CNCreef Asis Pro 824 LED/T5HO Evil Cluster Hybrid

[jedimasterben]

@jedi - do you have a pic of the Nanobox setup? I am interested in getting one of these to replace my 8x54w T5 setup on my 90g.

It will look very similar to this, just imagine instead of the color that the unit is completely white, that it has different LEDs and only two T5s lol:

 

Power box

Unit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also do you have a complete parts list for this new setup and places where you got the items?

I've got a list of the LEDs and such, but that's about it. I can amass everything together and get back to you though.

[Adrnalnrsh]

It will look very similar to this, just imagine instead of the color that the unit is completely white, that it has different LEDs and only two T5s lol:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've got a list of the LEDs and such, but that's about it. I can amass everything together and get back to you though.

 

 

Awesome - please do! What's he charging for that setup? Referring to the hardware - not the leds etc.

[jedimasterben]

Awesome - please do! What's he charging for that setup? Referring to the hardware - not the leds etc.

You'd have to email Dave about it - I got a combo deal, plus mine is extremely basic as far as customization goes. david at nanoboxreef dot com

[Adrnalnrsh]

That's I'ma gon do!

[jedimasterben]

[bdevillier19]

Jedi I'm going to be buying some LEDs hopefully withing the next month. I'll need my 3 whites (vero10 or equivalent) 6 cool blue, and at least 12 HV/TV. If you have what I'll need pm me.

[jedimasterben]

Jedi I'm going to be buying some LEDs hopefully withing the next month. I'll need my 3 whites (vero10 or equivalent) 6 cool blue, and at least 12 HV/TV. If you have what I'll need pm me.

I'm getting rid of a total of 8x blue Rebel, 2x BXRA 950, and all 20x solderless hyper violet.

[jedimasterben]

Just talked to Milad - he's placing another order for XP-E2 and he said he's requesting 465nm dominant. Hopefully he can get them!

[bdevillier19]

you said the rebel blues are more green than the xp-e blues right? what spectral range is ideal for the blues to help round out the royal blues? i'd be interested a dozen the hyper violets though. theyre not the ones that have lense problems are they?

[jedimasterben]

Best range for blue is ~465-470nm.

 

The violets are the solderless ones in the 3535 package and silicone lenses.

[NirvanaandTool]

I've thought about that, but that takes a lot of time lol. I'm gonna be selling all of my violet, cool blue, and white LEDs from my current array if anyone wants them. The solderless violets just take up too much room on the heatsink so they gotta go!

 

Plus, when it comes to drivers and such, not many people want to deal with separate power supplies/drivers/controllers in the case of the LDD, and since they don't dim easily people are intimidated by it that aren't really into DIY as it is - and those people are already building their own.

 

I hear you - it's a lot of extra work but I could totally see some people on here buy some pre-made Jedi LEDs. Hell I would have done it if you started building clusters.

LDDs - I feel like ya, its a separate power supply but mounting them on boards and having all the wiring running to one spot just cleans things up so much. I'm really looking forward to working with them over my old bulky ELN-60-48Ps.

 

Just talked to Milad - he's placing another order for XP-E2 and he said he's requesting 465nm dominant. Hopefully he can get them!

 

Doh! I just got in 8 of the old XP-E2's about a month ago. I figured it couldnt hurt to order the 2's over the original XPE blue's. Didnt think to look at the wavelength.

[jedimasterben]

I hear you - it's a lot of extra work but I could totally see some people on here buy some pre-made Jedi LEDs. Hell I would have done it if you started building clusters.

LDDs - I feel like ya, its a separate power supply but mounting them on boards and having all the wiring running to one spot just cleans things up so much. I'm really looking forward to working with them over my old bulky ELN-60-48Ps.

I definitely like the LDD over the ELN. The 10cm LDD boards all slide right into the top of the Makers heatsink, so having them there didn't really matter, but trying to find a spot for the power supply (since they are not IP67) is difficult. I found out that you can use Mean Well HLG series in constant voltage mode, they are IP65 or IP67 and more efficient than the regular power supplies, though much more expensive.

 

I pay 14 cents per kWh here, and going with an HLG over my current power supply (so going from ~70-75% efficiency to 83-88%) will shave ~18% off of my energy costs, which amounts to around $1.50-2.00 per month. Is it worth the ~$85 to buy one for each tank? Short term, no, long term, not really. I love energy efficiency, though, and may buy them just for the hell of it. I do like the IP65 rating, too, would make me feel better about having them near the tank. Saltwater eats the shit out of everything.

 

There is also an HLG version with screw terminals instead of wire leads, but it is not IP rated. The internals of the unit are still sealed, though, I may go with those.

 

Doh! I just got in 8 of the old XP-E2's about a month ago. I figured it couldnt hurt to order the 2's over the original XPE blue's. Didnt think to look at the wavelength.

The XP-E2 from before were I think around 475nm peak, so they're close. I had asked Milad about getting closer to 465nm before, and so he IM'd me before he ordered.

[NirvanaandTool]

I definitely like the LDD over the ELN. The 10cm LDD boards all slide right into the top of the Makers heatsink, so having them there didn't really matter, but trying to find a spot for the power supply (since they are not IP67) is difficult. I found out that you can use Mean Well HLG series in constant voltage mode, they are IP65 or IP67 and more efficient than the regular power supplies, though much more expensive.

 

I pay 14 cents per kWh here, and going with an HLG over my current power supply (so going from ~70-75% efficiency to 83-88%) will shave ~18% off of my energy costs, which amounts to around $1.50-2.00 per month. Is it worth the ~$85 to buy one for each tank? Short term, no, long term, not really. I love energy efficiency, though, and may buy them just for the hell of it. I do like the IP65 rating, too, would make me feel better about having them near the tank. Saltwater eats the shit out of everything.

 

There is also an HLG version with screw terminals instead of wire leads, but it is not IP rated. The internals of the unit are still sealed, though, I may go with those.

 

The XP-E2 from before were I think around 475nm peak, so they're close. I had asked Milad about getting closer to 465nm before, and so he IM'd me before he ordered.

 

Yea the power supply is the weak point in the LDD setup. Just so chunky. Didnt realize they were that low in efficiency though but didnt really consider it. The open frame and the exposed terminals is not the most ideal but the get the job done. I've had a similar power supply powering a Buckpuck driven LED light over my former angler cube that lasted 3 years sitting next to the tank. Really can't complain much about that PS.

The HLG series sounds nice besides the price. Smaller size, higher efficiency, covered internals. It would pay itself off after a while - or at least even out with the cheaper power supplies. Got a link for it? Curious to check it out. I haven't bought a power supply yet - that's the last item I need for my LED build besides a controller (probably a Storm). For you, it probably doesnt make a whole lot of sense to upgrade unless you can sell off your old supplies. But making the tank more efficient energy wise is half the reason I moved to LEDs over Halides and T5s so it makes sense to make it as efficient as it can be.

 

Ok 10nm off. I can live with that.

[jedimasterben]

Yea the power supply is the weak point in the LDD setup. Just so chunky. Didnt realize they were that low in efficiency though but didnt really consider it. The open frame and the exposed terminals is not the most ideal but the get the job done. I've had a similar power supply powering a Buckpuck driven LED light over my former angler cube that lasted 3 years sitting next to the tank. Really can't complain much about that PS.

The HLG series sounds nice besides the price. Smaller size, higher efficiency, covered internals. It would pay itself off after a while - or at least even out with the cheaper power supplies. Got a link for it? Curious to check it out. I haven't bought a power supply yet - that's the last item I need for my LED build besides a controller (probably a Storm). For you, it probably doesnt make a whole lot of sense to upgrade unless you can sell off your old supplies. But making the tank more efficient energy wise is half the reason I moved to LEDs over Halides and T5s so it makes sense to make it as efficient as it can be.

 

Ok 10nm off. I can live with that.

Here's a link to one of the cheapest places to get the HLG: http://www.onlinecomponents.com/keywordsearch.aspx?text=mean%20well%20hlg

 

There's lots of versions as far as total power, voltage go, and then there are four different types of each - one that has no adjustment and is IP67, the A version has no dimming but has internal current and voltage adjustment and is IP65, the B version has PWM, analog, and resistance dimming, the C version has terminals instead of wire leads (and has internal current and voltage adjustment), and the D version uses some sort of timer, but those are direct from Meanwell only, I guess.

 

My 80g tank will use LEDs topping out at 187w, and the fans will be another few, so I'd need the 240w version. The little tank is exactly half that, so I'd need the 120w version for it.

 

I will be selling off most of my extra stuff (and have ~$500 in credit at LEDgroupbuy still), so I'll have plenty to cover it and the rest of my expenses to get this ball rolling.

[NirvanaandTool]

Nice. I'll check them out. I assume I'll need a 240 too for all my stuff (fans + LEDs) but I havent calculated it to be absolutely sure. Thanks for the link.

 

edit: Looked into them. Looks pretty nice. http://www.meanwell.com/search/hlg-240h/default.htm

Adding up my LEDs looks like it would be a 240H for me too. Probably a -48A cause I would rather have the wire leads than the terminal connections on the C.

[jedimasterben]

Shipped off my T5 ballast, reflectors, and sockets to Dave the other day, he should be getting them in a couple of hours. He should be pumping out the housing this week, hopefully I'll have them in hand soon! I may not be using the little one, though, IDK yet. May still make the fixture and just sell it as a whole unit.

[jedimasterben]

Got most of the bits I was missing to put all of my PCB together except the screw terminals. Surprisingly those are already in NYC from China and should be here on Tuesday.

 

 

Only issue is trying to source some Meanwell SCW. Can realistically only get them from Taiwan, and I can't seem to find any of the 9v model since I want to run the fans on 9v. Meh.

[Sailfish]

Jedimasterben, I don't really want the hassle that comes with T5, and would much rather stay with LEDs only.

Would the LED clusters that you include in your current fixture be a good, balanced full spectrum light?
I'm thinking about making one for the 24G cube, that I'm setting up after next summer.

You are really a DIY King!

[jedimasterben]

All that's realistically missing spectrally is cyan.

 

 

The reason for the T5 bulbs is simple - LEDs do not do distributed light. Getting them to do so is difficult and costly considering that to make the light have an even color temperature or look across the entire length it requires a large amount of LEDs. If you try and reduce cost and spread the LEDs out (increasing their current to keep the same total output), you introduce color banding, which can be bad as it is with LEDs.

 

 

I've contacted Sinkpad to see about getting some of their MCPCB for the Luxeon M, they are smaller than the giant boards that Steve's puts their M on and I can make the LED clusters a bit smaller and reduce banding.

[Sailfish]

All that's realistically missing spectrally is cyan.

 

 

The reason for the T5 bulbs is simple - LEDs do not do distributed light. Getting them to do so is difficult and costly considering that to make the light have an even color temperature or look across the entire length it requires a large amount of LEDs. If you try and reduce cost and spread the LEDs out (increasing their current to keep the same total output), you introduce color banding, which can be bad as it is with LEDs.

 

 

I've contacted Sinkpad to see about getting some of their MCPCB for the Luxeon M, they are smaller than the giant boards that Steve's puts their M on and I can make the LED clusters a bit smaller and reduce banding.

 

Ok, I understand.

Can't you use a light diffuser of some sort to eliminate color banding? I think I have seen some sort of iced plastic film that you apply to glass or clear acrylic, which diffuses the light pretty well

[jedimasterben]

I do, as well, and had it applied to the cover of my heatsinks - the diffuser needs to be several inches away from the LEDs (at least 6") to really have an effect if you're running any sort of lenses. I applied three layers of it, and it's less than an inch away from the lenses of the LEDs, and it had no effect. No effect on PAR, either, so it definitely wasn't spreading it around.

[Sailfish]

I do, as well, and had it applied to the cover of my heatsinks - the diffuser needs to be several inches away from the LEDs (at least 6") to really have an effect if you're running any sort of lenses. I applied three layers of it, and it's less than an inch away from the lenses of the LEDs, and it had no effect. No effect on PAR, either, so it definitely wasn't spreading it around.

Well, then I kinda get why you didn't opt for that idea ^^

But the diffuser idea might work if you have a tall canopy, at least. If the setup don't show, then it shouldn't be a problem to have >6 inches clearing between the LEDs and the diffuser

 

Hmm, so what sort of LED only setup would you recommend that I do for a 24G cube?

[CrazyEyes]

I just Steve now has 4k Luxeon M's. Ben do you have anything to do with this?

[Horerczy]

I just Steve now has 4k Luxeon M's. Ben do you have anything to do with this?

I looked at the bin numbers and part number on the luxeon datasheets. They're min 70cri unless that 55 in the bin code changes it.

 

Bin is U55G. Model is LXR7-SW40.

[Amdphenomx4]

I looked at the bin numbers and part number on the luxeon datasheets. They're min 70cri unless that 55 in the bin code changes it.

 

Bin is U55G. Model is LXR7-SW40.

 

Minimum CRI is 70. The 55 in the bin indicates color temp and color consistency. The 7 in the model number indicates 70. For 80 CRI it is LXR8 and 90 CRI it is LXR9.