Help with LED colour for BC8 order from RapidLed.com

[nerdz]

Hello,

Placing an order from RapidLed.com today to upgrade my little BC8 from stock PC to LED's...

I would like the ability to adjust colour, but I don't want to bother with 2 drivers. So I need to get the LED ratio right.


What ratio of blue to white looks good? I don't want too blue, or too cool of white.
What type of LED? I was thinking CREE XP-E (http://www.rapidled.com/cree-xp-e-royal-blue-3w-led-on-star/)?
Neutral White or Cool white?
Any point to throwing reg/green/violet into the mix?
Order list so far:
Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable driver (http://www.rapidled.com/mean-well-eln-60-48d-dimmable-driver/)
4.25" x 9" Aluminum Heat Sink (http://www.rapidled.com/4-25-x-9-aluminum-heat-sink/)
Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive (http://www.rapidled.com/arctic-alumina-thermal-adhesive/)
10K Ohm Linear Potentiometer (http://www.rapidled.com/10k-ohm-linear-potentiometer/)

The tank Has ricordia and a few LPS corals. Not sure how many LED's 8-10? I'll have to dial the LEDs WAY down not to fry things.

Thanks for any help!

[sphelps]

With green and red leds you'll want the ability to dim independently so separate drivers will be needed. I say leave those for now and perhaps add later in 1W versions if desired.

A decent ratio is 2 blue to 1 white. That will give the average look most people seem to prefer. Cool whites is probably what I would use but you could use half cool and half neutral but with a small tank and a single driver you'll probably only enhance spot lighting.

So for me I'd vote about 2RB to 1CW. So for 14 LEDs I'd go with 9RB and 5CW. Adding more colors within that amount of LEDs will just create a disco ball.

[ScubaSteve]

Personally I'd say go heavy on the blue, like 2:1. Many LED tanks I've seen lookm very yellow otherwise. This and the colour separation are two reasons why I remain with halides (though I do love LEDs and the doors they open). I would recommend the dual drivers. I think it would be one of those instances where you look back and go "I should have done that".

As for adding other colors, you're going to start a fire fight with that question on any board. People are strongly divided on that matter and often with little basis in scientific reasoning. Yes, livestock (in theory) should benefit from a broader spectrum of light. It might fuel algae (though I argue that it would be no more that a halide bulb). Ultimately, it will let you achieve the colour mix YOU like. However, unless you have a driver for though different colours to play with the mix I wouldn't bother. I'd wait for the Great LED Wars of 2011-2012 settle to see what the final word on broad colour mixing is.

[Reefer Rob]

Color is a matter of personal taste, and there are as many opinions about LED combinations as there are builds. I like the look of 2:1 royal blue to neutral white. No need to add any red or green with this combination. Possibly a little bluer than 14K look.

[Dez]

My DIY was from rapidled. I went with 1:1 ratio cool white to RB. I like it. I did go with separate drivers so that I could adjust the intensity separately. Hope this helps.

[nerdz]

Thanks for all the input!

I went with 6 RB, 2CW and 2WW.

Anybody know what % to start out at to equal 2 year old stock PC's?

Cheers

[nerdz]

Okay, I have received my LED order. I went "plug and play". Now how to layout them out?


I got 8x Royal Blue, (RB) and 4x Neutral White, (Nw).

My heatsink is 4.25" x 9"


So...

What do you think?


RB RB RB RB
NW NW NW NW
RB RB RB RB RB


I feel a little limited with the very short leads on the plug and play leds.
Would it look better to group the RB NW RB close together in a triangle?

Thanks again!

[lorenz0]

Hey wish I saw this sooner but you are going to bleach and burn corals with that many LED's in a BC8 without a dimmer. In my BC14 I am running 8 RB and 6 NW with a dimmer and I honestly run them at 40% with great results.

As for how you want to set them, perfect. mine goes RB NW RB NW RB NW RB with 2 rows and it is very even lighting.

But your going to love these once you get them set up. Best upgrade I have ever done on a BC

[nerdz]

Hi,

Thanks for the input. l do have a dimmable driver, also ordered 2 extra terminal jumpers so l can run only 10 leds.

I thought maybe 12 LEDS would be more even then 10?

I have worn out stock PCs so l will have to be very careful not to scorch corals.

So, what pattern/color ratio do you recommend for 10 leds?