Need help w/ LED DIY

[cymaster007]

Well my Maxspect fixtures are well out of warranty (G2 models - 3 years old now) so I am not getting much support from the vendor. The ballasts are burning our here and there along with the LED chips.... I have no problem swapping out the burnt LED's but the ballast/controller board is a whole other animal that I do not really want to try to trouble shoot. Also going back and forth through Coralvue and China is time consuming- took 8 weeks to get replacement parts on my burnt out blue led distribution board that had shorted out and caught on fire.

So I want to probably gut the Maxspect fixture and run the DIY meanwell drivers w/ cree bulbs. I was taking a look at the solderless dimmables from Rapid LED. Anyone selling left over DIY LED parts or know of any other good sources for Cree LED's and DIY kits or is Rapid LED the best place?? Looks like rapid is out of drilled/tapped heat sinks right now....

Based off of the spacing suggested by reefbuilders for LED coverage on an SPS tank i would need to configure 6 panels- the cost is adding up close to $3k

Another option was AI sols but I would be in the same boat again in a couple years w/ the custom controller, power supplies, & other configurations that may burn out and be discontinued when I need parts the most.


For my DIY I was planning to baseline my color ratios and specs of the Radion fixture and mix it up a little bit
Per 6"x20" panel I was thinking

Cool White 4
Blue 8
Royal Blue 10
Green 4
Red 4
UV 4
Neutral White 2
Warm White 2


Would like some thoughts, what are your experiences-?

 

[cymaster007]

Oh and tank is
72x30x24 w/ eurobrace

 

[BeanMachine]

Cy Greg C was raving about the Maxspect Razr... maybe a couple of those would work for you?

 

[cymaster007]

Cy Greg C was raving about the Maxspect Razr... maybe a couple of those would work for you?

They look pretty fancy ! I dont know how strong the coverage would be- do we know anyone locally that has them set up yet? Id like to see them in person & check w/ our club par meter.

I am also wary to try prefabbed again since they keep going obsolete in 2-ish years.... I feel like LED fixtures are becoming the same as buying an ipod but its $2,000+

 

[BeanMachine]

Do a search someone recently posted about them. Khoi maybe? And Tony was looking into them.

 

[rayray]

Per 6"x20" panel I was thinking
Cool White 4
Blue 8
Royal Blue 10
Green 4
Red 4
UV 4
Neutral White 2
Warm White 2
Would like some thoughts, what are your experiences-?

Im glad you havent joined the "I hate LED" bandwagon on this forum. Concensus on RC is that cool white is essentially green+little bit of red, and not where the action is. What about increasing the number of RBs, neutral whites & UVs. Also, what mfg of LEDs, drivers, optics, etc?

 

[cymaster007]

Im glad you havent joined the "I hate LED" bandwagon on this forum. Concensus on RC is that cool white is essentially green+little bit of red, and not where the action is. What about increasing the number of RBs, neutral whites & UVs. Also, what mfg of LEDs, drivers, optics, etc?

No way, I have been using LED's for over 3 years now and kept plenty of SPS. I still supplement with 2x 72" super actinic VHO's.

Cree LED's (still looking at bridgelux also)
Meanwell drivers, 80 degree or wider optics? my maxspects had the native 120deg optics and I thought the spread was just fine... tank is only 24" deep so dont need the spotlighting.

I could deff use some suggestions for better led's, drivers, & optics than what is available on rapidled & aquastyleonline.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

Meanwell with Crees will def be long term. If u ever need to replace ballasts/LEDs it will be simple. I would really research what color leds to go with.


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[gr1mm]

I got some left over dimmable drivers, dimmer controller, led's, wire and other stuff, all brand new never used. Pm me if you are interested.

 

[ocpondpoacher]

Ive made about 10 fixtures now and the only one that I have had problems with is my Cree Leds. I like the colors fare better on the bridgelux. I think that is because the bridgelux whites are 10k and the cree are 6500k. I don't know why but I like the colors of my bridgelux royal blue better also. I have the tanks right next to each other.
it will tank some time before I know more about the longevity of these LED tho

 

[rayray]

just wondering, are Cree and bridgelux the best choices? are they the most efficient? how come no one uses anything else?

 

[cymaster007]

my old maxspect uses SemiLeds i like the colors but I researched Cree & bridgelux because that is whom the more trusted manuf. are using (maxspect, ecotech, & aquailluminations)

 

[lowbudget]

tony digital has them running on his tank now.

 

[cymaster007]

tony digital has them running on his tank now.

a DIY setup? or ?

 

[lowbudget]

the max razor corals survived?

 

[cymaster007]

the max razor corals survived?

I dont think I will go pre-fab anymore, knowing how my life goes as soon as I buy a Razor or anything they will release the "Chainsaw" or "Machete'" and when my fixture breaks 2 days after the 1 year warranty I will be S.O.L.

 

[BeanMachine]

I dont think I will go pre-fab anymore, knowing how my life goes as soon as I buy a Razor or anything they will release the "Chainsaw" or "Machete'" and when my fixture breaks 2 days after the 1 year warranty I will be S.O.L.

ya i feel you there. I've only had my maxspects 6 months dammit and they already come out with a new fixture. Knock on wood but I haven't had any problems with mine. I figure in 2 years when I get a house and HUGE tank I will want something different then so for now these will have to do... gotta get my monies worth.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

just wondering, are Cree and bridgelux the best choices? are they the most efficient? how come no one uses anything else?

Epileds is the other brand people are using


Sent from my iPhone

 

[SchnitzelReef]

Also I've heard that Phillips makes a good led. I think rapid sells them as well.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[Digitalfreq]

I have the Razor on my 36x24x12 and love it. If anybody has a par meter we can test the par on my tank.