BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I have built a diy led system for my 29gal biocube. I will outline the build with parts, pictures, par ratings, and a couple growth shots. PARTS 1. 12 CREE XP-G Cool white. 2. 12 CREE XR-E Royal Blue. 3. Drilled/tapped heatsink from rapidled. (HUGE THANKS TO MIKE AT RAPIDLED.COM) 4. Meanwell ELN-60-48D. Whites ON a dimmer. 5. Meanwell LPC-35-700. Blues not on a dimmer. 6. Power Cords. 7. Solderless connections. 8. Misc wire and wire nuts. 9. Upgraded fans for hood. PICTURES wire on led by mteske1, on Flickr LED 1 by mteske1, on Flickr LED 2 by mteske1, on Flickr 2010-11-10 15.23.35 by mteske1, on Flickr 2010-11-10 15.23.48 by mteske1, on Flickr 2010-11-10 19.57.54 by mteske1, on Flickr 2010-11-10 21.39.36 by mteske1, on Flickr To be continued... PAR READINGS The photo is with both the white and blue at full power (Note - The 1900 is higher than in the picture. It is at the very top of my tank): par by mteske1, on Flickr ****WHITE & BLUE PAR READINGS SEPARATELY AT FULL POWER**** Whites: Top Center = 700 Middle Left/Right = 150 Middle Center = 380 Bottom = 140 Blues: Top Center = 600 Middle Left/Right = 100 Middle Center = 330 Bottom = 100 My whites are XP-G R5's which ARE STRONGER than the blue XR-E's. It is surprising the blues are very very close to the same PAR as the whites. I bet white and blue XR-E's would be equal based on my testing. If you are doing a diy go for the color you want, and do not assume you need the whites for the high PAR numbers. Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 COLOR SPECTRUM FROM BLUE TO WHITE 6 by mteske1, on Flickr 5 by mteske1, on Flickr 4 by mteske1, on Flickr 3 by mteske1, on Flickr 2 by mteske1, on Flickr 1 by mteske1, on Flickr GROWTH OF SUNSET MONTI AND TYREE SETOSA MONTI OVER A FEW MONTHS 2011-01-03 18.25.57 by mteske1, on Flickr P1000543 by mteske1, on Flickr P1010045 by mteske1, on Flickr 11.23-9 by mteske1, on Flickr 2010-12-20 20.18.30 by mteske1, on Flickr 2011-02-01 18.37.22 by mteske1, on Flickr P1010041 by mteske1, on Flickr Let me know if you have any questions, opinions, ideas, etc. I am trying to put together a thread to help others decide what route to take. ENJOY, Mike Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Sweet! Thanks, you need to see the bottom half the post. You are too quick! Link to comment
SmokeyMcreefer Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 That looks awesome. How much did the whole thing cost and did you do anything with your fans? Link to comment
Tyron Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Made that black heatsink is slick! Too bad it's covered, but that's me. How exactly do those solderless connectors work? Thought about using them on my build. I like it though. Real slick! Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 That looks awesome. How much did the whole thing cost and did you do anything with your fans? I think I am into it around $325 or so? I lost track to be honest. Also, I originally did NOT have the whites on a dimmer. I had to buy another driver to dim them. Also, had a buddy wire up the pot and stuff to make it actually dim. I am not good with that stuff. I also upgraded the fans from rapidled. Just a simple swap. No heat issues, but they do get warm. Tank runs at 79, which is where I have it set. Made that black heatsink is slick! Too bad it's covered, but that's me. How exactly do those solderless connectors work? Thought about using them on my build. I like it though. Real slick! Yea, rapidled had the black heatsink tapped and drilled a while back. Not sure if they still stock them? Basically with the solderless connections you can NOT use optics. Also, you MUST have your heatsink tapped and drilled. The screw that holds the led down also holds the plastic solderless connection down. You just push the wire into the connection. It's really simple. You just have to use solid core wire. Anything else? Link to comment
SmokeyMcreefer Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Did rapid have the heat sink to fit the hood or did you buy a regular one and mod it? Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Did rapid have the heat sink to fit the hood or did you buy a regular one and mod it? They had it like that. I didn't modify anything, the holes lined up. I don't see it on their site anymore though. Link to comment
latteslave Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 So what are you running the LEDs at? Still full blast on both? Thanks Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Blues on full blast, and whites at maybe 50%. Maybe less. I like a 20k look. Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 Add it to the list. What list? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 The big one in the Lighting forum with over 100 documented LED builds http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=200335 Link to comment
africaturtle Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'm actually trying to decide whether to go for LEDs or not, and your post really makes it look feasable and easy (esp. w/ the soderless connections). Do you know how many lumens those cree leds develop? I'm planning a set up for a 15 gallons, do you think that half the leds would be enough? (I'm not considering using adding a dimming system) Nice job! Your tank seems to have been thriving ever since. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 LED data is readily available on the manufacturers website. The number of LEDs required is defined by the footprint of the tank, not the volume. Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 I'm actually trying to decide whether to go for LEDs or not, and your post really makes it look feasable and easy (esp. w/ the soderless connections). Do you know how many lumens those cree leds develop? I'm planning a set up for a 15 gallons, do you think that half the leds would be enough? (I'm not considering using adding a dimming system) Nice job! Your tank seems to have been thriving ever since. Thriving is an overstatement, but thank you. A lot of my acro frags are stn, and I think it was due to high phosphates. No pests, and I keep inspecting and dipping. You really need to go off the dimensions to see how many you would need, and what type of corals you are stocking. I don't want to give you a number without more information. I would say do NOT mix coral types in a small tank. Pick zoas and mushrooms, or lps, or sps. It is too hard to meet the demands of all in such a small volume of water. Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 Here is a current shot of the sunset. Check out the growth! P1010336 by mteske1, on Flickr Link to comment
on_ice Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Where did you buy most of your parts? Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 Where did you buy most of your parts? RAPIDLED is where I got all my parts. I have since changed my 50/50 ratio of cb/rw I added some warm white, neutral white, and blues... Still have 24 total. Updated growth shot. P1010877 by mteske1, on Flickr Just fragged the bottom of the sunset. Link to comment
Mojorizn Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 What are you running your string at? mA wise? Link to comment
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