AnthonyPf Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Got no love in the Members Aquariums section so I am reposting here. Hope someone likes it.. I have a thread on my Pico Reef Jar and thought it was about time to start a thread on my DX12. This tank started with stock lighting and I bought a nanotuners PC upgrade with moon light fix. I still did not get the lighting I needed for the SPS frags. So I set up a DIY LED build using CREE X-PG and XR-E LEDs from RapidLED. Below are the pics. Feel free to let me know what you think: Currently running 4 NW, 4 CW, 6 RB, 2 Blue & 1 moon light in the center. Blue and white are on separate drivers and the moon light is independent from the rest. I removed the black from the back of the second chamber and added a JBJ refugium light. Cheato grows out of control and I have to trim once a month. Here are some nicer shots I have. There is much more in the tank but need to work on getting better shots. Superman Monti: Acan: Mili Acro and Mini Max Nem: Hermit, Duncan & Birds Nest: Trumpet: FTS: Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Hey a comment.... Thanks, Link to comment
sublime1996525 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Any plans for doing a write up on this? Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 I am a dork and did not take any pictures of the build along the way. I had a new baby born at the same time I was putting everything together and she took first place over progress pictures. Oops... Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 Just purchased my OCEAN WAVE+ FIVE STAGE RO/DI 75GPD from The Filter Guys. Every call I made to the company was answered by Jim. He was very nice and really helpful. Currently I am changing about 2 gallons of grocery store distilled water every week. I figure I will recover the cost of the unit in less than a year. I also have an old house. We have to run a humidifier all the time in the winter and the water will come in handy there too. I will take some pictures and report back on the unit when it arrives. Link to comment
wankreas Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 sweet tank! I just upgraded the stock lights in my NC12 to LEDs, though I am too girly to go the DIY route. How much did the lights set you back in all? Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 There is no such thing as too girly! The total cost for the project came in just under $200. Then I added the moon light and finished just over $200. It was such a fun project I am ready to build another! What LEDs did you end up buying? Do you have a thread for your tank? Link to comment
wankreas Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Ha! Electricity and I don't really get along. I purchased 2 of the Ecoxotic Panorama modules- one 8k/453nm mix and one all actinic, since I prefer my tanks to look bluer. I paid about 250$ with the shipping/duty for the pair of them, and I am overall pretty happy with the way they look. I haven't started a thread for the rebuild yet, but I will soon Link to comment
knoxvegas Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Looking good. I have a sorta similar LED layout in my NC12, but only running 6RB,4NW,2CW for now on 2 drivers. Got a 3rd little 3 LEDs driver to run a 3X combo in the middle for dawn/dusk. Instead of the RB I bought for the middle I'm thinking of picking up 1 or 2 Blue. You like RB/B mix? Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 I think the regular blue picks up on a few colors the RBs do not. I would like to add a red LED at some point too. Maybe on my next build. The biggest bang for my buck was that single moon light I have. I leave it on the whole time the regular lights are on and for a very long period before/after the sunrise/sunset. It puts out a great dim, calm light. Thanks for looking! Link to comment
knoxvegas Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Tell me about the moonlight. What are you using? Got any links perhaps? I need one as well. Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 I am using this Royal Blue Moon LED And am using this Moon Light Driver with it. The driver can handle up to 4 LEDs but I only need the one in the middle for my nanocube. It was all very easy to add after the build was already completed. I can also run the separate driver off its own timer. Link to comment
justreefinit Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 im new round here but been in the fish keeping hobby for years and in the DIY hobby even longer here is the light that i recently put together for a friends fluval edge wish i would have taken pictures of it with the LEDs turned off the light consists of 84 5mm LEDs the board was 2.5"x5.5" and is powered by a 12 volt direct connection to a transformer of the 84 LEDs 28 of them are 20,000 k bright whites and 56 are 460nm deep blue i did everything from etching the printed circiut board to solidering on the LEDs and i must admit it was one of the best projects ive done in years! heres what the light looked like on my 5.5 cory tank before i shipped it to him im getting my feet back in the salty water this week and will have a thread soon Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Not quite sure why you posted this here but nice lights and killer tattoo. Link to comment
euphoricgear Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 very cool build. I would like to do that to my nano cube 12gal one day. But I have the old one and dont think the splash guard is that big. How many wattage does this consume? Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 Thanks euphoricgear! 48 watts without the moon light. I think the moon light is 1w. You should have enough room if you remove all of the guts for your current hood. The heat sink is no larger than the power compact light fixtures. Let me know if you start a build of your own I would be happy to answer any questions. Everyone in my house thought I was crazy but once they saw the end result they stopped giving me a hard time. Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 New 660nm Red 3w LED on order with RapidLED. I should be able to install it some time next week. Will update with pictures once the light is installed. Super excited! Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Ladies and Gentleman I give you.......RED: I have linked the Red LED to the blue lights. It runs at 750mA and so do the blues. It makes the tank look like a true sunrise and sunset. With all of the pinks and reds and blues and orange of a real sunrise or sunset. During the full day light it makes the reds of the superman monti and orange in the acan pop like I have never experienced before. I think I am in love with my tank all over again! 2 Link to comment
gena Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Love the red. Looks great!!!!! Is the orange on the rocks and back wall sponge? It looks so cool. Nice tank for sure...I'll be following along Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Is the orange on the rocks and back wall sponge? All of the orange is coralline algae!! Including on the back wall. After installing the LEDs I lost most of my purple caralline. What grew in its place is pink, yellow and orange coralline. There is some purple creeping back but it is slow. The neat part is the orange looks red under the new lights at sunset and sunrise. Link to comment
BGJ223 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 You have tempted me to throw a couple Reds on my LED fixture also. Link to comment
petkingdom619 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 that is awesome. If you ever get a chance post up your purchase list from rapidled. I would love to build an led with the sunrise/sunset feature like you have. Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 All of my cycles are done with separate drivers and timers. I currently run: 4 CREE XP-G Cool White 3w LEDs & 4 CREE XP-G Neutral White 3w LEDs Off of one Mean Well ELN-60-48P Driver The whites run on a timer that is set from 9:30AM - 9:30PM On a separate Mean Well ELN-60-48P Driver I have 6 CREE XP-E Royal Blue 3w LEDs & 2 CREE XP-E 3w Blue LEDs & 1Osram 660nm 3w Red LED The timer on these are set to run from 9:00AM - 10:00PM My last driver is a Moonlight Driver running just one Royal Blue Moonlight LED The photo period on the moon light is from 7:00AM - 11:00PM (I think, I am never around to see it go off). I run the white LEDs at 1000mA & the blue/red at 750mA The moon light driver is driven at 350mA Everything is mounted to a 5.9" x 9" heat sink. Hope this list helps you get going on your own project!! Link to comment
lilj104 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 i'm still trying to figure out how u pulled this all off, i'm actually interested in upgrading my lights, what would I need to start? Link to comment
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