BJBass BC14 LED Build Thread

[bjbass]

Well I decided I would start my build thread. I am still waiting for my kit to come in, but here is what I have so far.

 

Parts List/Prices Added

1 14 LED Dimmable LED Kit (Custom kit without heatsink) - 7 Cool White LEDs, 7 Royal Blue LEDs - $85 shipped - http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Aquarium-14-

LEDs--DIY-Dimmable-Kit.html

This kit inludes two constant current dimmable LED drivers (100V-240V), LED optics (didn't use), 2 potentiometers, 2 power cords, 2 tubes heatsink plaster (not

used), 2 power cord

 

1 Nanocustoms Small Heatsink for AIOs (BC8/BC14/NC6) - $51.15 shipped (was $40 when I ordered, but now lists for $50 + shipping) - http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=631

 

2 SilenX IXP-34-12 60mm Case Fan - $11.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835191004

 

2 EVERCOOL FAN-EC5020M12CA 50mm Case Fan $5.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835119054

 

1 Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive - $6.99 - http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-11/Arc...Adhesive/Detail

 

1 12V AC Adapter to Power Fans - $10.00 - http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-49/12V-AC-Adapter/Detail

 

1 DC Jack Adapter - $3.50 - http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-69/DC-...-Adapter/Detail

 

3 Fan Y adapter - $3.50 - http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-68/Fan-Y-adapter/Detail

 

2 Size M Panel-mount Coaxial DC Power Jack - $3.19 -http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102486&filterName=Category

 

1 Size M Coaxial DC Power Plug (2-Pack) - $3.19 - http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...erName=Category

 

1 Project Enclosure (4x2x1") - $3.19 - http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...oductId=2062280

 

2 4ft Heat Shrink wire wrap strips - $1.50 - Local Electronics Store

 

1 Foot of Clear Vinyl Tubing - $1 - Lowe's

 

1 Old Zip Disk case - Free - My closet

 

2 Moonlight LEDs - Included - BioCube 14

 

Total Cost: $219.86

 

Before getting started

 

Removed back reflector

 

A couple of shots of the original wiring

 

I can't remember or tell from this picture. Is the spot on the breadboard on the bottom left there not used?

 

 

 

Bulbs removed

 

 

Gutted as far as I need to go for this build

 

 

Nanotuners heatsink installed. Notice I replaced the stock fans with Evercool 50mm fans for better flow.

 

Plastic cover placed on to see fit.

 

This heatsink can be installed two ways. I installed mine the way the instructions on nanotuners.com have it with the wider part (from screw holes to edge) is in the back. You can see in that picture though that the plastic splashguard is super close to the heatsink and I think it may actually be touching. Will this potentially melt? Should I switch the heatsink around 180 degrees?

 

You can actually see this even better in the first heatsink picture without the splashguard that it is almost resting on the black plastic.

[bjbass]

So I bought two 50mm Evercool fans and replaced the stock fans with them, but I bought two extra 60mm Silenx fans to put under the splash guard for some additional flow. The problem is that the splash guard doesn't sit completely down where it is supposed to?

 

Has anybody else tried this?

 

Did you just sand down the top and bottom to get them to fit?

 

BJ

[Adam_T]

Pics? I'm confused as to where you put these other 2 fans.

 

 

Also...the LED's will not melt the splash guard. The PC lighting produced wayyyyy more heat than your LED's can possibly produce. As long as your stock fans have been upgraded, you shouldn't even need another set of 60mm fans.

[bjbass]

Pics? I'm confused as to where you put these other 2 fans.

 

 

Also...the LED's will not melt the splash guard. The PC lighting produced wayyyyy more heat than your LED's can possibly produce. As long as your stock fans have been upgraded, you shouldn't even need another set of 60mm fans.

 

I put them in standing up instead of laying down like the stock fans similar too Legend's build. I put one to the right of the heatsink and it almost fits.

[Adam_T]

Are these towards the back part of the hood blowing in?

[bjbass]

Are these towards the back part of the hood blowing in?

 

No these will sit in the splash guard to blow across the heatsink and push the air into the one stock exhaust area. See this link to Legend's build. Legend's build.

 

My second fan is going to be to the right of the heatsink though.

[Adam_T]

Holy overkill batman. With that large of a heatsink and only that many LED's probably running at half power (anymore would end up bleaching corals very soon), you barely need the 2 upgraded fans in the normal fan slots.

[bjbass]

Holy overkill batman. With that large of a heatsink and only that many LED's probably running at half power (anymore would end up bleaching corals very soon), you barely need the 2 upgraded fans in the normal fan slots.

 

Yeah it probably will be overkill. I guess ot can't hurt though. However he is using a heatsink that is thick with blades on the bottom. I am going to have more airflow underneath since it is slim.

[rovster]

Thanks for posting this. I really need to upgrade my fans. Are the fans you bought a direct bolt in? Do both fans run off the same power source, or did you need to add one? How do you have the fans running, both out, or one in one out? Nano Tuners has a fan mod, is this it or did you go on your own for this. My tank runs pretty hot at times (sometimes 82-83) and I would like to bring that down considerably. Thanks again for sharing!

[bjbass]

Thanks for posting this. I really need to upgrade my fans. Are the fans you bought a direct bolt in? Do both fans run off the same power source, or did you need to add one? How do you have the fans running, both out, or one in one out? Nano Tuners has a fan mod, is this it or did you go on your own for this. My tank runs pretty hot at times (sometimes 82-83) and I would like to bring that down considerably. Thanks again for sharing!

 

You are quite welcome! I actually bought the fans on my own and they screw in exactly where the old ones did, so yes they bolt directly in. I did recess the screws a bit by drilling out the fan holes a little. You just need one or two turns with a drill to get them recessed and meet contact with the original stock posts on the hood. You can't use the screws that came with the original stock fans, but the screws that come with the new fans work perfectly. I bought them from New Egg. I can post a link later. I did have to run a separate power supply. I tried to buy an AC power adapter plug to fan connector, but I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere! I ended up ordering one from Rapid Led. I will post more information tonight.

 

Here is the link to Rapid Led's AC adapter and jack adapter.

 

I also ordered 3 of these fan splitters to cover all 4 fans I am running.

 

So you just run the power from the AC adapter, use that jack adapter that I provided the link for and you can power the fans. If you are just doing a replacement of stock you will need to buy the jack adapter and one splitter. I would highly recommend Rapid LED. I purchased them on Thursday night and I got them today (Monday)!

[bjbass]

You are quite welcome! I actually bought the fans on my own and they screw in exactly where the old ons did. I did recess the screws a bit by drilling out the fan holes a bit. I bought them from New Egg. I can post a link later. I did have to run a separate power supply. I tried to buy an AC power adapter plug to fan connector , but I couldn't find. I ended up ordering one from Rapid Led. I will post more information tonight.

 

Here is a link to the 50mm fans I bought. Evercool 50mm

 

You face one out and one in. The label on the fan indicates that it is the direction that the fan is blowing. Here is a picture of my extra Silenx 60mm fans installed.

 

One shooting across the bottom of the heatsink towards the exhaust fan. One pulling air from the intake and directing it towards the exhaust. I used silicone to attach them to the hood to maintain the stock look without modification.

 

 

With splash guard installed.

 

Here is a link to the Silenx 60mm fans I purchased.

[bjbass]

Here is a picture of the AC adapter hooked up with the jack adapter and the splitters.

 

Some pictures of the fans running

 

 

With all four of those fans running it is super quiet! You can barely hear them. With the splash guard on it can only get quieter. As long as it doesn't vibrate it.

[bjbass]

I finished my LED DIY Build!

 

Here is the final product.

 

 

 

Whites only

 

Blues only

 

Combined

 

Hood lifted

 

In stand dimmers

 

A shot before I put the hood back on

[bjbass]

Ok here is what went into it.

 

Here are the two power cords for the blue and white

 

Here is my DIY mount for my stock moon lights. I am going to re-do it though. I made it out of an old zip disc case. I did this so that it is adjustable and I can get the right angle or change it if I want to.

 

The fan DC jack

 

I used a piece of tubing and cut it in half so that the fan adapter would fit in the hood grommets and fill it completely so that splashing and condensation wouldn't get into the splash guard. I think covered it with heat shrink.

 

An early picture of my project box before wiring.

 

Power cords wired to the LED driver.

 

Wiring of the project box. I added length to the positive and negative power wires as they were short.

 

Project box put together with the potentiometers mounted

 

Knobs added on for a clean look

 

My power cords with jack adapters installed

 

Heat sink wired with quick connections to connect to stock rocker switches

 

Finished heatsink installed

 

My LEDs were blinking because I didn't get a good connection with the pots so I wired them with connectors for a better connection. I also soldered on extensions for the 4 pot connections from the driver. The wire for those from the driver is very thin and junky. I would say that is my only complaint with them.

 

Here is a picture of the vinyl tubing I used to keep the wiring protected and to seal the grommets so that condensation and splashing will not enter the splash guard.

[Genin]

Very well done BJ. The end product is looking professional.

[dan06277]

BJ, I like the build with all of the connectors. What did you use for the jack adaptors coming out of the project box and where can I get some of those?

[bjbass]

BJ, I like the build with all of the connectors. What did you use for the jack adaptors coming out of the project box and where can I get some of those?

 

Thanks for your feedback! I worked really hard on it and I wanted it to be awesome looking and convenient.

 

The jack adapters are type M and I bought them at RadioShack. They work well, but they are a pain to solder. The panel mount adapter is part and is Catalog #274-1563. As you can see on the website they are very small connection areas. I was dealing with a crappy soldering iron when I wired them and I am surprised they are good. Although I did insulate them well with heat shrink.

 

The DC power plugs were also from RadioShack and they are Catalog #274-1569 These come in two packs and are also difficult to wire. I actually broke two to get the two that I ended up with.

 

They are a pain, but I think it is definitely worth it to get a clean look and to have everything easily replaceable and separate. It makes the wiring in your stand nice and easy as well.

 

BJ

[bjbass]

Here is a picture of the blue and white jacked all the way up. You can see just how bright and awesome these LEDs are. I would highly recommend them!!

 

My whole basement lights up.

 

[th64]

wow thats bright and a very clean build

[bjbass]

wow thats bright and a very clean build

 

Thank you for the positive feedback!

[Trogdor447]

glad you can get a better shot of your tank then I can - I have 1 long row - Yours really does the brightness on these more justice then all of my shots..

 

But this is mostly because I cannot elevate these bulbs yet - I'm moving soon - sadly not soon enough I just want it mounted and to be done w/

[bjbass]

glad you can get a better shot of your tank then I can - I have 1 long row - Yours really does the brightness on these more justice then all of my shots..

 

But this is mostly because I cannot elevate these bulbs yet - I'm moving soon - sadly not soon enough I just want it mounted and to be done w/

 

Yeah, mine is like an elevated shot because I have it over an empty tank. It will be nice for those in question to see how great these are. Not bad for a kit that cost me $85 shipped to my house.

 

I will say though that I did spend some extra dough to make everything the way I wanted. I opted to buy some of the connectors and power supplies for the fans from rapidled.com and I also bought the arctic silver thermal adhesive from them. I figured since I am going to be running this thing for a long time that I should have good thermal paste. It is not to say the stuff that Aquastyles ships with their product is sub par, I just decided to use what I am familiar with.

 

I also spent a lot a RadioShack getting all the parts that I wanted for a clean build/install.

 

The Silenx fans I think were 11 each and the Evercool fans were 6 each.

 

Also, there was some money rapped up in the Nanotuners heat sink.

[dan06277]

Thanks for your feedback! I worked really hard on it and I wanted it to be awesome looking and convenient.

 

The jack adapters are type M and I bought them at RadioShack. They work well, but they are a pain to solder. The panel mount adapter is part and is Catalog #274-1563. As you can see on the website they are very small connection areas. I was dealing with a crappy soldering iron when I wired them and I am surprised they are good. Although I did insulate them well with heat shrink.

 

The DC power plugs were also from RadioShack and they are Catalog #274-1569 These come in two packs and are also difficult to wire. I actually broke two to get the two that I ended up with.

 

They are a pain, but I think it is definitely worth it to get a clean look and to have everything easily replaceable and separate. It makes the wiring in your stand nice and easy as well.

 

BJ

 

Thanks again BJ.

[bjbass]

Thanks again BJ.

 

Anytime Dan. If you have any additional questions I would be more than happy to answer them.

[on_ice]

Is the artic silver compound safe for mounting? I was under the assumption that screws were needed if you went with artic silver. Also, are you using a 50/50 color ratio? Are you happy with your color or would you have preferred more blue or white? Are the drivers in a project box too?