1. Do you have an old account but can't access it?


    See Accessing your GIRS Account or Contact Us - We are here to help!

JB`s LED Build Thread

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by JB, Mar 29, 2011.

  1. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    Ok, I've decided to take the plunge and build a new DIY fixture for my frag tank (and to take with me to our swaps).   I've been doing quite a bit of research, and while I'm not 100% committed to my design plan yet, I think I have a good start.
    I will be using a 7.5" x 18" heat sink with the LED's spaced 2" apart.
    Here is the LED Pattern that I'm planning to go with:

    B = CREE XP-E Royal BlueW = CREE XP-E Cool WhiteM = CREE XM-L Cool White
    [pre][B] [B] [M] [B] [M] [B] [M] [B] [B][pre][M] [B] [W] [B] [M] [B] [W] [B] [M][pre][M] [B] [W] [B] [M] [B] [W] [B] [M][pre][B] [B] [M] [B] [M] [B] [M] [B] [B][pre][pre]When all of the lights are on, this should give me between a 12K to 14K color temp.[pre]
    [pre]I will be using 3 ELN-60-48D dimmable drivers which will give the 3 controllable channels:[pre][1] [2] [3] [2] [3] [2] [3] [2] [1][pre][1] [1] [2] [1] [3] [1] [2] [1] [1][pre][1] [1] [2] [1] [3] [1] [2] [1] [1][pre][1] [2] [3] [2] [3] [2] [3] [2] [1][pre]
    [/pre]Here are the 3 channels broken out by LED...[/pre]Moonlights/Dusk/Dawn (XP-E, 700 milliamp):[/pre][B] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [B][/pre][ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ][/pre][ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ][/pre][B] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [B][/pre]
    [/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre]Morning/Evening Sun (XP-E, 700 milliamp):[/pre]-span" style="font-family: Verdana; white-space: normal; ">[pre][pre][pre][ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ][pre][ ] [ ] [W] [ ] [ ] [ ] [W] [ ] [ ][pre][ ] [ ] [W] [ ] [ ] [ ] [W] [ ] [ ][pre][ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ] [B] [ ][pre]
    [pre]Mid-Day Sun (XM-L, 1 amp):[pre][pre][pre][pre][pre][pre][ ] [ ] [M] [ ] [M] [ ] [M] [ ] [ ][pre][M] [ ] [ ] [ ] [M] [ ] [ ] [ ] [M][pre][M] [ ] [ ] [ ] [M] [ ] [ ] [ ] [M][pre][ ] [ ] [M] [ ] [M] [ ] [M] [ ] [ ][/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre]
    [/pre]That's all I have for now. Next step is identifying the best places to order the various parts from...[/pre]-JB[/pre]
    [/pre]
    [/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre][/pre]
     
  2. Rutherford

    Rutherford Inactive User

    106
    Ratings:
    +2 / 0 / -0
    Looks like a good start, I'll be following this build closely /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif
     
  3. AJ

    AJ Inactive User

    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    Sounds like an interesting project JB. What are you using for the control interface?

    --AJ
     
  4. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    No controller except simple on/off control from my AC3. The drivers I selected can easily be controlled by the Apex or other controllers, but for now I'll be using a 10v power supply and 3 variable resistors to control the output of each channel. Since this is going to go over my frag tank, there's really no reason to do all of the fancy control stuff, but at some point I might give that DIY controller a try.

    -JB
     
  5. ninjazx777 Experienced Reefkeeper

    Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +7 / 1 / -0
    do you mean xp-g cool white not xp-e cool white? You could make this set up more efficient and eliminate a driver by running both strings of xp-e and xp-g in parallel strings of 12 on 1 driver in fact I would leave the xp-g out and just use 24 xp-e in parallel strings of 12 on 1 driver and 12 xm-l on one driver and save some money
     
  6. FlyingMoray Experienced Reefkeeper

    Minburn, IA
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    I would get rid of the XP-G and only do the XM if that is what you want to run. You will want to run around 4 blues per xm white.
     
  7. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    No, I was using the XP-E on purpose. You are correct that I could save some money buy using 2 drivers, but for the added controllability, I decided to go with 3 drivers running strings of 12 LED's in series. Since you can't mix the XP-E and XP-G in the same series, I decided to go all XP-E.

    What I'd really like to do is drop down to 10 XM-L's and then add to more royal blue XP-E's, but to do that, I'd need to be able to run 14 XP-E's on a single driver rather than 12. I haven't been able to get a clear answer if that's possible or not. ReefLEDLights.com says 12, RapidLED.com says 14...
     
  8. adampottebaum

    adampottebaum Experienced Reefkeeper GIRS Member

    Ratings:
    +18 / 0 / -0
    I was told by Mike from Rapidled that the drivers can handle 3-14 LEDs.
     
  9. FlyingMoray Experienced Reefkeeper

    Minburn, IA
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    JB,

    You do realize that the XMs are like 4 times the brightness of the XP right?
     
  10. AJ

    AJ Inactive User

    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    Gotcha...sounds cool.
    --AJ
     
  11. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    Adam: RapidLed.com says that, but ReefLedLights.com says only 12. I'm trying to get an accurate answer. I'd rather drop down to 10 XM-L's and add a couple more XP-E Royal Blues if the driver will handle 14. I suppose I could run 7/7 in parallel if nothing else, but that complicates the wiring a bit.

    Joe: Yes, I know they are brighter, but I'm not going to be running them at full power with that driver. That's another reason I want to use the dimmable drivers, so I can adjust the output as needed. Since this will be over an SPS frag tank, the lower color temp of the additional XM-L's doesn't bother me as much. Growth is more important to me.

    -JB
     
  12. mcclandy

    mcclandy

    254
    Ratings:
    +1 / 0 / -0
    With either LEDs you chose, you will be very happy with them. I feel that the XPE are sufficiently bright for a frag tank. I am looking for a par meter to give some actual numbers on my setup (which is VERY similar xpe and meanwells). I recomend running a series of 12 off of a dimmable driver (running 12 LEDs works well- it allows a little extra overhead voltage and is not a problem; however pushing the voltage to the limits could be a problem later) And NOT running parallel strings - i feel parallel is too risky. With paralell runs, if an LED of one string drops out, there is double the power running through the other string of LEDs. Just my two cents! There are a number of options that all work well. Making the decisions was much harder than assembling the fixtures.
    GOOD LUCK!
     
  13. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    For the parallel issue, ReefLEDLights.com recommends using a 1 amp fuse on both series to prevent that from happening. In any case, I think I want to avoid parallel just because of the added complexity. My 3 driver layout is going to be complex enough to wire as it is. I think I am going to drop down to 10 XM-L's. I'll order a couple of extra of the royal blues and decide later if I want to use them or not... I'm not super concerned with driving them at their limit. Even if I had to replace the whole channel every 3 years, it would still be cheaper than replacing a metal halide bulb twice...

    I think I'm going to keep chewing on this for the next couple of days and then make the order(s) this weekend. All of this stuff is going to have to come from 3 different sources, which kind of sucks, but that's ok...

    Thanks for the input everyone, keep it coming. This is going to be a fun project!
     
  14. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    BTW, does anyone know if there are optics available for the XM-L's yet? I assume they will eventually be available... Just too new?
     
  15. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    Just ordered my Royal Blue XP-E's and my XM-L's from LEDGroupBuy.com expecting to get in on the next group buy in a little over a week. I was shocked when I got a tracking number in email. It turns out they already had them in stock!

    Great prices too, the XP-E's were only $3.39 each.
     
  16. jtesdall

    jtesdall Expert Reefkeeper

    Ratings:
    +1 / 0 / -0
    Yup they just shipped mine as well.
    Where are you getting the other components? I need to order the rest as well. I was planning on Drivers and Optics from Rapid and the heatsink for Heatsink USA.
     
  17. cowdust9

    cowdust9 Well-Known ReefKeeper

    999
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    pretty cool on rc about coral growth with led's and shows his config for the lights http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1991180
     
  18. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    Joel,

    I ended up having to do multiple orders to get everything I needed.

    I got my Heatsink, Drivers, Optics & XP-E cool white's from reefledlights.com

    I got a bunch of misc stuff (mounts, 10V power supply, thermal adhesive) from rapidled.com.

     
  19. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    Still waiting for all the stuff to show up. For now, I've been working on some ideas for changing my main display tank over to LED. If I like the frag tank setup, I'm going to do almost the same thing with my display tank. The plan is to build three identical fixtures but use fewer drivers. The XM-L's will still have one driver per fixture, but the XP-E's will use a single driver driving all of the fixtures in parallel. I'm not 100% convinced that this is what I want to do. I might do it only for the first set of royal blues.

    The other thing I'm trying to do is find a good place to buy some 9 conductor 18 AWG stranded wire. I want to mount my drivers to the wall and then run a single wire from the drivers & fan power supply to the fixture... I think this will be a lot cleaner.
     
  20. JB Veteran Reefkeeper

    Marion
    Ratings:
    +3 / 0 / -0
    First batch of LED's arrived from ledgroupbuy.com yesterday...   The stars are all the same size, but the actual LED of the XM-L's is noticeably larger.
    I set a frag plug next to them to give an idea of how big (or small) they actually are...
    /Portals/0/activeforums_Attach/IMG_4547.jpg
    I also found someplace online that sells 18 AWG stranded multi-conductor wire.    With this, I can run one cable from the 3 drivers and fan transformer...   This should help make for a very clean install...
    [​IMG]
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.