Originally Posted by
JohnnyAirtime
I'm officially pumped....
I just ordered (today) my new LED panels (from overseas).
I spec'd them out to my needs, rather then buying what they normally sell to the masses. They say it'll take 5-7 days to build, and being they come DHL... it's a 3 day shipping timeframe. I should have my 4 panels in about 10days +/-
I'm sure this heat wave will be here for awhile, and I'm already over it. My sump room (my workout room - or 4th bedroom in my house) gets SUPER hot due to the chiller and the halide ballasts. And the tank is in my living room, where it too heats up the room from the halides. Just too darn hot... I can see I should be using my electrical meter as a fan too!! I'm sure it's spinning like no other.
The purpose of the LEDs for me is to;
- Save money on electrical (less chiller running time, no halide ballasts)
- Run the tank at cooler temps (no heat from halides)
- Give the tank some extra color due to the LED colors I ordered. And hopefully be able to remove my fiji purple and actinic T5s I have running.
- Remove the (4) T5 bulbs and ballasts
I did some homework on DIY kits, and their pricing. All-in-all it came out cheaper to order a complete panel. And, with it coming complete... all I have to do is plug it in.
I also ordered the panels with 4 elect. plugs.
- Each plug will provide power to a circuit. That circuit will run 28 LEDs.
- Each plug will get power from a power strip, that is off a timer. I can control each of the 4 circuits per panel independently. Coming on at a different interval.
- 4 timers will control the 4 panels and their on/off times. They will come on and go off at the same EXACT times. No need to synchronize 4 individual timers (1 on each panel).
- I have two circuits of white. So if it's too intense for all whites on at once, I can throttle back the intensity by not turning all the whites on.
(of course if I had been using only one panel - a timer might be a cleaner all-in-one option. Rather than 4 cords running down the back of the tank)
I also ordered them with 4 individual switches.
- Each switch will control a circuit.
- no initial benefit other than to show friends the coloring each circuit adds to the corals, or to turn on/off manually.
COLORING of the LEDs;
I don't like some of the panels on individuals tanks, due to the "too blue" problem I see with my personal taste. I like a white light, supplemented with the actinics and fiji purple in a bulb lit tank. So I opted to order my panels with 12,000K whites rather then the norm 14,000K. I almost went with 10,000K, but I think it'll look too yellow for my tastes. I'm right in between, or close enough. I also ordered them with 460nm blues and 440nm purples. Being the Fiji "purple" bulb is a combination of 440 spectrum and some red, I think it'll help the deep water corals and add some "pop" to the coloring.
The chips being used are a well known company called Epistar. They are one of the largest manufacturers of LEDs. Nice to know there's some history behind the components, and I'm not the guinea pig.
The panels will be in black, and have the standard 3 cooling fans. They'll come with no controllers or timers and be ready for install the second I unbox them.
Once I receive them, I'll take pictures. I'm going to take one apart, and take a bunch of pictures of it to document it's craftsmandship. I'll also do a full review of the quality of the build and how they illuminate my tank. If there's any details you'd like to see me cover in my review... or when taking photos, please let me know. I'd be happy to oblige.
... stay tuned. Tic-Toc!
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