Evanski August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 All, I have been following the LED lighting threads on the N-R forum. As a result, I made a 4X3W LED (one cool white, 3 royal blues) dimmable LED pendant for my new 1G picocube. Is anyone here interested at all in LED lighting? I would love to work on another project, but am all lighted up at the moment... E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 That looks really nice! How about some more pictures of the inside of the tank under those light? bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capsfan August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I like it. Would it be any better than my current 36w? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evanski August 10, 2009 Author Share August 10, 2009 Bob (from above) Will do. I got some REALLY nice stuff from Blaze98 (Elbert) and from F&F this weekend. As I said, a work in progress. The zoas are just starting to grow after 2 months tank life, which I view as a good sign. I am battling a FW problem is all three tanks (bought sixlines, always wanted one and they are gelping out already!)... I like it. Would it be any better than my current 36w? Caps...define better! Which tank? My LED build was about $80 for the 12W light. This includes the fan/heat sink, two dimming controllers (did not need two, but color control IS nice!), power supply, and LEDs. I had space 1/4" walnut laying around that I used to make the housing. I figure a 12 LED build would be on the order of $150. The good news is that the LED builds are considered to be as good or better than MH...folks are keeping all kind of SPS and even clams under them, which I think would be hard for PCs in general. The cost is much higher, but the darn things have like 50K hours life cycle, so you basically NEVER would have to change bulbs. Evilc66 on N-R forum figures a 2-year break even point. Lemme know...I am thinking about a 12 LED for my 10G frag tank to replace my 80W PC lights. E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capsfan August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I was thinking for my 2.5 gallon, but I don't want to have too much light. I think my zoas up top melted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paenian August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I've got LEDs on my tank, homemade. Planning to upgrade them eventually, but not really rushing to do so. I don't have them on a dimmer, just a few minute soft-start system. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paenian August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I think I'm going to wait for the next phase of fancy LEDs, then buy a bunch - would be great for a group buy, but most of these electronics places don't price break until you get 50 or 100 components. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I was thinking for my 2.5 gallon, but I don't want to have too much light. I think my zoas up top melted. I've got many different types of zoas under 400w mh less than 16" from the fixture and they haven't 'melted'. I think there are other factors to consider like current, aquarium suitability, and proximity to other zoas/corals to explain the 'melting' phenomena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 How well do LED's fair when it comes to deeper tanks? Has anyone used a par meter on them yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3fan8ic August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 sweet, I've bought some LEDs for different project which are still sitting in bag and never got chance to start the project. I have to buy resistors soldering tool etc and some extra free time .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evanski August 11, 2009 Author Share August 11, 2009 How well do LED's fair when it comes to deeper tanks? Has anyone used a par meter on them yet? Guys are getting 200+ (and sometimes 400+...no kidding) when going with lenses to focus the light. The means, of course, you need more lights for a given coverage. Price is high even compared to MH, but energy and bulb savings are pretty nice. To be fair, I ahve only done this small project...you might want to head over to N-R and look at some of the LED builds int he lighting section. E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaesun August 11, 2009 Share August 11, 2009 How well do LED's fair when it comes to deeper tanks? Has anyone used a par meter on them yet? I set up my LED array with 6 Cree XR-E cool whites, 5 Cree XR-E royal blues, and 1 kaidomain UV with a 1000 mA buckpuck for the cool whites and a 700 mA buckpuck for the other 6 LEDs. My tank is only a 5.5 gallon, but I'm getting about 350+ using the PAR meter a few inches below the surface where I have my SPS. at the sand level, it's about 150ish. but I'm not using any lenses in my set-up so the PAR levels could be a lot higher at deeper depths. I should really mess around with the PAR meter more since I currently have it... I think I've had it way longer than I'm supposed to. So far, the orange digi looks like it's doing well. Most of the growth has been downwards instead of upwards though. The other frags are doing alright as far as I can tell. I have 3 small zoa colonies. 1 is doing great, the others I'm not too sure about yet. I really need to include pics. I have 2 acro frags that I'd like to trade. I got them from rbaxley. But I'm not quite sure what they are. oh, fuKE DUck! go terps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evanski August 13, 2009 Author Share August 13, 2009 oh, fuKE DUck! go terps! You, Sir, are a true vulgarian! J/K, I like the twerps too, but I am a Duke Grad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaesun August 13, 2009 Share August 13, 2009 You, Sir, are a true vulgarian! J/K, I like the twerps too, but I am a Duke Grad. I wish I could explain my hatred for Duke, but it is what it is. I also used nano-reef.com as a guide for my build. It's a great resource. Good luck with you 12 LED build for the 10 g. You might want more than 12 LEDs though. I feel that 12 is barely enough for my 5.5 g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paenian September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 I'd recommend you add a reflector, but no lenses - the viewing angle on the CREE LEDs is quite large. I used some aluminum flashing to just reflect the side-spill back towards the tank. In fact if you're interested you can have my leftover aluminum flashing. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Can you provide the link to the N-R forum? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucelli September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 (edited) Guys, check this site out. They sell DIY sets which require minimal work (no resistors) since they are paired in perfect numbers to existing power supplies (12 per). They include focusing lenses with your choice of 40, 60, or 80 degree spread output. These are 3 watt Cree X-Lamps. I wanted to purchase the 24 DIY kit except with all blues (prefect blue wavelength 450-460), but I'm still looking for a suitable heatsink or related mounting material. The latest quote I got for some heatsinks for this application was quite expensive. $115 for some custom cut 48" x 1" strips. If anyone is interested and wants to share the cost of the heatsinks with me, or if you know of a cheaper place for heatsinks or similar let me know! Edited September 1, 2009 by chucelli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Guys,check this site out. They sell DIY sets which require minimal work (no resistors) since they are paired in perfect numbers to existing power supplies (12 per). They include focusing lenses with your choice of 40, 60, or 80 degree spread output. These are 3 watt Cree X-Lamps. I wanted to purchase the 24 DIY kit except with all blues (prefect blue wavelength 450-460), but I'm still looking for a suitable heatsink or related mounting material. The latest quote I got for some heatsinks for this application was quite expensive. $115 for some custom cut 49" x 1" strips. If anyone is interested and wants to share the cost of the heatsinks with me, or if you know of a cheaper place for heatsinks or similar let me know! What's the site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucelli September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 forgot the link! http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/StoreFront Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaesun September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Can you provide the link to the N-R forum? Thanks. DIY High Power LED Retrofit, Step-by-step guide Lighting Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaesun September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 Guys,check this site out. They sell DIY sets which require minimal work (no resistors) since they are paired in perfect numbers to existing power supplies (12 per). They include focusing lenses with your choice of 40, 60, or 80 degree spread output. These are 3 watt Cree X-Lamps. I wanted to purchase the 24 DIY kit except with all blues (prefect blue wavelength 450-460), but I'm still looking for a suitable heatsink or related mounting material. The latest quote I got for some heatsinks for this application was quite expensive. $115 for some custom cut 48" x 1" strips. If anyone is interested and wants to share the cost of the heatsinks with me, or if you know of a cheaper place for heatsinks or similar let me know! HeatSinkUSA Really fast. Almost too fast since I wanted to make a change, but they had already shipped my order within 3 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucelli September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 That's the same place I got a quote from. I think the cost was due to me wanting 48" in one piece. I wanted it in one piece to minimize the hassles of hanging multiple pieces. Perhaps I could get smaller pieces and connect them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaesun September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 That's the same place I got a quote from. I think the cost was due to me wanting 48" in one piece. I wanted it in one piece to minimize the hassles of hanging multiple pieces. Perhaps I could get smaller pieces and connect them... Why do you want them in a 1 inch wide strip? My heatsink is 5.25 inches wide for a tank that is 8.5 inches wide. I'm pretty happy with the spread that I get with my 12 LEDs. I can't imagine putting the LEDs on a single strip. You can get 1 inch aluminum strips from Home Depot or Lowes and then bolt on small heatsinks and fans from a computer hardware store like Microcenter or online at newegg.com. But I think there was a guy on nano-reef who went with a single sheet of aluminum and had problems with overheating. The bulk and fins really help in keeping the temperature below 100 F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucelli September 1, 2009 Share September 1, 2009 I want to build this to supply additional blue supplementation instead of using T5s. I am a glitter junkie and want to avoid fluorescents at all costs. Anything wider than a thin strip will not fit next to my halides comfortably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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