7x20

That could work, but might be an odd layout on two heatsinks. Because the area you are lighting is a lot bigger than the area you have to put LEDs (because of the euro brace), you will want to push the outer rows out as far out to the edges as possible. 4 rows per heatsink would be beneficial here, but it adds another 20 LEDs to your plan. What you could do is put 4 rows on the front heatsink (~2.5" between rows), and 3 on the back (3" between rows), and play with various optics to get the coverage and power needed. Basically you would go from tight at the front to wide in the back. Much of this will depend on how you set up your rockwork. This approach would work better with a rockwall that runs the length of the tank. It would still be enough light for sps at the back, and the lenses will create enough light for clams on the sand.

If you go with identical setups front and back on the heatsinks, I would do a blanket 60 degree lens setup, and go to 40 degrees where you need extra light.

To connect directly to an RLK with ALC module, you will need to find "D" model drivers. After talking with Powergate yesterday, it seems that Meanwell is still only making these drivers as special orders (same with the "P" models). What this means is that they will ship from Asia on an as needed basis, and carry an 8-12 week lead time.

I seem to have posted in the wrong thread...

I was looking at the DIY LED thread and asked if anyone has any idea for a Fluval Edge mod...I should have posted that in here...

I just got the tank about a month ago...maybe less. I'm still about 8 months into the hobby...so this LED thing is pretty new to me, but I'm in love. Evil...you've done a great job getting this train going. I've read about 10 different DIY LED threads this morning and they are all unique but truly awsome!

I started to read the first few pages in this thread and was confused as hell...any insight to a simple mod for my small tank? Link is in sig...

That tank is going to be very tough to light effectively. You have one of two options (provided that you want to keep the tank looking stock). First, you could replace the MR16 bulbs in the stock kit with some LED replacements that I could set up for you. It will be the simplest swap, but the area that the lamps will cover will be pretty small unless I can find some really wide angle lamps (might be able to just take off the lenses and top cover to get the desired results. This also won't be a super high light setup.

Next option is gutting the "hood" and fitting a heatsink and some LEDs in there. It's a lot more work, but you will have more light, and a lot better spread as you can move the LEDs out to the edges of the Hood to get some light in the corners.

I think retrofitting the entire hood will be a tad bit too much work. I like the idea you had about just swapping out the bulbs...I saw a few online that look like they might fit...what do you think:


LED's



Thanks for the quick reply!

They should fit, but they will all be the wrong color (very yellow 5000-6500K). To my knowledge, I'm the only one who has set up these type of drop in LED lamps for reef use.

Yea...I saw the K rating for those...I was just curious about fitment..

Anyway, I'll send you a PM later today...

Thanks,

Hello,

I got my 12 LED running up (6 cool white/6 royal blues), however the corals at the moment cannot take this powerful lighting, but the good thing is i have the LEDS connect to a universal laptop adapter, that has many voltage ranges (15-24). So if i lower the voltage will it harm the leds and buckpucks anyway? I am assuming no?

Thanks for reading.

Bad idea. You don't adjust voltage to change brightness. You adjust current. Lowering the source voltage to lower than the total voltage drop of the LEDs is a sure fire way to kill the Buckpuck. Did you not get the version of the Buckpuck that was dimmable?

I didn't buy them, because it seem too much of a hassle to install them.

Thanks for the answer. I guess the safest solution is to raise the fixture, then slowly bring them down.

i finally got all my parts and started to drill and tap the heat sink!

my question is i found a dc power supply that uses the DC coaxial M connector. there is an inner contact and an outer contact. which of these correspond to the Buckpuck's + and -? I heard the buck pucks do not have reverse polarity protection so i want to make sure i get it right so i dont blow any of them! thanks!

Thats exactly what I am doing I have already built the Foam Rock wall and it actually covers the back and side walls. I was thinking I might be able to not use optics on the outside LED's so I can get the light to cover the rockwalls since I wont need a ton of light on the corals that will be higher in the water column. Lenses on all the rest in the middle of the tank where it will be 20"+ to the sand bed.

If I do your recommendation of 4 rows in front and 3 in back than do you recommend 60 degree optics on the back and 40 in the front with the spacing to recommended?


I just placed an order today for 12 Meanwell ELN 60-48D's and they quoted me 2 weeks to stock and ship them. I also got them for $29 a peice and I thought that was a pretty good price from others I have heard. Will see if they were honest with me on the ship date.

Evil,

Thanks for the great info you have provided. I have a few question I would like to ask you.

I got a site from a fellow member on RC that sell led kits

http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-9/24-L...Retrofit/Detail

I have a standard 10g tank which is 20" in length will 20 LEDs be enough? and how much spacing will I need inbetween the LEDs?

The meanwell drivers I really like, because it can power more LEDs then the buckpucks, if I do use the meanwell drivers does it still require a powersupply? or does it go straight to the wall outlet? The buckpucks I also really like because they are dimmable but I would need 4 instead of 2 meanwells, plus 2 powersupply. Which driver would you recommend? I'm really into a clean looking fixture rather then a messy one with wires everywhere.

Thanks

meanwells plug into the wall. they have "pots" inside that you turn to adjust the amount of current going out to the LEDs depending on how much your particular string requires, so in essence, they are the wall wart + the buckpuck in 1 item. the ones that come w/ the DIY kit are NOT however dimmable. the pot inside is just to adjust the amount of current to match what your setup needs (for instance...10 leds w/ 3.5v forward voltage each, you would adjust it till it had approx 36v on the output). this is a "set it & forget it" deal. the meanwells that ARE dimmable are a special-order item & take about 8 weeks to be made & shipped.

meanwells will generally power 12-13 LEDs, whereas the buckpucks will do 6...maybe 7 & then you need power input

as far as spacing goes....let's see if he recommends the same spacing i did over on RC

LOL

99% of the time, the center is positive and the outer is negative, but don't take my word for it. Get a multimeter on it and check it just to make sure.


I'd use 60 degree optics for most areas except the back row, and where you think you will need more light for things like clams on the snadbed. The 2" spacing should be flexible enough even for 40 degree lenses. For the cost of them, I'd get a full set of 60's, and a handfull of 40's and just experiment with it. The Cree lenses are really easy to swap in and out.

Do me a favor, shoot me a PM with the name of the company you are ordering from.


On a tank that size, 20 LEDs will be plenty. 2" spacing between LEDs, and 3" spacing between rows will be fine.

You won't need anything more than a power cord for those Meanwell drivers, but the lack of dimming is a mark against it in my book. Unless you have the ability to be able to change the height of the fixture, dimming is a really important feature. If the ELN-60-48D drivers weren't such a pain to come by, I'd recommend getting those. The Buckpucks work, but you aren't required to use two power supplies. A single 6.5A unit from MPJA can easily power 4 drivers at 1000mA, but you don't get the dawn/dusk effect.

i was close.....i said:

i think for a 10g tank, you would need (7) LEDs per row x (3) rows to get great coverage. mounted on a heatsinkusa.com "medium" heatsink x 16" long. spacing for the LEDs would be 2.5" apart & 2.5" from each side. rows would be the same spacing. tank is shallow enough, optics won't be necessary

which happens to be what i'm planning for mine, except it will be (5) per row cause one end will have a 4" AIO filtration section

How should I use the multimeter to check this? won't it say 24v no matter which way I place the tips or will it be a -24v one way and 24v the other way. I only have access to an analog multimeter atm too....

also for soldering the leds, there are 2 + pads and 2 - pads. do they make it that way so is easier to chain the leds in parallel? does it matter which + and which - i use? i solder one to +, one to - which leads to the next led + pad right?

Put the red lead in the center and the black on the outside. If it comes out +24v, the center is positive. If it comes out -24v, the outside is positive.

All positive pads are connected, and all negative pads are connected. Doesn't matter which you solder to.

does this require a digital multimeter tho? is there anyway i can tell with an analog?

it really doesnt take long to make this! i hoep to have this running by tonite or tomorrow.

thanks again evil!!

if i'm not mistaken, if you have it reversed the needle on the meter will try to go the wrong direction on the scale

I have a slightly different question. I have a planted freshwater tank I would like to convert to LEDs. It seems that CW and RB LEDS may not be optimal for a FW planted tank. What do you think of these to replacehalf of the RBs?

http://mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.asp...RSJvAIoqtcCA%3d

I used CW 228lm XR-E's from dealextreme on my freshwater tank with awesome results. Tank's been running for about 4 months now and I've never managed to keep plants looking this good. I made a post here you should be able to find if you want to see pics.

Bro,
Post your success planted tank picture here.
Best have before and after insyalling LED

Wouldn't bother. It will make the tank look very red and won't really give you much benefit. The cool whites are more than enough for most planted setups. Just adjust your current for low, medium and high light. Because you don't have to worry about color blending with this, setup and spacing is a little easier. 1 LED per 24"^2 seems to be good for lower light, while 1 LED per 12"^2 seems to work well for higher light setups.

One LED per 12 square inches? WOW. That's really a low density. Lenses?

Typically no, but depends on the application. The lighting requirements for planted tanks are far less demanding than for reefs. The guidlines I posted earlier are very rough, and is what has been figured out to work so far in the planted world. They may not necessarily be perfect. Lower drive currents are also typical.

Here's my planted:
about 6g with 10 CW at 1000mA.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=192064

starting:


A week later:


23 days from start:


I'd say LEDs are just perfect for plants
(Note that I did not add any new plants in between these pics, this is all just growth from 8hr a day LED lighting)

keli - What density are the LEDs at in #/ Sq foot? or inch?

The tanks surface area is 20x40 cm, about 8x16", with 10 LEDs. So 128 sq in, or about 13 sq in per led. No optics.

Hello,
Thought this might be interesting to all the LED DIY'ers out there. Don't know if this has already been covered. But sounds like a more convenient (and cheaper perhaps) option over tapping, screwing and pastes

http://www.luxeonstar.com/thermal-management-c-122.php

It's been covered before, but thanks

I would like to copy jerome's build on my 29g biocube but need to know a few things. I know that I need certain things such as buckpucks, power supply,led's, etc. but my question is how many of each and why do some people use so many drivers and power supplies. I just want to keep it cheap. Is there a way to have fuge lights and display lights running on one power supply? I just have so many questions and I don't want to bother anyone. I have only been doing the saltwater thing for about 6 months and I think I am getting addicted. Anyway, I think if someone could just tell me what they would buy I can just follow your lead. Thanks in advance.

First off, there is no such thing as a cheap LED setup You pay for it up front, but save long term.

The reason that so many Buckpucks are used is because of the limitation of the Buckpuck itself. You can run a max of 6 LEDs per, so with an array of 24, you need 4. No way around that. You will also need an additional Buckpuck if you want an LED fuge light, which I will explain why in a second.

Two power supplies are typically used for the main lights for dawn/dusk effects (switching the blues and whites on and off at different times to simulate sunrise and sunset). If you don't care about that, you can put all the drivers for the main lights on a single supply. These power supplies will then be connected to a timer, or timers. for the fuge light, because it is on an opposite lighting scedule from the main lights, will need a seperate timer, power supply, and the Buckpuck that I mentioned before. Unless you are using/building a controller to automatically control all of this, there is no way to get around this.

If you want a list of what to buy, it's on cjeromes thread. The only change you could make to save a few bucks is drop the second power supply for the main lights, and see if you can find a better deal on the heatsink. This may save you only $30-$40 though.

Will Jerome's build allow me to have any type of coral, clam, anemone, etc. that I want? Also, what are the details of dimmable drivers. I have heard you can change the spectrum and/or the intensity of the light by turning a knob. How important is this?

IMO, very important. It allows you to easily acclimate your corals to the new light, which is considerably more intense than whatever you would be upgrading from. It also allows you to reduce the intensity if you have more sensitive corals. This is especially important considering you can't raise and lower the hood to reduce intensity.

A setup like cjeromes (or anyone else that has done this) will allow you to keep whatever you like. Depending on how you set up the lenses in the array, you can have PAR levels equal to or better than a 150W MH. Because of the power they possess, LEDs have to be taken carefully. It's very easy to damage or kill a coral if not used properly. The same can be said for any light really.

well its been a while since i last worked on my led light but ive decided to try one last attempt on getting it to work right. i quit working on it because i burnt out almost all my leds. i was hoping you guys might be able to tell me what went wrong.

i have attached some pics of the disaster.
Click to view attachment


I tried to do what you guys suggested and ran them in a series instead of parallel and the leds just got really hot and burned out. some of the led lenses fell off as well. i never could get the pots to work right ether.

my cousin in law for some reason thinks the heatsink is too thick. that didnt make any sense to me. i hope you guys can help me. i cant seem to figure out whats going wrong .

all help is appreciated.

here are some more pics

Holy blurry photos!

Sorry I can't really tell much from these.

Although I honestly don't think that the heatsink is too thick. I see some paste smears all over... What did you use for thermal compound?

Did you check for shorts?

Your picture too blurr.Cannot see anything.
Maybe a brief description how you connect the leds together might help

Yeah, you're going to have to better on the pictures to make them useful. Like AJ mentioned, there is no such thing as too thick of a heatsink. The thicker the base, the more heat it can pull away and not be heatsoaked.

Hi Evil,

Thank you very much for helping us all along, just spent the last 7 hours going trough different LEDthreads

I'm starting a new aqurium soon and am allready gathering supplies. I had actually decided to get an ATI 6x24w t5 lamp. But then I stumpeled upon these DIY LED building threads I am actually thinking of doing this instead.

My new tank will be lxdxh 70x35x35 cm aprox 27.5x14x14 inches.

1. I was thinking is 24 Led enough?
2. If I have to go with 30, will 18 white and 12 blue give a kelvinreading about 14k at least?

Thanks for your time
Bo

P.S
When I get the number of LEDS down I proberly will ask you to approve my shoppinglist if you don't mind

36 was more inline to what I had in mind (3 rows of 12). Use a 50/50 mix for a 14K temp.

Evil, seeing that diagram a couple of pages ago, running 6 Cree's at 1AMP i spose.. how are you spose to wire it if i wasnt to say 8 at lower current.. i dont want to run my cree's at 1000ma, i was hoping for between 500-750ma.. it is for a 1 foot cube, (8Cree's) i only say 8 because for some reason i wanted to do 2 fixtures of 8 and ordered 16 leds blindly.. and i dont really want to buy 2 buckpucks for each one.. because i see it as a bit of a waste.. so any driver that could run 8 would be awesome..

the local electronic guy tried selling me a regulated dc power supply (12v, 2500ma) which i think is 30w??

so how can i wire that in the best way to run 8 led's.. also if its easier a 12v 0.85w computer fan aswell.. or if not i will just get a serparate power supply for that.. thanks mate
Ainsley

3 buckpucks can run 16 LEDs, and you can turn the pots down (assuming you have dimmable ones) to reduce the current. Your powersupply is the limiting factor here tho, because you can only run 3 LEDs per buckpuck on that one, because it is only 12v and you need 24v per buckpuck. You can't run more than 6 LEDs per buckpuck, even if you reduce the current.

If you were to use the meanwell drivers you wouldn't need the powersupply, but you'd still need 2 drivers, because each can only run max 13 LEDs.

well i thought i was clear but guess not so sorry ... i want to do 2 8led fixtures.. serpate.. and i want to be able to power 8 led's... because i will be using 8 led's over my 1foot cube (freshwater) and instead of running 2 buckpucks for 8 led's i woudl rather stick with one power supply if possible..
Thanks

meanwell drivers would fit that profile nicely. They can run 8 LEDs easily, can be dimmable (so you can dim them down to 5-700mA-ish), you don't need a separate powersupply either. Sounds like a good fit to me

Meanwells seem to be tough to get though. One option if you never want your drive currents above 500mA is to run the LEDs in parallel on a 1000mA Buckpuck. Run it in two strings of four. There are issues with running in parallel though. It's mainly to do with failure events over operating the LEDs.

For the minimal extra cost, I'd just get the extra Buckpucks so you can run 4 LEDs in series per driver. They make 500mA and 700mA Buckpucks if you want to set a hard limit on you current.

Hi,

first, Thanks this great thread, its been a good read ;o)

I am looking at building som new light for my 470l. (124Gal) Tank.its 130x60x60 (52x24x24).
I have found some 100x20x5cm heatsinks, i will use 2 of these with 3 rows of 18Leds on each, so a total of 108 leds with 40deg. lenses.

was thinking about 12CW and 6RB in each row, like this:
W W B W W B W W B W W B W W B W W B
W B W W B W W B W W B W W B W W B W
B W W B W W B W W B W W B W W B W W

Would that be enough light?

Dennis

18 LEDs per row will be borderline enough. 22 would be better if you stick with 2" spacing. 3 rows per heatsink should be good though.

Why the 2:1 mix? Are you looking for a lower color temp (approx 12K)? 1:1 gets you about a 14K look with everything turned up. You can adjust your color temp after that with the drivers. The 1:1 mix blends a little easier once you start adding optics into the mix.

110 bucks!!!! holy crap.. for 4 750ma buckpucks... so what is the problem with running them in 2 paralell series???

how do THESE look?

i tried a 1:1 mix in a small tank, and think it a bit to blue for my taste, but that is
Cree white and K2 Royal's, don't know if they compare to Cree RB for output?

i am trying to max out the buck's so what about 20 Leds 1:1 alternating each row
WBWBWB.....
BWBWBW.....
WBWBWB.....

that would be 60Rb's and 60CW's 20Bucks and some 24v power supply's
is 40deg. lense a good choice or is 60 usable for a 24" deep tank?