Neptune Aquatics

Improved Color LED thread

yardartist said:
Mine are secured with the double sided pads. It takes a flat pry tool like screw driver to remove them.
Click to expand...
Are you satisfied with the heat transfer?
I think I would like to get some.
Where did you find them?
 
JAR said:
yardartist said:
Mine are secured with the double sided pads. It takes a flat pry tool like screw driver to remove them.
Click to expand...
Are you satisfied with the heat transfer?
I think I would like to get some.
Where did you find them?
Click to expand...

ledsupply sells them here:
http://ledsupply.com/hexatherm.php
Already pre-cut. But not cheap.
I think digi-key and others may sell raw sheets cheaper, but never really looked.
Heat transfer and connection are adequate. I use a few where I might change my mind.
My preference is still aluminum thermal epoxy for most of them.
 
I posted an idea on RC to counter some arguments, since there is a big thread on the aesthetics of LEDs there as well.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1885076
(Much less civil over there in RC-land. PS: "GO Qwiv"!)

But thought I would also post the idea here, since it might be helpful in general.

IDEA:
If you are worried about the extra red / Neutral White / Whatever causing algae
or coral growth issues, simply don't run the special aesthetic LEDs all the time!

Put the Neutral Whites, Reds, Cyan, and whatever on a special string.
Only run that during main viewing hours. Say 6-7 in the evening.
Run a very cold CW+RB only for most of the day.
Or, put it on a switch. When viewing, click to make it look good. When not, shut it off.
Might save power as well, since those wavelengths are generally a waste to the coral.
And you can safely go even farther with improved aesthetics in the red/green/whatever.
 
rygh said:
I posted an idea on RC to counter some arguments, since there is a big thread on the aesthetics of LEDs there as well.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1885076
(Much less civil over there in RC-land. PS: "GO Qwiv"!)

But thought I would also post the idea here, since it might be helpful in general.

IDEA:
If you are worried about the extra red / Neutral White / Whatever causing algae
or coral growth issues, simply don't run the special aesthetic LEDs all the time!

Put the Neutral Whites, Reds, Cyan, and whatever on a special string.
Only run that during main viewing hours. Say 6-7 in the evening.
Run a very cold CW+RB only for most of the day.
Or, put it on a switch. When viewing, click to make it look good. When not, shut it off.
Might save power as well, since those wavelengths are generally a waste to the coral.
And you can safely go even farther with improved aesthetics in the red/green/whatever.
Click to expand...

control freak ;)
 
Actually, I even had a quirky ideas of having a motion detector.
When it detects a person viewing the tank, it gently increases
the nicer colors. When not, it shuts them off.
Neat idea - even patentable - but I am sure I will never find the time to do it.
 
You could easily do that with an arduino.

Well, not easily... that'd depend on your comfort level programming and wiring, but it's definitely doable.
 
houser said:
rygh said:
Neat idea - even patentable - but I am sure I will never find the time to do it.
Click to expand...
Oh man how many times have you thought that!
Click to expand...

Tell me about it.
So many screwy ideas - so little time.
I do have some patents, but doing some in the so-amazingly-lucrative aquarium
business. Maybe not.
:)
 
Tamazula said:
You could easily do that with an arduino.

Well, not easily... that'd depend on your comfort level programming and wiring, but it's definitely doable.
Click to expand...

Agree.
And an arduino is already planned to be controlling the PWM lines.
Technically two.
I bought a reef angel controller, which is arduino based, for the main sump/misc stuff in the garage.
(Could have built it, but again - no time)
The reef angel will be the master, telling the lighting/wavemaking arduino what to do.
I am doing the second one myself. Real easy - standard arduino + a buffer + 2 relays.

Adding a simple motion detector to an I/O would not be hard.
I wanted one in that room for my alarm system anyway.
Hmm.
 
yardartist said:
Not sure how to measure heat transfer. They have not run a full cycle yet. So not even a hand test. I used the same one's Mark linked.
Click to expand...


Measure the heat on the pad of the led and the heat sink next to the LED. They should be about the same temp. Closer the better. If they are the same, you are get good heat transfer.



When can we see your LED fixture?
 
I am getting very close to done with one fixture.

A quick picture of the soldering station. Not too exciting.
I ended up setting up a card table in the spare room. Cold in garage.




From Aquarium_Release



Here is a picture with all the LEDs glued down, and the wire-stubs on, but unconnected.
Huge mess of wires.




From Aquarium_Release



Here is a picture, slowly linking the LEDs together into strings of 6.
This is a single string of royal blue.






From Aquarium_Release

Here is half of the LEDs turned on full.
All the XP-G, plus the neutral white, plus reds, plus one strand of RB.






From Aquarium_Release
 
For what it is worth:
(Which is not much, since it is a lux reading, and on LEDs)

I measured the LUX with the "half on" above.
A pretty even 12,000 lux at 1 foot above the lights.
The rest will be royal blue, so I do not expect that to really double.
A bit lower than I expected.

Definitely bright though.
I do know that I have a headache, just from the quick testing and pictures.
 
The reds leave color bands in my tank. I like that you have groups of three together close as that would seem to lessen the band effect.

Does anyone have suggested high temps to run these off the top of your head?
 
I also notice the blue greens are the only color slightly washed out from the previous MH lamp. The BG caulasrtea is bright, but does not keep up with the yellow green one in intensity. This is where I may tune in the red down slightly and the blue up more.

For all the corals that are brighter, if I loose a fraction of blue green then it is OK for my tank to stay as it is.
 
Hey rygh,
I was at Target yesterday morning and noticed the grocery Freezers and Refrigs. were on motion sensors.
I think they're running LEDs also. Had to laugh!
Was that you! Fast R&D and sales. :)
Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your experiences.
 
yardartist said:
I also notice the blue greens are the only color slightly washed out from the previous MH lamp. The BG caulasrtea is bright, but does not keep up with the yellow green one in intensity. This is where I may tune in the red down slightly and the blue up more.

For all the corals that are brighter, if I loose a fraction of blue green then it is OK for my tank to stay as it is.
Click to expand...

I am a touch worried about that blue-green color band as well.
It is a big obvious dip in the spectrum if you look at the data sheets.
I replaced 4 of the Royal Blue with Standard Blue, and according to datasheets, it hits that area a bit,
but in looking at it, I am not so sure.
I also bought 4 Cyan, which is up farther toward the green, so if the current blue does not look right, I can replace them.
 
bmhair03 said:
Hey rygh,
I was at Target yesterday morning and noticed the grocery Freezers and Refrigs. were on motion sensors.
I think they're running LEDs also. Had to laugh!
Was that you! Fast R&D and sales. :)
Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your experiences.
Click to expand...

Augh! Should have rushed out to patent it.
:)

Thanks.
 
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