chucktdbm321 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Done it before with cheap moon lighting and was wondering if there is more too it with these high powered leds ? I have many different converters from output of 2v to 12v. I was thinking of using a 5v 550ma old cellphone charger. This is my first time using highpower leds so bare with me Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 the LED needs 1-1.5A to run at full power while that supply is only rated for 550ma. got anything bigger? you also probably need to add a series resistor depending on which supply you use. Link to comment
Adam_T Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Don't need to run a 3w LED at full power to keep a fuge alive though. I am about to run 3 of the Cree XP-G cool-white LED's at 350mA each for my fuge. Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 hmm well i have a 12v that runs at 1.25A and then a 9v that runs at 800A... Shows the little i know about LEDs. I always thought you would want to match the wattage rather then the ma. Thanks for replying fast. I was trying to keep this as simple as possible so i'd like to stay away from resistors and all that if i can Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 yeh but 3 XP-Gs at 350ma is about the same amount of light as a single XP-G at 1500ma. no reason not to run them higher if you can. Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 That was a point i was gonna make as well its only gonna be like 2 inches from the water and like another inch away from some macro... But please inform more lol. So you think i should use one of the other ones? My first thought is it is 1 3w and running at 12v or 9v would be a little much? But as im typing this volts and watts are differnt lol Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 hmm well i have a 12v that runs at 1.25A and then a 9v that runs at 800A... Shows the little i know about LEDs. I always thought you would want to match the wattage rather then the ma. Thanks for replying fast. I was trying to keep this as simple as possible so i'd like to stay away from resistors and all that if i can LEDs need to be driven to a certain current to put out a certain amount of light, so driving them directly from an AC adapter is in general a bad idea because AC adapters are (or attempt to be) voltage sources. you'll want either a constant current driver arrangement or at minimum an ac adapter with a resistor. Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 is there any chance the ones i have have a resistor? like would it be labeled saying it has a resistor? Sorry for so many dumb questions feel like im starting over again with lighting here lol. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 it is highly unlikely you can go ahead and hook up 9 or 12v to the LED though if you want to see exactly why you need a current source Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 Alright i checked out the constant current stuff and thats something i'd like to do if or when i do LEDs for my display. I'd rather underpower this 1 led so it can still have chaeto thrive and get some descent life out of it. What are the downfalls of using a AC adapters? Edit: didn't see you already replied. I already have a led with lens, thermal paste on its way, i have a perfect size heatsink already Link to comment
nanotrevor Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 leds are a constant current load...ac/dc wall warts are constant voltage source and mixing the two without a suitable driver is gonna fry your led the led driver is what supplies a constant current and adjusts its voltage based on the leds forward voltage. the wall wart will stay a constant voltage and vary its current up to its max based on load. i currently run 1 3w rb cree for moonligth with a 350mA buckpuck and power is supplied with a 12v 1A ac/dc power supply. so my moonlight cost 30.00 cheaper than commercially available moonlight setups. Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 ^ exactly what i wanted to know thanks! Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Well im done building and soldering i'll have pics up in a moment Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Ooops forgot about this one well here it is... It turned out well and i run it reverse photoperiod to help with ph swings. I have some rubble and chaeto which will also help cultivate pods and help with nutrient export. I have the led underpowered since it is only an inch away from the chaeto and to have the led last sine AC adapters are an unreliable cheap way to power the led. Also switched the pump out with an AC20 pump to slow the flow down What I used... Toy chest and the main body of the light and reflector (found in the basement)- $0 1.5"x 1.5" aluminum heatsink taken from a pc tower i found scraping- $0 AC power adapter rated at 3.5v at 400ma found scraping- $0 1 3w Cree led from rapid led- 5.99 Artic aluminuma- 5.99 So a nice fuge light was about 12 bucks Finished and running... Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 thanks, its running well so far i have a nice plastic guard that installed to make sure no chaeto goes in the DT also seems like it has slowed the flow a little more too. I also put a splash guard on the light since a lot of water was collecting on the whole lid. Link to comment
Gvtv44 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Awesome- now to find a supplier of plastic toy chests Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 yea i know right?! i looked at it and was amazed how perfect it was for the application. And the silver spray surprising reflects all the light where its needed. Thought it was very cool Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 alright so i'll need to add more pics but there are a ton of isopods and copepods in the fuge and the chateo is def growing well. Im very pleased with how it turned out Link to comment
Sahin Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Nice build. What LED did you use? I built a sump light using 3xCree CW LED's. I hope to get as much growth from my chaeto as you have. I built mine out of 3 x Cree XM-L CW's. All the bits were stuff I had lying around at home. Link to comment
chucktdbm321 Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 Nice yea i only used one since its for a AC50... I used one 3w XP-G Neutral White Cree. They have a color temp of 3700-5000k according to rapidled.com. Seemed like the best bet for growing chaeto being a warmer color led. Link to comment
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