DIY 25 Seoul LED Light

[Agua-man]

For the past few weeks I have been working on this project, finally this past weekend I was able to complete it. It is basically an LED light pendant I designed and built at home. I’m using (25) Seoul SSC P4 #W42180-U PURE WHITE (6500K) 3.7 v. There are (5) five zones each zone consist of (5) LED and its own LED driver on an aluminum plate. I am going to control each zone with an aquarium controller of some sort, which I plan to get later in the year. The shell is made of aluminum angle that was miter cut to create what looks like a picture frame. The top is covered with stainless perforated steel to allow heat to escape; the bottom is covered with an acrylic splash guard. I used all stainless steel nuts and bolts.

[coolwaters]

hope u have a fan somewhere... LEDs get really hot especially if u have so many in one spot.

 

what kind of power supply r u using?

 

u just got all cool white? get some Blues to raise the color temp. up.

 

hey can i get a closer look on your wire. looks pretty cool.

im planning to use thos LEDs too. (if the cree Q5s doesnt get cheaper....)

 

 

and how many gallons is that? (20g?)

 

hey evilc66 we got another guy on board XD

[evilc66]

Sounds that way. Between the three of us, we should be able to crack this nut.

 

Super clean execution on the fixture. Have you checked the local temperatures at each emmiter? Have you run the fixture for a long time? The bars you have the LEDs mounted to might heatsoak after a while, but you might have enough mass there to keep things in check. Is the bar you have mounted the LEDs to flat, or is it a heatsink (finned extrusion)?

 

Either way, nice job. Can you take a picture with the room lights off? I would like to get a better idea as to what the light intensity is. Take the picture without a flash too.

[Agua-man]

I don't have a fan running and do not plan on having one, hard to belive I know. Because the shell is made of aluminum it acts like a huge heatsink plus the top is preforated which allows the heat to escape. I left the lights on all weekend and heat was not an issue. I also plan on getting some blue leds which I plan on putting in the slots in between the white leds. My tank is a 30g tank which I made this past summer, it is made of acylic with a modified canister filter so all four sides viewable. I only plan to keep simple corals with mostly fish, live rock and live sand.

[evilc66]

It's kinda funny. You are doing the exact same thing as I am, only WAY bigger. My tank is 1.6gal with a similar filtration setup. I actually just finished building the tank tonight.

[coolwaters]

im doing medium size. =)

 

i got my parts its going to be 7.75g...it suxs cuz i just noticed the guy forgot one piece of acrylic...the side wall..i'll have to go back wednesday...

 

on the meantime i'll get started gluing the parts i do have.

 

my hood is soo cool. its going to be like 1" from the surface of the water. and the screen is super clear non-glare acrylic.

[Agua-man]

Here are some pictures of the tank with lights on. I have not get added the blue lights, and I thinking I really like the it looks with out them. So I might not, what you think.

[evilc66]

Looks great Aqua-Man. Hopefully mine will turn out as well as yours did. What was you're total cost and time in the system?

[coolwaters]

i just want to know what do u use to mount the LEDs?

i want to keep my LEDs int he 80-90 degree range to optimize its lifespan

[evilc66]

The best thing you can do is bolt the stars to the heatsink, and use a good thermal paste between them. Thermal transfer gets better the higher the pressure is on the two mating surfaces. You can use thermal epoxy, but if you want to get the temps as low as possible, you will have to bolt them.

[Agua-man]

You can bolt down the star to the aluminum with Nylon bolts and nuts.

[evilc66]

Stainless would be better. Still non-corrosive, but you can get way higher clamping pressures.

[Agua-man]

Stainless would be better. Still non-corrosive, but you can get way higher clamping pressures.

 

Nylon bolts and nuts are specifically design to work with electronics because of the two very important properties required. One they are non-conductive and they are not affected by vibrations. Plus they come in what is known as micro fasteners or size #0 and up. You will not find this sizes at home depot but rather an electronics shop or on line.

[Agua-man]

Here is a section view of how I made lights. Hope this helps.

[evilc66]

Nice drawing.

 

I'll agree with you for the most part. Most of the starts available for the different LED have the mounting holes electrically isolated. Yours may not have, and then nylon is a must. Vibration is really not a concern in this instance.

[strangelove]

Here are some pictures of the tank with lights on. I have not get added the blue lights, and I thinking I really like the it looks with out them. So I might not, what you think.

 

Sa-weeeeeeeeeet

[coolwaters]

put some actinic over it if u can to see what it would look like.

i sure want to see.

[Agua-man]

put some actinic over it if u can to see what it would look like.

i sure want to see.

 

 

I just bought the blue leds and I'm going to work on putting them on this week. I will post pics

later this week or the next.

[evilc66]

Can't wait to see it.

[ejg001]

hi,

 

if you dont' mind me asking, what exactly did you use for the led power source? and also, where did you purchase it/them?

 

thanks.

[coolwaters]

most of them just used a normal computer power supply. and regulators.

 

to me its safer and easier if u just got a power switching driver. AKA Constant current LED driver.

but most of them arent as powerful. around the 8-40 watts.

[Agua-man]

most of them just used a normal computer power supply. and regulators.

 

to me its safer and easier if u just got a power switching driver. AKA Constant current LED driver.

but most of them arent as powerful. around the 8-40 watts.

 

I divided the 49 LED’s (25 white 6500k and 24 blue 470n) into six independent zones. Zones #1 thru 5 consist of (5) white LED each with a Xitanium 120V 12W 350mA Driver. Zone #6 consists of 24 Superflux blue leds powered with a 12v 2amp AC adapter.

[evilc66]

How are those superflux LEDs working out for you? Pictures?

[Agua-man]

I finally got my blue LED’s and was able to wire them yesterday. The blue LED are considerably less powerful and visibly less bright than the white LED. And that is exactly what I was looking for. I love the crisp bright light the white LED produce and I do not care for any hint of blue. I am going to use the blue LED as moonlights only. I used (8) Rectangular Superflux LED Channel Light from http://www.oznium.com/rectangular-channel

[coolwaters]

is it the water? cuz your tank still looks kinda yellow O.O

 

but the blue alone looks like the deep blue XD

looks like everything worked out for u.