Nanowave 9 LED build!

[Shard]

So,

I decided to finally get around to doing the LED mod I wanted to on my Nanowave 9. So here is a quick build post. Many thanks to evilc66 for answering some questions!

 

Parts list:

6 Cree XR-E Q5 whites

6 Cree XR-E RB blues

2 Buckpuck 1000ma drivers w/pots

12 x 5.375 heatsink from HeatsinkUSA (milled to 1/2 thickness, drilled/tapped)

24g braided wire

2 SilenX 80x15mm 24CFM fans

2 black 80mm fan grills

1 N-type power plug

1 24VDC 4A Power supply

4 L brackets from Home Depot, ground down and shaped to fit.

4-40 screws w/ nylon washers (24 of these!)

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste

 

Heatsink, post milling, drillling, tapping, etc.

 

Image from the topside.

 

Getting ready to mount the white LEDs.

 

White and Blues mounted.

 

Full Tank Shot, with the hood on, once assembled.

 

Close up, of the top, so you can see where the fans were mounted and the Pots for each string.

 

Lights on, so you can see my configuration.

 

Lights off, so you can see everything in the hood.

 

Blues only, whites off.

 

Full Tank Shot, with blues and whites at 100%.

 

I have not incorporated a thermostat yet, although I think I am about to order one, just for extra protection in the event one or both of the fans go out. I also have knobs on order to cover the Pots, so it looks more "original" in the hood. Hate I had to cut the name to get the fans in properly.

 

If anyone has any questions let me know!

[Shard]

My knobs for the potentiometers came in today! I will get a pick up as soon as I can. Everything is mostly complete. All I have left to do in incorporate a thermostat, and maybe paint the screws for the fans black.

[vaporlockv2]

Looks really good so far! Keep up the awesome work!!

[Ucan]

Yes, it looks great. One of the cleanest LED mods I have seen. Keep us posted.

[Shard]

Thanks a lot guys. Don't worry, I will try to keep the thread updated as I add stuff to the tank and improve the configuration.

[cmoreland]

I have a NW9 and would really be interested in this, how much was your total cost? Looks great btw!!

[superdavesds]

I am interested as well. What was the total cost?

[Shard]

Sorry for the late reply. I have been out of the country for a while. The total cost was quite high. I had over $150 in the heatsink because I had to have it worked on again with a CNC to decrease the thickness due to some hood space issues. Total cost was probably around $450, but could be done for about $250-300 given the knowledge I know now.

[thewire]

hi there

 

very clean i like the fan mods! I used my OEM fans instead..keep us updated and check out mine

[Shard]

So, tonight I decided to put a 2 x 3W LED light into the back chamber of the tank to replace the CF bulb over the refugium area.

I think the fuge bulb might be part of the heat problem with these tanks, because the light seems to get a bit hot.

 

I had a few LEDs left from this project (I decreased the number in use on the tank from 18 to 12), so I decided on putting two of them in the light space. All of the materials used in this project are leftover from other projects or were laying around the house. This project was devised and completed in just a few hours, kind of on a whim.

 

Parts:

(2) Cree XR-E Q5 white

(1) Advance 8W 700ma 12V AC LED driver

(1) Heatsink

(1) zip tie

Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive

Heat shrink tubing

24awg wire

 

Build:

(1) I found an old heatsink that was from an old I-Opener net appliance (old Linux project), and cut out a piece of it to fit in the light space with a hacksaw.

(2) I glued the LED driver to one end using trusty superglue gel

(3) I used the thermal paste to mount two LEDs to the other end of the heatsink

(4) I removed the back chamber from the tank, and then removed the lightsocket, bulb, and reflector from the light chamber.

(5) I soldered the wiring together for the two LEDs, then plugged it up with a temporary power cord to make sure everything worked.

(6) I left the power switch from the old CF setup in, and attached my power wires for the driver to it. I used a zip tie to hold all the wiring in place around the heatsink.

(7) I put the back cover back on the tank, then put the light shield back on.

 

Notes:

I am going to monitor the light and see what kind of heat profile it has. I might end up having to put a small 12v fan on top of the heatsink to keep it cool, or reduce the heat transfer to the tank. I could remove the driver from inside the cover, but really don't want to, as I enjoy keeping a neat clean look to the tank.

 

I think I will be happy with the mod. The amount of light given off is a lot more than the CF, it is really bright. This could come in useful if I had to temporarily put a frag or two back there for any circumstance.

 

Pictures of the build:

The new light.

 

Side profile.

 

On the tank.

 

Keeping the stock lines of the tank. Also note I finally got some knobs for the display LED pots.

 

Landon

[evilc66]

Holy crap. An I-Opener? I haven't seen one of those in better part of a decade.

[Shard]

Holy crap. An I-Opener? I haven't seen one of those in better part of a decade.

 

Yeah, it was sitting in pieces in a closet I store computer parts in. I noticed it had a nice low profile heatsink, which is now repurposed.

 

I do have a question for you evilc66...... I need to put a thermostat in the DC line between the powersupply and the drivers, because I need it to trip when the heatsink gets above maybe 100-110 degrees F. Do you have any ideas for where I can get a thermal switch like this?

 

I have two SilenX 80x15mm fans in the hood, but sometimes one will not run at full speed, or both. They make this grinding noise and stop or run really slow. I am going to replace the fans with some from nanotuners, but I want a backup failsafe like a thermal switch, because the first time this happened I noticed the heatsink got up to around 130F.

 

When the fans are running the temperature stays cool to the touch, when not, you could probably cook eggs on it. The reason I want it to trip so low, is this tank is difficult to keep around 78F, and with such a small volume, when the heatsink in the hood spikes up, so does the water.

 

Landon

[evilc66]

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=383

 

We use these in our MH retros. Cutoff is about 110-115F IIRC. They are rated for AC loads, but should work ok with DC, as all it really is is a bi-metal strip that breaks contact after a certain temperature.

[Shard]

Do you think it would be ok to use something like Arctica Alumina thermal adhesive on one side to affix that to the heatsink? Or is that more for just ambient air temp readings?

 

Also, do you have an opinion on why it seems that both SilenX fans are dying? Do you think it is due to resistance pushing air into the hood, since they sit on top of the heatsink? Like some kind of back pressure on the airflow? The luck of just getting two crap fans?

 

When I talked to one of the guys at Nanotuners, he said they had problems with some of the SilenX fans dying also. I think specifically the ones of my size (80x15mm, 24CFM). Should I try a lower CFM fan? A different brand?

[evilc66]

Arctic Alumina epoxy will work just fine for the cutoff. If you do use it, just make sure to apply pressure to it while the epoxy cures. The thinner the bond line (distance between part and heatsink, usually filled with thermal material), the less temperature differential between the two parts, and the more accurate the cutoff temperature will be. I'd also mount it close to an LED.

 

As for the fans, SilenX quality has gone downhill over the last few years, and we see random failures for no good reason. Finding good thin profile, low noise fans is a little tough though. Take a walk through Newegg's website to see if you can find a fan that fits the bill for you.

[Shard]

Evil,

If I could bother you again, this would be a question for you. I must admit I haven't had much experience with small circuit design in probably over 10 years, so I have forgotten a lot.

 

The dimming control lines on buckpuck drivers is 0-5v, with one lead being the control, and the other being a 5v reference.

 

I have a RKM-ALC module, which has two 0-10v dimming ports, which I planned to use control the blues and whites. The current coming out of the RKM-ALC is about 34ma.

 

While I realize I can probably just control the drivers by only using the controller to set the intensity from the 0-50% range, thus providing 0-5v, but is there anyway I can halve the signal? Some kind of Op Amp circuit or resistor or something to cut the signal from the ALC in half. Wouldn't this be a safer method for control?

 

Landon