High powered LED pendent

[chucelli]

Finally completed testing on my LED pendent.

The plan is to put this pendent on display at one or more LFS. I will build these to order. Anyone interested, please PM me. If you are interested in attempting a build yourself, there is a very comprehensive thread on RC. Also feel free to comment on my testing methods, (improvements, etc.. ) within reason of course, since I have a two year old and work full time, not every test scenario can be covered

Majority of readings were conducted out of water for baseline, since it provided for a more controllable test environment. A few readings were then taken in my display for practical purposes.

First, some views:

Top:

bottom: notice the absence of exposed wires.

side: low profile

close up of optics:

some pictures taken during PAR measurments:

Some in tank measurements: (flash was used to expose the LCD display on the Quantum Meter)

FTS with array >4 feet from tank bottom

For reference, here is a FTS with 3X250w 14K MH (notice how much light is being thrown onto the wall behind the display.

And finally, the PAR measurements:

In tank measurements are not consistent I believe due to the difficulty in sensor placement. However, it does show that little if any light is lost through water of this depth (One reading read more than when measured outside water).

-Robert

[ctenophore]

Do you have plans to add a manual dimming control? I would love to have something like this for my small tank but 645 micromols is a lot of light to start corals on all at once. Also, how about independent power supplies for the white/blue LEDs, so the color temperature can be changed? From my limited understanding after reading the RC threads it seems that the two features I mention wouldn't be too hard to do, but I also haven't built one Great work overall!

[Noobalicious]

looks like a very nice lighting option.

 

what is the life expectancy of the LEDs?

[El Camaron]

WOW, it turned out awesome chucelli.

[chucelli]

thanks Justin,

I am trying to keep costs low, so no manual dimming on this unit (dimmable power supplies can be used in place of the non dimmable. The actual pendent unit remains unchanged. However, costs of the dimmable PS are about 2X the cost of non-dimmable. Also, IMO, manual dimming of either color to tweak overall color is inefficient, since you are essentially turning down one or the other to get the desired color. It would be more efficient to adjust color temp through the use of different numbers of LEDs (more blue or more white). The two colors are powered separately however. I did not take pics of actinics only, since I couldn't get my camera to pickup the true essence of this blue. Color temp can also be adjusted through a combination of different optics. For example, a mix of 40˚ optics for white and 60˚ for blue will yield a whiter color temp on center. The reverse holds true if the end user wants a more blue color temp.

Intensity can be adjusted by array mounting height also. I will be mounting these arrays >4 feet above my display. Even at that height, there is less light bleeding into the room than the current MH...

 

Noobalicious,

The life expectancy of these is something like 11 years when run continuously at recommended specs. More data can be found here:

http://www.cree.com/

Active cooling is not necessary with the size heatsink I chose, but I decided to run one anyways to increase life expectancy further.

 

Thanks Ranado. PAR numbers finally!

Edited November 23, 2009 by chucelli

[jason the filter freak]

where did you get the metal folr the heat sync?

[chucelli]

heatsinkusa. If you know of a cheaper place, please do tell

[Brian Ward]

What are the costs? How much to have you build one?

[Boret]

AWESOME DIY project!!! Great work. Thank you for sharing and the excellent documentation. I am also interested is cost like Brian.

Edited November 23, 2009 by Boret

[davelin315]

I'm curious as to which LEDs you used from the site. Some are being discontinued, some are still active according to them, I'd be interested in doing this to reduce my electrical bills!

[Happyfeet]

What are the costs? How much to have you build one?

+1 interested as well.

[Coral Hind]

Chucelli, You did a great job on the DIY and the tests. I am very surprised and impressed by the amount of PAR you are getting all the way down at the bottom of the tank. I think the LEDs are powerful enough that you could space them out a little farther on a larger setup to get a better spread.

[jason the filter freak]

is that 24 leds? ive been planning on doing one of these for a long time and i think im going to go for it after seeing yours

[Sikryd]

Sweet DIY! Great par readings.

It'll be nice to see the progress of LED's in the hobby to the point where there are some REALLY slick looking lighting setups that provide the same spectrum and growth of MH's.

Its guys like you doing this stuff on the side to come up with other viable options...

[El Camaron]

for the one who does not know much about PAR, how do the numbers shown compare to MH or a good set of T5's?

[Brian Ward]

for the one who does not know much about PAR, how do the numbers shown compare to MH or a good set of T5's?

 

They compare very well to a MH pendant. My 400W 20k XM bulbs (in lumenarc mini reflectors) read about 1000 just below the bulb with little dropoff down to the water level. After you go into the water, the dropoff is significant - going to about 600 4-6" in (as I recall).

[chucelli]

Hey David, you are right that spreading these out would create more coverage. However, I wanted great versatility and create the most powerful spot that I could and avoid color separation. I figured there were enough ways to control intensity if needed (ie. hanging them higher up, using wider angle optics both increase cover and decrease intensity proportionally. Also, for those interested in mounting them close in a closed hood/canopy, optics can be removed for a more traditional lighting effect (much greater coverage).

I am getting many messages as well as posts regarding cost.

 

*** removed pricing ***

 

Just for reference, here are some Japanese spots using 7 1.5w LEDs.

http://www.aquatouch.com/products.html

My above build uses 24 3w LEDs.

Admins, please remove this post if it is not allowed.

Thanks,

-Robert

Edited November 23, 2009 by davelin315
edited out pricing, this part has to be in the for sale forum

[chucelli]

FWIW, mounting them >4 feet above the tank bottom creates pretty good spread while getting 187

[Larry Grenier]

This is a very cool subject... pun intended.

 

I believe this is the wave of the future as things are perfected and prices come more practicle.

 

1) A fraction of the power usage

2) Many time the life expectancy

3) Much less of a heat problem...

 

We've been switching over to LEDS in my DJ business. We get a lot more light, never change bulbs, much more vivid colors...

 

Keep up the great work!

Edited November 23, 2009 by Larry Grenier

[davelin315]

I have edited out your post with price, please put one in the for sale forum for this (I'm definitely interested in this as well, but let's keep this one purely informational - let me know if you'd like this to go to the DIY forum if you're going to go in depth on what you did, which would be great!) and then you can link it from this thread.

[chucelli]

thanks Davelin.

I will create a post in the FS section.

[kholla12]

Could you link us to the place you bought all the leds and drivers. so the people trying to DIY could give it a try.

[Brian Ward]

A parts list would be awesome Also, if you can paste in a link to the RC thread so I don't have to dig through there, that would also be nice

[chucelli]

This is probably one of the most comprehensive threads about LED lighting. It also includes a parts list

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587273

Although his build did not include optics, it can be found at the same vendor as the LEDs.

-R

[Brian Ward]

For those that are thinking about a DIY project, there are volume discounts on the parts website. I recommend a group buy. You can drive the cost of the LEDs alone down $50 a person.