Bridgelux leds

[turbo21]

Just wondering if anyone else is using bridgelux leds in any of their builds?

I just built a setup for my 125 gal tank

54 3w royal blue with 36 3w cool white
using the chinese drivers with dimmers

bob

 

[turbo21]

cmon, somebody has to be an oddball like me :nerd:

 

[BluegrassReef]

I saw those...and was very interested in trying them but it never came to be.....do you like them? how much did it cost you?....you can PM me that info if you don't want it to be public......may still build on for my 75g.

Mike

 

[turbo21]

The it shipped to me was aroung $260. I found some 1"aluminum tube in a scrap pile and spent about 4 hours grinding the paint off.

And about $10 for some more wire. and some solder

So far it looks pretty good and it as bright as heck with everything at 100%


a few notes about my order.

Ray from aqausyle answered all the questions i had, usually got back to me in 24 hours.

and the kit was complete with about 5 or 6 extra leds.

so you get the leds
drivers
60 degree optics (that fit pretty darn good)
wire
heatsink plaster
potentiometers for dimming (40% to 100%)
wire connectors and plugs for the drivers

right now, i am running my whites at about 60% and the blues at 80% just to see how things are acclimating.

alot cheaper than a cree setup and yes i know the bridgelux does not put out as much light. But i have been a firm believer in 175w halides or 250w were good enough. I never saw a difference in growth from when i was running 400w halides vs 175w halides. This setup is alot brighter than my 3 175w and vho's

 

[reefaholic420]

i just ordered mine a few days ago for my 150....

yeah theyre bridgelux and not as bright, but all my friends that have crees over their tanks say they cant run them full or they will bleach the $$$$ outta their corals... so it was a no brainer for me, pay twice as much for crees and not run anywhere near full, or get the bridgelux and run them pretty close to full...

 

[BluegrassReef]

How many do you guys think I will need for my 75? would like to do 2 pendants since it has a center brace?

 

[BluegrassReef]

Think 2 of the 20 led kits would be good....what mix should I go with?

 

[turbo21]

i just ordered mine a few days ago for my 150....

yeah theyre bridgelux and not as bright, but all my friends that have crees over their tanks say they cant run them full or they will bleach the $$$$ outta their corals... so it was a no brainer for me, pay twice as much for crees and not run anywhere near full, or get the bridgelux and run them pretty close to full...

even with the bridgelux, i dont think you could run 100% right away, these bad boys are still bright as can be

bob

 

[ronnie]

I am going to be running FEDY, which is a bridgelux chip.

Doing a down and dirty quick comparison on my PAR meter (placing sensor two inches from LED and lighting it with two AA batteries, the PAR is 200, versus 135 for a CREE), they seem to be pretty good. I'll have some PAR tests once I get it up and running as well.

I'm sure the test was wrong, though.... CREE costs more, which means it is better :tongue:

 

[turbo21]

I am going to be running FEDY, which is a bridgelux chip.

Doing a down and dirty quick comparison on my PAR meter (placing sensor two inches from LED and lighting it with two AA batteries, the PAR is 200, versus 135 for a CREE), they seem to be pretty good. I'll have some PAR tests once I get it up and running as well.

I'm sure the test was wrong, though.... CREE costs more, which means it is better :tongue:

ronnie,

just remember leds will never work on a reef tank, halides are not dying technology.....uh oh , i said it now:crossedlips:

bob

 

[turbo21]

Think 2 of the 20 led kits would be good....what mix should I go with?

what are you keeping in your reef. sps dom, mixed or what?

 

[ronnie]

 

[LegoZ81]

^HA!

 

[BluegrassReef]

what are you keeping in your reef. sps dom, mixed or what?

Want SPS dominate....but knowing myself it will end up mixed....lol

 

[turbo21]

Want SPS dominate....but knowing myself it will end up mixed....lol

Im thinking of 30 leds every 2 feet. I know that i have really nice coverage and brightness with that formula.

bob

 

[BluegrassReef]

Im thinking of 30 leds every 2 feet. I know that i have really nice coverage and brightness with that formula.

bob

I appreciate all the help....what color mix should I order for the led....want a 20k color

 

[ronnie]

I just fired my FEDY build up for the first time yesterday. I'm pretty impressed with the numbers so far, and the looks are great!

Video of the light on my light mover:
LED light mover over frag tank on Vimeo

 

[turbo21]

I just fired my FEDY build up for the first time yesterday. I'm pretty impressed with the numbers so far, and the looks are great!

Video of the light on my light mover:
LED light mover over frag tank on Vimeo

Ronnie,

That is one sweet frag tank!! The build looks great and i love the light mover.

Bob

 

[ronnie]

Thanks Bob.

Hopefully the light will put out enough PAR.

550 on the bottom enough?

 

[milkman]

I am planning to lighting a 40 breeder and a std 120 with the Bridgelux from Aquastyle.

I am going to start with the 40 breeder to just get my feet wet and see how they perform. I e-mailed Ray and he is telling me the 20k is a 1:1 ratio of 10k white to royal blue and that 14k is more like 2:1 white to royal blue which is opposite of the Cree which goes the other way. If you look at their ordering options, they all have higher ratios of white to blue and not the other way around that your see on the Cree DIY sites.

I was going with the 36 LED kit with dimmable driver - 18 white , 14 royal blue, 2 Red, and 2 UV. complete with drivers, lens, and assemble materials was $126 delivered. The similar Cree kits like that would be well over $300-$400. Going to us aluminum U channel with 3 rails of 12 LED's each and build a lightweight canopy with a acrylic shield. Put a couple of fans in the top pulling out any heat. The 40 breeder is only 16" deep, so don't feel like I need the Cree power level.

If it works well, then on to the 120 gal. I already have a ready made LED from Reef Filtration which is great over my 45 gal frag tank. I think they use a mix of four different Epistar LED's and they look great. When I did a little research, the Cree was rated best followed by Bridgelux and then Epistar, but who knows which ratings are reliable.