so on my 29gal biocube I'm thinking on pulling out all my stock pc lighting and putting in current usa led pro strips. what do you guys think on this mod I'm thinking at least 6 strips.
+2
Sandman
Power head man
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current usa led true lumen pro strips
Power head man- Posts : 64
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Sandman- Charter Member
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I have 3 48" strips over my 65g. I have been growing paly's and zoas without a problem, and my Pocillipora seems to be doing ok. They provide a nice look. What are you planning on putting in you tank? For LPS and paly/zoas they seem to be doing well with no added heat, but for the price I think they should be stronger. There are better options for what they cost.
check out this review
Hope this helps, feel free to ask me any specific questions about these lights, I have been using them for about 5 months now.
check out this review
Hope this helps, feel free to ask me any specific questions about these lights, I have been using them for about 5 months now.
Power head man- Posts : 64
Join date : 2012-03-11
Ya I seen those light as well but i want to keep my top on my cube and i dint really think those would fit under there.I'm worried that the current USA is not going to be enough to run my reef tank that I'm going to start building
reefer87- Posts : 674
Join date : 2011-09-10
Age : 37
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Check out Www.aquastyleonline.com. They have some nice DIY retrofits for sale for cheap prices. Check out my DIY thread. http://www.masvc.org/t439-aqua-style-led-kit-for-biocube-14
Sandman- Charter Member
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Power head man wrote:Ya I seen those light as well but i want to keep my top on my cube and i dint really think those would fit under there.I'm worried that the current USA is not going to be enough to run my reef tank that I'm going to start building
I chose these lights for similar reasons; short canopy, little to no heat. I believe these are providing a reasonalble amount of light for my tank, and have allowed me to house paly's, zoas, an anenome, and a couple of Pocillipora's. My tank is 18"tall, and although I don't have a PAR meter, I have noticed color loss in a few items from what they should look like. These provide nice aesthetic light, but I believe they struggle to provide what many corals need to thrive. This, of course, is only my opinion.
Power head man- Posts : 64
Join date : 2012-03-11
[quote="reefer87"]Check out Www.aquastyleonline.com. They have some nice DIY retrofits for sale for cheap prices. Check out my DIY thread. http://www.masvc.org/t439-aqua-style-led-kit-for-biocube-14[/quote
are they good quality since there so much cheaper than the other DIY kits. in your tank is it more than enogh for any kind of reef setup?
are they good quality since there so much cheaper than the other DIY kits. in your tank is it more than enogh for any kind of reef setup?
reefer87- Posts : 674
Join date : 2011-09-10
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They are bridgelux LEDs. So far I have had no ill effects. And they sell larger quantities to be able to run a BC29 and they also carry dimmable drivers. You can order the no name driver for a little less through them but of you pay a little more and I mean for just dollars you can get the same drivers that rapidled and some of the other more expensive guys carry. Which is a Meanwell driver. For me to upgrade from the knock off driver to the Meanwell was only $2.
Power head man- Posts : 64
Join date : 2012-03-11
so i was thinking on this kit 72 LEDs DIY Dimmable Kit with the mean well lpf-90d-48 led driver
what do you think about this kit do you think its to much for the 29gal
what do you think about this kit do you think its to much for the 29gal
reefer87- Posts : 674
Join date : 2011-09-10
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With that many you will for sure need the dimmable. I have always been told 3 watts per gallon. I think 72 will be overkill but with dimmers it should be good. The kit Does come with lenses and everything else you need. I was not able to use the supplied lenses due to it causing a spot light effect. As far as the lenses go its just trial and error. My kit is 5 white 5 blue and 2 uv lights. I suggest ordering those with it as well IMO.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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should i just go with the 36 LEDs DIY Dimmable Kit
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Yeah I feel that 36 would be good enough. But I don't want you to be dissappointed if it's not what you want. I do say get the dimmable. That was a mistake I made.
Power head man- Posts : 64
Join date : 2012-03-11
Ya I know what you mean I just want to make sure that I can put anything I want in the tank and not have an issue with the lighting. I can add my 2 strips of current USA LED strips that I have as well.
Should I add any red?
How many UV do you think I should add?
Should I add any red?
How many UV do you think I should add?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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I'm running 2 uv. I would do maybe 4 of them.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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So 36? Should be more than enough and no red, right?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Yeah I they call them reds but when I got them they say uv. I would do a few Uvs.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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So for the blue isn't 455NM going to give too much white not enough blue wouldn't you want more 420NM?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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My tank is almost too blue.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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And you're running the 452NM?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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What ever comes with it.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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Do you have hardy coral in your tank with those lights?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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I have zoas, palys, monti's and a birds nest.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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OK cool, I think that I'm going to make the purchase I just wanted to make sure I'm making the right choice, you know?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Yeah I know. I did a lot of research before I bought mine. I was going all in on the rapidled kit for over $200 and then through research I found aquastyleonline. I feel it's worth it. The only thing is that it took almost 2 weeks to get it. It comes from hong kong and has to go through customs.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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Damn, really wow but no issues getting them
Power head man- Posts : 64
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And can the drivers that the kit comes with handle adding the UV's?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Yeah they showed up at the door just under 2 weeks after ordering. For a quarter of the cost I can wait 2 weeks. Yeah on the drop down for bulbs it will as what combination you want. The driver I got is good for 6-14 bulbs. There is no diffence between the power it pulls between blue, white or uv.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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OK with the two Meanwell drivers I have 120W.
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Yeah and how many bulbs x 3 will be the amount of lighting wattage you will have. Example 72x3=216 watts of light. But split between to drivers you can drive that many. If you look on rapidled they have a nice dimmer control knob assembly so you can control whites and blues independenly. I didn't see anything like that on aquastyleonline.com all they have are individual potentiometers to control.
reefer87- Posts : 674
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http://www.rapidled.com/diy-2-color-dimming-kit/ here's the rapidled dimmer.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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Oh OK, I will have to get that as well then. How hard was the wiring and installation on the kit?
Power head man- Posts : 64
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Do they produce a lot of heat?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Not really. I have three small fans blowing on the heats ink inside of the splash guard and I have had no issues with heat.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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This is the kit i"m thinking, doesn't this come with the switches I would need to control the white and blue?
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/36--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html
http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/36--LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Yeah it does I just like the nice compact size of the rapidled one.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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OK, but for now that will work then I can always add rapid control. And I'm going to add the 4 UV as well.
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Sounds good. Keeps us updated. If you need any help just let me know.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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for sure thank you for all your help and time
reefer87- Posts : 674
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No problem.
sisterlimonpot- Admin
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I fixed the volume, watch that caps lock.... 
dwolson2- Admin
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Hey, why are you getting so Many UV's I have been reading about them, and there has been no evidence that they actually help.
also, they have both UV and Red LEDs:
UV:http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Epileds-LED-3W-Ultra-Violet%28UV%29.html
RED:http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Epileds-LED-3W-Red.html
I have been looking into the 72 dimmable kit for my 75, and from what I have read, it still can/will bleach corals.
I also looked at ecotech radions to recreate their colors, and they use:
8 Cool white(5w)
8 Blue
10 Royal Blue
4 Green
4 Hyper Red
If you made your kit with the same combo but run more whites(5w are on the radions) I would think that you get similar results to the radions, which seem to be the standard amongst LED's
also, they have both UV and Red LEDs:
UV:http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Epileds-LED-3W-Ultra-Violet%28UV%29.html
RED:http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Epileds-LED-3W-Red.html
I have been looking into the 72 dimmable kit for my 75, and from what I have read, it still can/will bleach corals.
I also looked at ecotech radions to recreate their colors, and they use:
8 Cool white(5w)
8 Blue
10 Royal Blue
4 Green
4 Hyper Red
If you made your kit with the same combo but run more whites(5w are on the radions) I would think that you get similar results to the radions, which seem to be the standard amongst LED's
Power head man- Posts : 64
Join date : 2012-03-11
i ended up going with the 36 LEDs DIY Dimmable Kit i only got 2 of the Epileds LED Ultra Violet(UV) and i got 4 420nm Actinic Violet LED what do you think of that setup?
reefer87- Posts : 674
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Sounds good. Can't wait to see some pics.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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is this going to end up bleaching my corals
reefer87- Posts : 674
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I don't think it will but you will need to acclimate the corals you have to the lighting. I have my lights running about 3 hours right now. Next week I will bump up to 4 hours and so on every other week untill I'm back up to 6.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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Oh ok got you. Did they give you good instructions for the install. How bad was it putting everything together
reefer87- Posts : 674
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It was simple. The thermal glue was the only issue I had, the instructions say set time is 10 minutes and was more like 1 hour and you have to be plentyful on the thermal glue for it to hold securely. Next time I will buy a tap and die set to screw them in place. But other than that it's as easy as soldering a wire from positive to negative to each led. If you know how to solder your golden. A few years back I was watching YouTube videos(when i was into rc cars) on how to solder and now Im a champ.
Sandman- Charter Member
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Did you go with the dimmable driver? That would allow you to run the lights however long you want each day and slowly crank up the power.
Power head man- Posts : 64
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reefer87 wrote:It was simple. The thermal glue was the only issue I had, the instructions say set time is 10 minutes and was more like 1 hour and you have to be plentyful on the thermal glue for it to hold securely. Next time I will buy a tap and die set to screw them in place. But other than that it's as easy as soldering a wire from positive to negative to each led. If you know how to solder your golden. A few years back I was watching YouTube videos(when i was into rc cars) on how to solder and now Im a champ.
Did you Get the heat sink from them? I bought the black heat sink from them as well. As far as soldering I'm ok at it not the best lol. So you just run on both sides positive to negative?
Power head man- Posts : 64
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Sandman wrote:Did you go with the dimmable driver? That would allow you to run the lights however long you want each day and slowly crank up the power.
Ya I did the dimmable kit
sisterlimonpot- Admin
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Power head man wrote:So you just run on both sides positive to negative?
That's how you would do it if you were wiring them in series, and I believe those are wired in series.