This project is for my 2.5 gallon PICO tank that is in the Unofficial Pico Contest. I also wanted to get some experience with the materials and techniques involved so I can build a light for my larger 54 gallon tank. So, here's the tank the light is going onto. Its an acrylic AGA that I scored for less than $5.



I ordered a Potrans power supply. 24v 6a.


A small heatsink from heatsinkusa.com It is 8.5x2


A 700mA and a 1000mA Buckpuck and knobs


Then I got this ZooMed light and gutted it completely. The housing almost perfectly fits the dimensions of the tank.




I chose to go with the thermal pads instead of drilling/tapping holes for the LED's. They were super easy. All I did to prepare the heatsink was clean it thoroughly with alcohol so the adhesive pads will adhere properly.


Then all I did was place the LED's. I went with 5 total. 3 Royal Blue and 2 Cool White, alternating.
RB CW RB CW RB


I am not the most experienced with the soldering iron, but it works.


I also put 2 small computer type fans in. They were 12v so I wired them in series so everything would work out. I also made a lid on the tank so I don't have to worry about splashing and also to reduce topoffs.

Heres first pic on the tank!


And here is basically what it looks like now. I am still acclimating the corals to this light so I estimate I have the RB at 50% and the CW at 35%. And it is still much brighter than PC or T5. The shimmer effect is quite nice and I don't have any spotlighting issues at all. In fact, a Montipora Digi that was on Death's doorstep is recovering with a quickness in this little tank. I can only think the superior light is the reason. Water params are the same. I am really interested in seeing longer term growth with LED's. So that is the reason behind my being in the PICO contest. To give me some structure to document a tank over the course of a year. I think it will be a great learning experience and I will update as often as I can in my pico thread

If ya have any questions, go ahead and ask!

your wiring job isnt conservative =P

nice set up.

Nice job looks really nice so far! I'm getting rdy to start a pico of my own too.

LOL not in the least! My main goal was for it to be functional and still look good when the light is mounted. When its on the tank there are no wires visible at all. The power supply sits on the floor behind the nightstand and there is a good foot of play in the wires. This way, if I put the tank somewhere else I don't have to worry about extending wires and whatnot.

dying for a low profile nano...

how are u going to cool the heatsink? its going to get heat soaked very fast.

I have 2 fans blowing out of the fixture on the back. They are ~4cm each. They keep it ice cold!.
They are still in the packaging in this photo. Top center.


And mounted. Sorry its a dark pic.


-A

I love this. I'm debating whether to buy or build an led setup for my 2.5gal aga.

I hate the zoomed fixture shape personally so I probably wouldn't go with that.
All in all what did it cost you? How do you setup dimming?
Anything different you wouldve done if you could build it over?

Well, I like it. I didn't want to build a housing for the light and I had this one available to me. Dimming is controlled by the Buckpucks. I will use a different type of power supply next time. Probably a laptop supply so I would have the nice cords and the size "N" plug. (rather than lots of wires). Also, I would have used less wire between LED's if I wasn't in a hurry to get it done.

Power supply ~25
(5) LED's 25 (group buy pricing)
(2) Buckpucks 40
Heatsink ~17

Then the housing and misc items so about another 15 to 20. So about $120. I guess its a lot for a little tank like this, but I like it and I can always scrap it for parts and re-use the buckpucks and LED's for a larger project.

It adds no heat to the tank, I did experiment with some optics ( lol for this size tank they are NOT NEEDED) all it does is create a spotlighting effect. Without optics it is perfect this way.

HTH

Nice build!

Thanks! I'm working on designs to upgrade this tank to an AGA 5.5 (so I can still run in the pico contest). I am also working on ideas for the light build for that tank. The next one should look 2X better!

nice build! looks really clean

Thanks plant! I've started working on the fixture for my 54 gallon tank and I'm excited. Already doing things a little differently (lessons learned and what-not). I'll be stoked to be able to keep SPS in the large tank.