Are the COB 10W LED good enough for reef keeping?

[kaykay]

Can i place 4 - 8 of them (40W - 80W) for a 2' nano?

There's a combo of colours. (they do have 12,000k for whites) But I think they may not have UV or Actinic.

Question: Are these LEDs good enough for reefkeeping? If so, what combi should I do? Is 3 whites and 3 blues sufficient or overkill? (total 60W)

Planning to keep only soft corals and some LPS in my 18" deep nano. 2' length and 1' width.

Please advise, as I was almost tempted to customize one just now. I know it may not be considered purely DIY, as someone will be doing the pieceing together of the parts for me.. Lol.

[mjck]

What's COB? Interested in the 10w led too!

[kaykay]

Chip on board. Was quoted $30 per 10W LED. Just choose qty, colour, and length of the aluminum stripe, and they will solder everything to your specs.

But power supply comes separately, around $50-$80, depending on the wattage you have.

[kaykay]

Have been seeing alot of floodlights built with these COB LEDs. If it can light up a big outdoor area with a single piece, I'm thinking it should also be strong enough for a reef.

So I'm sourcing for opinions from LED experts here before I commit. Thanks in advance.

What's more, due to the thin footprint, I can even mount it on an unused light frame I have in my storeroom. Hey! This is the DIY part. Haha.

[kaykay]

This is a warm white, single 10W COB LED I customized for my up flow algae scrubber.

Customization was done by the engineer at the shop. Chose a metal box to house the LED, though I know I expose the risk of rust over time.

Wanted a smaller box so as not to compromise the nano-ness of a nano tank, but this is the only metal box they have. Fits in a palm though.

Will post more on the UAS in another thread.

The light looks dim in this photo, but u have to see it in relative to the normal atmosphere daylight which turned dark in this photo.

It really is very bright.

[kaykay]

This is how the warm white (told me its 2700k) looks like for the UAS for my tank. Note the air stone and the mesh has not been installed in this photo yet. Just the light held by my hand against the tank glass.

[mjck]

I was looking at using the led floodlights to replace the spiral fluorescence in my ATS. But after much reading, seems like not much success for warm colored LEDs . Success is only reported by people who used 660nm reds and a little blue. You may want to check before implementing LEDs in algae scrubbers.

[sherman]

If is for your ATS then should be not much issue.

The 2700 K is the same as your spiral fluorescent.

So depending on the area you want to cover you must have enough wattage

Santa recomend.

If for your main tank be very careful. The 10 watt centre spot can bearch almost any LS

[sherman]

If you want to use 660 nm Red LED then mix with 460 nm Royal Blue for

best result.

Both is use extensively in Agriculture and Horticulture industrial

[kaykay]

Thanks for the advice.

I'll run the warm white LED for the ATS, since I've invested in it. Will update periodically in a separate thread, tabulating the progress and success / failure of this LED.

As for the main tank, I'll put on hold this COB LED project till I research further.

But if any bros here can provide any concrete or conclusive opinions on the viability of this LED, or any alternative workaround, do share, as I'm really interested to integrate a low cost system for my nano.

I am also aware that there is the Aquastyle LED system I can order for slightly less than this price. for a similar wattage set. However, I have never done any soldering before, neither have i the soldering equipment.

So now I'm still undecided.

As for the coral bleaching part, if I install the light in just 2 clusters (2x10w), at least 8" radius away, will this solve the issues?

Sorry I seem to be a problematic child.. Always so many questions!!

[mjck]

Lol... This is wat a forum is for. Do report on the success of your scrubber using the warm white led!

[sherman]

Whatever distance you place the 2 10 watt led you are sill going to get 2 hot centre spot.

To reduce the hot spot you move your led further away from your water surface.

But that although resolve your hot problem also reduce the light intensity and PAR.

So best is to use 3 to 5 watt led.