Led build questions?

[Mattl22]

I'm planning on buying 2 led diy kits with 36 leds each total 72 lights probably do 2 to 1 blue to white from reefledlights.com and I'm wondering other then a heatsink what other parts and supplies do I need ( I have done some research watched the 2 or 3 videos I could find but can't find really good instructions for a diy led for a 48" long 75 gal sps tank i have a ton of questions I'll start with just a few!

Also hijackers welcome if question is led related!

1st question I know that buck pucks and mean well drivers power the LEDs and buck pucks can power 1/2 the amount of meanwells 6 and 12 ? Now do each drivers have their own cord that needs to be plugged in ? Also is it better to mount these too the top of heat sink or run enough wire too keep drivers on floor behind tank? I'm thinking of putting them all in an aluminum box and mounting it to the heat sink but I want the drivers hidden do the drivers need cooling also?

I was thinking of buying a heat sink that's 48" long and building it to sit on top the tank not hang from ceiling how heavy r they and which style is the best ? R they being sold pre drilled now ?

 

[Mattl22]

Oh I know the basics like I need a soldering iron etc ... I was wondering if the kits come with the parts to dim the LEDs also what other features can u add if u wanted to

 

[qy7400]

The common Mean-wells are more of an all in one, you do not need the buck pucks unless the Mean-well is a power supply only. Each Mean-well has a power cord albeit a short hook up. You can mount everything together, many have, but your call if you want the 120V over the water should it fall in. The drivers do get warm but unless they’re in a sealed box air cooling should be OK. The heatsinks have some weight to them, I wouldn’t sit the light on the tank; raised is a lot better. I can only speak of the Rapid heatsinks as I know they do sell versions pre-drilled but you will pay more for it. Same for the dimming kits but remember you’ll need dimmable drivers to do this, unless you’re building your own use the ‘D’ version.

 

[xclusive252]

I'll be following this thread. Is 2 blue to 1 white good? And what pattern are you going with. Blue blue white ?


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[Mattl22]

If I get a dimmiable kit it will come with the dimming driver d version? Haven't thought about the lighting pattern what do u guys think about the 2 to 1 blue to white?
What else r the meanwells used for besides power supply?

 

[qy7400]

There are 2 variants to the dim-able Mean-well, D (0-10VDC) and P (PMW digital) although the P appears to work fine on analog source. The other common Mean-well is a standard 750mA. For the D version all you need to dim them is a controller to adjust between 0 to 10V, the Apex has this built in and the RK needs the ALC module; I like the Apex as you get more control ports vs the 2 the ALC gives you. On the P version there are a lot of DIY controller threads, http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1847680 this one on RC has some great code and build help.

Color and ratio will depend on how strong you want the blue, I prefer a white white/blue vs the psychedelic heavy blue some enjoy so I went 1:1 and dim the whites a little to dial it in.

Mean-well makes a lot of power supplies, for the DIY LEDs the common is the ELN-60-48; you can power 12 to 13 LEDs at 1000mA vs using a 48V power supply and a few buckpuck. The 60-48s may run a little more but you get everything you need in one housing to run 12 LEDs.

 

[Mattl22]

I saw drivrers on line that say the control up to 32 LEDs hey r about 100$ is this possible?

 

[qy7400]

Sure, the ELN-60-48 is rated for 48V @ 1.3A; cost around $30. The HLG-185-48 is rated for 48V at 3.9A; cost around $75. The ELN typically runs 12 LEDs on a single string, the HLG can run 3 12 LED strings so this driver can run 36 LEDs, the HLG-320-48 can handle 60 LEDs.

 

[Mattl22]

Is their any down fall to running 36 LEDs off of 2 drivers I'm makeing an order this week and like the idea of only having 2 drivers to wire up
How do I make the fixture dimmable??


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[qy7400]

Only down side is the 36 LED strings are in both parallel and series so if one LED fails it will take the entire array down, you'll also want to fuse protect each string. On the plus side the HLG series are a more effiecient driver and with only 2 you have more choices other than just a pot to control dimming/color. The ReefKeeper and Apex controller both now have 'weather' as part of the program so you can add cloudy days, lightning and other settings along with dawn/dusk control.

 

[Mattl22]

Talked to bill at reef led and he recommended doinG 3 separate heat sinks 12 x 8 " keeping them 6"s apart with 30 LEDs on each I'm going to use the pre wired trips to make my life easy as far as making the fixture dimmable he said I could use some kind of converter from radio sack?

Thoughts on this plan would be appreciated

 

[Mattl22]

.?

 

[scapone]

It will work you will need to buy a enercell adjustable ax adapter to dim meanwell driver

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[scapone]

I meant ac adapter I use 3v-12v just make sure not to go to 12 volts you'll blow drivers

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[Mattl22]

How does it work it just dials down the output of the driver ? Can u post a pic of how u built yours ?
Thanks for help


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[smoq]

Let me start from the beginning. You asked what you need except the kit from reefedlights, here's a list of things needed to put it together:
-soldering equipment, connectors ba bla bla you said you know that so I won't bore you
-dimming-if you planning to buy a dimmable driver, get the meanwell ELN 60-48D. The P version is dimmable too, but D is way easiest to work with. You also need a 0-10V power source, otherwise the led strip won't even turn on. There's two options, you can buy yourself an Apex controller if you have the $$ ,that would be your best option as with Apex you can not only dim the lights but also program dusk-dawn effects. The other option is to dim by using a simple 10K pot wired into the setup. Check my LED build thread to see the diagram explaining how to wire it. For that you will need a 10K pot, a regulated 9V or 10V power supply (you can buy regulated wall warts online, it's very important to have the power source regulated because if the voltage in the dimming circuit will be more than 10V you can damage the driver&leds. I would also suggest buying a small solderable board to solder pots into, much easier to solder IMO
-you also need a heatsink (or heatsinks, in your example I would do 2x36 leds or 3x24) and a set of fans with 12V power supplies for them (2 for each heatsink will be sufficient)

Another thing I would suggest is a different blue to white ratio. 2:1 is way too far on the blue side IMO. The best is to do 50:50 or if you really want the light to be bluer do 60:40. You can always dim the white leds to your needs later.

As for hanging the kit, if you incorporate drivers and power supplies into the light it will be quite heavy, but I would hang it anyway, you can control the spread by simply raising-lowering the fixture. Just get yourself a heavy duty hook or find out where the beams are in your ceiling and you are good to go.
Here's the link to my build thread, hope that helps (version 2.0 coming along)- http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/diy-do-yourself/81156-cree-led-light-write-up.html

 

[Mattl22]

Thanks alot I'll check out ur thread!
When I get home


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