LED lighting

[kwdelre]

I am building my own LED lighting system which I'll post a thread for the build later, but for now I need to figure out how much I need. I am using 5mm LEDs. What do I test for to find out the correct amount of light for my SPS? Is it Lumens I am testing for? Thanks all.

[bb0029]

Here is a guy that has a ton of free time and shares all his info:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ad.php?t=89607

I believe he has tested every LED every produced lol.

[Fat Tony]

You want to be testing for PAR... btw, how've you been, haven't seen you on in a while. If you do a search on here for DIY LED's then you will find a few recent threads with links to some really cool build over on RC

[kwdelre]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

You want to be testing for PAR... btw, how've you been, haven't seen you on in a while. If you do a search on here for DIY LED's then you will find a few recent threads with links to some really cool build over on RC

Hey Tony!

What PAR should I be aiming for? My neighbor has a meter, but I dont know how accurate it is. Its pretty old.

I've worked on this all day now and I've 240 LEDs hooked up so far and another 120 for in the morning. I'll put it over the tank and see how it looks and add more if I need to. With the 240 the tank looks good but obviously needs more light. But it looks amazing! I can't wait til i get all of the lights on there that I need. The LEDs create that nice shimmer that you ge with MHs. I am tired and excited.......... too many diodes and solder.....pictures on a build thread tomorrow though.

[Fat Tony]

are these little 1w LED's or Luxeon/Star LED's?

You are shooting for a PAR valvue of 250-300 at the bottom of the tank directly under the LEDs.

[ckusnierek]

I don't think standard 1w LED will get you there. I think the 5mm are 1w.

There are some 2w led fixtures available on ebay but the high end ones are running stars. And to almost double the output optics are used.

[kwdelre]

Originally Posted by ckusnierek

I don't think standard 1w LED will get you there. I think the 5mm are 1w.

I think you are right............

[Jnicho]

Hey good to see you again...when I researched this project I too found that "standard" LED's wouldn't cut it...and I decided that the Luxeon, Cree, and other "high output" LED's I just wasn't willing to shell out for right now...beyond that I would LOVE to DIY an LED system some day.

[kwdelre]

Originally Posted by Jnicho

Hey good to see you again...when I researched this project I too found that "standard" LED's wouldn't cut it...and I decided that the Luxeon, Cree, and other "high output" LED's I just wasn't willing to shell out for right now...beyond that I would LOVE to DIY an LED system some day.

Yeah I checked out the Lexeon LEDs. I found one that says it produces 300-500 lumens but I have no idea what it would be at 2 feet deep. Every local dealer I talk to acts like this is impossible to acheive.

Right now I am getting 300 lumens at only 6 inches away.