Aquastyle

I know this has been beat to death but I still have a few questions...

I am looking at ordering this 36 LED kit.

Aquarium 36 LEDs Dimmable DIY LED kit with optics

I have a 29G DT and a 10G Sump. I want to have some corals, but not sure which at this time. So i want to be able to do anything with the lighting. So on to my questions.

36 LEDs should be overkill for the 29G which is 30" long.
The Heat sink is about 16" long will that work ok? Or should I order a heat sink from somewhere else that better matches the length of my tank?

The kit comes with 60 degree optics, should I go to 80 degree optics instead?

They use Maxwellen LED Driver, but they also see the Meanwell ELN-60-48D LED Drivers. If they allow me to upgrade by paying the difference, is it worth it?

They have a few color combinations, one has 2 UVs, are UV's needed?

They offer color combinations using 10,000K whites and Royal Blues, they also have 6500k and 4500k whites. Would you use the 10,000K or go for something in the 6500K range?

If you have any other suggestions please let me know. I know about the CREEs but just can't get by the sticker price.

 

I'm no expert at all, far from it, but this is my opinion after reading myself to death on these systems!

I'd consider a bigger heatsink that way you could add to it later! Plus bigger seems to be better for heatsinks! More heat transfer is possible=longer led life! plus you can add a string later if need be!

DEFINITELY get the meanwells if you can and def get the dimmable so you can add a controller, or just control the color spectrum better! Blues on 1 and whites on another!

60% blue 40% white! Most seem to rec the 10k whites! look at rapidled's suggestions!

How deep is the tank and how high are ya gonna hang it? Ya have to balance getting good PAR and coverage! 60 d will narrow it down and better PAR deeper, but less coverage! I'd say go with 60's and if its too narrow, order 80's, but i may shoot an email to whom your buying from to make sure!

i hear mixed on the UV thing, but alot of the guys doing BIG DOG builds seem to have them, but ya can always add the later!

My $.02

 

oh yeah, read the thread i just started, it has links to a build and optics and stuff!

 

UV light is important to sps growth in leds, this is being discovered. Its because the color spectrum i.e. royal blue being 450-465nm Violet light at around 420nm is found useful to sps growth.

Coral - November/December 2011
Give that article a read for more in depth information on blue and ultraviolet lighting.