DIY LED questions

Hello all. I am planning on building 2 separate fixtures in the next month or so. The first one is for my 120 gallon (4'X2'X2') that i will be setting up as soon as i finish my stand. The second is for my parents aquarium which is a standard 55 gallon (48"X12"X20")

My current plan is to get 72 cree 3w LEDs for my 120 and 48 cree 3w LEDs for their 55 gallon. Will that be enough for them both or will that be short of the mark. Also i have been looking into the Meanwell HLG drivers for my tank and sticking with the ELNs for their tank.
Last question for now is what to use for the heatsink. I have seen where some use uchannel and others using true heatsinks. I believe im going to go with the true heatsinks but am not for sure on the sizes i should use?
Thanks

 

That's certainly enough diodes on both tanks, if not more than enough. You probably could do 60 and 36 and be just fine. I've been running 60 on a 120 long for over a year and I can keep whatever coral I want, anywhere I desire.

I'm still a fan of traditional heatsinks. Try heatsinkusa.com for the best selection of sizes. If it was me: 42"x10" on the 120, 42"x4" on the 55.

 

So my next question is how tight of optics should i put on. The canopy i am building is 16 inches tall so i will have plenty of room under it. I was thinking about 80 degrees hung 14 inches above the water or using the 60 degrees.

 

For the 120, I'd hang them as high as I could in that canopy and use 60deg optics.

For the 55, 80deg should be alright; it's kinda at that borderline depth to me whether 60 or 80 is best.

 

Ah ok. The 55 gallon is getting a stand built for it as well so the canopy is going to be about the same height at around 16 inches i believe.

Do you recommend putting moonlight LEDs as well or just using the blues at there dimmest. I do plan on building an arduino for this to control sunrise and sunset.

 

also what color mix would you all suggest. As of right now im going with around a 1:1:1:1 mix of cool white, warm white, royal blue, and blue.

 

Here's the deal with optics: the deeper your tank, the narrow optic you need. However, as the optics get narrower, you either need more diodes or need to mount the fixture higher to get even spread (and avoid spotlighting). On the 55, I'd probably mount them closer rather than higher and use 80deg optics.

You need dedicated moonlights if you want moonlights. The blues will be far too bright even dimmed all the way down.

That's a rather subjective question, and a matter of personal color preference. What you've got there will work fine, but will give you something closer to a 12k MH look. I tend to like the balance shifted more heavily towards cool white and royal blues with fewer warm whites and blues. But it's really a matter of preference; you've gotta decide how blue you like things.

 

oops miss spoke. i ment neutral whites instead of warm whites lol

 

Cipher, i'm desgining a 55 g led system too, and am know hoping evolved knows what he's talking about!lol! He kinda confirmed what I was going to do! I am debating on using Bridgelux led's though! Not sure!

I'm gonna do 48 though, just to be safe! i don't want to have to pull it down and add later, I'd rather just dim it and have even coverage!

I am debating on doing a 42' long or 2x20" fixtures for each side!

The only thing I've heard thats standard across the board is get the meanwells drivers! Never heard one thing negative about them and they're only 15 or so more than the others! heard the cheaper ones can be noisy and get real hot! With spending that much, prob not a place to skimp!

Nice info guys, thanks!

 

Thanks for the info guys.