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View Full Version : calling all LED gurus!

iceman86
08-08-2012, 12:03 AM
hey guys its time to upgrade my lighting to a better LED system cuz i decided i wanted to keep sps. My tank is 20"x20"x20" cube.
Im looking at this diy kit http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Aquarium-24--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html

will this kit work for sps corals or do i need something a little stronger?

thanks!
Snaz
08-08-2012, 12:24 AM
I would go with the 36 emitter package personally, same price. I have built two of these kits, nice product and nice company. Both arrived in Vancouver in less than one week.
iceman86
08-08-2012, 12:46 AM
I would go with the 36 emitter package personally, same price. I have built two of these kits, nice product and nice company. Both arrived in Vancouver in less than one week.

Well that's good news :-) should I go with the dimmable or is it not really necessary?
Snaz
08-08-2012, 01:00 AM
Well that's good news :-) should I go with the dimmable or is it not really necessary?

Absolutely go with dimmable. I run mine at 80% white and 100% blue. The dimmables let you dial in the colour you want.
iceman86
08-08-2012, 03:05 AM
Absolutely go with dimmable. I run mine at 80% white and 100% blue. The dimmables let you dial in the colour you want.

ok so would the maxwellen drivers be good? also what degree of optics?
Thanks for all your help Snaz!
Snaz
08-08-2012, 03:34 AM
ok so would the maxwellen drivers be good? also what degree of optics?
Thanks for all your help Snaz!

I purchased but never used the 60 degree optics. The depth of the two tanks I lit was never greater than 16 inches so I didn't have a need to narrow the beams to reach any depth. You will probably not need to either but if you did then perhaps the 60s would suit.

I purchased the cheaper Maxwellean drivers as I do not have a reef controller for dynamic dimming and programming but if you do or plan to then get the Meanwell drivers.

The best resource currently for aquastyleonline and LED lighting in general I think is nano-reef.com I agree with pretty much everything there except the silly trend of clustering the LEDs in tight groups of 4 to 6 to prevent what is called "disco effect." The disco effect is supposedly seeing individual emitter reflection on the corals so to counter this they feel that a tight grouping of the emitters counters this. My tanks have lots of surface agitation so the beams are broken up wonderfully and the shimmer effect is awesome. By keeping the emitters spread out over the heatsink I get a better coverage and maximum growing real estate.

Here is my heatsink and emitter diagram I built with Google Sketch for the BC29. The two empty corners are to accommodate the hood fans that were already in place. On this tank I bought to 50/50 4500k/10K whites because apparently that is a broader and thus better spectrum. On the first tank, the little 12 gallon AquaPod, I used only the 10K Cool Whites and I like the crisper look of these. The 4500K are a little to yellow for me.

http://snaz.com/marine/bc29led.GIF

If I did another LED DIY I would probably not bother with the 4500K as I am growing SPS just fine with the RB and CW emitters and I like the cooler, sharper look.