Biocube 29 LED Retrofit Kit
- Thread starter lukeg1981
- Start date
2quills
Well-Known Member
Hey there,
I'm not sure there is anybody on the site using one of those kits for their cubes. But IMO if you want to figure out which is best then I would be looking at the specific components that each kit is using....which type of leds, drivers, etc. Mostly it boils down to which type of emitters though. You know that Cree produces pound for pound the most efficient leds on the market. I have looked at the ones on Rapid, and they are good. I'm not familiar with Steves leds. Ecoxotic I believe uses mostly the cheaper Bridgelux chips.
I'm not sure there is anybody on the site using one of those kits for their cubes. But IMO if you want to figure out which is best then I would be looking at the specific components that each kit is using....which type of leds, drivers, etc. Mostly it boils down to which type of emitters though. You know that Cree produces pound for pound the most efficient leds on the market. I have looked at the ones on Rapid, and they are good. I'm not familiar with Steves leds. Ecoxotic I believe uses mostly the cheaper Bridgelux chips.
lukeg1981
Member
Super great advice 2 Quills, thank you.
I'm hoping to get a few more responses on how hard some of the retro fits are to install and how well the retro fits actually fit into the hood. But like you said, maybe there aren't that many people on the forum that have done a retro fit.
Steve's LEDs says, "This system includes 28 Luxeon ES LEDs, which are superior to CREE X-RE LEDs." Do you think that the Luxeon LEDs really are superior to Crees?
I'm hoping to get a few more responses on how hard some of the retro fits are to install and how well the retro fits actually fit into the hood. But like you said, maybe there aren't that many people on the forum that have done a retro fit.
Steve's LEDs says, "This system includes 28 Luxeon ES LEDs, which are superior to CREE X-RE LEDs." Do you think that the Luxeon LEDs really are superior to Crees?
bender77
Member
I did a retrofit LED on my nanocube a couple of years ago. It was from nanotuners. My husband installed it and it wasn't that hard. Didn't take him very long. If I had done it, I would still be trying to make it work. I"m really thinking about upgrading again since so much has changed with the LEDs in the last couple of years. I don't know which one of the retrofits you are looking at would be best though
2quills
Well-Known Member
Agreed, so much has changed. LED's are continually evolving. I believe the kit that rapid sells pretty much bolts right into the hood and then the drivers have to be hooked up externally for the 29g's since they won't fit in the hood.
I would agree that those particular Luxeon chips are are a little more efficient than the Cree XR-E's. But you should also know that XR-E's are considered old technology now. There has already been 2 generations of upgrades made by Cree since the XR-E's first came on the scene.
For the blue's, the XP-E was an increase in efficiency and power, and now they just came out with a brand new royal blue led called the XT-E which is even more efficient, powerfull and even cheaper than it's predecessors. For the whites, the 5 watt XP-G's were a huge advancement as are the 10 watt XM-L's in efficiency and power. More lumens per watt. Cree remains king of the hill for now.
I would agree that those particular Luxeon chips are are a little more efficient than the Cree XR-E's. But you should also know that XR-E's are considered old technology now. There has already been 2 generations of upgrades made by Cree since the XR-E's first came on the scene.
For the blue's, the XP-E was an increase in efficiency and power, and now they just came out with a brand new royal blue led called the XT-E which is even more efficient, powerfull and even cheaper than it's predecessors. For the whites, the 5 watt XP-G's were a huge advancement as are the 10 watt XM-L's in efficiency and power. More lumens per watt. Cree remains king of the hill for now.
lukeg1981
Member
Thanks 2 Quills. It sounds like I should go with the RapidLED kit.
I read on the RapidLED website:
"Please note you will need a reef controller or potentiometers + 10V AC Adapter to run the dimmable drivers"
I think a reef controller would be overkill for my small biocube system. If I just use the fish timer, I will still need potentiometers so I can vary the intensity of the LED right? If I run them at full power I could bleach out SPS or even kill them right?
Do you have any recommendations for potentiometers?
I read on the RapidLED website:
"Please note you will need a reef controller or potentiometers + 10V AC Adapter to run the dimmable drivers"
I think a reef controller would be overkill for my small biocube system. If I just use the fish timer, I will still need potentiometers so I can vary the intensity of the LED right? If I run them at full power I could bleach out SPS or even kill them right?
Do you have any recommendations for potentiometers?
2quills
Well-Known Member
Yeah you'll need potentiometers to control the intensities. Potentiometers are pretty much all the same, only real difference is size. If you go to the home page on Rapid's website and click on the dimming accessories link, go down to the bottom of the page you can order the 2 in 1 potentiometers that come with the 10v power supply. Make sure you get the ELN 60-48D drivers and not the P's.
Edit: Just wanted to add that if you do decide to go with that kit. When you order it, instead of going with the standard 50/50 mix of cool white and royal blue, ask them to change it to 8 royal blue, 4 regular blue...8 cool white, 4 neutral white. I think you'll like the colors that combination produces a lot better. It will bring out some of the wamer colors in your tank and will give you better coral growth since you will be covering more of the color spectrum that way.
Edit: Just wanted to add that if you do decide to go with that kit. When you order it, instead of going with the standard 50/50 mix of cool white and royal blue, ask them to change it to 8 royal blue, 4 regular blue...8 cool white, 4 neutral white. I think you'll like the colors that combination produces a lot better. It will bring out some of the wamer colors in your tank and will give you better coral growth since you will be covering more of the color spectrum that way.
lukeg1981
Member
2Quills...man you know your stuff! The rapid Led kit only comes with 20 leds though...so I was thinking of asking for 7 royal blue, 3 regular blue, 7 cool white, 3 neutral white...what do you think?
Also, when I get it how do I know where to set the potentiometers. Should I start them out at 80% and then watch how the coral reacts? Is there an acclimation period for the coral (ie should I run it lower the first couple days and then boost it up)?
Thanks for you help 2 Quills!
Also, when I get it how do I know where to set the potentiometers. Should I start them out at 80% and then watch how the coral reacts? Is there an acclimation period for the coral (ie should I run it lower the first couple days and then boost it up)?
Thanks for you help 2 Quills!
2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by lukeg1981 http:///t/388932/biocube-29-led-retrofit-kit#post_3435754
2Quills...man you know your stuff! The rapid Led kit only comes with 20 leds though...so I was thinking of asking for 7 royal blue, 3 regular blue, 7 cool white, 3 neutral white...what do you think?
Also, when I get it how do I know where to set the potentiometers. Should I start them out at 80% and then watch how the coral reacts? Is there an acclimation period for the coral (ie should I run it lower the first couple days and then boost it up)?
Thanks for you help 2 Quills!
You're probably going to want to lower the intensity much less then that and acclimate your tank slowly over the course of at least a couple of weeks. These things are very powerfull, especially directly on top of the tank like they would be in a bio cube. There are internal adjustments in the dimmable drivers themselves that will allow you to set the maximum intensity to which ever you want. When you get a little closer to that time let us know and we can go over how to do it. There are also detailed instruction on how to go about it on rapids website, as well as plenty of instructional videos on the web of guys showing how it's done.
Originally Posted by lukeg1981 http:///t/388932/biocube-29-led-retrofit-kit#post_3435754
2Quills...man you know your stuff! The rapid Led kit only comes with 20 leds though...so I was thinking of asking for 7 royal blue, 3 regular blue, 7 cool white, 3 neutral white...what do you think?
Also, when I get it how do I know where to set the potentiometers. Should I start them out at 80% and then watch how the coral reacts? Is there an acclimation period for the coral (ie should I run it lower the first couple days and then boost it up)?
Thanks for you help 2 Quills!
You're probably going to want to lower the intensity much less then that and acclimate your tank slowly over the course of at least a couple of weeks. These things are very powerfull, especially directly on top of the tank like they would be in a bio cube. There are internal adjustments in the dimmable drivers themselves that will allow you to set the maximum intensity to which ever you want. When you get a little closer to that time let us know and we can go over how to do it. There are also detailed instruction on how to go about it on rapids website, as well as plenty of instructional videos on the web of guys showing how it's done.
lukeg1981
Member
2 Quills-
I got my led kit. It is soldered and working and ready to be installed into the BC29 hood.
You mentioned in your last post in this thread that you would be able to give me some links or walk me through the process of acclaimating the coral.
(I did read up on how to set the dimmable drivers to to the maximum amount for the leds. I am planning on setting both drivers to 1000ma. I know that 1000ma is the max that XP-G leds can handle the whites should be XP-E leds and capable of handling up to 1300 ma, but I did request the cool whites and neutral whites and I'm not sure that all the whites are XP-E leds.)
I got my led kit. It is soldered and working and ready to be installed into the BC29 hood.
You mentioned in your last post in this thread that you would be able to give me some links or walk me through the process of acclaimating the coral.
(I did read up on how to set the dimmable drivers to to the maximum amount for the leds. I am planning on setting both drivers to 1000ma. I know that 1000ma is the max that XP-G leds can handle the whites should be XP-E leds and capable of handling up to 1300 ma, but I did request the cool whites and neutral whites and I'm not sure that all the whites are XP-E leds.)
2quills
Well-Known Member
Excellent.
If memory serves me correct (which isn't very often) I believe the standard kit option comes with XP-G cool whites and XP-E royal blues. The XP-G's are rated upto 1500mA and the XP-E's are rated for upto 1000mA. So you may want to double check the settings on those drivers one more time just in case. A good starting point would be to set the drivers for 750mA max. You should have no need to ramp the lights up higher then that over your cube.
Nothing overly difficult about acclimating. Start low and make slow but gradual changes by ramping up the intensity over the course of 3-4 weeks. Perhaps you could try starting at 25% intensity for both colors and fine tune the color balance to what is suitable for you and the tank. Then try bumping the intensity up maybe another 20-25% during the second week and go from there. You're just going to have to keep a close eye out for coral bleaching which is a sign of too much light so obvious adjustments would be required in such a case.
You may see some changes in color to certain corals in your tank as they acclimate to the new light source. Remember it's not just a change in intensity but also a change in spectrum that everything will have to adjust to. Slow and steady seems to be the best bet.
Keep us updated.
If memory serves me correct (which isn't very often) I believe the standard kit option comes with XP-G cool whites and XP-E royal blues. The XP-G's are rated upto 1500mA and the XP-E's are rated for upto 1000mA. So you may want to double check the settings on those drivers one more time just in case. A good starting point would be to set the drivers for 750mA max. You should have no need to ramp the lights up higher then that over your cube.
Nothing overly difficult about acclimating. Start low and make slow but gradual changes by ramping up the intensity over the course of 3-4 weeks. Perhaps you could try starting at 25% intensity for both colors and fine tune the color balance to what is suitable for you and the tank. Then try bumping the intensity up maybe another 20-25% during the second week and go from there. You're just going to have to keep a close eye out for coral bleaching which is a sign of too much light so obvious adjustments would be required in such a case.
You may see some changes in color to certain corals in your tank as they acclimate to the new light source. Remember it's not just a change in intensity but also a change in spectrum that everything will have to adjust to. Slow and steady seems to be the best bet.
Keep us updated.
C
childress5tyler
Guest
DIY!!
biocube
New Member
2Quill,
First I want to thank you for your help prior in this post, its because of you I am ordering my Rapid LED kit. I do have a question for you... well more so your advice.. I saw you mentioned a color combination of "8 royal blue, 4 regular blue...8 cool white, 4 neutral white", I talked to Rapid LED about this combo and they also feel it would be a nice combo. I would like to make sure this would be good for making the colors pop in my tank, currently I am running the Nano Tuners 4.36 144 watt Compacts and the colors just don't look good at all, things look very washed and blah. Id like a color combo that would compliment my tank and help grow my tank too.
I do plan on installing a Magenta Stunner Strip from Exotic too.
Please let me know what you think and any input.
Thanks,
Chris
First I want to thank you for your help prior in this post, its because of you I am ordering my Rapid LED kit. I do have a question for you... well more so your advice.. I saw you mentioned a color combination of "8 royal blue, 4 regular blue...8 cool white, 4 neutral white", I talked to Rapid LED about this combo and they also feel it would be a nice combo. I would like to make sure this would be good for making the colors pop in my tank, currently I am running the Nano Tuners 4.36 144 watt Compacts and the colors just don't look good at all, things look very washed and blah. Id like a color combo that would compliment my tank and help grow my tank too.
I do plan on installing a Magenta Stunner Strip from Exotic too.
Please let me know what you think and any input.
Thanks,
Chris
fastcroc
New Member
Hey all,
I'm new to the forums but have been reading here and there. Finally decided I should sign up and start asking some questions. I'm interested in upgrading my biocube 29 lighting as well but haven't made the decision to plunge into the full led retro hoods. I just read some stuff off of steve's and rapid led. I noticed that the two leds offered between the two kits are completely different which I understand when it comes to quality and so on. What I'm confused on is that the Steve's kit comes with 21- Royal Blue Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs and 7- 7,000K Cool White Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs for a total of 28 - 3 watt leds (84watts). The rapid kit comes with 12 CREE solderless XP-E and 12 CREE solderless XP-G leds. Someone stated earlier I believe that the XP-Gs are 5watts each and I want to say the XP-E run at 3watts. So total we are looking at 96watts. Both kits are the same price currently but the rapid kit seems to have alot more install procedures than the steves kit. I guess really what it boils down to is if I want to spend 300 tomorrow on a kit what should I go for? What is the best bang for the buck? I get so confused when it comes to the different drivers and necessary equiptment that I will need to make the magic happen. Thanks in advance btw!
I'm new to the forums but have been reading here and there. Finally decided I should sign up and start asking some questions. I'm interested in upgrading my biocube 29 lighting as well but haven't made the decision to plunge into the full led retro hoods. I just read some stuff off of steve's and rapid led. I noticed that the two leds offered between the two kits are completely different which I understand when it comes to quality and so on. What I'm confused on is that the Steve's kit comes with 21- Royal Blue Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs and 7- 7,000K Cool White Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs for a total of 28 - 3 watt leds (84watts). The rapid kit comes with 12 CREE solderless XP-E and 12 CREE solderless XP-G leds. Someone stated earlier I believe that the XP-Gs are 5watts each and I want to say the XP-E run at 3watts. So total we are looking at 96watts. Both kits are the same price currently but the rapid kit seems to have alot more install procedures than the steves kit. I guess really what it boils down to is if I want to spend 300 tomorrow on a kit what should I go for? What is the best bang for the buck? I get so confused when it comes to the different drivers and necessary equiptment that I will need to make the magic happen. Thanks in advance btw!
lukeg1981
Member
Fastcroc- I've had the Rapid Led kit installed for a few months and all my coral is doing awesome. I would definitely do the upgrade again and use Rapid Led. The only complaint I have is how intense the install is. Make sure you have a good soldering iron, a volt meter that reads upto 1.3A (1300 mA), 2 black 6' extention cords (that you will cut to run to the hood) and know the location and hours of your nearest specialty screw store (the kit was missing a few odds and ends). If you have all that ready, it will probably take 3-6 hours. In the end worth the effort to have Cree LEDs.
E
e-roc
Guest
OK i have a fast question on the topic. There seems to be 4 different kit what the
big differences. I see that some are dimmable and other are not.
Thanks
Huh just went to rapid LEDs web site all 29g biocube fits are sold out
Really
big differences. I see that some are dimmable and other are not.
Thanks
Huh just went to rapid LEDs web site all 29g biocube fits are sold out
Really
fastcroc
New Member
Finally did the upgrade to the rapid led 24 dimmable kit. The pwm controller is ok I guess, wish I could use the daylight program but still have the ability to dim each channel separately. Maybe someone could recommend a better reef controller for pwm? I agree about the intense install and lack of hardware. What a battle it was but I'm glad it's finally up and running. I do have a little gripe about the moon light kit. Holy crap they are bright!!! I'm thinking of only using one of the LEDs for my biocube, if I leave it setup as two its almost like I have actinics running all night. Any thoughts or recommendation of another kit?