Stu August 7, 2011 Share August 7, 2011 I recently completed a DIY LED build, and I thought I'd add a few pics. The build took a while, but once I got the hang of soldering, everything went much more quickly. I retrofitted 30 LEDs into my 20" t5 fixture. After 2 years of so-so growth and color from my t5s (I was limited to shoddy Current USA t5s due to the 20" length), I decided to give LEDs a try. So far, I'm extremely pleased with the results, both in color and initial growth. In the 3 weeks since completing the build and lighting my tank, my corals have literally exploded with growth. I'm not ready to be an LED apologist, as I honestly thing a mix of t5 and LED is ideal, but for my purposes it seems to be getting the job done and looking great over my tank. I also still believe that purely for aesthetics, a Radium with Royal Blue LED supplements is the best look I have seen. For a small tank, however, LEDs seem to be a great option. On to the build: I used two dimmable Thomas Research drivers, each powering 15 LEDs. After spending a good deal of time following the "LED Aesthetics" thread on Nano-reef.com, I decided to use neutral whites instead of cool whites, and to add a few cool blues in order to bring out the warmer colors (reds, pinks). I'm glad I did, and I think the array brings out a much wider spectrum than the typical 50/50 cool white/royal blue. The array consists of: 10 Cree XP-G Neutral Whites 17 Cree XP-E Royal Blues 3 Cree XP-E Cool Blues One string has the Neutral Whites and 5 Royal Blues. The other string has 12 Royal Blues and the Cool Blues. I had the LEDs dimmed almost all of the way down, and have slowly increased intensity with the pots daily so as not to shock the corals. So far, so good. And sorry for the iphone pics; it makes the tank appear saturated with blue and is a pretty poor representation of actual color. Hope this write up helps some of the people who are considering a DIY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mando77 August 7, 2011 Share August 7, 2011 Nice upgrade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thefishman65 August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 I decided to use neutral whites instead of cool whites or 10 Cree XP-G Neutral Whites17 Cree XP-E Royal Blues 3 Cree XP-E Cool Blues They can't both be true. I used CW and RB and I am thinking of switching out some of the CW. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 8, 2011 Author Share August 8, 2011 Not sure what you mean by they can't both be true? I didn't use any cool whites at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thefishman65 August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 Well I apologize, apparently I can't read properly until the 4th try . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 (edited) Stu, where did you get all of the hardware you used? Is your setup generating much heat? Edited August 8, 2011 by AcePuck35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 8, 2011 Author Share August 8, 2011 Happens to the best of us. I would highly recommend going with NW's over CW's. This analysis was very helpful in my decision: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2017939 After seeing tanks lit with 50/50 CW/RB, I found that the greens really glowed, but the warmer colors were completely washed out. The NW really makes up for this. My build was initially 20 RB's and 10 NW's, and even with this combination, I found myself wanting more in the warmer spectrum. I switched out 3 RB's with 3 CB's, and this did the trick. The difference was night and day, and the addition of just 3 CB's made all the difference in bringing out oranges and reds. One has to be careful with the addition of CB's because they do have the ability to wash the tank with a "windex" look if too many are used. They are an excellent tool, however, for dialing in to make reds and oranges pop with color. While it took some tweaking, I'm very happy with my array now (and I'm already seeing improved growth in a short period of time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 8, 2011 Author Share August 8, 2011 Stu, where did you get all of the hardware you used? Is you set up generating much heat? I got my LEDs from Ledgroupbuy.com. I'm not sure if I would use them if you are on a tight schedule, as they only buy them in bulk once a month. For my purposes (I took my time), it worked well and they were very cheap. I got the heatsink from heatsinksusa.com. I got the drivers from Nanotuners.com. Other stuff (wire, solder, etc.) I got randomly from places like Radio Shack and the hardware store as needed. If you're not drilling, I also highly recommend the adhesive pads, as they are much cleaner and easier to use than the 2 part mix. I'm not having any heat issues at all. I used the fans that were already built into the Nova Extreme Pro fixture, and they draw air laterally across the heat sink. The sink gets warm, but that's about it. I figure as long as they're only warm and not actually hot, I'm okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 The (what looks like a) aluminum sheet where you attached the LEDs to, where did you get that? Was it part of a kit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 8, 2011 Author Share August 8, 2011 The (what looks like a) aluminum sheet where you attached the LEDs to, where did you get that? Was it part of a kit? It's a heatsink. While the bottom of it is flat (and looks like an aluminum sheet), the top has fins to help with heat. You can find all sorts of sizes here: http://www.heatsinkusa.com/ This is the particular one I used: http://www.heatsinkusa.com/products/10.000%22-Wide-x-17%22-Long-Heatsink.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 Stu, it looks good, nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcePuck35 August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 Stu, Thanks. That is good info. Your tank looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 8, 2011 Author Share August 8, 2011 Thanks for the kind words, guys. I was really only able to get through my build after many many hours of researching other builds, so hopefully mine can serve as a reference. Feel free to stop by and take a look as well. One thing I have learned about LEDs is they don't photograph well, so really the best way to see what looks best to you is to look at them in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 Looks good.!! Ill have to swing by on my way home one day and check it out.!! Glad it finally all came together for you.!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 8, 2011 Author Share August 8, 2011 Looks good.!! Ill have to swing by on my way home one day and check it out.!! Glad it finally all came together for you.!! Thanks! Yeah you should definitely come by sometime. In fact, I need to get you all your tools that I've held hostage for months. I was going to see if you needed help with the move. You need an extra hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella August 8, 2011 Share August 8, 2011 No worries on the tools, I havent had any need for them.. I probably will take you up on the extra hand for the move, I will get back with you on that, plans arent going as originally planned, so I may be going with plan B.. Oh, on a side note, sadly both wrasses jumped 2 weeks ago.. I am still pissed about that. If I dont go with a rimless tank, I will DEFINITELY be getting a canopy, so tired of fish on the floor, luckily my dog has no interest in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 9, 2011 Author Share August 9, 2011 Oh, on a side note, sadly both wrasses jumped 2 weeks ago.. I am still pissed about that. If I dont go with a rimless tank, I will DEFINITELY be getting a canopy, so tired of fish on the floor, luckily my dog has no interest in them. Bummer. I wonder if something spooked them or if they just got the urge to take off. If I can put my two cents in, I think despite the risk of jumpers, a rimless tank looks so nice that it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer August 9, 2011 Share August 9, 2011 Nice job on the color mix. I ended up adding NW via DIY to my AI Sols. It helped a lot. Next I am going to DIY some magenta to hang on there. I really miss seeing bright reds in my tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu August 9, 2011 Author Share August 9, 2011 Nice job on the color mix. I ended up adding NW via DIY to my AI Sols. It helped a lot. Next I am going to DIY some magenta to hang on there. I really miss seeing bright reds in my tank. Thanks! It seems that lots of commercial fixtures initially went with the CW-RB combo, and are switching to NW (and other colors--Cyan, magenta, red, etc.) as they start to see the benefits that other colors bring out. I think this is one major drawback of LEDs as compared to other lighting sources like MH. MH has a very wide spectrum and can bring out a lot of colors, while most of the LEDs available now have fairly specific spikes in the spectrum. So it can be tough to bring out all the colors in a reef. For example, I was in Petland the other day, and was looking at their LPS under LEDs. **Shameless plug: Petland has a killer selection right now and Ben and Billy are doing a great job** One lobophyllia that was red with a green center was off-the-charts screaming red and green. Just down the tank under the same lights, a deeper red chalice with teal streaks appeared very dull and muted. While both are "red", one looked incredible while the other looked, well, not so much. I know for a fact that this chalice was not inherently dull, as I used to have the same thing under t5s a while ago and the thing was fire engine red--deep red and gorgeous. So one "red" coral and another "red" coral can look great or dull depending on which "red" it is. So in that respect, LEDs can take some tweaking (as I did with swapping out the 3 RBs for CBs). It sounds like you're on the right track for dialing in the right color. I saw some pics of corals under magenta and I'm very intrigued. I have a feeling it could do wonders for warmer colors if used in moderation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer August 10, 2011 Share August 10, 2011 I am going to add 12 of those True Violet LEDs they are selling on LEDGroup Buy. I will let you know what effect they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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