New LED kit for BioCube 14

[nwin]

Just came out today!

 

http://shop.stevesleds.com/Bio-Cube-14-Gal...it-kit-BC14.htm

 

With everything being pre-assembled, it's about 184.99 + shipping. Still cheaper than the rapidled kit and with better LEDs.

 

I went ahead and ordered one and they said it will hopefully ship tomorrow, so hopefully this weekend/early next week I'll have it up and running. I'll let you guys know!

[msscha]

Just came out today!

 

http://shop.stevesleds.com/Bio-Cube-14-Gal...it-kit-BC14.htm

 

With everything being pre-assembled, it's about 184.99 + shipping. Still cheaper than the rapidled kit and with better LEDs.

 

I went ahead and ordered one and they said it will hopefully ship tomorrow, so hopefully this weekend/early next week I'll have it up and running. I'll let you guys know!

 

I have the price on the solderless RapidLED as $145 -- will still need to add a dimmable controller ($59) -- at RapidLED, that would make the price a total of $204 + shipping. Tho StevesLEDs come with dimming knobs, not sure that that is a controller. There are more LEDs in this set up -- is that what makes it better?

[nwin]

I have the price on the solderless RapidLED as $145 -- will still need to add a dimmable controller ($59) -- at RapidLED, that would make the price a total of $204 + shipping. Tho StevesLEDs come with dimming knobs, not sure that that is a controller. There are more LEDs in this set up -- is that what makes it better?

 

RapidLED hasn't been impressing me much lately. Here's why I went with Steve's.

 

-Excellent customer service from what I've heard

-they use a better brand of LED's

-They use neutral white as opposed to cool white (though I've heard Rapid will sub them at no cost), which allows for better spectrum

-Heatsink is better with a fan blowing THROUGH the tubular design heatsink as opposed to ON the heatsink, resulting in cooler output.

[atomic_dog]

Something I've been wondering about: Can these kits be set up so the whites/blues run on individual timers? I like the way my stock BC14 lights are separate so I can stagger the lighting schedule to do the dusk/dawn thing.

 

Or do most people who use the Steve's setup just have them all on/off at the same time (Or spring for an expensive controller to dim them)?

[Chrisl1976]

Something I've been wondering about: Can these kits be set up so the whites/blues run on individual timers? I like the way my stock BC14 lights are separate so I can stagger the lighting schedule to do the dusk/dawn thing.

 

Or do most people who use the Steve's setup just have them all on/off at the same time (Or spring for an expensive controller to dim them)?

 

 

It seems the kits run from one power supply so unless you picked up another PS, you would have to run either a controller to get separate dimming or have them turn on at the same time.

 

I'm curious if some 110 relays would work to turn them on separately.

[the gzaa]

Something I've been wondering about: Can these kits be set up so the whites/blues run on individual timers? I like the way my stock BC14 lights are separate so I can stagger the lighting schedule to do the dusk/dawn thing.

 

Or do most people who use the Steve's setup just have them all on/off at the same time (Or spring for an expensive controller to dim them)?

So wait...you're only running on bulb at a time? I don't think your coral would be getting enough light. Unless you have a FOWLR?

[nwin]

So wait...you're only running on bulb at a time? I don't think your coral would be getting enough light. Unless you have a FOWLR?

I'm pretty sure he's turning actinics on an hour before whites and leaving them on an hour after whites.

 

So actinics would run from 8am to 8 pm and whites from 9 am to 7 pm for example. That's how I've been running it pretty much.

[atomic_dog]

I'm pretty sure he's turning actinics on an hour before whites and leaving them on an hour after whites.

 

So actinics would run from 8am to 8 pm and whites from 9 am to 7 pm for example. That's how I've been running it pretty much.

 

This is it. The actinics just run for an hour longer before and after to simulate the lower light of dusk/dawn. I suppose it's not really necessary, but I like having those extra couple hours of being able to see stuff in my tank. I'm saving up for an LED upgrade and adding a controller to dim them is out of my spending ability right now. It would be cool to be able to do it inexpensively the way I am with the stock lighting.

[nwin]

Alright, the LEDS came in today!

 

First things first, a review on Stevesleds. I ordered them the day it came out, and you could tell he was very busy! My order didn't ship out until about 2 days after ordering, but one reason was because they had just gotten the latest update for their drivers and wanted to make sure I got it, so no foul there.

 

I will admit I was being like a little kid on Christmas Eve, constantly bugging Steve about when it's going to ship. If I were Steve, I would have been cursing me under my breath while typing replies, but Steve was courteous throughout the process!

 

I received them today, and here's a very important thing...the retrofit kit (I paid the extra 30 bucks to have all soldering/drilling done) is for the NEW Corallife BioCube 14. NOT the Oceanic one...I have the Oceanic one. The website did not state this and I only noticed it when looking at the instructions, it showed 4 switches on the hood (since that's what the new biocube has since it has one switch for each PC and one for each set of accent leds).

 

I was very frustrated at this point, because I had already started gutting my system and was nearly at the point of no return. I sent him an e-mail and started looking at how it's setup. He replied very quickly apologizing for the confusion and saying I could send in my hood and the LED kit and they would install a new kit for me for my exact hood, but otherwise I should be able to use the existing holes.

 

Being the impatient brat that I was, I decided to drill 2 new holes in the heatsink. I measured twice and drilled once and it fit no problem. The instructions *were* a bit confusing, but it's a rough draft and I managed.

 

They are installed and look great!

 

As an aside, I ordered the moonlights from him and the ac adapter didn't work upon arrival. He got right back to me and said he would have a new one ready tonight to ship out tomorrow.

 

I really can't be mad for anything...Yeah, I wish I would have known what version Biocube it was for, but I think that was an honest mistake. He was very happy to help throughout the whole process and honestly, with a BRAND new system like this, there's probably going to be some speed bumps along the road...

 

The LEDs look awesome in my tank. I'm starting at the lowest setting and slowly working my way up.

[msscha]

Thanks for the update, nwin! I have the oceanic, too, and do not have the time/confidence to drill more holes, so your info is particularly helpful. I guess I'm going to have to remove the stock moonlights and order new ones for that function, too. Would love to see pictures as you gradually ramp up the intensity!

[nwin]

Thanks for the update, nwin! I have the oceanic, too, and do not have the time/confidence to drill more holes, so your info is particularly helpful. I guess I'm going to have to remove the stock moonlights and order new ones for that function, too. Would love to see pictures as you gradually ramp up the intensity!

 

The moonlights he sells for $25 on his site are pretty cool and stupid simple to install. They are adhesive backed and it's just a long strip of LED's so you just cut them to fit wherever you want on the tank. They are dimmable per a remote controller and you can make them bright enough that you can pretty much mount them anywhere and they'll put enough light out for moonlights. Also variable colors and effects, but I didn't want to give my fish an epilleptic seizure so I put that off for now!

 

I've heard from a few people say that the upgraded moon lights from rapid are great too, but no experience on those myself.

 

As for steve's kit vs. rapidled. I'm happy with what I ended up with and I'll start taking some pictures for sure. But if I wanted a true bolt in kit, I think I would have gone with rapid instead. Maybe Steve might start making two kits-one of the oceanic, one for the corallife, but nothing as of yet. If you really wanted Steves...you could always see about e-mailing him and see if you could send him your hood...if you don't ask the answer's always no. However, that means going without your hood for a week while waiting for it, so I dunno...

 

edit: I need to amend that last statement. If I had a new coralife biocube 14 that steve's was designed for, I'd order it again no questions asked. It looks extremely easy to install if you have the right version biocube. However, since I had to do my own drilling and lining holes up, I would go with Rapid next time, only because the one they make is designed for my Biocube. Steve is an awesome guy and has his stuff together and makes great equipment.

[atomic_dog]

I look forward to seeing the photos as well. So the kit comes with everything to get it up and running, yes? I assume you don't use the switches on the tank lid any longer?

[nwin]

I look forward to seeing the photos as well. So the kit comes with everything to get it up and running, yes? I assume you don't use the switches on the tank lid any longer?

 

The kit does come with everything you need. I don't use the switches on top anymore, but I did use those two slots to put the dimmer knobs through.

 

Now for the pictures...

 

The LED's definitely put out a LOT of blue. Steve's recommended 9 royal blue, 5 neutral white. However, my camera doesn't do the best job of capturing it and really over saturated the pictures I was taking. I tried editing a bit to get back to what it actually looks like. I think I will keep the blues dimmed a bit more than the whites once acclimated. At the moment if I could redo it, I might go for 8 blue/6 white.

 

Also, the before picture and the after picture....they are about 2 weeks apart and I redid the rocks cape in between that time.

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

It's really too bad. IMO, the pictures after really don't do it justice...maybe as I continue acclimating and increase the intensity it will get better?

 

My wife said she would try and take some shots of the tank with her DSLR and see if that would help...I'll post those when I can!

[msscha]

Now for the pictures...

 

The LED's definitely put out a LOT of blue.

Cool -- even though not what you see with the human eye, it still indicates the quality of light/shimmer that LEDs will give. I'm getting pumped about this retrofit. And since this next semester I will be spending UBER hours at work, I need the distraction !

[nwin]

Cool -- even though not what you see with the human eye, it still indicates the quality of light/shimmer that LEDs will give. I'm getting pumped about this retrofit. And since this next semester I will be spending UBER hours at work, I need the distraction !

 

Oh man you have no idea about the shimmer! I ended up putting the hydro flo deflector back on because with the standard nozzle just pointed straight towards the top it was producing crazy amounts of shimmer!

[nwin]

 

Here's an updated picture with the colors brought up a bit.

[nwin]

OK, time for some new pictures taken today...unfortunately, the royal blue shows up REALLY over saturated when I do an FTS. It looks f*@#*@# AMAZING in person though.

 

Royal blue all the way up, neutral white all the way dimmed down:

 

 

Neutral white all the way up, royal blue all the way down:

 

Ricordea, both lights about 60% capacity:

 

Frogspawn, neutral/royal blue @ 60%:

 

Ricordea, blue ochtodes, and the frogspawn with lighting at 60%

 

FTS with lighting @ 60%

 

 

All in all, I'm VERY happy with this upgrade...looking at some my older pics, everything looks so drab but the led's really make everything pop so much and they have an amazing shimmer effect. I would absolutely recommend this!

[W3DRK]

Nice job, looks great!

 

Just yesterday I ordered this exact kit from Steve. I'm sure there will be a delay since he was right in the heart of the hurricane, but when it does arrive I'll be sure to post some pictures as well. My BC14 is the Coralife model so it should fit no problem.

 

In the meantime I'm finishing up an Arduino based LED controller that should be ready by the time the kit gets here. I based it off the Typhoon code but added the ability to assign one of the channels to a moon light and also added lunar phase calculations so the moon light intensity will follow the lunar cycle. Since Steve's LED drivers use the CAT4101 IC which supports 5-volt PWM I should be able to drive them directly from my Arduino.

[little_feesh]

Nice job, looks great!

 

Just yesterday I ordered this exact kit from Steve. I'm sure there will be a delay since he was right in the heart of the hurricane, but when it does arrive I'll be sure to post some pictures as well. My BC14 is the Coralife model so it should fit no problem.

 

In the meantime I'm finishing up an Arduino based LED controller that should be ready by the time the kit gets here. I based it off the Typhoon code but added the ability to assign one of the channels to a moon light and also added lunar phase calculations so the moon light intensity will follow the lunar cycle. Since Steve's LED drivers use the CAT4101 IC which supports 5-volt PWM I should be able to drive them directly from my Arduino.

 

Wow awesome. I've been playing around with Arduino for some time now. I never would have thought to use it as a controller for LED's. Once you get it up can you post the sketch?