evilc66 Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 I'm pretty sure that I mentioned in an earlier post that The numbers were compared to measurements taken by Mark Levenstien (Melev of Melevsreef), with 250W Reeflux 12K bulbs with Lumenbright reflectors. I haven't done any comparisons to T5, mainly because I don't know anyone that has a decent setup to compare it to. Quote Link to comment
Minadin Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 hey evil what would you recommend for a jbj 24 gallon setup? I also would love to hear the a recommendation as I have the same tank. Doing massive research & reading now. Thanks Scott Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Whats the area inside the splash sheild? Quote Link to comment
keli Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just stumbled upon this driver, pt4107 on ebay... Seems cheap and usable for multiple purposes.. Dimmable too 3 units, including shipping for $9.99 http://cgi.ebay.com/3-high-brightness-LED-...Z360137248969QQ Datasheet: http://www.electro-bay.com/LED_Driver/date...7_DS_EN_1.1.pdf Anyone tried that one out? Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 I had thought about possibly using one of those. Still has potential, but will be relatively expensive to build a driver in small quantities (big inductor and other high voltage parts). You will be limited to about 20 LEDs (total vf needs to be at least half of the rectified source voltage), which is a lot better than the Buckpucks, but there are some DC drivers that can get close, and can be built for half the price. I might end up playing with one at some point. Quote Link to comment
Catfishboy747 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Quick question there Evil. I've researched building a constant voltage PSU, I've got a link for a 14v @ 10A schematic floating around, which could be built for relatively cheap depending on supplies. It could also be modded slightly to increase voltage.... but I havn't found a method to regulate the current, any ideas? Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 Are you trying to set a constant current, or just an upper limit? Quote Link to comment
Catfishboy747 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) constant current would be nice, but limit to about 1400mA would work as well. BTW Evil, found this useful gem if we are able to find a board to fit or someone can etch one out for us. http://www.linear.com/pc/downloadDocument....4,P21733,D14958 It can handle 8 LEDs, (16 if you run it 1.5mA and parallel the LEDs) which is more than a buck puck, and 16 isn't shabby either, EDIT: Found a PCB board........ ok, yes, pins are quite small, but I've seen this kind of soldering done before and I'm almost positive I could duplicate the process. http://fcpcb.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=1750534 Allows for SMD components to be installed, wires or headers could also be installed as well. This could be my new project. What would probably wind up happening is I install the chip on to one of these boards, solder in headers, then mount some how to a proto-typing board. tricky work, and I could easily put in 5hrs worth of work to finish it to. Question becomes, is it worth it for just 6 LEDs....... I dunno, but would be nice fer my 29g FW that can't seem to reach full current. Is it worth it to further LED drivers for reefers, probably. Edited March 12, 2009 by Catfishboy747 Quote Link to comment
keli Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 How much are these drivers catfishboy? There's alot of parts involved in getting this to work, I can imagine cost catching up with buckpucks quickly.. Quote Link to comment
Catfishboy747 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I'd suspect about the same price as puck, maybe a little more. Where it shines though is being able to drive 16 (more?) LEDs, more than twice of any puck out there. I'm gonna call the company and try and get some tech support on that one to see how many LEDs it could drive. Quote Link to comment
keli Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Looks to me there's a considerable amount of DIY involved, and quite a few parts you'd need. I'm guessing just getting 2-3 buckpucks might end up at a similar price as building this yourself. It's a pity tho - I would like to get some solution similar to this that can drive ~15 LEDs at 700-1000mA... If it was DIY, the price sweet spot for me would be around ~$15 including all parts. Doesn't look like this one can break that. Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 There are some drivers out there that can support a LOT more LEDs than that if you look. Honestly, I wouldn't want to go with a dual driver in a single package for thermal reasons. While it's only a max 72W, it's probably a small package. A single driver would only be 36W on the same amount of copper, making less of a thermal hotspot. Many times, it's easier to lay out multiple smaller setups. If you can find the right power supply, you could try the National LM3406HV. 75v @ 2A will support 40 LEDs, but big thermal considerations. Quote Link to comment
sjmusic2 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Hey Clive, I was just revisiting one of your previous threads ('come on in...') and was wondering if you have any updated growth pictures with your led array ? Maybe I missed some on a different thread ?? Thanks. Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 That tank is currently going through a reset right now. I had a big algae problem recently that just overran the tank. Not sure why either as I was pretty good about water changes and parameters were good. I was also running a fuge, carbon and GFO. I think the black sand was partly to blame. Typical live sand will be going in it this time. I did have too much light though. That many LEDs at 700mA was way too high PAR for a tank that small. I ended up cutting it down to 350mA and the levels are far more reasonable. Things did grow though (before the algae). The sps seemed to like the light. the milli was encrusting it's plug really well. The rics split really fast too. Only thing was that everything stayed really small from all the light. Quote Link to comment
sjmusic2 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) Shame about the algae ! That's good to know about too much light, I'm going to have to put quite a bit of thought into the transition and acclimaton from mh to led once my build is complete (FYI, my EE came back to me with another idea on the driver, so he's prototyping right now, all looks good so far, using boost circuit this time from 12v, 30A cctv psu). I also switched the K2 blues for Rebel royal blues. Simon Edited March 12, 2009 by sjmusic2 Quote Link to comment
lazyreefer Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I am thinking of using LED for my 10 gallon tank. currently I have a 70W MH over it but it seems to be too dim for my BTA. would 12 (6 white and 6 royal blue) Cree XR-E 3W watters without optics be enough for this tank? trying to go for 150W 12k MH look. Thanks! awesome thread! Quote Link to comment
mdavis203 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I've got all my parts in and ready to drill and tap my heat sink and start mounting the LED's. I'm a little concerned about the soldering. Should I be worried about overheating the LED's? Would appreciate any tips. Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 14, 2009 Author Share Posted March 14, 2009 I am thinking of using LED for my 10 gallon tank. currently I have a 70W MH over it but it seems to be too dim for my BTA. would 12 (6 white and 6 royal blue) Cree XR-E 3W watters without optics be enough for this tank? trying to go for 150W 12k MH look. Thanks! awesome thread! 50% more LEDs, and 60 degree optics to hit the targets you want. I've got all my parts in and ready to drill and tap my heat sink and start mounting the LED's. I'm a little concerned about the soldering. Should I be worried about overheating the LED's? Would appreciate any tips. High wattage soldering irons are the key here. I recommend 40W+, but you can get away with less. The longer you have to keep the iron on the pad to melt the solder, the more the LED is heating up. More wattage will heat the area faster than the LED can heat up. Quote Link to comment
mdavis203 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 (edited) Hehe. I'm guessing my POS one from harbor freight won't cut the mustard. Edit: Had to go to Lowes anyway to pick up drill and tap bits. Picked up one of the pistol-style irons... 100/140 watts. That should do it. Edited March 14, 2009 by mdavis203 Quote Link to comment
keli Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 (edited) What's a tap bit used for? This has been bugging me for a while, English is not my native language so pardon my ignorance. Edited March 14, 2009 by keli Quote Link to comment
chazde3 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 What's a tap bit used for? This has been bugging me for a while, English is not my native language so pardon my ignorance. A tap puts threads into the metal so you can use screws to hold the LEDs down. Quote Link to comment
mdavis203 Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 This past weekend, I tapped my heat sink for my LED project. It was my first experience with tapping, and I was so stoked to see how well it worked. Felt like I had learned a whole new skill set. Tips: Use a drill press to drill the starter hole. Use cutting oil (or some other lubricant). Back out the tap every half-turn or so. Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Cutting oil is your friend. Quote Link to comment
flooded Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I recently set up an Eclipse 12 FOWLR. Looking for a lighting solution so I can turn this guy in to a reef tank I came across this awesome forum. I have not been able to get any help from my LFS and trying to figure out how to retrofit and safely fit lighting has been vexing. This thread has brought me some hope. To get me started in planning, my questions are: What sort of lights should put under the factory hood and in what configuration? Can/should I keep the standard filter assembly? I am afraid it is going to get in the way but I thought I would ask anyway. I can post a picture if you need. I have really enjoyed following this thread. Thank you for your help! Quote Link to comment
mdavis203 Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) I recently set up an Eclipse 12 FOWLR. Looking for a lighting solution so I can turn this guy in to a reef tank I came across this awesome forum. I have not been able to get any help from my LFS and trying to figure out how to retrofit and safely fit lighting has been vexing. This thread has brought me some hope. To get me started in planning, my questions are: What sort of lights should put under the factory hood and in what configuration? I'm no expert by any means, seeing as how I'm in the process of building my first LED retro, but I would recommend 6 cool white LED's on one 1000 mA buckpuck and 5 royal blue LED's on another 1000 mA buckpuck for lighting. I don't know anything about the dimensions of the Eclipse 12, but some variation of Waterproof's BC14 LED Build would probably fit your lighting needs. It depends on how big of a heat sink you can put in the hood. Edited March 17, 2009 by mdavis203 Quote Link to comment
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