diy leds for my 120 ish reef

Discussion in 'LED Aquarium Lighting' started by rotccapt, Mar 7, 2013.

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  1. rotccapt

    rotccapt Plankton

    Joined:
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    Location:
    oklahoma
    hi all i am gearing up for my first reef. my goal is to keep a mix of softies and lps. my tank measures 52x26x24. i plan on having a 10 inch tall hood over my tank. currently i have some smd 5050 cool white leds that i bought when this was supposed to be a cichlid tank. so i know thies lights will not be adequate for my reef project, but i would like to use them and supplement the lighting with some better leds. i have looked into the bridgelux leds and i think i want to go with them.

    so my plan is to just put the bridgelux leds over the live rock since this is where the corals will be.

    or do you think i should just can the 5050's and build an entire array of 3w leds?

    thanks for your help
     
    rotccapt, Mar 7, 2013
    rotccapt, Mar 7, 2013
    #1

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  2. serega

    serega Astrea Snail

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    Are u gonna build light yourself? If so I can give u some tips. In my exp have 14 months working on this kind lights and still kind of project, many LEDs was changed and optics also. And to build this light system needs to elementary knowlodge of electric, like + - current and resistance.
     
    serega, Mar 13, 2013
    serega, Mar 13, 2013
    #2
  3. rotccapt

    rotccapt Plankton

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    yes i will be building the light my self. i have the skills to build the lights
     
    rotccapt, Mar 14, 2013
    rotccapt, Mar 14, 2013
    #3
  4. serega

    serega Astrea Snail

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    I can tell you use 60-70% 400-500nm for coral grow spectrum ( in my I use 50/50 UV/blues) 25-30% wites (cool most like) and 1-3% green reds, I still work on red ones. Put stars (wites,and other colors) close as possable to each other to prevent disco
     
    serega, Mar 14, 2013
    serega, Mar 14, 2013
    #4
  5. dienerman

    dienerman Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    I am interested in doing a DIY LED project also but know nothing. Where are you getting the lights and dimmers from? What are you housing them in, aluminum? I would like to start by building something to supplement my current T5 system.
     
    dienerman, Mar 22, 2013
    dienerman, Mar 22, 2013
    #5
  6. Sacohen

    Sacohen Bristle Worm

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2012
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    I'm starting to build my own LED lights.
    I'm getting the stuff from aquastyleonline.
    I came across a great thread of someone who did it already, but it is on another forum and I don't think I can give out the URL here.
     
    Sacohen, Mar 22, 2013
    Sacohen, Mar 22, 2013
    #6

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  7. cosmo

    cosmo Giant Squid

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    cosmo, Mar 22, 2013
    cosmo, Mar 22, 2013
    #7
  8. Kevin_E

    Kevin_E Giant Squid

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    Would you say they are a particular set of skills?

    particular set of skills - YouTube
     
    Kevin_E, Mar 22, 2013
    Kevin_E, Mar 22, 2013
    #8