My DIY LED Planning thread lots of questions

[b4tn]

I have been lurking in a lot of the other threads but am so torn on LED selection and confused on how many I need in what configuration. Last time I researched DIY LED's it was pretty simple a bunch of white 3 watt LED's and a bunch of blue 3 watt LED's and done. LED technology has evolved quit a bit so its not so simple anymore lol. I figured I would start my own thread and just update it as I build. I am still in the planning phase so I have not collected any parts yet. But to start I can list what I want in a light.

- I would like to have two fixtures approximately blackbox size so a Maker heatsink or the rapid LED heatsink fixture seems to fit the bill. I need to try and keep it somewhat presentable since it s in my living room.
https://www.rapidled.com/6-x-12-premium-heat-sink-and-enclosure/

- Fixtures will be 12" above the water surface and need to reach 18" deep. I would need 24" of coverage so that 2 fixtures will cover a 48" tank.

- Easily swapable/replaceable LED's

- At least 4 channels to fine tune colors

- Intensity should be enough for SPS

- Trying to keep the cost reasonable

- I prefer a 14k-20k look cosmetic wise.

Originally I had planned on just using 4 of these pucks but figure if I am going to build my own I might as well build it with known quality LED's and to my specifications.

@Kampo made some really good suggestions on layout here but I need just a bit more clarification on the one that seems the most feasible for me. I assume I would need 2 of the below clusters per fixture but it only comes out to 88 watts for two clusters which is no where near the 165 you see in a standard black box??? Would PAR be enough using the below config for SPS? Is total wattage lower because the cluster is expected to run near full power?

Luxeon k16 royal blue at (25 watts @ 600mah )
Luxeon 2x sunplus Cool whites (7 Watts @ 1 amp)
Luxeon 1x True blue (7 Watts @ 700mA)
2x hyperviolet 4.0 (5 watts @ 700mA)

I like the luxeon K16 its easy and cheap.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/45W-Luxeon...900861?hash=item23b35a63fd:g:mk8AAOSwv0dcNM2P

@dantimdad has mentioned many times using a Mint/Cyan/Blue/RB/Violet combo which really has my interest peaked but I am not sure which and how many quality LED's to use to make suitable fixtures for a 48" tank.

To sum it up. I am comfortable with the electronics portion but cant start designing until I pick an LED combo. based on the above tank dimensions and height and depth I dont know how many and what combo would work best.

 

[dantimdad]

I would buy from Steve's LEDs if you are unsure of what quality you are looking at.

They have reasonable prices and ship pretty quickly.

 

[dantimdad]

On a 48" tank if you are running mixed reef, I would run 4 of @kampos groups you listed or
Swap out cool whites for warm whites. I tend to like them better.

 

[b4tn]

@dantimdad thanks, Steves LED is where I was looking at all the LED's except the luxeon 16 pack. I found that one on ebay.

What about the Mint/Cyan/Blue/RB/Violet combo you like to use? What combo of LED's would you put together to a 4-5 channel array figuring for 4 arrays across 48"?

 

[dantimdad]

I have taken a liking to the luxeon RB that kampos pointed me to.

I am messing around with one of those, 4x420nm violets, 1xcyan,1x460nm blue and 2 mints on 4 channels. It's pretty slick. I don't feel the need for white, but I think just a tiny bit of red would be nice. I might add a WW to the cyan/blue channel to bring that back.

The good thing is this is a relatively cheap array.

I am also working on a new 2 channel setup that I will discuss later if it works out like I think it's going to.

 

[oreo54]

As just a thought and since you are using a lot of luxeon chips..
Consider a "crisp white" diode..
Warm white w/ a violet part..
pc-amber is another w/out the violet of course.

 

[b4tn]

So, I am looking at 4 total clusters. I would probably drive them all at 700mA for longevity.

Option one, switching cool white to warm white per recommendation

Ch 1: 1 x Luxeon k16 royal blue at (700mA )
Ch 2: 2 x Luxeon R Warm White (700mA)
Ch 3: 2x hyperviolet 4.0 (700mA)
Ch 4: 1 x Luxeon ES True blue (700mA)

Option two, Mint/Cyan/Blue/RB/Violet combo

Ch 1: 1 x Luxeon k16 royal blue at (700mA )
Ch 2: 1 x eBay cyan, 1 x Luxeon ES True blue, 1 x Luxeon R Warm White (700mA)
Ch 3: 4 x hyperviolet 4.0 (700mA)
Ch 4: 2 x Luxeon Mint (700mA)

This is where the confusion steps in. Option two is a bit more expensive at about $30 per array but, it also looks to be more powerful and is right around the same price as the ebay disk. Option one looks good but I am worried about being under power. This is why I cant get anywhere.

 

[b4tn]

As just a thought and since you are using a lot of luxeon chips..
Consider a "crisp white" diode..
Warm white w/ a violet part..
pc-amber is another w/out the violet of course.

@oreo5457 , Really dude, are you trying to make my head explode lol. I tried googling the crisp white and looks to me like an all in one puck? I was trying to break violets out into its own channel but I am not set on that idea. Do you have a link?

 

[oreo54]

Opps forgot.. but you can get 7W COB's 35V 200mA...
L2C5-30901202E06C0
https://www.lumileds.com/products/cob-leds/luxeon-cob-with-crispwhite






Basically use the violet to excite fluorescence in cloth and paper..

 

[b4tn]

Ok, So I think I have decided how I am going to do this. I am going to use all Luxeon LED's. Each fixture should require 48 volts 5 amps so 10 amps total. I am looking for a power supply that will be sufficient to power both fixtures and I think the Meanwell SE-600-48 should work. Its a 48 volt 600 watt 12.5 amp supply so that gives me 2.5 amps of wiggle room.

Each fixture will have two clusters with a total of 50 LED's driven with Meanwell LDD 700H drivers. I will be using a reef-pi light build to control the 6 channels.

PWM Ch 1
LDD 700H --- Luxeon K16 Royal Blue (42v@700mA)
LDD 700H --- Luxeon K16 Royal Blue (42v@700mA)

PWM Ch2
LDD 700H --- 8 x Luxeon hyperviolet 4.0 (28v@700mA)

PWM Ch3
LDD 700H --- 4 x Luxeon Mint (11v@700mA)

PWM Ch4
LDD 700H --- 2 x Luxeon Warm White (6v@700mA)

PWM Ch5
LDD 700H --- 2 x Luxeon True Blue (7v@700mA)

PWM Ch6
LDD 700H --- 2 x Luxeon Cyan (7v@700mA)


Any input would be appreciated.

 

[oreo54]

I'm only seeing 8.3A total....9A w/ 10% headroom.. splitting hairs..and that's not perfect either.

 

[b4tn]

Did I do my math wrong? I figured for 7 drivers at 700mA so .7 x 7= 4.9. That’s just one fixture so 4.9 x 2=9.8 amps for two fixtures. I looked for an 11 amp power supply but 12 was closest I could find at 48 volts.

 

[oreo54]

Did I do my math wrong? I figured for 7 drivers at 700mA so .7 x 7= 4.9. That’s just one fixture so 4.9 x 2=9.8 amps for two fixtures. I looked for an 11 amp power supply but 12 was closest I could find at 48 volts.

That's a way to estimate but it is usually higher than reality..
42V @ 700mA is 29.4W
7V @ 700mA is 4.9w

Add them all up ... comes to 100W per the above config..
200W total..if I got you right now..

200W/48v = 4.16A

Actually I was figuring 4x the above..for 400w..