After looking at all my lighting options I'm afraid that 150w MH will be overkill for my little 10g and I would also need to buy a new $50 bulb for it.


Parts list:
6 Cree Royal Blue XR-E LEDs ($7.50 per star)
6 Cree Q5 Cool-White XR-E LEDs ($8.92 per star)
1 1000mA Wired dimming BuckPuck ($15.98)
1 power supply (??? can't find that 6.5A one from www.mpja.com)


That's what I have so far, I'm not too sure how big of a heatsink I should get.

EDIT: I'm scraping the LED can idea.

Start by getting a heatsink in a light can.

XR-E stars are 20mm across the flats.

That fan/heatsink is way too small.

What's the difference between a Buckpuck with external dimming and a buckpuck with external dimming and a pot?

Are these the same as this?

The one with a pot already has a potentiometer attached so you dont need to add your own.

They look the same to me except dealextreme specify the colour bin (WG) which is what most people on here use.

Cool, so I'll save a bit of money ordering through DX.

Next set of questions:

What is the spread of each LED without any lense?

I need to know this because I'm having a hard time choosing the right sized heatsink. Standard 10 gallon dimesions are 20"x10"x12", so based off that, what would be a good sized heatsink?

Before I go to bed I want to get confirmation on my parts list before I go ahead and order tommorrow:

6 Cree Royal Blue XR-E LEDs
6 Cree Q5 Cool-White XR-E LEDs
1 1000mA Wired dimming BuckPuck (or do I need two??)
1 24V 6.5A powersupply
1 heatsink (still need to decide on the right size)


I think that is it. Comments are welcomed (NEEDED)

You will need 2 buckpucks as they can only run 6 LEDs each. I think the standard angle without optics is 90 degrees.

Im not sure about the best size for the heatsink.. Im sure evil will chime in about that.

Oh I'll be watching this, I'm thinking about doing this to my 10g also.

12 LEDs isn't really going to be enough for a 10g. For reasonable coverage, you would have to spread the LEDs out to 3". It's borderline for spotlighting. 16 LEDs would be better, but you will need two more Buckpucks if you want full color seperation. You could get away with adding just one and having the extra 4 LEDs (2 white, 2 blue) on it and using that as your second stage for a dawn/dusk effect.

hmmm...

So if I went for 16 LEDs and sacrificed a little color seperation I would still have to get 3 buckpucks and 4 more LEDs which equates to more money...

I'm not arguing with what you're saying as I know you understand the LED game much better than I do, but I think I'm going to try and make 12 work. I'll think of something.

Again, looking back at this setup, it looks as though 12 might be enough.

still need to decide on a heatsink size, will 12"x8.5" fit the job?

Updated parts list:
6 Cree Royal Blue XR-E LEDs
6 Cree Q5 Cool-White XR-E LEDs
2 1000mA Wired dimming w/ pot BuckPuck
1 24V 6.5A powersupply
1 heatsink (still need to decide on the right size)

The reason that setup works is the height of the LEDs above the tank. It gives you a lot more spread, but less intensity. Most people setting up arrays on flat heatsinks like you are have the LEDs a lot closer to the water, and need more LEDs to reduce dark spots at the ends of the tank.

The 8.5" heatsink will work fine, but you can use the 5.375" small heatsink. With only tow rows 3" apart, it's plenty of room, and plenty of heatsink. It will save you a few bucks too. I'd suggest going longer than 12" though. You want to spread the LEDs out as far as possible, and you will need at least 16" for 3" spacing center to center.

If I do add that much height to my setup, would I really be losing a substantial amount of intensity?
I get the impression that it wouldn't matter to much if I raised an LED setup since the things are so damn intense in the first place.

Updated list (again):
6 Cree Royal Blue XR-E LEDs
6 Cree Q5 Cool-White XR-E LEDs
2 1000mA Wired dimming w/ pot BuckPuck
1 24V 6.5A powersupply
1 16"x5.375" heatsink


P.S. I could add 2 fans in this circuit no problem, right?

6 Cree Royal Blue XR-E LEDs (ordered)
6 Cree Q5 Cool-White XR-E LEDs (ordered)
2 1000mA Wired dimming w/ pot BuckPuck (ordered)
1 24V 6.5A powersupply
1 16"x5.375" heatsink (ordered)

For wiring I'm going with 24 gauge wire and 1/32" heatshrink. Sound good?

Also, what does tapping do? I don't quite understand it, why can't you just drill holes in the heatsink and then use some screws to mount the stars?

If you use machine screws, you need to cut the threads into the hole before you can thread the screw in. That's what the tap is for. Some have had success with using self tapping screws.

24AWG wire will be fine between the LEDs, but you will need bigger from the power supply to the driver. 1/32" heatshrink isn't going to fit a lot of anything. Use 1/8" to 3/16". Most polyolephin heatshrink has a 3:1 shrink ratio.

what gauge would you recommend for the power supply to driver? 16AWG?

That will work, but it's a little overkill. 18AWG is fine.

would it matter if i used Artic Silver Ceramique or AS5?

No real difference.

6 Cree Royal Blue XR-E LEDs (ordered)
6 Cree Q5 Cool-White XR-E LEDs (ordered)
2 1000mA Wired dimming w/ pot BuckPuck (ordered)
1 24V 6.5A powersupply (ordered)
1 16"x5.375" heatsink (ordered)

Misc:
4ft 1/8" heatshrink (ordered)
arctic silver
18AWG and 24AWG wire (or just the 18AWG)
tapping tools (i may actually have these)


anything else?

I'm excited to get this thing going

Other than screw hardware, I think you are good to go.

Can you tell me what size heatsink you ordered and from where? I have been debating the same project your doing. The heatsink is one of the hold back at the moment.

http://www.heatsinkusa.com

Hey evil,

what size screws and washers would you suggest? I've seen some use nylon washers, is there a specific reason for this?

Nylon washers are there to insulate the screw from any electrical connections.

You can use either M3 or 4-40 screws. Use #4 washers under them.

If you are using some sort of ultra sticky thermal epoxy, it seems counter-intuitive to use screws aswell since the led's don't weigh much...does the epoxy lose it's tack at higher temperatures/over time?

No. It's the fact thats it's a permanent mount. If an LED fails for whatever reason, it will be very difficult to remove. Also, if you don't apply adequate pressure during the curing process, the thermal resistance of the epoxy goes up, increasing your LED temperatures. Bolting an LED down with thermal paste ensures about as good a thermal interface as you can get, shy of bonding the LED directly to the heatsink. Lower temperatures = longer LED life.

sounds good, any recommendation on hardware for drilling/tapping (preferably stuff that can be picked up at Home Deep).

3mm or 4-40 drill and tap set, a tap handle, and PB Blaster for a cutting fluid (better than WD40 IMO)

is there a preferred composition of the drill/tap set? I read in someone's build that carbon taps wear down faster, than aluminum ones (or something to that effect). And yes PB Blaster is much better than WD40. I have a buddy, who is a mechanic, that thought it would be a good lubricant for a beer-tap, it worked great, no one ever did figure out why they kept smelling "gas" when they went to take a drink.

Your options at Lowes and Home Depot are going to be limited. Most tap sets are carbon steel, which is fine for the limited number of holes you are tapping, provided you use cutting lube and don't try too hard. TiN coated taps help. McMaster Carr has a great selection of different taps, and help you decide which is best for your application if you don't mind waiting a day or two for shipping.

Got my heatsink, BuckPucks, and Royal Blues in today from Heatsinksusa and LedSupply. Shipping was excellent in both cases.

I didn't realize how damn small the LEDs were!

powersupply and heatshrink came in today! Now I'm just waiting for my White LEDs from DealExtreme...

Congrats, you're in for some fun. I've learned a lot from this experience, mostly how impatient i am when it comes to shipping. good luck, be careful, and don't cut corners.

still waiting for my LEDs from DX...

but, today I went out and bought:

blue and black 16AWG wire (this will work, right?)
Wells 40W soldering pen
#6 nylon washers (I hope these work, it was the smallest they had)
4-40 screws



I'm ordering a tube of arctic silver 5 tonight, will 3.5g be enough?


EDIT:

#6 washers are too big and I ordered the 3.5g tube of AS5

i couldn't find a 4-40 tap so i went with #6-36x.5inch they work pretty well and are still really small.
16awg might be alittle big, i used 18 all the way around. Here's what evil has to say about wiring: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=208941
You'll just use a rice sized dallop of AS5 on each led, so that should be plenty, maybe 1g worth, a little bit goes a LONG way.

Got my AS 5 here today, super fast free shipping from the ebay store.

I still haven't got my White LEDs from DX....

but in the mean time I want to get an LED 1:1 placement setup printed out.

What program could I do this with?

STILL waiting on my white LEDs from DX... They are in New York (thank god) so I should be getting them soon.

Today I got a vertical float switch from eBay ( at total of $3.65) and 24 nylon washers from mac622 for no charge!

Thanks again mac622!

My LEDs from DX finally came today!!!!!!

I have everything to finally start the build.


What should the layout and spacing be for the LED's?

For the layout I was thinking of 3 rows of 4 LED's alternating.

W B W B
B W B W
W B W B

two rows of six alternating colors. It will give you far greater coverage.

how far apart should each star be away from each other, and how far from the edges should they be?

You should be fine with 2" between LEDs in each row, and 3" between rows.

I followed your advice and spaced them 2" from each other and 3" between rows. Is it okay that I have a 4" gap between LEDs in the middle?

You are going to have a darker spot in the middle.

alright, I'll make the gap in the middle 2" so they're uniform

I'd say just add a couple of LEDs in the middle rather than space them out more

Before I actually get to stick the LEDs on, I need to come up with a low profile housing for this baby.

I can't have it hanging.

Anyone have any suggestions?

ugh....

I decided to go ahead and drill the heat sink and ended up breaking both the drill bit and the tap... didn't get past the third hole.

first, how do I get them out?

second, what brand of tap and drill bit should I get? the ones that broke were craftsman brand.

The drill and tap didn't break because of where you bought them from, but how you were putting stress on them. With the drill, you could have been side loading it when it snapped. Cutting fluid help with a faster cut. When you are drilling, watch the drill bit. You can see it bend if you are streesing it too much. Keep it straight and you should be able to get a lot of use out of it.

For the tap, sounds like you were going too fast, or no cutting fluid. Remeber, it's half turn in, quarter turn out.

thanks evil,

you were right about putting too much stress on the drill bit.

For tapping, I was using cutting fluid, but i was only turning out 1/4 about every 5 revolutions.



How do I remove the bits?

You might not be able to. If they broke flush, or sub flush with the surface, they are in there for good. Drill a new set of holes.