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Coral Vue Hydros

Recommendations needed for 1g and 5g LED fixtures


MedievalITGuy

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MedievalITGuy

For the past month or so, I have been researching LED lighting off and on. I've taken in about all I can digest from passive reading and I figured now would be a good time to start a thread asking what more experienced hobbyists think I should do in my particular situation.

Tank Specs: I have two tanks currently up and running with just LR and cleaner crew. The first is a 5gal tall (Marineland Contour 5) 7"W x 9"L x 13"H with standard thickness glass lid

Marineland Contour Light

and the second is a 1gal pico "terrarium" (Anchor Hocking Terrarium) with a thick glass lid that's irregularly shaped

Pico Terarium Light

Because of the lids, and height of the 5gal, I imagine that I am probably going to need slightly more intense lighting than standard tanks of these size to compensate, but I don't know by how much.

Current Lighting:

5g - stock LED strip. I have no idea what strength the LEDS are, but I imagine not much, considering there are 9w, 6b, and absolutely no heatsink!

1g - this thing that I got for a planted freshwater tank, and couldn't get to fit over the rim https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KLY9UO2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Why I've chosen LED: While there are many reasons I have decided on LED, the most notable are controllability, lack of heat transfer, small form factor, and lack of bulb replacement costs.

Desired Stocking Requirements: In the next 6 months only hardy soft corals. However, I would really like to be able to upgrade these lights just this once and be able to use them for SPS/LPS in the future, once I have more experience.

Budget: $50 or less per tank. I know that this is a really low budget for a light, and I can probably swing closer to $80 for the 5gal, but I want to see what I can do on an ultra low price-point. Call it a personal challenge, if you will.

What I've considered so far:

Par30/Par38 with gooseneck - I am having a hard time finding the fixtures for some reason. Recommendations are welcome for either bulbs or fixtures.

DIY LED - I love learning and tinkering with things, and have already wanted to start an arduino/raspberry pi project. So a DIY fixture would be a good excuse to get started on this. My main problem here is that I'm having a hard time pricing all required parts within budget and without too much eyesore. I also keep bouncing back and forth between multiple star leds, vs single chip multi-LED. I would love some advice on what parts should/should not not be skimped on, recommended watts per gallon (given the odd nature of both tanks), inexpensive but attractive heatsinks, suggested designs, etc.

Cheap Chinese Reefbuilder knockoff - such as the link below. I'm hesitant though, because not only is it pushing past my desired budget, but I know that quality and light aesthetics can vary widely. Not to mention this would only be realistic for the 5g, and not the pico bowl. Still, does anyone have experience with these, and think that they would be worth giving a try?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INM0J1M/ref=psdc_2975458011_t1_B019QAZX9C

LED add-on strips - Only for the 5g, but I was wondering if simply rigging a strip or two of these to the existing fixture would be adequate for a year or two of softie growth. I'd need to figure out a way to do so whilst keeping a clean look and provide adequate cooling. I'm thinking that using them as an add-on kind of counteracts my desire to upgrade once and be done with it, but I'm open to using these as an easier way to do a DIY light. Assuming it would be easier to use them, that is.

Why don't I just save up and buy a NanoBox: I would love to own a NanoBox or three, but I've also been doing live steel combat (HEMA) for 5 years and drooling over several $300-$500 custom sparing swords (in different weapons classes). Could I have saved up and afforded one by now? Yes. Have I? I think you know the answer to that already ;) Other expensive hobbies are also abundant.

Final thoughts: Well I guess I've gone a little overboard on the info, because this was supposed to be a quick post... Getting back on track though, I'm looking for advice from people who have owned solutions in the "dirt cheap" range of lighting options. I don't really need general advice on which route to go, so much as I need suggestions on specific setups that people have used, enjoyed, and had success with.

So for anyone who got through their TL;DR syndrome, any suggestions? Am I as nuts as I think I am for trying to find decent nano lighting for the price most people spend on their sump lights?

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The cheapest fixtures you could do are:

 

Coral compulsion par38 full spectrum dimmable. You may be able to do the par30 on the pico.

 

I had a par38 over my 15g. My tank was softies and lps, did a good job but i had a cheapy par bulb, the optics weren't great nor full spectrum so I upgraded.

 

Aquamaxx Nemolight will work lighting wise but you need to look into how it will fit. Not sure if the clip will work with your tank. I like the light. Its programmable, tank stays cool.

 

There aren't many options under $80, for sps and depending what sps you plan on. I have birdsnest and pocillopora under the aquamaxx nemo light in the highest points of my tank. My pocillopora was purchased for $5 - it was in rough shape but its grown flash where none was abd has polyp extension now.

 

If you want acropora, most need very high lighting from what I have been told.

 

Then there is Ai Prime but thats alot more than $80.

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MedievalITGuy

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Out of curiosity, would your recommendations change any if SPS plans were nixed, and the light only had to support softies and LPS?

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I did a whole lot of research on LED fixtures and options because I didn't want to spend hundreds on lights. The unfortunate thing is, lighting is one of the most expensive aspects of this hobby.

 

I found the par38's by coral compulsion the cheapest, Rapid Led, Aquamaxx, Orbit Marine are the next ones.

 

The Mars Aquas on ebay are cheap but i've heard some not so great and good things about them.

 

Any of the lights suggested will be fine for lps and softies. You could do t5 ho but the bulbs get expensive every 6 or so mnths.

 

There really aren't very cheap options for lights when it comes to corals.

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You could look into these,they can do custom layouts.

 

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/3-LED-Moonlight-kit.html

 

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/NewStyle-refugium-light.html

 

ZetLight has something kinda the same as the 2nd light i link,but already have blue and blue and whites.

 

http://rcoop80.wixsite.com/zetlight/mini-series

 

All of those should let you keep zoa's some lower light lps like Acan's.

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MedievalITGuy

The "new style refugium light" looks like a potential option for the pico. I saw a couple like this on Amazon, but discarded them because I knew I had no idea what the light was going to look like. The ability to do custom colors would make it worth the buy though. Thanks for linking these.

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MedievalITGuy

Any of the DIY-ers out there have suggestions on how many 3w LEDs I would need to use on the pico? It's pretty easy to find answers for a 5g, but I don't see much info from people who are running smaller tanks than that, and most of what I can find is from 2011 or older. I would imagine that lumen output might have increased since then, but I'm still new to all of this.

 

Similarly, does anyone have experience using 3up stars? Is this equivalent to having three separate 3w stars, or do you just get 3x 1w diodes on a single chip? It would be aqesome if all that was required was to order one of these for the pico with the appropriate colors, and rig it up to a CPU heatsink. http://www.ledsupply.com/leds/custom-3-up-cree-high-power-led

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For the vase,I would suggest a Rapidled Moonlight driver which is only $10 and can run 4 leds @ 350ma - http://www.rapidled.com/moonlight-driver-350ma/I would use this heatsink ( which I use them in my current light I just super glued 3 together ) - http://www.ledsupply.com/led-heatsinks/half-brick-heatsink-black-powder-coated-finish-with-screws or this one - http://www.ledsupply.com/led-heatsinks/mr16-thermal-composite.

 

Depending on what color you are going for for a 12-14k I would do 2 neutral whites,1 royal and 1 violet or 2 royals instead of a violet. For a 14-16k I would do 2 royals,1 neutral and 1 violet or for a 20k 2-3 royals and 1 violet. If using the second heatsink I linked I would consider a 3up from StevesLeds consisting of 2 royals and 1 neutral,

 

For the 5g if you want control I would say a Rapidled Nano driver which can control 10 leds for $30 with a pot for dimming and 2-3 of the first heatsinks I linked or anything from Heatsinkusa.com with 4 royal blues or 2 royals and 2 ultramarine blues,1 regular blue,1 cyan,2 neutral or warm whites and 2 violets. Steveleds has SemiLed royals and whites for cheap ( I think $1.40 ).

 

So the breakdown for the vase light would be-

-RapidLed.com- 2 Ultramarine Blues & 2 Neutral Whites and 1 Nano Driver shipped Priority- $32.85

-LedSupply.com- 2.4x 2.2" Heatsink- $9.50 for 1 Shipped Priority

Total almost $50 with needed thermal adhesive and shipping.

 

Breakdown for the 5g would be-

-Rapidled Nano Driver with Pot- $30

- 4x Royals,4x Neutral Whites,2 Hyper Violets- $38.50 $80.90 Shipped Priority for leds and Driver no heatsink.

OR 4 SemiLed Royals,4 SemiLed Neutral Whites,2 SemiLed Hyper Violets from StevesLeds.com - $25.85 Shipped Priority

-2x 2.4"x2.2" heatsink from LedSupply.com- $14 Shipped Priority

Total almost $65 give or take for Leds,Driver,Heatsinks,Adhesive and a soldering iron.

 

 

Hopefully all this info and links help you a little bit. Also,StevesLed has Luxeon 3up's for $10 cheaper,so I would look there.

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MedievalITGuy

That info helps immensely! Both the links, and the setup recommendations. Thanks!

 

I was unaware of Steves LEDS, and it looks like he has a lot of good stuff. He actually has a quad channel dimmable driver on clearance right now for $25 that I think might be worth picking up for the 5g. I would still need a power supply, but that plus the 3-up leds could provide me with a lot of control options for the larger light.

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You would need pots to dim the drivers as well and a heatsink to mount them on. I honestly wasnt a huge fan of the drivers,i had 4 on a previous set up. Thats just me though.

 

Look into the MakersLed Basic 2 up controller (http://www.makersled.com/makersdriver-2up-basic/)it uses 2 ldd drivers from meanwell and you can have up to 14 leds on each channel for $23 shipped. Im currently using one and love it. Depending on how many leds each channel has wired to it you can use this power supply which plugs into the barrel jack port http://www.ledsupply.com/power-supplies/mean-well-gst-desktop-adaptor ranging from 5v all the way to 48v and 18w to 90w.

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MedievalITGuy

Yeah, I think I had already talked myself out of it, I tend to forget the kiss principle when I first start a project.

 

Edit: I guess this means I've settled on DIY then :P Going to start with the 1g first, and see how that goes before I try to start on the 5g.

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MedievalITGuy

I'm probably going to start with a single 3-up star with 1W 1RB and 1V. I just recently built myself a new computer (for about the same price as most reef lights I might add), and I have a leftover Intel CPU cooler, so I'm going to see how that does on cooling. I'll try passive cooling first, and wire in the fan if need be. I'll most likely order a dozen cheap leds from ebay or somewhere, just to practice my soldering before I use the nice ones.

 

20161020_2202061.jpg

 

I have not figured out what psu/driver to use yet, but I want to be able to control at least two channels, so I can play around with the blending. I'm currently trying to figure out if this one will work or not. It's designed for strip leds, but I would imagine if it can supply enough power, it should work fine. Any idea? http://www.stevesleds.com/Advanced-Moonlight-System-Control-Box-and-Power-Plug--NO-LEDS_p_251.html

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Passively I think a 3up may even get a tad warm,but not hot. I would still consider for something like the vase just a moonlight driver,3up and a heatsink and you should have plenty of light,honestly. See if you like that and go from there,its the cheapest route. Any time you want to add control to a light,its going to add a significant increase in price,whatever way you try and cut it.

 

What do you want to keep in it,just softies and some lps ? If that's the case,that little light would be enough. I don't really know of any form of control as cheap ass the Makers Basic 2 up especially for 2 channels of control short of the Storm which is $60 and the new Hurricane from Steve's which is $60 as well. Even if you build your own,which will cost just as much and then having to write close to 100 lines of code just to get it to do what you want.

 

Even with a Steves Dual driver,1 3up and a 24v power supply and adhesive that's $65 plus...

 

If you want total spectrum coverage,this would be BAD ASS and its only $32 shipped and 2 channels of control-

https://blueacro.com/acrostar/products

 

This array is going to go over my 2 gallon,2 semiled neutrals,4 ultramarine royals and 1 hyper violet:

 

20161020_231825.jpg

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MedievalITGuy

Hardy LPS and softies I think. Originally I wanted to cover SPS as well, but honestly it's going to be a while before I'm consistent enough with my water parameters anyway. The Steve's led driver is supposed to be for RGB led moonlight strips, and comes with a remote to adjust. If it will supply enough power, I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work for a single 3up. I was hoping you might have a more professional opinion on that. I'm a programmer, but electronics are new to me.

 

I keep running into the acrostars and wondering if I should just do that. I might consider for the larger tank.

 

That array looks nice and clean btw. Nice job.

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Then what youre wanting to keep should be suffice,may not be as efficient but it'll work for the time being.

 

As Im not pro,but have learned a lot from trial and error and trying literally hundreds of different ideas and items. I just tried giving you options I would personally use myself given your situation and budget.

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MedievalITGuy

Just got packages from StevesLED and Amazon, and it feels like Christmas :D

 

So far I'm in for $45 for a 3-up (1NW, 2RB), three red and three NW single stars (for practice soldering and other tinkering), LED strip + controller, power supply, solder, thermal paste, and heatsink. I'm still going to see if I can use the salvage CPU heatsink, but if things are getting too hot, I got essentially an MR16 shell that I can try using instead.

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MedievalITGuy

It might be a couple days. Still waiting on the appropriate wire to show up (thought I had some and I was wrong), and we're watching the in-law's cat who does not get along with ours. So my projects room may or not be indisposed for a while.

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MedievalITGuy

Well here's attempt #1. I managed to find some ancient computer connectors that I saved "just in case" that I cannibalized for wiring. It seems to be working, because I can hook up two leds and drive them both with the strip controller.

 

I'm going to have to figure out where I hid my multi-meter and test the output from the controller though, because I have successfully managed to burn out two of my test leds :lol: It might be because they're 700ma instead of the 1000ma luxeons, but I'll have to check the numbers and find out. I don't want to burn out my $10 tristar because I turned the brightness up one click too far.

 

LED%20Trial%201.jpg

The white led is actually on above, but I semi-burned it out, so it's only very dimly lit.

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You wont have to worry about the rebel leds frying unless you use over a 1A driver or you royal f*cked up wiring and crossed something over or something touched. Now the semi's i wouldnt drive over 700ma,I believe thats their max anyways or they go up in smoke.

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MedievalITGuy

You're right about the semis 700ma. I think I should be fine on the rebels then, because I believe this controller is supposed to have a 1a output, but I want to check, because I think one of the instruction papers mentioned something about a 2a max current per channel? It's a cheap (Chinese?) driver and documentation is not the greatest, so I'm just going to test everything, and produce my own data sheet.

 

Here's what their product description says about it, if you're interested. Not sure if that's supposed to be on the controller, or for the strip itself though. Like I said, the documentation is not the greatest.

 

 

Oak Leaf 5050 SMD Strip Lights

Voltage: DC12V
Power: 12W/M
Input power: 1M<3.8W
Output power: 1M<3.8W
Input Voltage: 12 V
Output Voltage: 11.66V
Work temperature: -25~ +60? / -13~ +140°F

 

The good news is that once I'm done with this, I may be able to do a how-to on a $30-40 light for 1gal. My costs are going to be a little higher, but that's because I'm buying extra stuff to experiment with (such as, I got the driver with the led strip, so I could have something I knew it worked with to test the behavior).

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  • 1 month later...
MedievalITGuy

Just a quick update on this project.

 

I finally figured out what was burning out my leds, after frying the 3-up star I special ordered of course. After some extensive testing with my multimeter, it turns out the current was fine, but I was way over my voltage. The controller is designed to drive RGB strips at 1w, but the strips still consume up to 12v. So even at low settings, I was over the 3w max :wacko:

 

After frying the original LED, I changed directions and went ahead and got a 12w star which is made up of 4x 3w Cree XTE emitters on a single board.

IMG_20161212_132244.jpg

 

Wired it up to the controller, and boom! I'm good to go!

IMG_20161212_124423.jpg

 

I am loosing the ability to control multiple channels for now, but I still have a dimable setup for under $40. I still may go back and order another one with slightly different color emitters, but overall I'm happy. That's not including the cost of tools and mess-ups, but I count those towards my entry cost for getting into electronics. I actually want to get into arduino automation, and eventually submersible ROV building, so I figured building reef lights and controllers would be a good place to start practicing.

 

I haven't put the light in a fixture yet, it's currently just hanging off of the cheap gooseneck I got on amazon a while back. I'm thinking that I may order another one of these and use it .

IMG_20161212_132446.jpg

 

For the 5g, I have a 30w full spectrum chip that I'm going to play around with, but more than likely I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get the Aquamaxx Nemolight Nano. The tank is in the living room, and the wife wants to make sure whatever is hanging over it looks pretty. I guess there's always the hope that someone has been paying attention to my amazon wishlist this Christmas :P

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