DIY Dimmable RapidLED Kit - Converting from MH's

hey not to thread jack and all but everyone here seems to know a lot more than me so i was think maybe 36- 40 leds for my 72 bowfront?

47Lx 19W at the wide center x 21 deep

 

You'll need 48.

 

This thread has made me decide to go with led's but still not sure on the spacing of led's and optics my tank is the same dimensions as yours but I'm wanting to put the led's in my canopy so the highest I would be able to get them would be about five inches above the water line only looking to put softies and lps

Thanks for this thread it has been very educational

 

Well, if you're not interested in SPS, you would probably be fine with same amount of LEDs, but being so close to the water, I'd use 80deg optics to get enough spread. Use an 10-12" wide heat sink and space them apart evenly, as much as possible. This won't give you fantastic penetration to the bottom of the tank, but if you'll only have softies down there, that shouldn't be a problem.

If you want to error on the safe side, you could use 60 deg optics, but you'll need more LEDs to get enough spread, say 72-84.

Thank you

 

In the future if I would like to have sps would 84 leds be sufficient?

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Most definitely. 60 are plenty sufficient for me.

The issue for you is having enough LEDs to get even spread, being so close to the water. With too few and narrow optics, you'll have a spot light effect. However, you'll need those narrow optics if you desire SPS deep in the tank, so more LEDs to get enough spread (and "fill in" between the spot lights) will be necessary. If you are not interested in SPS, a wider optic (~80deg) with 60 LEDs will work.

 

8)Thanks for your help I think I'm just gonna go with 60 for now and I could always add more if i had to.

 

Just read the entire thread...great build.

Can we get an update on Growth soon? Looks like your "Year" is coming up....

Great job, and very encouraging for those of us looking for the LED info!!

 

Evolved, what is your lighting schedule like? Trying to decide if I'm giving mine to much and that's why some of my corals are bleaching.

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Thank you.

Yes, I was planning on having something around the year mark. I had some things brown out on me a little bit (my own fault, details some other time perhaps; related to dosing :-/ ) so I haven't been too excited about taking photos recently. But in another month things should be photo-worthy again.

I promise growth is anything but disappointing; the tank is really out of space for new adds.

Blues: 10A-10P
Whites: 1P-9P

So 12 hours and 8 hours.

Moonlights are on for about 3 hours before/after on each end (although that's purely for aesthetics and has no meaning in the context of your question).