ReeferReefer Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I bought a 8 led kit from Aquastyle and in about a week and a half I had my DIY led kit. They included 2 extra leds and all of them worked so I went ahead and made this a 10 led build. First I would like to thank all the amazing people on NR who helped me with this. Particularly Trogdor and Felicia. I have a 10 gallon ViaAqua Ar-380 tank that I am using for my first nano reef. The lighting in this AIO was a measly 11w power compact and I feared that even keeping softies might be a problem with my tall tank. I wanted to keep the hood because I wanted to minimize evaporation on such a small tank. So I needed to retrofit my lighting into this narrow hood. Anyways thats the story of why I did the retrofit but Ill get to the pictures now! Here is the tank when it was cycling with the stock light Here is my old lighting in the hood, Now to the LEDs! Im in the middle of the build here! Here it is all wired up! The moment of truth. It will either light up or Ill fry the whole thing! Light! And for the retrofit! After cutting a bunch of plastic I got the heatsink and driver in. And the final product! Note- This is my first time soldering, anything! Worked out pretty well though! Link to comment
ReeferReefer Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Seems like some condensation is building in the fixture, Im going to seal the splash guard with silicon caulking though. Link to comment
Bekolsyra Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 How does it work with the spacing of the lights? I mean, do you get different patches of blue/white or is it all smooth sailing? I'm getting my own DIY from aquastyle any day now, really looking forward to it and wanted to figure out what pattern to put the LED's in. P.S. Looks well nice in regard of everything else, especially the scape. -Oskar Link to comment
ReeferReefer Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thanks. I tried it with and without optics. At my spacing the optics caused lines and a spotlight effect. Without optics the colors blend perfectly. As you can see the leds are pretty close to surface to the water. It might blend with optics if you have the lights off the water higher. Link to comment
Bekolsyra Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 So.. If I would place the LED's in pairs or alternatively in clusters it would look smoother you suppose? -Oskar Link to comment
ReeferReefer Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Clusters seem to be the trend. Really depends on how many leds you have/ the size of the tank. With 10 leds it was better to have them each be separate, I based my build off this http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=279188 Hope it helps. Link to comment
ReeferReefer Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 I ended up sealing the splash guard with silicon II and the condensation stopped building up inside the fixture. Also I cut additional slits in the top of the hood for added ventilation. Oh and the fixture is 50/50 RB and White. Like everyone says, my point and shoot camera gets super washed out with blue. ITs actually a decent amount more white in real life. I also have some really good shimmer with my surface agitation. Link to comment
basser1 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 If you haven't done so already.... You need to join the Aquastyle LED club!! http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=289940 Link to comment
ReeferReefer Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 I haven't joined per say but I have a few posts on the topic. Link to comment
Trogdor447 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Great glad to see another great build! Looks like you took the time to do everything right as well - overall should be a very nice light, and have you turned them up to 100% yet? Link to comment
ReeferReefer Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 I was on a bit of a budget for this tank so I went with a non dimmable build, so they are running at 100%! I recently got a Duncan coral fray in there and the color is unreal. Thanks for the help Trogdor! I used your guide and it was really useful. Link to comment
Trogdor447 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I was on a bit of a budget for this tank so I went with a non dimmable build, so they are running at 100%!I recently got a Duncan coral fray in there and the color is unreal. Thanks for the help Trogdor! I used your guide and it was really useful. No problem, tried covering EVERY step of the way! Its kind of hard to get pics of soldering when your at home, the gf is sleeping.. And your out drinking a few beers while putting a 40 led fixture together hehe Link to comment
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