I have had a 135g planted tank (low pH Angelfish/Discus) and used a Coralife 4X96W Lunar light for 3 years with mixed results. I have tried CO2 and Flourish Excel (and both together). The CO2 is a big challenge since I use a sump/trickle filter, but that's not what I want to discuss right now.
I've been bothered for awhile about the cost of both the electricity (400W) and the cost of the 96W bulbs every 6-8 months. I finally sat down and did the math, and since I can afford to make a one-time "investment", I've decided to go with DIY LED lighting. The last straw was when the 96W square-pin configuration bulbs went up in cost again to $45 each. I should be able to cut my electric bill almost in half with this. The 6 ft tank is going to get 60 Cree XR-E LED's (Q5 bin and 6500K color), which produce 228 lumen each at 1000ma. I have a few ideas that I wanted to see if anyone can address.
(1) I don't want high voltage at the canopy (I'm making a full new canopy for this with furniture-quality Cherry wood). To accomplish this, I plan to use a Mean Well SP-240-24 switching power supply that will be in the (existing, also Cherry wood) base, and deliver 24V, 10A power to the canopy. The 60 Cree's will be in 10 series-strings of 6 LED's each (voltage drop 3.7v each LED). My concern is that if an LED fails, which will cause a string to go out, which will cause the amperage on the remaining nine strings to go up over the 1000ma manufacturer's specification, causing a chain reaction of failures. What is the best way today to limit each string to 1000ma off of the switching power without getting into buckpucks, etc.? I'm not afraid of some soldering/work to build a constant current solution. I'd like to add a PWM dimmer to the system later, but not now.
(2) It's obvious that I'll need serious heatsinking. I was actually thinking of attaching the LED's to a titanium or stainless steel square tube to water cool them with aquarium water, and potentially lower my 600W heating system to keep the system at 83 degrees for the Discus (no problem with overheating the system - filtration system is shared with a bunch of breeding tanks so there's plenty to bleed off any heat). Possibly additional cost savings. Anybody ever heard of anyone doing this? Conceptually it works, and I have enough experience to handle the "water-near-electrical" to be safe.
Ideas/reactions/insults?
I've been bothered for awhile about the cost of both the electricity (400W) and the cost of the 96W bulbs every 6-8 months. I finally sat down and did the math, and since I can afford to make a one-time "investment", I've decided to go with DIY LED lighting. The last straw was when the 96W square-pin configuration bulbs went up in cost again to $45 each. I should be able to cut my electric bill almost in half with this. The 6 ft tank is going to get 60 Cree XR-E LED's (Q5 bin and 6500K color), which produce 228 lumen each at 1000ma. I have a few ideas that I wanted to see if anyone can address.
(1) I don't want high voltage at the canopy (I'm making a full new canopy for this with furniture-quality Cherry wood). To accomplish this, I plan to use a Mean Well SP-240-24 switching power supply that will be in the (existing, also Cherry wood) base, and deliver 24V, 10A power to the canopy. The 60 Cree's will be in 10 series-strings of 6 LED's each (voltage drop 3.7v each LED). My concern is that if an LED fails, which will cause a string to go out, which will cause the amperage on the remaining nine strings to go up over the 1000ma manufacturer's specification, causing a chain reaction of failures. What is the best way today to limit each string to 1000ma off of the switching power without getting into buckpucks, etc.? I'm not afraid of some soldering/work to build a constant current solution. I'd like to add a PWM dimmer to the system later, but not now.
(2) It's obvious that I'll need serious heatsinking. I was actually thinking of attaching the LED's to a titanium or stainless steel square tube to water cool them with aquarium water, and potentially lower my 600W heating system to keep the system at 83 degrees for the Discus (no problem with overheating the system - filtration system is shared with a bunch of breeding tanks so there's plenty to bleed off any heat). Possibly additional cost savings. Anybody ever heard of anyone doing this? Conceptually it works, and I have enough experience to handle the "water-near-electrical" to be safe.
Ideas/reactions/insults?