26G led info

I have a 26G bow that is FOWLR running 4+years. I want to go to a reef tank now and ad some more rock and corals. I am stuck between the T5 setup and LEDS. Would a 24 CREE DIY led setup work for my tank. 12 blue 12 white 1 driver 4 moons on a 24" heatsink. Would that be to much or not enough. Also with that small of a tank would I need lens/optics for the leds. I could build the LED setup for about $130 and a T5 will be much more if I go with a good brand.

 

I would go with the LEDs. The Cree setup you described would probably be fine for LPS or SPS corals. How high did you plan on mounting the setup and what optics were you thinking of using?

 

Not sure about the optics and height. If I mount it 1 inch from water do I need the optics. What would be best.

 

How hot do these get. If I use 3" wide 1/4" thick aluminum with fire retardant insulation behind it could I put it in my stock 24" plastic housing my florescent is in. I have 2 fans that can go in there also.

 

24 would be the right amount. What driver do you have in mind? The popular meanwells won't handle that many; you'll need two of them. I'd also encourage you to use 2 dimmable drivers; then you have adjustability of the color blend as well as the overall intensity. You probably could do without optics, but I'd like to see 80deg optics, optimally.

That's pretty darn close, but could be done. I wouldn't use any optics if they were going to be any less than 6" from the surface.

Not hot, so long as you've got enough heatsink for them. If they're getting warm, you need to rethink things.

That being said, I don't see a 1/4" thick heatsink getting the job done. That's not much surface area.

 

My bad on the drivers I will be using 2 unless there is one that can handle that many. Keeping 6" off water would be easy and I will try the 80's.
Would 14 LEDS be enough for my tank and 1 driver.
I will be using a heat sink of good size also.

 

14 wouldn't really be enough for the higher light corals.

 

What do you think of this set. Aquarium 36 LEDs Dimmable DIY LED kit with optics

 

Not a fan of the china DIY kits.

They're cheap enough to afford a nearby fire extinguisher...

 

The leds are US made the driver china. What if I use mean drivers and bridgelux leds.