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DIY LED Array Brightness

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Bela, Sep 27, 2011.

  1. Sep 27, 2011 #1
    Bela

    Bela Inactive User

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    I've asked on other forums and haven't gotten much response. I hadn't asked here because I am not sure how many people have a setup similar to mine, but I figure it wouldn't hurt. I can't get any LESS response than I have already! LOL
    Anyway, I have 24 LEDS, CREE XP-E. 12 on the white string and 12 on the blue string, on dimmable drivers. No optics.  These are in a stock biocube 29 hood. Everything is working fine, but what I would like to know is optimal brightness. I basically adjusted for a color I liked. Blues are on about 80% and my whites about 40%. Lights are on full power for about 8 hours with a 90 minute ramp time on either end. I seem to get polyp extension and everything looks "happy" regardless of where I have the lighting set. Is there an optimal setting for these things? I read so much about people burning corals, but find nothing about what a good set of numbers is.
    Does anyone have anything similar that they are happy with?
     
  2. Sep 27, 2011 #2
    lehrjet

    lehrjet Inactive User

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    I have the same setup on my BC29 and keep things at around 70-75% for both.  Any higher and I was starting to burn corals.  Actually thinking of even bringing it down a bit more yet.  24 leds on the BC29 is a lot.  It depends on what you have for corals sps or lps.  I tend to burn more sps than lps but my lps don't come out as often when i have them too high.  Also depends if  you are running any lens kits either.  IMO lens kits are overkill for a BC29 with 24 leds.   I even have a clam in mine and he is always out and very happy.  I keep my blues and whites the same level because I like a little less of the blue tint to it than some.  My guess is with some of the sps corals, having your whites down that low might hurt them a bit, but again that is still a lot of light in a little tank it might not bother them too bad at all.
     
  3. Sep 27, 2011 #3
    Bela

    Bela Inactive User

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    I do not have any optics, so that is not of concern. I actually thought my lighting was too much, not too little. Surprised to hear that actually. I will give it some more whites here slowly. Everything looks great. A few are angry, but this is liekly because I just epoxied them to rocks.
     
  4. Sep 27, 2011 #4
    mcclandy

    mcclandy

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    I have optics on mine... so no comparison. However, like most things in reef tanks.... if it is working for your tank, i would leave it. I feel that stability is key with happy colorful corals. Because LEDs have sooooo many variables(amperage, fwd voltage, analog/pwm percentages, brands, heat dissapation, hours of use, spacing, water clarity, water depth, mounting hieght, dirt/salt creep/dust, etc), it is difficult to pinpoint a number for "optimal" on your LED driver/controller levels. To break this down into something more tangibe, a par meter could be used to find actual light being delivered and suggested lighting levels for each type of organism.
     

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