Laurie March 9, 2014 Share March 9, 2014 Been wanting to begin converting from VHOs/T-5s to LEDs on my 135 gal display tank. While discussing pros & cons of various brands, setups etc on here there was interest in a build thread so here we go. I decided to get most of the stuff from Steve's LEDs because I like their square tube heat sink with pressurized cooling fan. It will be 63 LEDs on a 72 in long heat sink in 6 colors each dimmable separately & a batch of royal blues as moonlights also dimmable. Last week the parts arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 9, 2014 Author Share March 9, 2014 Looks like IMG tags are not turned on so I'll post one pic per replay. I re-purposed a heat sink from a 1970s stereo amplifier to use with the drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 9, 2014 Author Share March 9, 2014 Here's the drivers mounted to the heat sink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 9, 2014 Author Share March 9, 2014 Today the chassis box for the controls/power supplies grew out of the work bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 9, 2014 Author Share March 9, 2014 Here's the box mocked up with power supplies, drivers & fans. Tomorrow the 72 in heat sink will have the pressurized fan installed along with hangers to attached to the old light set up over the tank. Will keep adding to this as progress in made, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 9, 2014 Share March 9, 2014 That looks like it will be really sleek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 9, 2014 Share March 9, 2014 Looks nice. Thanks for documenting it here. By the way, IMG tags do work here, and you can post multiple pics per post. Sent from my LG G-Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 9, 2014 Author Share March 9, 2014 Not sure what was going on with the tags, may have been an issue with windows clipboard, just would not paste the url. Will try again on the next update. Thanks for the feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 10, 2014 Share March 10, 2014 Not sure what was going on with the tags, may have been an issue with windows clipboard, just would not paste the url. Will try again on the next update. Thanks for the feedback Use an image hosting service like Photobucket or create a WAMAS gallery. Then embed the direct image link in between the tags. Make sure that you're using square brackets instead of angle brackets for the tags. You can also just click on the image icon in the editor command bar and copy the direct link there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads March 10, 2014 Share March 10, 2014 This looks great. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 14, 2014 Author Share March 14, 2014 Got the box coated in urethane, major components installed. You can see the fan/LED heat sink in the upper right. I have the pics on my Comcast page & I use IMG tags all over the net. Just wont paste the url here. Oh well you guys will have to clicky on the thumbnail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 15, 2014 Author Share March 15, 2014 LEDs glued to the heat sink, have let the thermal adhesive set overnight & will start soldering tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 17, 2014 Author Share March 17, 2014 Got it mostly wired today, tested things. I'm surprised how little range of adjustment is in the dimmers, they don't seem to dim down much. Ran out of a couple colors of wire so I'll complete the primary wiring tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dread240 March 17, 2014 Share March 17, 2014 (edited) I haven't used the steve's LED's drivers, but I can tell you that if you change your mind and decide to go with meanwell LDD drivers they do 0-100% with a pwm signal I don't even have my power supplies plugged into the apex because i turn them off completely with the 0-10 analog signal (converted to pwm that is) Edited March 17, 2014 by dread240 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 25, 2014 Author Share March 25, 2014 The dimmable drivers range from 5% amps to 100% (1.0 amp) but even at 5% they're still pretty bright. I'll do on/off switches if it becomes an issue. Got the box totally finished over the weekend. Now just have to construct a new hood frame to hang it on & it will be ready to go in. Pic of the finished box: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 26, 2014 Share March 26, 2014 Wow, that looks real class. I look forward to seeing this mounted. What size tank is it going over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef March 26, 2014 Share March 26, 2014 Very nice, clean work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 30, 2014 Author Share March 30, 2014 (edited) Got it finished, up & running, pics: Edited March 30, 2014 by Laurie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motti March 30, 2014 Share March 30, 2014 Very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie March 30, 2014 Author Share March 30, 2014 Thanks, 135 gal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G March 30, 2014 Share March 30, 2014 Super clean. Really nice work! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattiejay6 April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 Really like it! Good job and craftsmanship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neto April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 I would recomend a splash guard over the leds because they will get corroted fast (it happened to me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie April 1, 2014 Author Share April 1, 2014 (edited) ^^^ Tank has a complete cover on it. Pics from the recroom below & thanks for the compliments. One is the moonlights ( 7-Royal Blues at 5% amps) & other is all lights on, most turned way down. Edited April 1, 2014 by Laurie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime April 1, 2014 Share April 1, 2014 Wow... Looks amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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