AquaStyleOnline Club

[jedimasterben]

So what's my best bet...?...add more leds to that driver..?..

What LEDs do you have on it now (and number of each)? Which driver is it, the 7-12 or 12-20?

 

My tek/aquastyle t5/led hybrid setup.36 blues..........

 

Now with shimmer................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking good! Now all you need is to ditch those T5s, you'll be glad you did.

 

I meant 35. I got extras for a fuge.

 

I bought the ones you recommended.

 

12 rb with the kit

 

These from ledgroup

 

8 4500k

6 true violet

3 cool blue

3 deep red

3 green

 

 

 

I guess I need an extra driver for my exotics

 

How would you lay this out over a 22 by 6 heatsink? I plan on retrofitting it into my t5 housing.

 

Btw thanks for all the help

Make 4x clusters of 2x NW and 3x RB spaced even across the heatsink, and in between that, do 3x clusters of 1x deep red, 1x cool blue, 1x turquoise/cyan (the green ones), and 2x violet.

 

 

Hey Jedi Ben,

 

Thanks for all the help.

 

So I decided to add cool blues as well. So this is what I have and I need your help, without adding another driver. I have two Meanwell LPF-50D-48 drivers. Right now I have two strands of 12 on each one. Can I add more LEDs to these drivers? I have 700ma fuses attached just in case. When I tested before they were running at 550 ma per strand and are rated at 1250 ma total per driver.

 

Here are the LEDS I have available to go on my 36"x18" tank..Please recommend the best combo given the drivers. I got advice from you before, but have since ordered cool blues as well. I dont want it to be too blue (thats why I have a dimmer).

 

12x 4500K

18x RB

6x Violet

6x Red

6x Cool Blue

6x Cyan/Turquoise

 

As you can see this is 54 LEDs. I dont think I can run all of that on the two drivers. Also I am going to do 6 clusters

 

Ideally I could run 54 leds between the two drivers, but I do not know if that is possible

The forward voltage on those drivers is 28.8-48v, and you can run two strings on each, so that's four strings up to 48v.

 

Here are the forward voltages for each LED you have:

NW = 3.7v

RB = 3.6v

V = 3.8v

DR = 2.5v

C = 3.8v

CB = 3.6v

 

You can use these numbers to figure out the forward voltage of each string you have and use that to figure out if your drivers can handle the extra LEDs, and if so, which string to put them on. I would recommend keeping the DR/C/CB clusters on the same driver as white, as they make a whitish-looking light to our eyes, and the RB/V on their own driver.

 

Jedimaster .... I have to say that I am absolutely impressed by your knowledge of LED lighting ! Really ... you must have done quite a lot of research on all the available ones, not only individual LED's but fixtures that are commercially sold and there seem to be so many on the market now ...

 

If you have a general overview written on LED's I would appreciate it if you could post a link to it, or add a post to the Ask Albert thread sharing some of your wide knowledge with those who follow that thread.

 

I appreciate it

 

Don't want to take away from this thread of course but NR members who are on my thread may not be following this one and that is why I ask. Thanks

 

Albert

Thanks for the complement! I have done tons of research on LEDs, drivers, voltages, wavelengths, spectrums, lumens/mW power, doodads, and I just like passing it along.

 

I've actually been working on a writeup with what I've figure out that isn't covered in one of the main LED threads on the board. Comparisons of Bridgelux, Cree, Luxeon LED chips, suggested combos of each, where to buy them, what drivers to choose from, etc. One day when I slow down I'll kick it into high gear.

[najluni15]

Your knowledge and help is unmatched.

 

Is it ok if I run the drivers right to the limit or will it prematurely kill them? With the LEDs I have I would be pushing 191.4v total with drivers that can support 192v total.

[jedimasterben]

Your knowledge and help is unmatched.

 

Is it ok if I run the drivers right to the limit or will it prematurely kill them? With the LEDs I have I would be pushing 191.4v total with drivers that can support 192v total.

Drivers are meant to be run with a little overhead tolerance, the Meanwells you have are no exception, so you should be fine. If you dim any of them down, you will be more than fine, as reducing the amp draw of the LEDs by dimming will also reduce the forward voltage that they need.

[najluni15]

Great to know! Right now I run at 30 percent an I don't plan on going higher than 45 percent. So I should be fine. I think I wi have to split up some of the exotic colors as I don't have enough voltage. I keep them dimmed but when I make changes on my controller it puts the led at full power for a second. I don't want the power surge to kill my drivers or any LEDs.

 

Thanks again

[tone2607]

Its a 12-20 driver and iam only running I believe 12 cyan cool blue and the red if I remember correctly...

[albertthiel]

Thanks for the complement! I have done tons of research on LEDs, drivers, voltages, wavelengths, spectrums, lumens/mW power, doodads, and I just like passing it along.

 

I've actually been working on a writeup with what I've figure out that isn't covered in one of the main LED threads on the board. Comparisons of Bridgelux, Cree, Luxeon LED chips, suggested combos of each, where to buy them, what drivers to choose from, etc. One day when I slow down I'll kick it into high gear.

 

Yes you sure have all that knowledge needed to do a real nice article on LED's and give a complete overview as I think it will cut down on the number of what seems to be repetitive info you are giving out now ... less work on the forum = more time to play with tanks and do some more research

 

Albert

[opperds]

So I half way built my heatsink out of 2in wide u channel today. Would you recommend it 4 or 6 inches wide? I'm doing clusters down the middle.

[najluni15]

Alrigh so this is what I came up with for my drivers. I have to make sure in within the specs f the driver so I don't kill it.

Here are specs of LEDs

NW 3.6 v x 12

Rb. 3.6v x 18

Deep red 2.3v x 4

V 2.5v x 6

Cyan 3.8v x 2

Cool blue 3.6 v x 6

turquoise 3.6 v x 4

Red 2.5 v x 2

Total LEDs 54. Total voltage 180.8

Maximum out voltage for 2 drivers 192 v

 

Strands:

White driver 2x: 6nw-3cb-1c-3t

 

Blue driver 2x: 9rb-2dr-3v-1r

 

I had to put the reds on the blue driver to keep the voltage in check. Do you think it will be alright if I have all LEDs set to the same power? They will all be around 30-45 percent power. That maintains a 2:3 white to blue ratio then adds exotics in a 1-1-1-1 ratio.

Each will be clustered into six groups. Not planning on optics either

 

Thanks

[jedimasterben]

Great to know! Right now I run at 30 percent an I don't plan on going higher than 45 percent. So I should be fine. I think I wi have to split up some of the exotic colors as I don't have enough voltage. I keep them dimmed but when I make changes on my controller it puts the led at full power for a second. I don't want the power surge to kill my drivers or any LEDs.

 

Thanks again

I think you would be ok to leave them like they are, though. A small burst for a short time should be handled by the meanwells no problemo.

 

Its a 12-20 driver and iam only running I believe 12 cyan cool blue and the red if I remember correctly...

Well, the red have a very low forward voltage compared to the others. What are the numbers of each led on that string? That way we can calculate the forward voltage they need.

 

So I half way built my heatsink out of 2in wide u channel today. Would you recommend it 4 or 6 inches wide? I'm doing clusters down the middle.

I would recommend as much as possible and make damn sure you run a fan!

 

Alrigh so this is what I came up with for my drivers. I have to make sure in within the specs f the driver so I don't kill it.

Here are specs of LEDs

NW 3.6 v x 12

Rb. 3.6v x 18

Deep red 2.3v x 4

V 2.5v x 6

Cyan 3.8v x 2

Cool blue 3.6 v x 6

turquoise 3.6 v x 4

Red 2.5 v x 2

Total LEDs 54. Total voltage 180.8

Maximum out voltage for 2 drivers 192 v

 

Strands:

White driver 2x: 6nw-3cb-1c-3t

 

Blue driver 2x: 9rb-2dr-3v-1r

 

I had to put the reds on the blue driver to keep the voltage in check. Do you think it will be alright if I have all LEDs set to the same power? They will all be around 30-45 percent power. That maintains a 2:3 white to blue ratio then adds exotics in a 1-1-1-1 ratio.

Each will be clustered into six groups. Not planning on optics either

 

Thanks

As long as you are running them at the same level, you should be ok. If you turn up the red and royal blue string, it will make a purple-ish color if memory serves me right. Clustered and no optics should mix really well!

[tone2607]

On that driver I have 4x red...4x cyan...4x cool blue..

[opperds]

Very pleased with the shipping. Ordered them Tuesday night and they arrived Thursday morning. Now just waiting onledgroup.

[jtgordon20]

Should do the trick.

 

 

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.

 

I emailed Rey and he is all good with my request, just an extra $4 charge for the upgrade of one driver.

This should get ordered on my birthday or a bit beforehand.

Another question for you Jedimaster. On the 24 kit, which heatsink should I get, and what would you say is the maximum size tank I can run this light on when I upgrade later on?

Also, which violet is everyone ordering?

Thank you for all your help so far

[Nanofreak79]

Much props to ray! I just ordered my kit last night. After ordering, I woke this morning realizing that I needed the larger 12-20 driver for one of my strings. He changed it out, without issues. I'm doing a full spectrum build, and will post pics ASAP!

[tone2607]

Ill try to get more photos up when I can resize images........

 

That's from my bc29 hood I did...40 leds ..in 4 clusters on 3 drivers...

[wrx1908]

Ill try to get more photos up when I can resize images........

 

That's from my bc29 hood I did...40 leds ..in 4 clusters on 3 drivers...

wow looks nice

[ReefDiva]

Okay,

I guess I will go with the 36 LED Kit. How about this arrangement:

 

16 RB

12 4500K Whites

3 True Violets

3 Cyans

2 Reds

 

I need a little Help. I ordered this system from AquaStyle online with the colorled choices as described above and it is working well. I just do not like the very blue color. I want a more even crisp color like in MHalides but without a yellowish tint. Could someone please tell me what to switch several of the 4500k for in order to achieve a better coloring without all the blue. Again, my exact LED color blend is listed above. I want to o place my order today asap. Thanks.

[jedimasterben]

I need a little Help. I ordered this system from AquaStyle online with the colorled choices as described above and it is working well. I just do not like the very blue color. I want a more even crisp color like in MHalides but without a yellowish tint. Could someone please tell me what to switch several of the 4500k for in order to achieve a better coloring without all the blue. Again, my exact LED color blend is listed above. I want to o place my order today asap. Thanks.

How many drivers do you have and what LEDs are on which ones? Honestly yours shouldn't be too awful blue.

 

 

Since I made my recommendation to you back in April, I've found out that there is an important piece of the puzzle missing from Aquastyle's selection - cool blue. When mixed with deep red and cyan in a 1:1:1 ratio, they make a white light. With all that being said, and having seen this ratio in person now, this should net you a 12-14,000K look (I'm assuming that's what you mean by "crisp color like in MHalides but without a yellowish tint"), and you can dim them to fine-tune.

 

12x NW 4500k

18x RB

3x deep red

3x cyan

3x cool blue

3-6x violet

 

Having more than two drivers that come standard with the kit will help this, as well. Run the whites on one, royal blues and violets together (preferably violets on their own as they are very, very powerful, but that's added cost), and deep red, cyan, and cool blue all on one driver. Cluster the RB and NW together tight, and the exotics clustered tightly, as well.

[jimbro]

for those of you who've switched out the pots for the maxwellen drivers, what size pots are you using and where did you get them?

 

ray told me the pots that came with the kit are 20-50 ohms, but i can't seem to find anything in that range

[tone2607]

for those of you who've switched out the pots for the maxwellen drivers, what size pots are you using and where did you get them?

 

ray told me the pots that came with the kit are 20-50 ohms, but i can't seem to find anything in that range

I did just go to radio shack and get the 25 ohm pot...they have a whole drawer full open the drawer and left side second box ..4.29....

[jimbro]

cool, i've only looked online so far

 

thanks

[ReefDiva]

How many drivers do you have and what LEDs are on which ones? Honestly yours shouldn't be too awful blue.

 

 

Since I made my recommendation to you back in April, I've found out that there is an important piece of the puzzle missing from Aquastyle's selection - cool blue. When mixed with deep red and cyan in a 1:1:1 ratio, they make a white light. With all that being said, and having seen this ratio in person now, this should net you a 12-14,000K look (I'm assuming that's what you mean by "crisp color like in MHalides but without a yellowish tint"), and you can dim them to fine-tune.

 

 

 

12x NW 4500k

18x RB

3x deep red

3x cyan

3x cool blue

3-6x violet

 

Having more than two drivers that come standard with the kit will help this, as well. Run the whites on one, royal blues and violets together (preferably violets on their own as they are very, very powerful, but that's added cost), and deep red, cyan, and cool blue all on one driver. Cluster the RB and NW together tight, and the exotics clustered tightly, as well.

 

Well, I only have 2 Drivers. The Royal Blues are all on one driver and the others are on the other driver. The CWs(4500k) are not as nearly as bright as the Royal blues. From the posts I am reading here, the whites others are running are all very bright. Am I doing something wrong? I am running a total of 36 leds so adding any extra without replacing some already in place will make it very tight. In regards to the blues for my system...I don't have any 'Cool Blues' just the Royal Blue and the Cyans. I am also using optics on all of the leds. Should I remove them?

[jedimasterben]

Well, I only have 2 Drivers. The Royal Blues are all on one driver and the others are on the other driver. The NWs are not as nearly as bright as the Royal blues. From the posts I am reading here, the whites others are running are all very bright. Am I doing something wrong? I am running a total of 36 leds so adding any extra without replacing some already in place will mak it very tight. In regards to the blues for my system...I don't have any 'Cool Blues' just the Royal Blues and the Cyans. I a also using optics on all of the leds. Should I remove them?

Runnign without optics will "blend" the colors together more, and you may possibly lose some blue-look to that, but I don't think it would help very much. Is the driver with NW and such dimmed any versus the royal blue driver?

[ReefDiva]

Runnign without optics will "blend" the colors together more, and you may possibly lose some blue-look to that, but I don't think it would help very much. Is the driver with NW and such dimmed any versus the royal blue driver?

The driver with the NW is actually at full capacity & the blue's driver is at the lowest possible. Are you sure I shouldn't have gotten 10k? I went to the Lfs today and checked out their led systems over there tanks. The color is beautiful. They use a 1:1 RB vs. 14k Whites. The blue in my tank is very pretty with the orange in my Acan Lords and the green in my Styloporas 'pop.' However, the pinkish orange in my montiporas are almost invisible.

[jedimasterben]

The driver with the NW is actually at full capacity & the blue's driver is at the lowest possible. Are you sure I shouldn't have gotten 10k? I went to the Lfs today and checked out their led systems over there tanks. The color is beautiful. They use a 1:1 RB vs. 14k Whites. The blue in my tank is very pretty with the orange in my Acan Lords and the green in my Styloporas 'pop.' However, the pinkish orange in my montiporas are almost invisible.

If your RB string is at minimum and NW is maximum and it still looks blue, then your potentiometer on your RB string is not connected properly and the string is running at maximum. Check your connections.

[iheartJMS]

Heh jedimaster, I have a question! Hopefully you don't mind me coming to you for help I'm getting ready to order LEDs for my 40g breeder mixed reef. I was wondering what you would recommend I get in terms of how many LEDs and how many of each color I get? I would like to do a full spectrum build. Also, what email are you guys contacting ray at? He hasn't responded to any of my emails.

 

Thanks a lot!