I've been planning this a VERY long time. A couple years. Today, I finally got light. It was like a biblical moment for me. The arrays are complete. They are 100W each, and blue/white equal. I can dim each multi-chip individually however, and am working on the code for my Reef controller using a FEZ Panda II.
The light is crisp, without looking like smurf pee. my iPhone didn't do a great job picking up the color.
2X 20W Cool White
4X 10W Actinic Blue
2X 10W Royal blue
Each of three heat sinks has the same. I drilled and tapped the center for a 50W, should I decide I need more light.
Each color is on its own driver (PWM dimmable). Two Actinic blues, Two Royal Blues, and the other Two actinics are on their own drivers, as well as each 20W being on its own driver. Planning on a sunrise/sunset pattern with random clouds and moon phases. (waiting on my 3W UV still, have drivers for them already).
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Total cost is somewhere around $630 with all items included (Heat Sinks, LED Multi-chips, Drivers, Power Supplies). I fully expect this to light my 180 reef with absolutely no problems. The controller is the next big money sink. I plan on using solid-state relays to control powerheads, and even the temperature.
I am a huge nerd (Senior at Lawrence Tech) and love reefs. My love for Technology follows closely, so I figured I'd merge the two.
I am not planning on using optics. Even with 90 degree optics, I think the spotlight would be too harsh. They are about 120 degree right now and I plan on running them 10" or so above the water line. I have to pick up some Stainless screws and some aluminum rod to mount them to the canopy. I plan on extending the rod 2" below the LEDs and using a spacer to install a polycarbonate splash shield.
The Heat Sinks came from a company in Belding, Michigan (heatsinksusa). The LED multi-chips came from a company in Taiwan. Shipping only took 4 days. The power supplies came from ebay.
Cost:
LEDs: $180
Heat Sinks: $150
Power supplies $60
Drivers: $140
Total: 530.00 (Rounded to nearest dollar).
Good call on the banding, are you concerned at all about light bleed into the room? I have considered doing up a DIY multi chip over my tank, but going pendant style, using GPU coolers. What are the dimensions of your 180?
The only light that will bleed is the light that comes from within the tank. I have a 6'X2'X2' 180 with an oak stand and an oak canopy. If I do get any bleed through the canopy, I will use felt strips to seal off the access doors.
I am designing a system that will raise all three arrays or lower all three arrays on command. The "Feed" button on the 7" LCD will turn the power heads off in the tank, and raise the lights to allow for more access. The "Done Feeding" button will lower the lights to whatever position they were before the feed function was called. I plan on fabricating a screw actuator to raise and lower the lights driven off a DC stepping motor that I can control via PWM. This way, I can set the exact height above the water via software.
Little update. I've disconnected one 20W white on each array. The light was too much. I am ordering a PAR meter this weekend i think. Everything is doing great. The color is bright and vibrant without being overpowering.
The lights ramp up at 11am, takes about an hour to get to 50% (which I am running them at). At 2PM, the lights ramp again from 50% to 62%. They stay there for two hours, then ramp back to 50%. At 9pm, they ramp down and finally turn off at around 9:40pm.
I am building acrylic housings with fans and thermal controllers maybe this weekend. The driver farm will have its own box with a 3.5" touchscreen for control. There will be a 2" OLED display on the canopy for temp, and I am adding wireless so I can control it from my tablet with an application that I am writing.
It was a bit of a rush to get it in and functional, now I get to make it unique and interesting.
Ordering quick-release connectors from keystone this weekend as well. Going to use multi-core wire to clean up the snakes' nest of wiring.
The tank isn't finished. I still need to pick up some Rock, and some sand to clean it up a bit. The previous owner had a HUGE bubble algae problem and I am fighting that. There's also a ton of Aptasia I am slowly working away.