You guys have been calling for this for a long time, and I've been trying to come up with a good way to do this, and I think I have the answer. It's simple, it's not that pretty (at least for now), but it does the job nicely.

I'll get into the details in a second, but here are some pictures:


Baseline comparison picture. This is a 150W Sunpod over my BC14 with a Phoenix 14K.


Same camera settings (all in manual mode) with the LEDs on. The difference is far more noticable in real life. Royal blue LEDs are painfully hard to photograph, which you will see in the next picture.


LEDs only. The fluorescence on the corals with just these on is crazy. It's hard to tell, but take a look to the left to the bright orange Bam-Bams. Ask anyone who has an LED setup and they will tell you how rediculous the fluorescence is with royal blue LEDs.

So how does this all work?

First off, the Sunpod is 100% stock with zero modifications needed. Stock moonlights are still in place, and nothing is cut/hacked/ground/boogered up to get these mounted. So, more pictures


Here you can see it mounted to the Sunpod.


The unit slides into the track for the mounting legs. This works beautifully because you can add as many units as you like for longer Sunpods, or add them to the back side of the Sunpod for wider tanks.


There are two screws that allow you to change the angle that the unit sits at, this can give you more coverage with a single unit if you wish.


The driver is integral to the unit, and is adjustable. It will vary the current from 900mA to about 100mA, giving you a pretty good range of adjustment. Please excuse the messy epoxy job. It was my first time working with this encapsulating epoxy.


You can see here that it adds virtually no extra width to the fixture.

Here is a rundown of the specs:

3x Cree XR-E royal blue LEDs
80 degree Cree optics
Integrated adjustable constant current driver.
12v power supply with 6ft cord.
$60 each

These will be available on the group buy if anyone is interested.

Let me know what you think

do you think this would work on the sunDIAL as well?

i believe they have the same style mounting track, correct me if im wrong

Any chance you could do a video shoot of it over your tank?

Very NICE! Gotta love those RB's

Thanks for the show Evil!

Absolutely awesome job. Are you selling these? I have been trying to figure out a way to add actinics to my 70 watt sunpod over my BC14, but this would be much cooler, and I love that you can adjust them. If you are selling them, put me at the top of the list. Great great great job!

yes evilc66!!! i have a sunpod 150mh and this is just what i been looking for. NOW this is a hard choice to pick out... Should i get this for my sunpod or should i get your led fixture for my 3 gallon picotope? or both? hmm.. it will save me on shipping if i get both huh? lol

"You're just evil as evil.. ahaha" Nice Work. Thanks you!

-dave

WOW WOW AND WOWZEERS!!!!!!!!!! Okay how do I get one, I am not 10 miles from you probably!!!!!

Group buy starts April 20th

JUST SAW THIS ^^^^^^

WHEN WHEN WHEN I need 4 of them I'm a group buy by myself. quantity discount ?

I like it but I don't like the $60 price tag that much... How do the parts' prices break down?

Also, when you say "group buy" do you mean a group buy for the materials and then each person assembles their own or will they come put together?

Pardon the horrible quality, and me clearing my throat at the end.

Put me down for 1

Well, it's $60 for a Current Powerbrite unit, you need to figure out how to mount it, it's not adjustable, and it's under powered. 28W PC retro from Ballastwise is almost $70. 24" T5 retro from Hellolights is $96. How is this so bad?

The unit comes complete and tested. Thats the only way I can guarantee that it will work in the long run.

Evil - that's a beauty! In terms of PAR (or whatever the correct measure is for light intensity) how does this compare to, say, a 28W PC actinic setup?

i would obviously need two. any price break on the pair?

EDIT: also, would a pair require two separate power supplies (seems like it)

I'll do $5 off each fixture when you buy more than one.

They will be seperate power supplies right now. I'm working on making them linkable like the Powerbrites, but not for this version.

You know I am in for one. What is the next step???

Next step is waiting for the group buy on monday.

Very tempting....thank you for developing this! Only question: Is there a cover or case that will protect the LED/wiring from any splash, or am I just misunderstanding the design?

All electrical connections will be covered in epoxy so there will be no chance of corrosion.



Peak PAR is at 110 at 13" (to my sandbed). This number is lower than real world PAR values, as these meters always measure low on the blue spectrum. I don't know how that compares to a 28W PC retro.

sweet, add me to the group buy! in for one

side note, does it come in black?

Yep, sign me up!!!. Have you tested the look with a White LED in teh center, or is this not possible b/c of the driver.

If I can get enough of them on order, I will get them annodized black. I have to see as to how many that will require to get that done cheaply per unit. It's very expensive in small volume.

Very much impressed with this....actinics have been something i have wanted with my sunpod for a long time!!

I also dig the idea of an annodized black look for sure! I will be back on Monday

couple of questions:

1) This is a basic mount and plug and play....so if i hook it up to a timer outlet everything is good?

2) Is $60 shipped?

3) What size tank was it displayed on....i have a 29 bioCube and i want to know if one on the front of the sunpod is enough coverage....from the pics (if its a 29 cube) then i think so?

Thanks Evil....you are the LED man!

1. Totally plug and play. Mount it, hook it to a timer and go.

2. $10 flat rate shipping anywhere in the continental US.

3. It's demo'd on a BC14. I would recommend two for a BC29. A single one barely covers all of a BC14 front to back.

Did you mount it on the front or the back of the sunpod for your BC14?

Woops, count me in for two then.

Front. With the adjustment screws backed out all the way, it will cover about 90% of a BC14 or similar.

Sweet, I was just thinking about how to add actinics to my sunpod. I'd be really interested in the black anodizing.

I might be down for 2 for my BC29.

At this rate, annodizing looks like it will happen.

Please, wait for the group buy on monday to sign up for these. I will only add your name to the list if you post on that thread, and not this.

Thanks

Are those par ratings for the LEDS only? And I have a BC29 with the power compact lights. I'd love to boost it up a little if you could figure out a way to get LEDS into that hood. <pretty please? <g>>

That is LEDs only. A full retro would be better suited for a tank like that. Its hard to cool the LEDs with the PCs in there too.

evil...wonderful design...well done!
I do have one question though regarding the wiring vs. the mounting placement...

I noticed in your photos that the wiring for this unit is located on the RIGHT side (assuming it is mounted on the front of the Sunpod)
Again, based on your photos (and the position on my Sunpod on y BC14) it appears that is the best placement for your LED Actinics....
Therefore, is it possible for these LED Actinics to be made with the option of the wiring mounted on the LEFT side of the unit (again presuming it is mounted on the front) so the wiring can be wrapped around along with the Sunpods wiring?...

Thanks!
C

damn nice work.Wish i still had a sunpod.......Sweet price also.

I just got a 20k radium on my 150w sunpod. Would these be pointless to get with this type of blue bulb?

how long is the group by going to last for?

and would i need 2 to cover my solana?

and it looks like its not true actinics but like just blue..is that right? and do you still run the moonlights even though this really overpowers them?

I'm not bashing you or the prices, I'm just cheap.

It's a nice, low profile addon... Now I'm going to go back and finish making my ghetto actinic supplementation setup.

Well after all our PM's you know Im down for one. 1 question.... will you be able to have these in pure actinic instead of the royal blue?

+1 excellent question

I realized this not too long after I started the project. I was too far along, and too lazy to change it. The ones that will ship out will have the cords on the end facing the power cords for the Sunpod. This means for anyone getting two, there will be a specific front and back.




Depends on what you are looking to do. On a 20K bulb (depending one what it is), the LEDs probably won't make a lot of difference in the color while the MH is on. You can use them for just dawn/dusk simulation if thats the kind of thing that floats your boat.




For a Solana, two would be needed.

Royal blue LEDs are the best actinics I have seen yet. They make corals fluoresce more than any other type of bulb. The picture in the first post does not do it justice, as I had mentioned. They add a blue tint to the MH, but add more fluorescence too.

These will be turned off while the moonlights are on. These are too powerful to be run as moonlights, as they will still keep corals "awake".




I wish I could get them cheaper




Not sure what you mean by "pure actinic". Like I mentioned above, these are the best actinics I have seen. Period. I'll have to get some of the other LED guys in here to tell you what a difference royal blue LEDs make.




Forgot to mention, group buy will last two weeks.

count me in too evilc66,

I am getting a 16.5" 70W sunpod next week for sweet deal to go on my BC14.. and Royal blue LED mod would make it look even better. Great mod, nothing to hack up on sunpod and for $60 you get Royal blue antinics.

will be following this thread.

will you also sell them after this GB? and if so, how much will they be then?

Separate question from one I posed earlier. Are these only for actinic purposes, or will you offer a White LED pack as well to up the par to the MH. Perhaps (For a 24 gallon system) a blue in back and a white in front if ordering 2. Just wondering because I would love to get whites on my front end to get some more light to the bottom front (the darkest area of my tank) of my system.

Gotta agree now that I have my own LED setup you will notice more fluorescence on the corals using these royal blues. I need to take some pics of my blues only versus no blues. How can you go wrong.

Scott

Thanks for the answers...if i go for two is there any way that you could splice the two together so i can run the to one timer plug???

ppl might not get a reply from evilc66 until tomorrow ... he had a mishap with this 40b tonight and probably needs to get some much needed sleep

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/?showtopic...view=getnewpost

Is this why you asked people to send you photographs of sunpods a few months back?

Like 420nm purple light?

Evil - looks great!

I have the 34 gal Solana with the Sunpod and would need two units. How long before you come out with the linable units? I would wait if I could avoid two sets of wire and power supplies. There is already three sets of wires coming out of the Sunpod, so that would make five sets

These will probably be only sold in my "group buys", as it's typically the only way I get the best price for all the parts, and the best price I can to you. I seem to be doing group buys every four months or so, so it won't be too long till the next one if you can get a set this time around.



Hadn't really thought about that. While normally I would say "Yes, I'll do it", I'm trying to limit custom orders so things don't get screwed up in the process of getting everything built. Cool whites by themselves might not look too appealing though. The warm color might stick out. Two whites and a royal blue would look better.



I think I can do that for people looking for two units. Needs a different power supply than I had spec'd out, but it won't increase the price any.



This was the intent, but as you can see, I went with a different angle. Thanks for the pictures though




The closest LED is a 410nm UV LED, and really doesn't give that good of a result by itself. The 455nm royal blues are far more useful in regards to photosynthesis, and fluoresce a wider range of colors than the 410nm LEDs. As far as LEDs go, this is the best actinic you can get if you are looking for fluorescence.




Like I posted above, I will look into doing two units on one power supply.