DIY LED help

[Reef_Wizard]

I have been using GU10 LEDs on my 8 gal nano and I think it is time to upgrade. I will do DIY with Cree LEDs from rapidled and I have a few questions.

Here is my plan

5 CREE XP-G R5 Cool White 3W LED on Star
5 CREE XP-E Royal Blue 3W LED on star
1 Osram 660nm 3W Red LED (Optional) - Should I add this?
1 4.25" x 9" heatsink
1 Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable driver

2 Royal Blue Moonlight LED and 1 Moonlight driver

I can't decide what degree optic I want to use. Tank is 16"L x 10"W x 12"H and the light will be 8"-10" above waterline (about 20" above sandbed). Rapidled suggests using 80* but I think it will be too wide.

What do you think of adding a red LED? No optic is available for it.

Any other suggestion, do's and don'ts? Your help is much appreciated.


(I'm not sure if I should post this in DIY or Reef Talk. Mod- please move if it is in wrong place. Thanks)

 

[inverted]

Sounds good. If you hung it a bit lower, you wouldn't really need optics, but if you like keeping them higher, that's fine. I'd skip the reds though, they are extremely tough to mix. What kind of color do you like. As is, it will look fairly white. If you want bluer, you could scrap some of the whites and replace the remaining whites with neutral whites. The neutral whites have a lot of red and there is then no need for the reds. Or if you like a whiter look, just replace maybe 3 of the whites with neutral whites and again, skip the reds.... Also, with the meanwell "P" driver you can use a controller. For $55 on sale now, the boost LED typhoon is pretty sweet. Just my .02...
http://www.boostled.com/products/typhon-led-controller-kit

 

[Reef_Wizard]

Thanks Inverted.. I like bluer (about 15K I guess). What about this?



I'm aware of "P" driver and controller but I'll stick with "D" and 10K Ohm dimming for now.

Re: optics, I read your post here and it is quite helpful. The difference is that my tank is only 12"L and fixture will be 7"L (from first to last LED) so I don't need a lot of spread but I don't want beams of lights either. Any idea?