Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I've been getting alot of question about ATS (Algae Turf Scrubbers) and LEDs so I deiceded to do a quick build with LEDs. Here is my original plan for the ATS but its now changed to only 1 screen and 1 LED fixture (turns out this is more than enough for my feeding schedule) For Algae, the basic ratio to use is a 4:1 660nm to 455nm setup My build includes: 5x 60 degree 455nm Royal Blues 16x 60 degree 660nm Deep Reds 6" MakersLED Heatsink kit 500mA 12v Power supply for the fan 40w 700mA Inventroincs driver Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 Additional tools: Old credit card Scissors to cut the old credit card Phillips head screw driver Solder iron and solder Some good tunes So first question you are probably asking yourself is why do I only have one driver for 21 LEDs? Well I dont really care about sunrise/sunset for this and Im using very efficient Deep Reds that only use 2.3v. This means the 40w driver can do up to about 24 Deep Red LEDs without a sweat. I want to get as close as possible to the max of the drivers voltage because its easier on the driver and it will last longer. First we get all our screws lined up: Then we cut up the credit card into a nice little strip and use it to smear the thermal grease around the LED and also the heatsink. You dont want to touch the grease because the oils on your hands can break down the grease. Royal Blues lined up: All the LEDs: Everyone always curses at this point because if you dont think about how your wires are going to run, you will kick yourself at this point. I switched every rows polarity position so I can easily just jump between LEDs when wiring: All wired up: Just barely on: Full on: As you can see, all the LEDs are 53.1v at 500mA so almost the max of the driver The finished product: Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Its up and over the ATS now: Link to comment
topjimmy Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Its up and over the ATS now: Pretty cool, and you can use it at a Halloween party too! Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Pretty cool, and you can use it at a Halloween party too! I'm just waiting for the cops to show up and ask about the "grow op" Link to comment
1.0reef Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 That would be Hilarious 1 Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 4th day, 10hrs a day of light Link to comment
fwadiver Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 is this an upflow scrubber? Link to comment
MeepNand Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 10 hrs seems kind of short. But then a agian, that is a lot of LEDs. How big exactly is this scrubber? Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 10 hrs seems kind of short. But then a agian, that is a lot of LEDs. How big exactly is this scrubber? 8x11.5ish How many hours are they usually on? Link to comment
nano_tank Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Man, I was just reading on this topic today and was curious if we can use something like this and do a LED build. You da man! Following along. Maybe we can come up with something for a nano setup. Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 is this an upflow scrubber? Correct Man, I was just reading on this topic today and was curious if we can use something like this and do a LED build. You da man! Following along. Maybe we can come up with something for a nano setup. I'm just finishing up one for a customer that is built into a 14g biocube. So the second chamber is basically the ATS. ill post a build thread once its done. Link to comment
sjmusic2 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 You should also check out www.algaescrubbers.net where they have been using led-driven upflow and waterfall scrubbers for some time...Santa Monica is the 'guru' there, but there are many with ATS experience willing to help newcomers. Link to comment
sfdanksta650 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I want one 4I my bc 14! !! Link to comment
MeepNand Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 How many hours are they usually on? I read around 12-14 hours was best, as algae loves light. But the amount of leds you have on the scrubber is incredible! Can you dim it and see at what level you get the best results? Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 I read around 12-14 hours was best, as algae loves light. But the amount of leds you have on the scrubber is incredible! Can you dim it and see at what level you get the best results? just upped it to 12 Ya its dimmable but i have them running at around 400mA. I should start seeing some green in the next few days. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 How is the turf turfin'? Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted November 18, 2012 Author Share Posted November 18, 2012 How is the turf turfin'? Im actually just about to clean it. Ill take a couple pics Turns out the first 2-3 weeks I didnt have the air rising correctly (slit wasnt big enough) so had to start over. The ATS is inside an area where I have other macro and the other macro has EXPLODED. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Im actually just about to clean it. Ill take a couple pics Turns out the first 2-3 weeks I didnt have the air rising correctly (slit wasnt big enough) so had to start over. The ATS is inside an area where I have other macro and the other macro has EXPLODED. Nice. I just bought some deep red and royal blue chips to run on mine instead of the 6x XM-L at 2.8A or so. Should get about the same result with much less power. Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted November 18, 2012 Author Share Posted November 18, 2012 Here is what it looks like after a week: It should be noted that my skimmer is barely picking anything up now. Its been a week and its only got maybe 1/6 of its cup full. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Here is what it looks like after a week: It should be noted that my skimmer is barely picking anything up now. Its been a week and its only got maybe 1/6 of its cup full. as peter griffin says, freakin' sweet! how long til you take the skimmer all the way off? Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted November 18, 2012 Author Share Posted November 18, 2012 as peter griffin says, freakin' sweet! how long til you take the skimmer all the way off? I think I could start taking it off line most of the day right now and see what happens. I use to have to clean it twice a week! Link to comment
Veng Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Nice. If I ever get a tank large enough to add a sump, I'll have to put one of these in. Link to comment
Milad LEDGroupBuy.com Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 Nice. If I ever get a tank large enough to add a sump, I'll have to put one of these in. Ive installed one on a 14g biocube middle chamber.... is your tank larger?! Basically used 4 660nm Deep Red, 1 450nm Royal and a 12V 500mA power supply to run them all. Link to comment
uglybuckling Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Here's mine: Not an ATS, just a macro grow-light. Twelve DRs, three RBs. All some cheap offbrand LEDs, I think they're Bridgelux. Mostly. Has been on for three months (24/7), with VERY heavy feeding of the tank. Started with a fist-sized clump of chaeto, and I've given away eight gallons (yes, really) of clumped chaeto so far. The new one will have six deep red, six warm white, two royal blues, and two true violets. And I'm growing ochtodes next time. Screw this "giving away chaeto" crap. $$$$! Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I really need to just replace the XM-Ls over my fuge with some DR/RB/WW at some point. Although I love that the XM-Ls are almost as bright as my entire fixture on my main tank Link to comment
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