Full Spectrum LED tank pictures

[jedimasterben]

Maker's has arrived. All the players are in the house. Time to build!

 

Question: I have 4-3ups, 1-OCW and 1- TV. Utilizing a DIM-4 to drive and control, which means I can only run 12 LEDs, what configuration would you suggest?

What color temp look are you looking for? the OCW will whiten the look up a bit. I would do the OCW on one channel, the TV and two RB on the second, three RB on the third, and one RB and two NW on the fourth.

 

Also, pics.

[McJosh13]

I would like to see a PAR meter over a TV LED. Every violet light source I've ever tested (actinics from PC, T5HO, and VHO) gave very, very, very low PAR readings because PAR meters are not sensitive at all to violet spectrums.

 

That doesn't mean the violet isn't useful to the corals, it just means that they don't put out much PAR.

 

This is a problem with the par meters, not with the violet spectrum. Just because the par meter is reading low, it does not mean that there is not much par there. You need to find out how much the par meter is under reporting at that wavelength and then multiply to find the true par.

[knives2886]

here is a good question that im sure has been asked many times. can the cree leds put off the right spectrum as in uv and what not to grow plants/flowers?

[jedimasterben]

here is a good question that im sure has been asked many times. can the cree leds put off the right spectrum as in uv and what not to grow plants/flowers?

Zooxanthellae in corals use the same type of cells for photosynthesis as plants do, so yes. That's why you'll see some of the premade cool white & royal blue lights advertised as "Aquarium and Grow Lights".

 

Also, no Cree LED that I know of dips into UV spectrum (400nm and below).

[Adrnalnrsh]

here is a good question that im sure has been asked many times. can the cree leds put off the right spectrum as in uv and what not to grow plants/flowers?

 

I don't think they are Cree's but Milad's and Rapids "TV/UV" are both supposed to hit the 420nm range.

[OneTrickPony]

From a different thread,

 

I have to really caution people about using so much violet. I see people adding tons of them to use them for coloration, but these are really PAR monsters. When I started testing on 420nm LEDs back in the day, a single TV (much lower output than the ones offered now) would produce 20% more PAR than a Cree XP-E royal at the same current (measured with a spectrometer, not a PAR meter). With 420nm being so far down the human visual sensitivity range, they will never have a major impact on color, until you add enough of them to do some potentially serious damage to corals.

[jT415Gz]

Some news from RapidLED in response to my e-mail sent not too long ago this morning:

 

"Hi Jeff,

 

Our supplier of "Violet UV" LEDs lists the peak wavelength range as Min 390 and Max 420, though they break that up into three separate color bins: 390-400nm, 400-410nm, and 410-420nm. We always get ours at the "410-420nm" color, so that's why we list our spec as "410-420nm wavelength" on the product description.

 

I'd be glad to repeat that on the thread if you'd like, or if you want to pass along the information on our behalf that's fine as well.

 

Thanks,

Mike"

 

The guys over at RapidLED are awesome people to do business with, they haven't steered me wrong, yet, that's why I chose to do my build through them. Not to mention they are local too. They keep it real with their customers and not out for all the dough in your pocket book. They've saved me a good amount of money. Their customer service is outstanding in person and online within the forums.

[knives2886]

well i might make another light just to try and grow some plants to see the results. XD this may be my ticket to starting some of my garden plants around feb from seed. hate buying crappy plants from the stores that just die off anyways.

[jedimasterben]

I don't think they are Cree's but Milad's and Rapids "TV/UV" are both supposed to hit the 420nm range.

Correct, they all slide right through it.

 

Some news from RapidLED in response to my e-mail sent not too long ago this morning:

 

"Hi Jeff,

 

Our supplier of "Violet UV" LEDs lists the peak wavelength range as Min 390 and Max 420, though they break that up into three separate color bins: 390-400nm, 400-410nm, and 410-420nm. We always get ours at the "410-420nm" color, so that's why we list our spec as "410-420nm wavelength" on the product description.

 

I'd be glad to repeat that on the thread if you'd like, or if you want to pass along the information on our behalf that's fine as well.

 

Thanks,

Mike"

 

The guys over at RapidLED are awesome people to do business with, they haven't steered me wrong, yet, that's why I chose to do my build through them. Not to mention they are local too. They keep it real with their customers and not out for all the dough in your pocket book. They've saved me a good amount of money. Their customer service is outstanding in person and online within the forums.

What they are speaking of with the 410-420nm is what is known as the dominant wavelength, which essentially means the color it looks like the most to our eyes. They should emit fairly close to the same power at the same wavelengths.

 

well i might make another light just to try and grow some plants to see the results. XD this may be my ticket to starting some of my garden plants around feb from seed. hate buying crappy plants from the stores that just die off anyways.

that would be cool. I've seen people using all cool white Cree for houseplants, and you can add some blue and some deep red to hit a couple more photosynthetic peaks harder.

[redfishsc]

here is a good question that im sure has been asked many times. can the cree leds put off the right spectrum as in uv and what not to grow plants/flowers?

 

 

Just to concur with Jedi, plain old white Crees (anything from 4200K to 8000K) will grow plants just fine, and other white (below 4200 and above 8000) will also grow them but are a bit unbalanced for "universal" use.

 

 

However, there are very good uses for 2700K type warm-whites. Hydroponics growers use very warm colored sodium vapor lights to get certain growth and flowering patterns.

 

 

I do not think there are very many plants we're going to grow that require any form of UV/Violet light.

 

I have grown basil, dill, cilantro, and several species of mint under Cree XPG cool whites.

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

There are lots of people who have nano's, not to mention shallow setups too that wouldn't need 6 TV's.

I don't understand what you mean by logistic reasons?

Is it not possible to break up a tree of 6 led's and sell them as pairs?

Also, the shipping cost is quite high just for led's.

$6.00 for First-class...$14.00 for priority?

So I would need to buy 6 TV's 60 degree optics when I only need 4 w/60 degree optics and pay high shipping costs. How come the 2-pack of TV's with 120 degree optics are available for sale and not the 2-pack 60 degree? Again, logistics?

 

I don't mean sound like I'm being negative towards you, I just rather be somewhat clear on things before I order anything for the first time from a new vendor (to me).

 

• Nano setups should be using 120 degrees, if you are using 60 degrees then you should have it really high.
  
• To keep the prices low, we have to have them pre packaged straight from the factory, so we package them in 2s and 6s depending on the degrees.
  
• We don't split them up because then we have extras laying around.
  
• The shipping cost includes all the packing material/boxing/handling/etc. We also do free shipping if the order is over $199. I'm not sure why the priority would be $14 for you unless its a long distance or you have heavy/big items in your cart. It should be closer to about $11.
  
• I explained the 60 vs 120 in my first point. If you are only buying two 60 degree True Violets you are doing your build incorrectly in most cases.
  

 

The packing/shipping is geared for builds that are 10g+ which is 98% of our customers. If we were selling single LEDs the prices would be much higher similar to mouser.

 

If you need help with your build and choosing the right LEDs, just shoot me a pm.

[jT415Gz]

• Nano setups should be using 120 degrees, if you are using 60 degrees then you should have it really high.
  
• To keep the prices low, we have to have them pre packaged straight from the factory, so we package them in 2s and 6s depending on the degrees.
  
• We don't split them up because then we have extras laying around.
  
• The shipping cost includes all the packing material/boxing/handling/etc. We also do free shipping if the order is over $199. I'm not sure why the priority would be $14 for you unless its a long distance or you have heavy/big items in your cart. It should be closer to about $11.
  
• I explained the 60 vs 120 in my first point. If you are only buying two 60 degree True Violets you are doing your build incorrectly in most cases.
  

 

The packing/shipping is geared for builds that are 10g+ which is 98% of our customers. If we were selling single LEDs the prices would be much higher similar to mouser.

 

If you need help with your build and choosing the right LEDs, just shoot me a pm.

Okay gotcha' thanks for the clarity.

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

Ok why are the guys with the MakersLED heatsinks hording the pictures? Post pictures!

[jT415Gz]

I'd like to see those sinks setup and running too - they are sweet sinks.

When is pre-order time for the sinks?

24" sink enough to handle my 36" DT? How about 18" sink?

[chrssprngs]

Wired up my LEDs and connected the four strings of 3 LEDs each to the DIM-4. Plugged in the controller and programmed on, full on, off, full off. Don't know why the programming does not let you begin in the afternoon. Got around this by resetting actual time to 5 hours later. I have power at each channel on the controller and across each pos and neg of the LED string. Nothing is lit. How do I trouble shoot?

 

Wired up my LEDs and connected the four strings of 3 LEDs each to the DIM-4. Plugged in the controller and programmed on, full on, off, full off. Don't know why the programming does not let you begin in the afternoon. Got around this by resetting actual time to 5 hours later. I have power at each channel on the controller and across each pos and neg of the LED string. Nothing is lit. How do I trouble shoot?

[jT415Gz]

Wired up my LEDs and connected the four strings of 3 LEDs each to the DIM-4. Plugged in the controller and programmed on, full on, off, full off. Don't know why the programming does not let you begin in the afternoon. Got around this by resetting actual time to 5 hours later. I have power at each channel on the controller and across each pos and neg of the LED string. Nothing is lit. How do I trouble shoot?

 

Wired up my LEDs and connected the four strings of 3 LEDs each to the DIM-4. Plugged in the controller and programmed on, full on, off, full off. Don't know why the programming does not let you begin in the afternoon. Got around this by resetting actual time to 5 hours later. I have power at each channel on the controller and across each pos and neg of the LED string. Nothing is lit. How do I trouble shoot?

I don't have the DIM4.

First off check your solder work at each connection and make sure none of the led's are prematurely grounding to anything especially to the screws/heatsink they are laid out on.

Example: Solder going over from pad to star is bad, exposed wire too long and touching something metal (a screw, star, heatsink)

 

Set Multimeter to check Continuity (Ohm symbol - looks like headphones or speaker signal thing)

Use a multimeter to check continuity on each string of led's. At beginning of string probe the + or - on the first led and then probe the exact opposite polarity on the very last led on that circuit, and continue on to the following circuits. This will tell you whether or not your strings are getting a continuous signal throughout the circuit.

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

Wired up my LEDs and connected the four strings of 3 LEDs each to the DIM-4. Plugged in the controller and programmed on, full on, off, full off. Don't know why the programming does not let you begin in the afternoon. Got around this by resetting actual time to 5 hours later. I have power at each channel on the controller and across each pos and neg of the LED string. Nothing is lit. How do I trouble shoot?

 

Wired up my LEDs and connected the four strings of 3 LEDs each to the DIM-4. Plugged in the controller and programmed on, full on, off, full off. Don't know why the programming does not let you begin in the afternoon. Got around this by resetting actual time to 5 hours later. I have power at each channel on the controller and across each pos and neg of the LED string. Nothing is lit. How do I trouble shoot?

 

 

I ran into this and yelled at it for a few minutes until I realized its smarter than me. Its because you need to set the next variable which finishes the ramp up later otherwise it wouldnt work.

 

so you finish the ramp at 5pm

you cant have the start of the ramp (the first variable) after 5pm

[Singlefin]

No hording. Delivery scheduled for the 22nd

[Singlefin]

Pins and needles. Does it come with instructions for wiring? Seems simple but I'm sure I could screw it up.

[jedimasterben]

Both my Makers fixtures are arriving tomorrow. The missus is excited about her pico getting set up.

 

I'd like to see those sinks setup and running too - they are sweet sinks.

When is pre-order time for the sinks?

24" sink enough to handle my 36" DT? How about 18" sink?

I'd do the 24" fixture. 6" away from each side is a good starting point.

[knives2886]

Just to concur with Jedi, plain old white Crees (anything from 4200K to 8000K) will grow plants just fine, and other white (below 4200 and above 8000) will also grow them but are a bit unbalanced for "universal" use.

 

 

However, there are very good uses for 2700K type warm-whites. Hydroponics growers use very warm colored sodium vapor lights to get certain growth and flowering patterns.

 

 

I do not think there are very many plants we're going to grow that require any form of UV/Violet light.

 

I have grown basil, dill, cilantro, and several species of mint under Cree XPG cool whites.

 

 

how many leds are you using to grow these? this has me very interested in what it can grow. i have in mind a mangrove i have been trying to grow as well that needs its own spot. its hitting 3 foot tall and dont fit in any of my tanks or near a window anymore.

[Lednewbie]

Only order half of the LEDs and markersled heatsink but both gets delivered tomorrow. Can't wait til UPS knocks on my door.

[loyalhero90]

So I'm pretty much a noobie at this but I'd like to give it a shot so I wanted a cool new full spectrum light for my 8.3 gallon tank. I wanted the lights strong enough to support a crocea clam/softies/LPS and some macroalgae; hoping to keep it simple. So I was thinkin' :

 

Daytime:

3x 2x XTE Royal 1x XPG Neutral

1x Ocean Coral White

Nightime:

1x Cree Royal Blue

2x TV

 

Heatsink:

6" Makersheatsink

 

Controllers:

Dim4- don't know if there are too many led strings to light them all while also powering the fan.

 

Notes:

Don't know which colors would be best and if TV would be best with RB in nighttime or daytime.

Well any thoughts?

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

So I'm pretty much a noobie at this but I'd like to give it a shot so I wanted a cool new full spectrum light for my 8.3 gallon tank. I wanted the lights strong enough to support a crocea clam/softies/LPS and some macroalgae; hoping to keep it simple. So I was thinkin' :

 

Daytime:

3x 2x XTE Royal 1x XPG Neutral

1x Ocean Coral White

Nightime:

1x Cree Royal Blue

2x TV

 

Heatsink:

6" Makersheatsink

 

Controllers:

Dim4- don't know if there are too many led strings to light them all while also powering the fan.

 

Notes:

Don't know which colors would be best and if TV would be best with RB in nighttime or daytime.

Well any thoughts?

 

DIM4 won't be able to run all that

 

You would need to do something like this to make it happen:

CH1 3 Royal Blue

CH2 3 royal Blue

CH3 3 Neutral White

CH4 1 OCW

 

The issue is since you are using up all the channels, you cant use one for your night lights. Also you want RB or White for your night light not TV. TV is to powerful and you cant see the light.

[jedimasterben]

DIM4 won't be able to run all that

 

You would need to do something like this to make it happen:

CH1 3 Royal Blue

CH2 3 royal Blue

CH3 3 Neutral White

CH4 1 OCW

 

The issue is since you are using up all the channels, you cant use one for your night lights. Also you want RB or White for your night light not TV. TV is to powerful and you cant see the light.

+1 all of this.