# Cree LED's



## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

I'm planning to build my own DIY LED setup and I'm debating on how many of each color cree LED's to get for my 24 LED fixture. I'm leaning towards 16 royal blues and 8 cool whites. Would this be an optimal combination to produce light that would make coral look its best? If I went 50/50, would that somehow be detrimental?

Also, my tank is 12" deep, would 80 deg. optics be overkill?
Any advice form the reef guru's would be greatly appreciated!


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## liz (Jan 16, 2008)

I am not sure you will need optics if your tank is only 12" deep. 

I went with 12 white and 14 royal blue on each my heat sinks - they are built but not over the tank yet (building a box to hold them) so I can't really comment on the look. 
Rapidled.com is where I got my kits and Mike the owner recommended the led colours and #'s.

My tank is 20" deep and I have 55 degree optics which I will probably use as I need the spread - my tank is 8ft long.

FYI if you need some fans for the heat sinks? - I have 3 for sale in the classified's - cheap!


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I'd go without optics if it's that shallow and depending on the size of your tank 24 LED's might be overkill. I had 8 total on my 6 gallon and in my opinion that was overkill.

I did a 50/50 on mine and I liked the look. If it was too white I just turned down the whites. It's good to get some type of controller for it so you can fool around with the colors. If your'e really into it, get a purple or red to help out with the colors


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

After reading up some more on other people's builds, I think I'll go the 50/50 route as well. I'm planning on having them controlled using an arduino chip, so that should allow me to adjust an optimal lighting scheme. I'm going to drop the optics for now, I'll see if I need them once the build is done.

I'm really a noob when it comes to reef-keeping and I'm still trying to get a couple of things straightened out and understood. Does it really matter if I keep a glass cover on the tank? So far I've read/heard mixed reviews, some people say it interferes with "gas exchange" while others say they're fine to have. Personally I think the "inhibited gas exchange" wouldn't really apply to me, as the skimmer/filter should povide enough oxygen transfer even with a glass top. And wouldn't an open aquarium allow for all the garbage in the air (dust, hairs, aerosols, etc...) to get in and pollute the water? Either way, I bought a glass top for the tank anyways; I don't want to deal with the constant water top-offs as a consequence of the extra evaporation that would come with not having one.


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## msobon (Dec 7, 2011)

I've got 36 cool whites XPG's and 36 Royal Blues XPE's, if I run them at equal outputs the color isn't optimal, I recomend adding more blues to the ratio, especially since the XPG's run at a higher current than the XPE's and their output is actually more. A 1 to 2 ratio would probably be optimal without diming, otherwise diming is the way to go to get the optimal look.


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## Cintax (Jun 16, 2011)

I went 2:1 Royal Blue: Neutral White. You wont need optics. How long/wide is your tank?


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

The tank is a 20 gallon long, so it's 30x12x12. So far I've ordered 12 RB and 12 Cool Whites on a 4.25x 23" heatsink. I'm planning on running them on 2 Meanwell drivers in series and they will be controlled using an Arduino. I'm hoping the 1:1 ratio combined with the ability to dim the lights independently using the Arduino will give me alot of flexibilty. 

While I have your attention  What kind of acrylic should be used to protect the LED's in their housing, and where can I buy it? I've read that certain acrylics block out beneficial light wavelengths, so I'm not sure on which ones to get.


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Just an update I'd like to share with everyone that helped me in this thread:

Lights are pretty much done, along with the arduino control box, although I still have to add the date and time chips so that I can control the timings on the darn thing. I'm also thinking about adding a remote control IR reader to it but I'm still debating this option. As of now the lights are at 45% power on a 12 hour cycle and 4" above the top of the tank. No issues regarding heating, light spread or anything else so all in all, I'm extremely pleased. The corals have colored up extremely well, and the shimmer and colors these things bring out are truely amazing!

Here are a couple of pics of when the light was being assembled, more to come later:










And it the lit on the first try!










And this is at approximately 500mA power:


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## kamal (Apr 21, 2009)

This is seriously cool.....whats the approximate cost to put something like this together? How difficult is it? Very nice work for sure


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## liz (Jan 16, 2008)

This my set-up. Dimmable controller with 4 heat sinks each having 26 LED's -12 whites and 14 royal blues on each. 
The second pic. is the rat's nest of wiring hidden in my stand lol

I have an 8 ft tank and it cost me around $1000 to do it. If I can do anyone can - super easy if you have min. electrical experience.

The light has only been up for 3 weeks so I have it set to 50% power intensity and 14" off the water line. The colour ratio is set to 45white/55blue right now (in the pic. it is 50/50).


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## kamal (Apr 21, 2009)

wow....this is super cool. I think its time for me to start saving on the side for this little diy project......I am always astounded by the members on here, keep up the good work


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