excellent build there , i have led unit over my reef , and more than happy with leds .
i sourced my led unit for my tank from china myself , they are ready made units .
sure i can get them to build me a ready made unit for my scrubber , .
do you think i should use 3w leds ?
I can't recommend china LEDs. To many bad experiences with them. I ordered a batch of 100 and 25 were DOA, and another 50 died within 30 days. These are the 3w Prolight LEDs. On my scrubber LED light, when I put in 2 royal blues, one of them was Cree, the other Prolight, the prolight again only lasted 30 days, all other LEDs are going strong.
For a scrubber, I do think 1w LEDs with reflectors (using 3x as many LEDs as you would with 3w) would probably work better than 3w LEDs because you will get more even coverage but keeping them water proof and still allow for cooling is the biggest issue I see with that idea. I have no idea how it could be done but I am sure there is a way. Also trying to find non-china 660nm 1w LEDs will probably be difficult.
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this is what i have over my tank now , it is the 100w version all 3w leds mix of white 12000-15000k blue 455nm .
was thinking of small version built to my speck all white 4000-6500k 3w leds , my scrubber is horizontal built into my sump so there would be no issue with it getting wet and the underside of the unit is splash proof anyway .
the leds are epstar seem to be good leds , or like you say could go 1w leds , i have no problem with heat at all on these light units as the heat sink does a great job . got to give it to the chineses they are very clever at what they do .
at the moment i am trying out a 10w led 4000-6500k it is like a secruity light version and is equivellent to 100w output , so will see how that goes first.
this is the one i am trying now,
IP65 Waterproof, Use for inside and outside
Low heat, no UV or IR light radiation
1 x 10W high power LED, >900LM
Color temperature: 6000K (Cool White)
LED Life: > 50,000 hours
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very interesting, but... what about the cooling? could you post where did you find it? Thankyou
which one , do you want to know about ? heat sink takes care of the cooling on both.Originally Posted by rossigeologo
very interesting, but... what about the cooling? could you post where did you find it? Thankyou
I have built my share of LED lights in my time and I would never make an LED light without a fan. A heatsink acts like a blanket as far as heat, it traps it. Sure, it pulls it off the LEDs but only a few microns away and then the heat just builds up on the heatsink. Without air movement to push the heat away from the heatsink you still end up cooking the LEDs. A good example would be a road on a hot day.. no airflow you see the "mirage effect" from the heat radiating off and you will burn your skin if you touch it.. same amount of heat but with a 10-20mph wind, no more heat radiating off that you can see visually with the mirage effect and the asphalt it safe to touch (yes, heat is still radiating off but the air is pushing it away as soon as it does).
Trying to understand why anyone would use white LEDs for an ATS? I used them just because that was all I had laying around at the time but as of yesterday (when I noticed my Prolight LED blew) I have now replaced all my LEDs with 660nm reds. Yes, they will work, but If your going to use LEDs to get the best possible spectrum, go with 660nm LEDs, otherwise there is no difference between going white LEDs vs white CFLs. I forgot you were going horizontal so you have a huge benefit in regards to mounting lights vs vertical scrubbers. I was thinking of a vertical scrubber + 1w LEDs being very difficult to water proof and cool, 3w/5w/10w are all easier to cool because they are on stars instead of poking anode/cathode legs though the backside to connect.
yes i was having a good read today on red leds for growth , it is also the case in growing phyto plankton from what i have read .
i think i might try the light i have now over the scrubber ,but with the red led at the nm you have mentioned .
also i have been thinking a lot about going vertical with the scrubber , my nitrates have never been zero , not high though .
think i will have to go vertical to get zero .
thnx Simon, I was referring to the last picture. There is a fan on the heat sink? i believe it is necessary for leds, otherw. their life time is shorter than usual.
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