of 70v. If you go over that, you will put unneeded stress on the driver and either blow it (and possibly the LEDs, too) immediately, or die very, very quickly.

 

You will need to either:

1) Buy another driver to run some of the LEDs.

2) Not use four of the LEDs, so run only 18x on the "white" string and 19x on the "blue" string.

3) Dim the LEDs to around 80-85%, which will reduce the forward voltage the string requires.

 

 

Also, you cannot run just 4 LEDs on the smaller LED driver, it needs a minimum of 7x LEDs to function at all.

 

yeah, that's what i was going to do, run 18+2 white and 18+2 blue. I already suspected that it would overload though... My violet is: 420nm Actinic Violet LED. Should I take off 4 white Leds and replaced with 4 violet, or leave the whites until i buy another 3 violet leds? thanks for all.

[jedimasterben]

yeah, that's what i was going to do, run 18+2 white and 18+2 blue. I already suspected that it would overload though... My violet is: 420nm Actinic Violet LED. Should I take off 4 white Leds and replaced with 4 violet, or leave the whites until i buy another 3 violet leds? thanks for all.

The white LEDs have a forward voltage of 3.7v, royal blue is 3.6v, and violet is 3.8v. Just put whatever combo results in 70v or less, otherwise you will run the risk of blowing something or shortening the life of the driver.

[najluni15]

So the new white 4500 lights should help my sps color up and not be washed out? Especially the reds?

[jtgordon20]

I believe that for my birthday, my girlfriend is going to order me my led kit. So I have a question for you Jedi Master

 

In regards to what exactly I should put I'm my shopping cart

You've said a 24 led dimmable kit for my 14 gallon biocube. I want it to be capable for corals up to sps and clams.

what colors should I order with the kit?

Which drivers? Are the Maxwellen good or the meanwell?

What should I just go ahead and add the heatsink on?

And which optics?

 

Sorry for the many questions haha I just want it done right and I know you are the master.

[jedimasterben]

So the new white 4500 lights should help my sps color up and not be washed out? Especially the reds?

Should do the trick.

 

I believe that for my birthday, my girlfriend is going to order me my led kit. So I have a question for you Jedi Master

 

In regards to what exactly I should put I'm my shopping cart

You've said a 24 led dimmable kit for my 14 gallon biocube. I want it to be capable for corals up to sps and clams.

what colors should I order with the kit?

Which drivers? Are the Maxwellen good or the meanwell?

What should I just go ahead and add the heatsink on?

And which optics?

 

Sorry for the many questions haha I just want it done right and I know you are the master.

I would do:

 

6x NW

9x RB

2x deep red

2x cyan

2x cool blue (order from LEDGroupBuy)

4x violet

 

As for drivers, what does your budget allow? Preferably, you'd have one for white, one for royal blue, one for deep red, cyan, and cool blue, and one for violet. This won't work, however, with Aquastyle drivers as they need at least 24v in LEDs for the 7-12 driver, and the Meanwell drives need about the same, and they are significantly more expensive.

 

I would do one driver with the 6x NW and the red, cyan, and cool blue, AS LONG as you cluster them together as tightly as possible. Cool blue, deep red, and cyan combine to form a whitish light to our eyes, but will add some intense coloration and pop. I would do the other driver running the royal blue and violet, but you will need the larger driver for that string.

 

So that's one 7-12 and one 12-20 driver.

 

If you are retrofitting them into your hood, no optics, and use a small heatsink and cluster them as tightly together as possible, with clusters being made as two NW and three RB, and another cluster being deep red, cyan, and cool blue. The violet can be placed anywhere, as you won't see the light produced by them, but you will see their effect in coral color.

[jtgordon20]

This wont be put in a hood, more like a pendant. Can I switch out the drivers when I order from him?

[jedimasterben]

This wont be put in a hood, more like a pendant. Can I switch out the drivers when I order from him?

Yeah, I would just email him before you order (is he still answering before you order, anyone?) and ask what you need to do/order to get the configuration you need.

[opperds]

I'm buying the 36 dimmable kit for my 29g and I'm after a purplish tint. Should I switch up any LEDs to get the color I'm after? Will growth still be good? My tank is coral only.

Thanks.

[jedimasterben]

I'm buying the 36 dimmable kit for my 29g and I'm after a purplish tint. Should I switch up any LEDs to get the color I'm after? Will growth still be good? My tank is coral only.

Thanks.

You won't get a purple tint, even if you use a ton of violet LEDs. You'd need lower-wavelength royal blues to achieve that. The royals from Aquastyle are closer to 460nm range than they are to the 452-455nm that it lists on the product page, so they are much more "cool blue" than "royal blue" which would be 445-450nm. If you want purple, use 440-450nm Luxeon Rebel ES from Steve's LEDs. They are much more powerful (almost twice as much as the Bridgelux Aquastyle sells) and will give you the purple you want.