DIY LED Fixture - WORK IN PROGRESS!

BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
LOL! Is it Tuesday already?


The tank is doing GREAT! All of the previous statements are still true (less evap, no heat increase, etc).

I was fortunate enough to have BigJay come by the office yesterday for a short visit and I think he liked what he saw. I did say he'd like to see what it looks like with "Optics" installed so maybe we can look into that as well.

Whatcha think Cod?
 
chipmunkofdoom2

chipmunkofdoom2

Well-Known Member
Optics certainly are something to try.. it really becomes a question of necessity though.

No optics are really required in tanks shallower than 12 -14 inches. In this condition, properly spaced, a 50/50 blue/white mixture will give you about 70W MH PAR levels. The most popular optics, 60* and 40*, will give you 150W and 250W MH PAR, respectively. The optics, since they focus the beam tight, require closer spacing to keep a good color blend, around 2-2.5 inches for 60* and 1.5-2 inches for 40*.

I think the spacing on your unit would accommodate optics while retaining color blend, but I don't know if it would be the best idea. One guy who did a NC24 build had 60* optics on and got sort of a spotlight effect, later removing them because the light was too intense. They are only a dollar a piece and can easily be removed or swapped out if necessary.. the only thing is I don't know if they would fit in the hood. Really your call :)
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
COD shoot me a link to them.. I may give them a try... a mix & match.

How much do they stuck out? I've probably got 3/8" - 1/2" between shield and LED now. That could be a limiting factor.
 
chipmunkofdoom2

chipmunkofdoom2

Well-Known Member
The best place to get Cree optics would probably be at ETG Tech. They don't have a web order page, but if you email Anna she'll help you out with your order.

The lenses are 16mm tall, so about .64 inches, but bear in mind sit on the stars the LEDs are mounted to and maybe even the diode body, so it could total of a couple millimeters on top of that.
 
BigJay

BigJay

Well-Known Member
the reason why I suggested optics is there is a very visible difference in light intensity at the bottom of the tank. I think optics may smooth it out a bit. which optics I dunno. Maybe wider optics for the whites and narrowers for the blues, so you don't pinpoint the white light too much or go semi wide all around. Thats just me thinking aloud of course not suggesting. As long as it doesn't get too expensive may be fun to expriment.
I loved the mod though. There is no question that tank has plenty of light to grow anything. Nice job!
Btw the fans you used are the ticket! Going to get them for my 6g nano that sounds like an airplane.
 
chipmunkofdoom2

chipmunkofdoom2

Well-Known Member
That's certainly something to think about.

The blue LEDs actually output more PAR than the whites (not sure how much, Evilc66 from Nano-reefs has done a lot of PAR testing), so while I think optics can be used selectively, it should be done probably just for creating more intense spots instead of just one one color alone.

I can check some data sheets and check the spread of the LEDs and then see if we can get optics that are only 10* or 15* more narrow.

Did Al crank them up all the way while you were there? I think he only has them a little more than 50% right now.. they may penetrate better if they're up at full-blast.
 
chipmunkofdoom2

chipmunkofdoom2

Well-Known Member
Hm. Well they may penetrate more at full power. We'll have to see how his softies do under the light. I think they'll probably just be able to handle the full light without the optics... :D
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Thought I'd share this about the fixture. Some of you may have seen where I talk about just HOW quiet this new fixture is.

About 20 minutes ago I turned off the Return Pump on my tank here to drop a "Food Puck" into the tank. Shortly after I did that a customer walked into my office and as I was working on a blueprint he said, "Wow! That's a like fish in there... that tank is REAL?"

I said, "Well yeah it's a small Reef Tank".

He said, "It's so quiet I thought it was one of those plastic fake tanks you see at high end gadget stores like Sharper Image."

I sat here for a moment and realized that it's really that quiet. You can hear a slight "hiss" if you listen close and that's just the air the fans are moving.
 
Tru2nr

Tru2nr

Well-Known Member
thats great! gotta love it when people can't hear anything lets see pics now that its brighter!
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
The tank looks as GOOD as can be (IMHO) right now. I'm LOVING the color, brightness an clarity these LEDs are putting out.

IMG_7631.jpg
 
Last edited:
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
That was at what I'd call 80 - 90 but as of just now we're at 100% on Blues & Whites and still about 20% on UV's.

I'm leaving UV's down intentionally. This way I have an idea of what kills my tank if it happens before the UV's or after .

It's VERY bright! I took a pic just now but from the picture you really can't tell ... I think it's adjusting for the extra brightness...
 
chipmunkofdoom2

chipmunkofdoom2

Well-Known Member
Very nice :)

I wish I could see it in person... the pictures don't even do the LEDs partial justice.

Now do you find there's a decent color blend with whites and blues all the way up at 100%?
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Oh yes indeed! I like it. I may turn the white's down just a "tad" to push it to the blue side. In a few minutes when the company closes I'm gonna try to take a short video to see if that's any better. I was messing around this morning and knocked my rock all over so it's "Arranged" a lil differently but that's not intentional! LOL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top