I can do magic! (LEDs)

So if I am following this right you order 2 kits, would one kit be sufficient for softies and LPS.
The 12xp-g white for midday what is that for?
Are you gonna need fans?
What do you mount the leds to?

One more question why diy versus an all done unit?

 

well on that page there was different sized kits.
if your tank is 4x2x2 I would lean towards 60LEDs


The XP-Gs are just more powerful LEDs that operates at a bit of a different spectrum. Its just me being excessive.

Fans are DEF required. It gets hot.

A heat sink.

Take a look at this page for photographs and info.
http://www.reefledlights.com/how-to-diy-led/

 

Wow thanks now I understand better.
I am still learning the terms of things.

when you wire them together you keep the white on one driver and the blues on one driver as long as I don't exceed 12 on 1 driver, Is that correct?

Yes my tank is a 4x2x2

 

I have a lot of question don't I.
Ok I read the info you link me to and that one was for a 1 48" retro kit Led for an equivalent of 133 w and then I look at Boostled unit which they are equivalent of 135w and for the cost boostled is cheaper, but don't know about quality.
What are your thoughts?

 

48 is just "48" LEDs, not for a 48" tank. you could put 48 LEDs on a nano if you wanted to.

BoostLED's unit has around 112 LEDs meaning those are only 1 watt LEDs.

The crees LEDs are 3 watt units with a life of over 50,000 hours.
so at 8 hours a day you are comparing 17 years vs 10 years.

their unit is all in one, looks clean and has warranty is the plus side.

as long as all the LEDs are the same kind, XP-E.
NOT mixing xp-e and XP-G.
The color doesnt matter.
I am keeping them seperate because i am using the dimmable drivers so I can have the reefkeeper ramp (increase and decrease) the power to the LEDs so the blues will turn on first then the whites later in the day.

 

My tank is almost the same dimensions only half as high lol. Its 4x2x1. I am running 42 neutral white XP-Gs and 42 royal blue XP-Es. Instead of running all those meanwells though I went with 2 big Thomas Research drivers(still dimmable though). I am running 2 8.5x40 heat sinks instead of one and running 40deg optics to keep the light farther from the tank. Unfortunately the drivers are on backorder at the moment and I still haven't got my tank or leds yet because the group buy isn't over yet...but I did get my big beautiful heat sinks lol.

 

Thomas drivers are very interesting, I want to see more about them.

Check what bin those Royal Blues are from. D316 is the best for our application and gives the best, "POP" to the corals. If seller doesn't know, reconsider IMO. You are spending all that money might as well do it right from the start. Thats why you see mixed reviews from people who go LED. Not all LEDs are created equally.

I gotta order my heatsink. been slacking.

 

Such a great movie...

Nice equipment. Looking forward to seeing the build.

 

Just a note you don't have to know how to solder (I do though)to do LEDs I know how but when I do a fixture then I'll probably use Rapid LED's Soldersess Connector for Cree LED stars....you just have to drill and tap the heatsink.

This way I figure it'll be easier to change the mix of lights or swap them out should better ones come along.

 

thats probably what i would do if I go ahead with it