calling all LED experts...

donlite · #1 09-23-2010, 06:30 PM

My company makes LED commercial fixtures. The most important thing is the heat sink. The amount of heat sink area needed is dropping on a almost weekly basis. You want to make sure you are getting the latest LEDS. We use rebel LEDS from lumileds. You need to find out the surface area per watt needed for the heat. The other problem is that if they run a little hotter than spec they may only last 5 or 6 years instead of 10. That is not a big deal. I use 1watt LEDS for my tank and have no noisy fans and they work fine. You can check out this site (nothing to do with my company). http://www.luxeonstar.com/, Good luck, Don

Ron99 · #2 09-23-2010, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donlite

My company makes LED commercial fixtures. The most important thing is the heat sink. The amount of heat sink area needed is dropping on a almost weekly basis. You want to make sure you are getting the latest LEDS. We use rebel LEDS from lumileds. You need to find out the surface area per watt needed for the heat. The other problem is that if they run a little hotter than spec they may only last 5 or 6 years instead of 10. That is not a big deal. I use 1watt LEDS for my tank and have no noisy fans and they work fine. You can check out this site (nothing to do with my company). http://www.luxeonstar.com/, Good luck, Don

Good suggestions Don but it may not be that straightforward. The heatsink surface area will depend on the application. Heatsink requirements will differ depending on whether you have an open exposed heatsink in a relatively cool room or whether you have it enclosed in a hood or housing with little passive air flow. My best advice is use a heatsink with the most surface area you can given weight and space limitations etc. Low RPM fans are near dead silent and will help move air and cool the heatsink. Cooler is better and overkill in thermal management is preferable to overheating.

Also 1W LEDs will be limited in the maximum PAR and depth penetration so it depends on what ner'T' is trying to accomplish. You can always dim down or underdrive 3W emitters leaving additional headroom for future growth but you can't push 1W emitters beyond their limits if you need more light.

ner"T' maybe you can give us more info on your goals for livestock and your tank dimensions?

mseepman · #3 09-24-2010, 12:01 AM

I recently ordered a small kit from Rapid LED and they treated me great!! They aren't the cheapest but the one stop shopping is very convenient. They also offer the heat sinks you would need and even pre-drill them if you want.

If you get one of their kits...make sure you remember to get optics for the XP-G's as they are not included.

Let me know if you have questions.

ner'T' · #4 09-27-2010, 11:22 PM

Thanks for the input everyone. Good to see some more supplier options too.

I might start out with my Biocube 8, but ultimately I want a fixture for a 20-24" cube setup. My current 20"x20"x24" has a 250w MH.

I didn't realize dimmer would change the K, I thought it would only adjust the intensity of light.

How expensive/complicated is a controller for simulated sun rise/set?

Thanks again

mseepman · #5 09-28-2010, 03:41 AM

Many of the tank controllers out there have the ability to simulate sunrise/sunset. By using a dimmable driver, you give yourself the option of using one of those controllers to create that simulation. Remember that the controller has to have 1-10v control, so you are looking at an RKE, APEX, Profilux. Not sure if the older models can do this. It's also an extra purchaseable piece on every controller.

Wiring isn't tough...driver just has an extra set of leads that need to be wired to the controller.

Ron99 · #6 09-28-2010, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ner'T'

Thanks for the input everyone. Good to see some more supplier options too.

I might start out with my Biocube 8, but ultimately I want a fixture for a 20-24" cube setup. My current 20"x20"x24" has a 250w MH.

I didn't realize dimmer would change the K, I thought it would only adjust the intensity of light.

How expensive/complicated is a controller for simulated sun rise/set?

Thanks again

To replace a 250W MH you will want at least 60 degree optics. Assuming your cube is 20" wide by 20" long and 24" deep I would say you would need 5 rows with 8 LEDs per Row. Space the rows 3 inches apart and space the LEDs in each row 2 inches apart.

As for the dimming and tuning colour temperature what you do is run the blues and whites on separate drivers so you can dim the colours independently of each other. I run my blues at 100% and my white at 75% and I really like the colour I have. Somewhere around 16000K I would say. I could get closer to 20000K by dimming the whites further.

Controllers can be as complex or simple as you like. I spent about $130 or so on parts for an Arduino based controller. I am running PWM dimming drivers rather then 0-10V dimming so it is a bit more complicated and I am not a programmer so messing with the Arduino is a bit trial and error for me. But the voltage controlled drivers should be easier to run off a reef controller as suggested. You can do really nice effects. I have my blues slowly coming up to brightness over 30 minutes followed by the whites slowly coming up over the next 30 minutes. Sunset is the reverse at the end of the day.

SmallFry · #7 10-17-2010, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

I recently ordered a small kit from Rapid LED and they treated me great!! They aren't the cheapest but the one stop shopping is very convenient. They also offer the heat sinks you would need and even pre-drill them if you want.

If you get one of their kits...make sure you remember to get optics for the XP-G's as they are not included.

Let me know if you have questions.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but how much did you end up paying in shipping, brokerage and taxes when you ordered from rapid led? I'm considering an order from them myself, but was worried about what the end cost would be..

Thanks,
Rob.

therealshark · #8 10-20-2010, 12:33 AM

i am curious to know also. i want to make an order from them right away, but would like to here a little feed back.
thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmallFry

Don't want to hijack the thread, but how much did you end up paying in shipping, brokerage and taxes when you ordered from rapid led? I'm considering an order from them myself, but was worried about what the end cost would be..

Thanks,
Rob.

sphelps · #9 10-20-2010, 02:53 PM

I ordered the $69 premium pico kit with 6 LEDs and shipping was $12.95 via USPS priority which was suppose to be 1-3 days according to the invoice but it took close to 3 weeks to actually get here. I didn't pay any brokerage or taxes, exact total was $81.95 US.

mseepman · #10 10-20-2010, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmallFry

Don't want to hijack the thread, but how much did you end up paying in shipping, brokerage and taxes when you ordered from rapid led? I'm considering an order from them myself, but was worried about what the end cost would be..

Thanks,
Rob.

Sorry I haven't been on much lately. My order from Rapid LED was for a 12 LED kit, including pre-drilled heatsink, driver, lenses for both white and blue and the accessories for it all. Total shipping bill was $20US and didn't pay any duties, etc.