LED Lighting question

[brandonmason]

Hey guys I had a question in regards to led lighting. I have a 110gallon tall tank and we currently have mh on the tank and have to leave the lid open to keep the temp down along with 6 cooling fans that I built into the canopy to keep a stable temp of 79 degrees. Its that time of the year again where I need to replace the bulbs I have which cost close to 300 dollars every 8 months. So I am thinking of taking the leap into LED lighting and I was looking into DIY as I am pretty handy in this field... so I was wondering if 60 Blue CREE leds (460nm) and 50 white CREE leds (14K) (240watts) and around 12000 lumens be enough for my reef tank and btw I keep a little of everything, sps, lps, leathers, softies.... The lighting angle would be around 120 degree...

 

[jbdreefs]

Personally, i find that to ba an acceptable number. I did the diy 3w fixture on my last tank. I used a fairly simple calculation to determine an adequate amount of LEDs. I was happy with the results. 110 leds is a little bit high, according to my calc, but i thinks it's needed for the 30" depth.

Good luck!

 

[jimknutson]

Wow I use 55 total 3 watt leds over my 30 cube and it is just right for growth.

 

[brandonmason]

thanks guys to the response, if I see a decline in the tank I could always put the mh back or add another section, I am just more curious to see the energy savings with leds I currently have 4 tanks running in the house (2FW, 1 Reef, and 1 seahorse tank in cycle) so any energy saved is huge...

 

[thesilence87]

If you're going DIY LED, from what I've read, full spectrum builds are the way to go. Royal blue, cool white, turquoise (495nm), deep red (660nm), and true violet (405nm) are standard for a full spectrum LED build I believe. It hits all the fluorescence peaks and all the photosynthesis peaks for the corals, so it should really make your tank pop and increase growth.

I realize that reading about the LED's isn't as great as having physical results, but from the pictures of growth and extension that I've come across, I'm a believer. When/if I upgrade tanks and/or lighting, I will be going that route for sure.

 

[brandonmason]

yeah I cant wait to see the results as I am going to do dimmers as well so once I finish and have it in place I will post some pics of the before and after... I got a little bit of everything as you can see in my profile pic so we should see who likes the new lights and who needs to be moved due to intensity...

 

[softhammer]

Its always easier to add more and dial them down. BTW I have been Running CREE cool whites and royals blues for almost 4 years now with no issues at all. Have to check my chiller to make sure it even works anymore. It never turns on, cutting my power consumption to probably 30% of what it was before. In my opinion with build these things all the other colored LEDS (anything other than white and blue) is a total waste of money and driver capacity. It also multiplies the complexity and expense and doesnt have anything other than anecdotal evidence that it does anything at all. White contains all colors.. Add whites for "horsepower" and blues for appearance. I have a 50/50 blend and I would say it gives me a 12K ish color. 2 blues to 1 white should get you a nice 20k type color. Just my 2 cents worth, but I havent found anyone running LEDs longer than me. Also my tank is 100% SPS and 6 big clams. They have been thriving all under LEDs.

 

[mc524]

Softhammer;828842 wrote: Its always easier to add more and dial them down. BTW I have been Running CREE cool whites and royals blues for almost 4 years now with no issues at all. Have to check my chiller to make sure it even works anymore. It never turns on, cutting my power consumption to probably 30% of what it was before. In my opinion with build these things all the other colored LEDS (anything other than white and blue) is a total waste of money and driver capacity. It also multiplies the complexity and expense and doesnt have anything other than anecdotal evidence that it does anything at all. White contains all colors.. Add whites for "horsepower" and blues for appearance. I have a 50/50 blend and I would say it gives me a 12K ish color. 2 blues to 1 white should get you a nice 20k type color. Just my 2 cents worth, but I havent found anyone running LEDs longer than me. Also my tank is 100% SPS and 6 big clams. They have been thriving all under LEDs.

Did you build this setup, or store bought?

 

[ichthyoid]

Going with 60 or 90 degree optics would help get the light on the bottom of a 110H. The 120 degree angle will waste a lot of light over that distance.

I happen to agree with using a couple of 660 and several 420 nM led chips (405's will do) for better photosynthesis and fluorescence, respectively. The 490/cyan may not be needed, but it's cool to have.

FWIW- white led's are actually 460 chips with a white phosphor coating the optic. I mention this due to the high blue component in their output. I would also prefer fewer whites, but that's just me.

 

[brandonmason]

I will look into this... I still need to get some drives so I have some time to get it all dialed in...

 

[softhammer]

MC524;828857 wrote: Did you build this setup, or store bought?

I built my setup.