led upgrade / color spectum questions

[tbub1221]

Ok so what iv got going is in my 29g Biocube I'm running the stock lighting and 6x 3watt LEDs with 60 degree lenses which I took out of my clip on light I had on my 5g pico .
The LEDs are mainly over the middle of the tank
I'm about due for bulbs and have decided that for about 15$ more I can piece together 13-14 more 3w Cree or bridgelux
Diodes on star boards & lenses and the content current , considering iv got soldering iron and wire I don't believe my experience will be all too much , Im finding LEDs on ebay at approximately 1.50-2$ each or less and the constant currant at 15$ + heat sink epoxy or w/e else I may need.

My questions are about colors.
Would I benefit from from RGB or is there enough red in the 10000 &20000k range
Also I saw a 3w RGB multi diode I thought about using in place of some blues how would that be ?

How much green if any is needed

Would I benefit by using different magnification of lenses on the colors so they will spread more efficiently or would that be a waste

In blue lightning what ratio is best 2/1 or 50/50, and which colors of blue are most used or is that just varies from coral species , because I don't know if I should do a mixture or one or the other , if I mix in what order should they be arranged.

Thanks for input

 

[shanepike]

Sounds like you would love this article:

 

[bluespot]

Cool that you are looking at a DIY job for your lights. I havent ever tried to make my own yet but I do have a few observations that you may find helpful from using leds.
1) high quality led chips are a must. I would try getting them from reputable sources that members use for diy led setups. They may cost more but you can me sure of their quality and the spectrum they produce versus no name or poor bins that are sold cheap.
2) i have never felt the need for a red led. Some people like the color effect. Many leds like the cree xm-l have a good amount of red already in them. Some people claim they can promote algae growth but I personally think that is really most likely due to poor water quality.
3) why green? Same boat as far as the red in my book. You may or may not like the effect on your corals. Most people I have seen with the green leds usually have that channel turned way down.
4) most combo led chips are crap. Some produce strange or unusable spectrum and most are very short lived not to mention not very efficient.
5) blues put out a lot of light usable to the coral but appear comparatively dimmer to your eye than a comparable number of white leds. Thus you may want more blues than white.
6) i would use several "uv/actinic" diodes in the 410-420nm range for a good pop of color and better spectrum for chlorophyll a. They arent very bright to your eyes and are easily washed out by other colors if you only have a few. They make a nice subtle effect.
7) your lights will be close to the water and it is not a deep tank. I would use like a 100d optic and/or have the diodes fairly close together to avoid a disco ball effect. Not much distance for the individual lights to "blend" before hitting bottom of tank.

Good luck with the build. I am looking forward to seeing picks of the finished project. Feel free to use or ridicule my suggestions as you see fit as I am definitely not an expert or professional.

 

[tbub1221]

Hey Bluespot thanks for the info , that gives me some things to mill over.

Shane , thanks for the link there is a lot of good info there.

As far as white light would it be better for growth to mix it up between 10,000 and 20,000 or use one or the other

 

[darrrenjmartin]

http://reefledlights.com/led-my-tank-for-geeks/">http://reefledlights.com/led-my-tank-for-geeks/</a></em>
[I]they do not mention 420 actinic that I noticed.</em>
[I]from a concurrent post</em>
[I][B]new ECCOTECH RADIAN PRO SPEC [/B]for example</em>
[B][I]&#8226; </em>Royal Blue:[/B] 8 Cree XT-E Royal Blue, 442nm (5w each) chlor B 455-65 secondary low par
[I][B]&#8226; [/B]</em>[B]Indigo:[/B] 4 SemiLEDs UV, 415nm (2.5w each) chlor A 420-430nm primary high par uva
[I][B]&#8226; [/B]</em>[B]Ultraviolet:[/B] 4 SemiLEDs UV, 405nm (2.5w each) pigmentation enhancement like getting a tan-uvb uvc
there are now cheap and readily available 420nm and less leds,
420nm leds and then a plain white high intensity eg 100w chip leds. as a guide.

 

[tbub1221]

darrrenjmartin;884082 wrote: http://reefledlights.com/led-my-tank-for-geeks/">http://reefledlights.com/led-my-tank-for-geeks/</a></em>
[I]they do not mention 420 actinic that I noticed.</em>
[I]from a concurrent post</em>
[I][B]new ECCOTECH RADIAN PRO SPEC [/B]for example</em>
[B][I]• </em>Royal Blue:[/B] 8 Cree XT-E Royal Blue, 442nm (5w each) chlor B 455-65 secondary low par
[I][B]• [/B]</em>[B]Indigo:[/B] 4 SemiLEDs UV, 415nm (2.5w each) chlor A 420-430nm primary high par uva
[I][B]• [/B]</em>[B]Ultraviolet:[/B] 4 SemiLEDs UV, 405nm (2.5w each) pigmentation enhancement like getting a tan-uvb uvc
there are now cheap and readily available 420nm and less leds,
420nm leds and then a plain white high intensity eg 100w chip leds. as a guide.[/QUOTE]

I did see the uv LEDs and was queries.
Lets go back to chlorophyll a & b 450 over laps but is definitely better for type b , the type a would benefit greater from the 400-440 range .
So which of the 2 chlorophyll is more common or would that just vary from coral to coral