48" LED Array - Up and Running...Mostly

[Ron99]

Played around lowering the fixture and found that the colour blending and overlap of the emitters wasn't great in the upper portions of the tank with the lights 3 inches above the water. PAR was between 550 and 600 in the upper part but stayed at 500 in the middle of the tank and was close to 400 at the bottom. I think that to get optimal blending of the light from the emitters and good overlap 6 to 7 inches above the tank is about as low as I will want to run them.

[Dyspnea]

What are you planning for livestock? SPS, LPS, clams, zoa, softs... etc?

[Ron99]

Originally Posted by Dyspnea

What are you planning for livestock? SPS, LPS, clams, zoa, softs... etc?

All of the above I currently have a mixed bag in the tank with SPS, LPS, softies, and zoas. I hope to be able to keep all of them with careful positioning. But I already found the T5s were to much for some of the LPS and had to tuck them under overhangs etc. I would like to add a small clam if space permits but we'll see.

Also, this latest news as of today is interesting. LEDs are only going to get better while MH and T5s etc. are pretty much as good as they are going to get now:

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces a breakthrough new lighting-class LED platform, the XLamp® XM LED. This new single chip LED delivers record-breaking efficacy of 160 lumens per watt at 350 mA. The LED also delivers 750 lumens at 2 A, which is equivalent to the light output of a 60 W incandescent light bulb at less than 7 watts.

“This new platform continues Cree’s well-established record of turning R&D innovations into products,” said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. “We continue to set the pace for LED performance, establishing new benchmarks that make you wonder why anyone would consider last-century’s energy-wasting technology.”

A cool white XM LED driven at 350 mA can produce 160 lumens at 160 lumens per watt. The new platform has a larger footprint than Cree’s XP family and also offers the unique combination of very high efficacy at very high drive currents. At 2 A, an XM LED produces 750 lumens at 110 lumens per watt. The thermal resistance of the XM platform is 2 degrees C per watt— an industry-leading technology breakthrough and a 350 percent improvement over Cree’s flagship XLamp XP-E LED.

Samples of the XLamp XM LEDs are available for order with standard lead times and commercial availability is targeted for Fall 2010.

[blacknife]

I so need to build my own light when i decide what my next tank is.. it looks like a fun project. and when things go wrong.. there is only one person to blame.. yourself.

[Dyspnea]

Where did you find most of your reading and research?