90 gal DIY LED concept

Thinking about DIY LED kit from rapidled
Have read up a bit, but there seem to be so many variables that I wouldnt mind getting opinions based on my specific tank and plans for it.
Its a 90 gal so 48"L x 18"W x 24"D.
Theres nothing much in it atm but I'd like sps heavy mixed reef with a clam or 2 on the sand. the sand is only about an inch deep.

At the moment my plan involves 63 dimmable leds and looks like this...

20 - Royal Blue
16 - Blue
12 - Neutral white
12 - Cool white
3 - Red

Will this be enough????

considering a seperate driver for the red to be able to mix them better.
not sure if adding any green or cyan is a good idea?

I'd like to use one 8.46" x 40" heatsink from heatsinkusa (purely for aesthetics) will try to make this as tidy as possible and hopefully look like a bought one : lol

I have no idea if that mix will look any good. Could this be too much blue for the current Rapid kits?
Not sure what optics to use...? have got room to mount it higher and use 40deg, but will that actually be any better?

would probably have to buy the parts in a few stages, is it a problem to extend a string of leds after one has been completed? or do i really need to just do it all at once?

wow, that turned into quite a few questions lol
if youve managed to make it this far, any other advice is welcomed
thanks!

 

Hopefully evolved will chime in. But ill give you opinions based on what I've read. The reds aren't going to mix well at all, especially with only 3 of them on a 40 inch heat sink. They aren't really needed, especially with the neutral whites you are wanting. Other than that, I believe you could keep sps no problem with that setup. Evolved will have to comment on optic choice. And I recommend saving up and building the whole light at once instead of trying to do it in stages. It will be a lot easier.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

I think you've got too many. 48 should be enough. Use 60deg optics.

Honestly, I wouldn't do that many colors. I'd only use Royal Blues, no Blues at all. No reds, and use mostly cool whites with a few neutral whites; not 50/50.

 

thanks for your input guys, it is a bit of a pain not knowing for sure how something like this will perform untill its finished.
some more thoughts and questions tho...
I've got a boost bulb (3rb:2cw) over my nano and i'd like to try the more varied mix of leds for a better visiual result.
If 48 with 60deg optics will work then i'm happy to use 60leds and dim them down a little for a more even spread.
The reds wont have any optics. I've heard of someone else with a similar amount of red and they seem happy with the result. Its only an extra 3 leds and i can remove/replace them later if needed.
In the original plan, all colours would have their own dimmable driver, with the last driver picking up the remaining b/rb/reds. The aim would be to try end up with an evenly spread mix of light tuned to colour I find most appealing. however I dont want to end up running 3 out of 5 drivers at 30% because the mix was wayyy off to start with.
I can't seem to find the appropriate diagram right now, but are the blue leds (465-485nm) in the useable spectrum for corals?
and are the neutral whites used for growth at all or just visual spectrum?
I could use a few less of each and maybe put 80deg optics on those and use the cw/rbs with 60deg optics for growth?
might that be a better plan?

 

could this mix be any better...?

 

It seems rapid also agree with evolved and I am being a little over eager with that many leds. Sorry I doubted you evolved!
I've revised my plan closer to 48 leds to save on one driver as suggested by rapid. Which should help this happen at least a little bit quicker.
Apparently the XP-E royal blues are more evenly matched in brightness to the XP-G white than the old XR-E blues were so a more even mix of blue:white will be ok.
I've left in some regular blues because I still think it might look a little better in the tank.
This is the final plan... (so far:yelrotflm)

Using one large heatsink is going to kill my budget, but I still think will look good enough to be worth it in the end.
I think I'm going to stick with this plan, but hopefully be able to drill and tap the heatsink so if anything does need changing in the end, it won't be impossible.

 

How is $100 heatsink going to kill your budget? IMHO thats pretty cheap, unless you get some scrap metal somewhere.

 

Its another $100 in shipping to here works out just over $220 total
there are a few other options that end up around $70 delivered, but I really think one large one is going to look better

 

Where are you trying to order the heatsink from? Heatsinkusa?

 

yeah, even with the shipping I think that price is reasonable for something that size