Jschnepf's DIY Colorfull LED Build

[jschnepf]

Ok so I am going to build another light rig for my tank. It will be a led t5 hybrid setup. Trying to pick led colors now. Anyone have any experience with a full spektrum led build? I already have the ldd drivers and controller parts just need to order chips so I can get this thing under way.

It will be broken into two matching 36" fixtures. Two t5 bulbs per and probably about 52 leds per.

First thoughts for leds are:
24 royal blue either Cree xte or Xpe
12 Philips luxeon warm white 4000k 85 cri
16 exotic LEDs colors yet to be decided, (cyan, lime, hyper violet, true violet, deep red, etc)

If anyone has some input I am totally open to suggestions. I would like to get LEDs ordered this weekend and hopefull start assembly the following weekend.

[acbaldwin]

Check out DiverDave's build, I think he did his own LEDs and clearly has had excellent results.
Two 36" fixtures sounds like a damned lot of work! Keep us updated!

[jschnepf]

Will of course keep you guys updated as I decide on colors and once I start the build. I will try and find diverdaves build, thanks for that. If I recall I thought he used a white/ blue combo? Anyway, will look for it later tonight.

[unbereefable]

I'd ditch the single chips and go multi. First, warm white: bridglux vero 10. They've got a 4000k that's 90 cri. When using warm white, no need for any red leds. red spectrum is well covered with warm white. Royal blue: luxeon K 8ups. Way more lumens/watt than any other royal blue out there. Even more than luxeon M royal Blues. Then toss in some lime and violets. The lime will handle the green spectrum, and IIRC even some of the cyan spectrum. I'd go 2 k 8 ups, 1 vero 10, 2 blue, 1-2 lime, and 2 voilets of each spectrum. That would yield a pretty awesome cluster. Probable wouldn't need more than 2 clusters per fixture. But three wouldn't hurt (I'd do 3). Plus with this type of cluster (evil cluster) you'd have CRAZY par. I've build 2 of these arrays for some friends. I'll ask them if they're confortable with me posting pics. And I'd do all Philips for the single chip dies. Cree is for lighting parking lots. Theyre still high quality chips, but there a better colors out there. Also, what power supply do you plan on using? I hope not a cheap china. I've had to replace 2 of them for a friend so far. Now he's running HLG. Check those out. They're IP65 rated.

[jschnepf]

Thanks for the color suggestions, exactly what I was hoping for Yes I will be ordering a meanwell hlg power supply or two once I get the total count of leds, forward voltage needed, and amperage. I have 15 ldd1000, 10 ldd700, and 10 ldd500 and plenty of the o2surplus driver boards. So that should cover pretty much any layout we can come up with.

I am really curious to see what the previous fixtures you made look like once on a tank. Hope they will allow you to post some pics, or better yet if local maybe allow a fellow reefer to check them out in person. I would come bearing gifts of beer and or frags.

[jschnepf]

Alright well i have reworked my led ratio based on your suggestions. Let me know if this is a better arrangement for a 36" light rig:

16 Luxeon ES Royal Blue
8 Luxeon ES Cool Blue
3 Bridgelux vero10 3000K 95CRI
3 Bridgelux vero10 5000K
6 Luxeon ES Lime
4 Luxeon ES Deep Red
4 SemiLED Hyper Violet
8 Exotic True Violet
6 Luxeon ES Cyan


Here is a google sketchup image of the basic design. I have enough aluminum t slot to do 5 rows of leds. Not sure if 15 LEDs on a 36" section is too many. I plan on adding a fan to each fixture as well. I might do more royal blue, not sure how a single luxeon es compares to a luxeon M. Also, I don't see any 5000k high CRI leds available at the moment, any suggestions?

[unbereefable]

For the whites, I'd stick with 4000K in the vero series. The 4000 is warmer in color, so it has a good amount of red spectrum present in it. With the 4000, I'd loose the red. Not really needed. But if you want it in, it won't hurt any. The veros are really, really powerful. Produce a ton of ligh at low power. I'd figure out what MA you want to run then at, eg 350ma/700ma. That will effect how much blue you want to run. I'd like to stick with 4x the luminous output for my RB:W ratio. To 1000lm RB:250lm W. Then you can fine tune the color with your lime, violets, and cool blues.

The M dies are 4 leds in one big die. So by using 1 M, you could replace 4 single 3 watt chips and cut down on soldering. The luxeon K is the best RB out right now. Produce about twice the light of the M, but I think only cost a little more.

I asked my dude if I could post pics, but he wasn't with it. Think he might be in witness protection, or is scared the wife will see how much stuff really cost. Sorry.

Have you checked out makers heatsinks. They're availabe on LED group buy. They allow the leds to be modular. Leds attach via screws and plastic washer. So they can be moved around with ease.

[jschnepf]

Well I built a prototype of my fixture this weekend. Just a mock up using some scrap wood i had laying around to get an idea of what size and how things would fit etc. I am thinking of doing 5 rows of LEDs instead of 4. I need to go purchase some t5 reflectors tomorrow to really see if i can fit the 5th row or not. I found some that claim to be 2.25" wide so that should work perfect. I was hoping to make each fixture about 35.5" wide but after trying to fit the t5s realized it is going to be a full 36". Not the end of the world, but i was planing on a system to allow me to lift each light for cleaning and maintenance. Its gonna be a tight fit once the canopy gets built, but i am sure i can make it work.

Don't mind the duck tape and super glue, the end product will be an all aluminum housing.

Here it is with the t-slot and t5s trying to figure out how everything would fit.



And here it is with the t-slot only and the driver board for reference. The drivers should fit off to the side, does anyone know if the LDD drivers can be mounted upside down? Also there will be a fan on the top side of the fixture is it better to blow air down into the enclosure or pull hot air out the top? There will be vent hole cut into the enclosure along the front and back bottom.

[jschnepf]

For the whites, I'd stick with 4000K in the vero series. The 4000 is warmer in color, so it has a good amount of red spectrum present in it. With the 4000, I'd loose the red. Not really needed. But if you want it in, it won't hurt any. The veros are really, really powerful. Produce a ton of ligh at low power. I'd figure out what MA you want to run then at, eg 350ma/700ma. That will effect how much blue you want to run. I'd like to stick with 4x the luminous output for my RB:W ratio. To 1000lm RB:250lm W. Then you can fine tune the color with your lime, violets, and cool blues.

The M dies are 4 leds in one big die. So by using 1 M, you could replace 4 single 3 watt chips and cut down on soldering. The luxeon K is the best RB out right now. Produce about twice the light of the M, but I think only cost a little more.

I asked my dude if I could post pics, but he wasn't with it. Think he might be in witness protection, or is scared the wife will see how much stuff really cost. Sorry.

Have you checked out makers heatsinks. They're availabe on LED group buy. They allow the leds to be modular. Leds attach via screws and plastic washer. So they can be moved around with ease.

Thanks for the response unbereefable. Sorry I didn't see it till just now. I already ordered all of my leds. I got the standard luxeon ES royal blue single chips on stars. I don't mind soldering, so I can put as many as I want and the single M is basically 4 times the cost so no monetary savings. Thanks for trying to get some pictures of the other one you built. Also I got the 5000k 90 cri and 3000k 97 cri vero 10s. To start I am planning on running three of each on a LDD1000 driver, so they will get 333 ma each. I may change those out for LDD1500s in the future, but I'm going to do some par measurements first, and see how the tank reacts. As for the Reds, I may not run those at all durring my daily light cycle. But I keep a red led flashlight next to the tank for nighttime viewing of odd little creatures that come out. Thought it would be nice to have them already in the fixture so I could turn them on at night when I can't find my flashlight.

Yes I have seen the makers heatsinks, but I hate all the wiring between leds being visable with those. I think my fixture with the aluminum t-slot will allow a really clean finished product.

Leds should be here next week, so next weekend I can start assembly.

[jschnepf]

Back to work on this bad boy.

[chireef]

Can't wait to see it! Let me know if you need any help


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