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Thread: Screen size recommendation and LED placement?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
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    USA, MN
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    Screen size recommendation and LED placement?

    Goal: ATS for 200 gallon aquarium feeding 4-6 cubes per day.

    Here is the equipment list from Rapid LED

    10 x 660 nm Osram LED 3W
    2 x 430 nm Cree Royal Blue XT-E 3W

    Meanwell LPC-35-700 driver
    2 Plug-n-Play 7 LED Terminal
    Drilled/tapped 6" x 9" Black Anodized Aluminum Heat Sink with splash guards

    I am trying to determine how best to build the screen around the layout of the 6"x9" heatsinks. I purchased them drilled and tapped so I could play with LED location and add\remove leds as I go for optimum setup.

    Question 1

    What layout would be best recommended based on the pictures below?


    Question 2

    What optimum screen size and orientation (vertical or horizontal) will take advantage of the led layout from question 1? Please ignore water flow for the moment as I will be adding a pump and sizing it appropriate to the screen later.


    I was thinking that I would like to orient the heatsinks with the slats running vertically in order to capture the best passive cooling. I have relatively unlimited options for placement and size of the ATS as the unit will be in a fishroom.

    Thanks for your input!


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  2. #2
    Banned
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    Apr 2011
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    940
    Seems a little small for that size tank, but then again your feeding seems really lite as well. I feed 10+ cubes a day on my 75G. So your well within the guidelines for feeding, regardless of tank size. Still, I would recommend you adding 2 more LEDs to your setup. The meanwell driver can handle 14 LEDs (which is what I run) so you might as well max it out and add another red to each side (well, technically 2 more to each side since your picture only shows 5 LEDs per heatsink instead of 6 like your description states, which is 10 reds and 2 blues).

    The heatsink on the right in the first picture / second picture seems like a better layout.

    Having the fins of the heatsink facing vertical is much better than horizontal since hot air moves upwards, with the fins vertical the heat will escape right off the top of the heatsink vs being trapped within the fins, so good thinking on that aspect.

    Forgot to answer your second question... my opinion, I believe that layout will handle a full size screen without issue, which is 10.5"x13.5", with the orientation being 13.5" tall. The edges of the screen will be a little lite on growth, but the top and bottom edges your not worried about, one is in the slot, the other in the water 1", and a little less growth at the sides isn't an issue. Reason I believe it will handle that is because that is the size I run with those amounts of LEDs. You can certainly cut the screen down smaller to fit your needs, I am just saying what I think the largest size screen your layout will handle is.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    USA, MN
    Posts
    2
    Ok, ordered more leds. I also purchased a 10.5 x 13" screen and roughed it up. Since the ATS is going to be in my mechanical room and not visible, I am going to design a 4 sided box that is open-ended on both sides and will hang over the sump. The screen will have an open top and the bottom will have a single slanted sheet of plexi leading down to the sump as a silencing return ramp. The box will be of clear plexi so the leds can shine through but the heatsinks will be hung open air and outside of the box. The box, at around 5" inches, will act as a shield more than an fully contained unit. I will supplement some plexi to protect the leds and heatsinks as necessary.

    Please let me know if there is anything I am missing regarding advantages to the wholly contained and sealed examples I have seen on this site.

    Ace25, thank you for your input. Your setup is really clean, i.e. looks professional...

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