Pico LED Light

[sammy113]

Hi guys. I know there is a lot of people DIYing now cause evil and deepdvnarq put together huge LED group buys. I already made one for my 20gal cube and now I'm building another for a Pic 3G tank. This will be a Ricordia Tank. So i went with 2 Royal Blues and 1 Cool White for the 20K mix. I'm not gonna get into details on the build process, this will me more like a photo-tutorial. There are lots of detailed threads here:

Comprehensive DIY LED Project List

Here are the pics:

Voila'

 

[zjharva]

nice reusing of an apple psu! led is so cool, might have to try it my self

[cdelicath]

Great build Sammy

[coralcor]

nice reusing of an apple psu! led is so cool, might have to try it my self

whats a PSU?

 

figured it out.... the power cord

[sammy113]

Thanks guys. Yep thats my old macbook power supply. The cables were messed up in the Magnetic thingy that plugs to the laptop. Thats one fancy PSU

 

You know what? I just noticed that this power supply is AC tough. Isn't that bad for the buckpuck driver? Isn't it supposed to have DC input or it doesn't matter?

 

Detailed Product Description:

 

18.5V 4.6A 85W AC Adapter for Apple MACBOOK

TYPE: 18.5V 4.6A(prolate-head of 5 pin magnet)

Adapter Type: Replacement AC adapter

Input Voltage: 100V-240VAC (50-60Hz)

Output Voltage: 18.5 Volts DC

Amperage: 4.6Amps

Power: 85W

[trekbear]

You know what? I just noticed that this power supply is AC tough. Isn't that bad for the buckpuck driver? Isn't it supposed to have DC input or it doesn't matter?

 

Detailed Product Description:

 

18.5V 4.6A 85W AC Adapter for Apple MACBOOK

TYPE: 18.5V 4.6A(prolate-head of 5 pin magnet)

Adapter Type: Replacement AC adapter

Input Voltage: 100V-240VAC (50-60Hz)

Output Voltage: 18.5 Volts DC

Amperage: 4.6Amps

Power: 85W

 

You have the answer right there. The input volts are AC but are converted by the adapter to DC out to the buckpuck. You'll be fine!

 

Hope I helped you out here...

Trekbear

 

PS: The buckpuck can be purchased in an AC model to I believe so you wouldn't need a convertor if you have an AC output wall wart or PS you wanted to use.

[sammy113]

Thanks for the help Trek thats a relief

[sammy113]

Here are some pichers of the finished light

Damn that thing is bright! I like the 20K color blend of two Royal Blues and one Cool White. The shimmer is just crazy. Looks like a disco ball! lol

 

Disco disco Good Good! Disco disco Good Good!

[Yamato]

Hey Sammie

 

The HS you are using, there is a metal plate between the actually heatsink and the LEDs. I was going to pick up a few at a local surplus store, but was hesitant. From your experience with this HS, can you have it passively pull heat away from the LED or does it need the fan running?

 

Your tank, is it really 3 gallons, honestly, it looks like two. Do you feel that is enough lighting?

 

Really interested to see what you think about the HS. Do you think I can put four LEDs on one without fear of over heating?

[sammy113]

Hey Sammie

 

The HS you are using, there is a metal plate between the actually heatsink and the LEDs. I was going to pick up a few at a local surplus store, but was hesitant. From your experience with this HS, can you have it passively pull heat away from the LED or does it need the fan running?

 

Your tank, is it really 3 gallons, honestly, it looks like two. Do you feel that is enough lighting?

 

Really interested to see what you think about the HS. Do you think I can put four LEDs on one without fear of over heating?

 

There is no metal plate between the actual heat sink and the LEDs.

With 3 LEDs only, I believe it can passively pull the heat away if you use a good thermal paste and the stars are tight to the HS. Never tried it though, but there is lots of cooling area for 3 LEDs driven @ 700 Ma.

 

The Tanks is 3 galons, maybe looks like two because of the false wall. It measures 9"x9"x9"

 

I just ordered some more LEDs for another pico lamp like this with more LEDs, I highly suggest using a fan. You never know and better keep it very cool than hot and shorten your LEDs life. The cooler they run, the longer they last.

[NanoClown]

thast a nice pico.. wanna build me one? haha jp

 

great work!

[Yamato]

Yeah, I agree that its better to put a fan on there anyway. Why risk it. You running them at 700mA, why you doing that? Why not run them at 1000mA? Would it be better if you can just turn them up or down?

 

I saw the same HS at the store, and there was a plate that is glued on to the heatsink. Perhaps I am using the wrong wording, but I am pretty sure from your picture I see a plate of metal that raises up off your HS that is a square. Perhaps that is part of the HS and I don't ahve to worry about conducting heat, just wanted to double check.

[sammy113]

I got you, it seems like a piece added by me, but actually is the HS and its welded there. The fins are welded also to this piece. I'm running them with 700ma cause they're just 3 LEDs and I don't want to dimm all together. I'd better dim it whites separate from blues and I don;t want to buy another buckpuck just for 1 LED and one for 2. So, all turn on at the same time. Also in my 12 LED lamp from my 20G cube I noticed that there is a point near the end of the potentiometer that you don't really see any difference in dimming the lights (at least noticeable to the eye, maybe a PAR meter can detect) so I just don't turn it to the end and run them a little lower just to help with temps.

[Yamato]

Ic...that was what I figured.

 

thanks for the feedback. I am still wondering if I should go with a HS like yours or if I should get a few from Heatsinkusa.

What can I use to cut down the HS...can I just a electrical saw?

I also don't have a drill press, so can I use a hand drill? Aluminum is pretty soft.

I didn't see you 'tap' the holes, so u just squeezed your screws into the holes?

What did you use to glue the acrylic case together?

Did you bend the acrylic arm yourself with a heat gun?

 

Sorry for the questions...if you got time to answer it would be awesome, no worries otherwise...I am full of questions, just ask Deep...haha

[sammy113]

Ic...that was what I figured.

 

thanks for the feedback. I am still wondering if I should go with a HS like yours or if I should get a few from Heatsinkusa.

What can I use to cut down the HS...can I just a electrical saw?

I also don't have a drill press, so can I use a hand drill? Aluminum is pretty soft.

I didn't see you 'tap' the holes, so u just squeezed your screws into the holes?

What did you use to glue the acrylic case together?

Did you bend the acrylic arm yourself with a heat gun?

 

Sorry for the questions...if you got time to answer it would be awesome, no worries otherwise...I am full of questions, just ask Deep...haha

 

I cut one with a table saw. In this little project I didn't used a tabe saw. You can use a hand drill or get an adapter that fits to any hand drill and works as a press drill.

I didn't tap the holes cause I had a hard time with the other project and found this self tapping screws #4 just need to make a smaller hole to hel them and use a little oil

To glue he acrylic I used weldon #3

Yes, I did bent the acrylic with a heat gun

 

Don't worry for the questions, ask whatever you need to know

[Yamato]

Thanks for answer all my questions.

 

Heat gun eh...might need to invest in one...so I guess you use an edge and after it was heated, you bent it to the angle you wanted?

 

Self tapping screw #3? Can I ask the home depot guy for this and they would know what I am talking about?

Weldon #3? Same as above?

[sammy113]

Yes, I used the tank to verify it was bend 90 degree, you can use the walls, your tank or whatever you trust is 90 degs lol. Sorry I told you #3 self tapping screws and its #4 self tapping screws. You can find it a Home Depot. Its just about the same size as the 440 just with wider threads. Weldon #3 is the solvent we use for joining acrylics theres also #4 (a little thicker) and #16 thats gel

[evilc66]

You won't find Weldon at HD or Lowes. Call around to local plastics shops to see if they sell it. Failing that, look at Tapp Plastics.

[sammy113]

Yes, I used the tank to verify it was bend 90 degree, you can use the walls, your tank or whatever you trust is 90 degs lol. Sorry I told you #3 self tapping screws and its #4 self tapping screws. You can find it a Home Depot. Its just about the same size as the 440 just with wider threads. Weldon #3 is the solvent we use for joining acrylics theres also #4 (a little thicker) and #16 thats gel

+1 Forgot to add that

[Yamato]

Thanks guys...appreciate the information very much. I just got a Mantis from Purpl3G! It was a hitch hiker and she wanted it out...so I couldn't be happier helping her house the little guy...already making a den at the base of a piece of LR. He's in my pico right now...hope he doesn't take out the neon goby.

 

If you know about mantis, help me id him and see if he is a slasher or basher...I suspect he is a slasher.

[plantarms]

do you have any corals set up in your tank? if so how are they reacting to the new led light?

[sammy113]

I did had some rics and zoas. They all bleached and since I went with the buckpuck without potentiometer I couldn't dim it a little. Right now the tank is just with rocks and sand but since this tank was build for a contest (Cube Challenge) It will be stocked again just for the competition. Then I'm transferring everything to my large tank. Sorry I don;t have any pictures I will post some as soon as I get my new rics package

[plantarms]

thanks for the info, i'm working on building a light and i'm trying to get a feel for the number of led's to use, and i'm definitely going to go with the buckpuck with pot so i can dim. my tank is 2.7 gallons, would you suggest more or less in terms of led's? do you get good coverage?

[sammy113]

well this tank is 9x9x9.... I get a nice coverage but sinbce I'm running 2 RB, 1 CW you can see the spots where theres more blue than white and doesn't blend well. Maybe cause the distance from the light to tank and yes the number of leds. I planned from the beginning this was a rics and zoas tank so you know they don't need strong light. Could have gone with 4 LEDs but wanted more blue than white and didn't wanted to go with 5 LEDs but you can easily go with 6 so you don't have any limitations in a tank that size.

[plantarms]

my tank display is 8'' x 8'' and i'm planning on using a 5'' x 3'' heat sink to get a good coverage over the tank. my original plan was 3 CW and 4 RB with both dimmable but now i'm thinking about decreasing the led number.