question for the LED gurus out there

A

ausreef

Member
i'm looking at going 100% led but want to retain the stock hood (RSM130) at the moment im looking at this diy kit here
AquaStyle Online

the heatsink will fit in place of the current reflector but the 4 questions i have are:

1.will the 20 or 24 led kit have equal or better PAR than the standard lighting,which would you recommend

2. will the 2 drivers fit in place of the pc ballasts currently in the hood

3.id like to retain the stock timer,does this switch mains current or just low voltage at the ballasts and

4.will the 2 hood fans keep the heatsink cool enough or would it be better to cut a hole in the top of the hood and run the fan supplied in the kit

thanks for reading
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
20 LED kit would probably suffice if you're on a budget, 24 is better and you can probably run as many as 28 if it's the same Meanwell drivers I used. More is better to provide even lighting, not necessarily needed for intensity as you'll probably be running them around 50% or less. Optics not really needed, if you do make sure they're the wide-angle ones.

2 drivers just fit physically (again the Meanwells) but they went in the space I wanted to use to fix the heatsink to the hood. Heat is another consideration, the drivers do get pretty warm and I elected to put them in a hobby box outside the hood.

Stock timer is fine, just take the 2 wires on the input side of the PC balast, it's 120v (at least in the US).

Existing hood fans are fine, don't cut up your hood. Air flow is designed to be pulled from left to right, it's more than enough to cool the heatsink.

Good luck and share some pics please.
 
A

ausreef

Member
thanks for the link Glenn,the instructions are very good and will help a lot, i'm tempted by one of his kits but at 3 times the cost of my lihk (when you factor in the mandatory dimmer driver which i wont use) a bit too expensive
 
A

ausreef

Member
ok after much reading and research ive decided on the modular LED kit(glenns link),it is more expensive but with good support,cree LED's a dedicated RSM kit and more LED's with no soldering,its been ordered so just have to wait,thanks for your help
 
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