knickle22 Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 I am setting up a 70G reef tank and trying to figure-out what lighting setup to use. Just wondering if anyone uses LED lighting? I know the price is pretty high but just thought id see what someone who uses LEDs has to say. So far the only negative i can find is the price. I just look at it like, with MH lighting its pretty much a guarantee you have to spend extra on a chiller anyways. Any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 I don't know if you've checked out some of the threads on CanReef and ReefCentral, but there are some excellent DIY articles for building a decent array for less than $500. I've tried a few prefab LEDs for my plants and haven't been impressed. If I were to do it again, I'd build my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 I'm building one myself at the moment. It's easier than it sounds and once you factor in bulb changes and energy savings, it's actually not that pricey. Reef central probably has the most info. Nano-reef has a lot of good smaller builds. Ledgroupbuy.com and rapidled.com are good sources to buy from. You can get c-channel locally instead of heat sinks to save a lot of $$$. Let me know if you have questions. I've done a ton of research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I'm building one myself at the moment. Did you go with cree or luxeon LEDs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knickle22 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 what colors would be best? example the XM-L series have Warm white, normal white and cool white. I assume normal and warm have lower color temps and cool is the way to go is this right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 In my build I used 28 cool white XML, 12 neutral white XPG and 12 royal blue XPE. All Cree. The XMLs are for main lighting power and the other two colours are so I can adjust the colour temp and have moonlights. I don't know how it's going to look as I've never seen them in person, but I'm thinking I should have used a few neutral white XML in the mix. I've heard the XML CW are pretty cold looking, but I kinda like the 8000k look. Hopefully they XPGs will add some colour pop. Apparently warm whites are extremely yellow looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theokie Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I'm currently running 6 CREE XML's on my 8 gallon, I believe they are cool white, the colour really makes the greens pop in the planted tank, so far after about 6 months I have excellent growth in the tank, though I just wished I had put in a dimming circuit as it was just a test for a larger tank I am building, so I didn't go all out with it. My 150 gallon is going to be running on XML's and XRE's all in cool white, though I am running Red Green Blue on that tank as well to allow me to tune the spectrum and eventually have a sunrise, sunset moonlight set up. I really like the lower profile of led fixtures when it comes to maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I'm currently running 6 CREE XML's on my 8 gallon, I believe they are cool white, the colour really makes the greens pop in the planted tank, so far after about 6 months I have excellent growth in the tank, though I just wished I had put in a dimming circuit as it was just a test for a larger tank I am building, so I didn't go all out with it. My 150 gallon is going to be running on XML's and XRE's all in cool white, though I am running Red Green Blue on that tank as well to allow me to tune the spectrum and eventually have a sunrise, sunset moonlight set up. I really like the lower profile of led fixtures when it comes to maintenance. Why the XREs? I'm am considering adding two RBG clusters to each of my pendants. It would help fill in the spectrum and also add to the colour rendering. I've heard the royal blues do some interesting things to some plants... as in make the reds pop but I have no personal experience. You can really do whatever you want with DIY builds. Mine will be Arduino controlled. I'll have four 1000mA drivers for the XPG/XPE and four 2000mA drivers for the XML. All eight drivers are PWM dimmable. The LEDs will come on at around 2% of max current and dim all the way to off once they warm up. I'm planning, when I have the programming worked out, to have sunrise/ sunset, moonlighting, lightning, and cloud cover. I'm also planning on staggering the times the leds turn on so its more like a real sunrise. Warm glow to start and slowing build up and hopefully the brightness will 'rise in the east, set in the west'. I'm planning for the intensity of each pendant to vary slightly throughout the day so it is like a sun is moving overhead. This all sound complicated but it's pretty simply if you plant out your build well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I was talking to a guy at the local hydroponics store and he wad telling me that blue light can shorten te internodal length in stem plants. I did notice that when I used actinic from lights I bought from reef guys, that Hygro and Limnophollia did grow tighter, but the coloring on the plants were a bit off; however, when using 10,000k bulbs, I get great growth and color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theokie Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I'm currently running 6 CREE XML's on my 8 gallon, I believe they are cool white, the colour really makes the greens pop in the planted tank, so far after about 6 months I have excellent growth in the tank, though I just wished I had put in a dimming circuit as it was just a test for a larger tank I am building, so I didn't go all out with it. My 150 gallon is going to be running on XML's and XRE's all in cool white, though I am running Red Green Blue on that tank as well to allow me to tune the spectrum and eventually have a sunrise, sunset moonlight set up. I really like the lower profile of led fixtures when it comes to maintenance. Why the XREs? I'm am considering adding two RBG clusters to each of my pendants. It would help fill in the spectrum and also add to the colour rendering. I've heard the royal blues do some interesting things to some plants... as in make the reds pop but I have no personal experience. You can really do whatever you want with DIY builds. Mine will be Arduino controlled. I'll have four 1000mA drivers for the XPG/XPE and four 2000mA drivers for the XML. All eight drivers are PWM dimmable. The LEDs will come on at around 2% of max current and dim all the way to off once they warm up. I'm planning, when I have the programming worked out, to have sunrise/ sunset, moonlighting, lightning, and cloud cover. I'm also planning on staggering the times the leds turn on so its more like a real sunrise. Warm glow to start and slowing build up and hopefully the brightness will 'rise in the east, set in the west'. I'm planning for the intensity of each pendant to vary slightly throughout the day so it is like a sun is moving overhead. This all sound complicated but it's pretty simply if you plant out your build well. I ended up with XR-E's as I bought them about 18 months ago when the XPG's where just coming out, the price was right, though I am finally getting everything assembled now, due to budget issues, so using the XRE's since I have 100 of them for the bulk of my light and using the XML's to help penetrate the deeper water of a 30inch deep tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knickle22 Posted August 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 Ok so i plan on buying the 48 diy kit on rapid led. The one question i have is what optics should i get? my tank is 48"X18" so i plan on running 4 rows of 12 and the LEDs well be 5-7 inch above the water surface, this well put each LEDs about 4" apart. Is this too far apart to be using 60 degree optics (spotlight effect). I was thinking on using 80 degree. what do you guys think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted August 18, 2011 Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 saw a posting on Canreef about this company that is based out of Red Deer... if you are still sourcing LEDs maybe they have what you need at reasonable prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McNally Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Hi knickle22, 60 degree lenses is more than enough for you. I drew it out and 4 inches apart 6 inches off the water you get 50% overlap on the surface with 60o Lens. 6" below the water its almost 100% overlap. Let me know if you need anymore help. Testing on our tanks here I don't actually recommend 80s at all the par values get pretty weak when you get to the bottom of the tank, not to mention that the LEDs close to the edge of your tank are throwing 1/2 of their light output onto your floor with 80s. Hope that helps. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knickle22 Posted August 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Thanks Martin. I am now looking for a heat sink alternative. What do you guys think about 2x2 steel studs. they are extremely cheap when comparing but do you think the well dissipate the heat well enough with help from a fan or 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McNally Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Thanks Martin. I am now looking for a heat sink alternative. What do you guys think about 2x2 steel studs. they are extremely cheap when comparing but do you think the well dissipate the heat well enough with help from a fan or 2 Not sure about those they are pretty thin arnt they, there might not be enough metal there to absorb the heat. Lots of people use square iron or aluminium channels from home depot. Cooling is one of the most important parts though if you want the LEDs to last forever. $50 will get you two heatsinks, then you know you will never need to replace them. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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