DIY LED noob, critique my 29G cube setup please

[Nocturnal]

I've been going back and forth on lighting options and for several reasons I've decided to go DIY. I think that I've read enough here so as not to ask too many stupid questions, but that remains to be seen.

 

29G Biocube HQI

Dumping the stock Halide due to heat issues. I picked up a couple Kessil 150Ws and wasn't happy with the nosie level and while I found the fixtures to be very sleek the lighting punch didn't seem to be there (compared to the HQI). I currently have LPS, but want the capability for SPS.

 

I think I've decided to go with the Makersled T slot heat sink. This will allow me to mount it without building a cover and still provide a nice clean look. I'm leaning towards solder-less LEDs, but if I have to solder that's not a huge deal as I have done some soldering in the past.

 

I'm stealing the layout suggested by Uglybuckling in the Full spectrum layout thread. (picture below) This represents 12 RB, 6 nuetral whites, 6 true violets, and 3 sets of ocean coral whites. I believe this may be slightly too blue for me at 100%, but I will dim the blues down accordingly.

 

 

 

Questions:

 

Based on my LED list I believe I need to get the drivers at 700mA. (using Makersled driver) I'll need two of the Makersled drivers as they each can only handle 28, 4 volt LEds. Is that correct?

 

Should I consider hyper violet instead of true violet?

 

The BJB solder-less connectors look great. Any thoughts?

http://makersled.com/?p=519

 

I want this to be a very quiet light. Does it make sense to go with the 18" vs 12" heat sink to allow me to run the fans at a lower rpm? The 12" size would look better on the tank but my cube is about 20" wide so an 18" would be tolerable.

 

Should I consider adding any more LEDs to the build for more punch or adding some of the more exotic colors? (cyan, red, etc.)

 

Am I missing anything? The makers controller seems sufficient for me. Sunrise and sunset is all I care about.

[jedimasterben]

What color temperature are you looking to achieve? It may seem blue, but the base 1:2 ratio of NW and RB is not very blue. If your NW are closer to 4000K then it will have a light blue tint unless the whites are dimmed down excessively.

 

I prefer Bridgelux BXRA/BXRC LEDs for white, or if you want to stick to the lower-output chips (aka '3w' class) then Philips 4000K high-CRI Rebels. Cree chips that have better color (or even coming closer to the 4K Rebels or Bridgelux) are just not readily available, and certainly not cheaply.

 

I like to use a 1:12 ratio of lumens of white to mW of royal blue, and then adding in one regular blue for every four royal blue Rebels/XT-E or one blue per one royal blue Luxeon M.

 

I like hyper violet, but my next build will be 1:1 hyper violet (430nm) and true violet (405nm).

 

The 12" heatsink is fine for the amount of power you're putting on it. The fans are silent, even at 12v, so unless your tank's water movement is 100% inaudible, there will be (realistically) no noise from the fan. If you'd like, you could even replace the fan with any 92mm fan of your choice. The most silent fans in existence, along with high pressure and high airflow are Scythe Gentle Typhoons, but they command a very high price and have a slightly audible 'whine' from the bearings that a small percentage of people are sensitive to. Only issue I can see with the stock Masscool fans that come with the Makers heatsink is that they are sleeve bearing. Sleeve bearing fans were not made to run horizontally and this reduces the bearing life considerably, so the fan will become audible at some point as the bearings wear down.

 

I'm personally no longer in the camp that uses deep red LEDs. I've had the same results by using higher-CRI white LEDs, the Bridgelux BXRA, Vero, and Philips 4K 80-CRI min Rebels will all give great rendition without it. If you're LED only, NW, RB, B, Cy, and HV/TV are really all you need.

[Nocturnal]

As far as color temp, I'm not 100% to be honest.

 

I definitely want it more blue than I have now with the coralife 10k HQI. I had the Ocean blue 14k Kessil 150w on the tank and found that to be way too blue though. From what I have read though is that many feel that the ocean blue isn't truly 14k comparable but somewhere north of that. So if I were to guess I'd say I'm aiming for 13k, and assuming that I will have enough leaway to dial the blue down/up as I like. I wouldn't mind the ability to go from fairly white to super blue just for the novelty though.

 

Do you find it's beneficial to stick to the 3up style to increase blending? They seem like the best option, though I can only assume that a cube allows for a much tighter configuration of single LEDs than other tank shapes.

 

Thanks for the info. I have some more research to do.

[jedimasterben]

Ok, so if you're looking for the 12-14K range, stick to using a base of 2:4:1 4K white to royal blue to blue. Add on to that a couple of cyan and some violet (about the amount of NW you will use) and you're good to go.

 

3up stars are great for blending, but are a PITA to solder and only 40 degree lenses are available if you ever want to add lenses.

[Nocturnal]

Ok, so if you're looking for the 12-14K range, stick to using a base of 2:4:1 4K white to royal blue to blue. Add on to that a couple of cyan and some violet (about the amount of NW you will use) and you're good to go.

 

3up stars are great for blending, but are a PITA to solder and only 40 degree lenses are available if you ever want to add lenses.

 

Thanks, I imagine the cube/cluster layout will help out on the blending side anyway.

 

So if I wind up with 4 dimming channels, would I stick all the blues and RBs on one, whites on one, cyan on one and violet on the last? Or is it better to split up the blues and RBs and piggy back the violet onto one of them?

[jedimasterben]

Any way will work. It's a PITA to change them all the time, so you'll typically find them where you want them and that's how they'll stay.

[shortround92]

I agree with jedimasterben. I think you'll get some of the red from the higher CRI NW - with better blend. IMO, 3 reds are a little bit much, but i'm no expert. Too bad the kits jedimasterben have or had for sale are 6" Makersled, else I would have give it a bump. I'm still thinking about getting one of them to try with a lumia 5.2.

 

JMB, where can i find the 40degree lenses for the the 3-up stars? I'm also tinkering with the idea of buying the Ecotech TIR lenses and design a cluster behind each lens (poorboy Radion), i think I'll need some sort of reflector behind the lens for it to get the full TIR benefit. The LED possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

[shortround92]

BTW Nocturnal, Makersled sink is a good choice. Very clean and professional diy stuffs. I like their fan shroud. I built my LED from SteveLED components with mostly 3-up stars. I'm currently keeping sps, but thinking there is something lacking in the growth and color departments. It could be water quality or PAR quality, I don't know which. Maybe like you I should start a thread to get the experts' opinion on my led blend.

[jedimasterben]

I agree with jedimasterben. I think you'll get some of the red from the higher CRI NW - with better blend. IMO, 3 reds are a little bit much, but i'm no expert. Too bad the kits jedimasterben have or had for sale are 6" Makersled, else I would have give it a bump. I'm still thinking about getting one of them to try with a lumia 5.2.

 

JMB, where can i find the 40degree lenses for the the 3-up stars? I'm also tinkering with the idea of buying the Ecotech TIR lenses and design a cluster behind each lens (poorboy Radion), i think I'll need some sort of reflector behind the lens for it to get the full TIR benefit. The LED possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

If you just want all the LEDs and such, I'd be more than happy to find something else to do with the heat sinks lol

[Nocturnal]

Any way will work. It's a PITA to change them all the time, so you'll typically find them where you want them and that's how they'll stay.

 

Excellent, thanks again for all the help.

[shortround92]

If you just want all the LEDs and such, I'd be more than happy to find something else to do with the heat sinks lol

 

I wish I could. Sigh...no funds atm.