bensanders Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Good deal. I'll be ordering 3 drivers, 3 10k slider pots, and 28 XP 60* optics from NC pretty soon. Evil, when do you think y'all will have the pots and optics back in stock? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Not sure. You will have to ask Chris or Nick that. Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 While a Multimeter is a pretty sweet thing to have around, this build is getting to be more expensive than I thought and I need to cut costs where I can. Do I need a multimeter for this project if I'm not using the ELN drivers? Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 While a Multimeter is a pretty sweet thing to have around, this build is getting to be more expensive than I thought and I need to cut costs where I can. Do I need a multimeter for this project if I'm not using the ELN drivers? You may. I had a couple LED's labeled incorrectly on the +/- terminals. Without a multimeter I would have NEVER found the problem. Go to radioshack and pick one up, you can always take it back... Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 While a Multimeter is a pretty sweet thing to have around, this build is getting to be more expensive than I thought and I need to cut costs where I can. Do I need a multimeter for this project if I'm not using the ELN drivers? No, but $20 will get you one that will do everything you will need. It's very useful to have to check all your connections from LED to LED to make sure you have no shorts or bad solder joints before you fire it up for the first time. It's a worthwhile investment. Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 You may not need any optics only having the fixture 6" off the surface. I will post a thread tonight with par readings I took with my 24 diy led kit. Could help you out. To sum it up they are INTENSE! What type of corals are you planning with the setup? Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 No, but $20 will get you one that will do everything you will need. It's very useful to have to check all your connections from LED to LED to make sure you have no shorts or bad solder joints before you fire it up for the first time. It's a worthwhile investment. Multimeter it is then! You may not need any optics only having the fixture 6" off the surface. I will post a thread tonight with par readings I took with my 24 diy led kit. Could help you out. To sum it up they are INTENSE! What type of corals are you planning with the setup? Well, 16" + 6" = 22" and I think optics are recommended for this height. I will probably end up hanging it 8" or so anyways, so optics gives me some room to play. I plan on keeping SPS up high, and LPS/softies down low. I also don't want light spilling out all over my classy living room edit: I snagged this paragraph from evil's ultimate LED guide: "Optics are not one of the parts that you will need in every application. The whole point behind them, whether they be reflectors or lenses, it to focus the light into a smaller area. These start to become more important for tanks over 12-14" tall. The amount of light at 12" is considerably less than at the surface, and it gets exponentially worse the deeper you go. Optics can help bring the performance back up to usable levels for deeper tanks." Pressing forward! NC/NT only has ten 60* XP optics left (they are getting out of the LED/optic game), so it looks like I'll be going with the 55* optics from RapidLED. I just ordered 3 TRC 700mA drivers and three 10k slider pots from NC/NT, and a 5.9" x 24" heatsink from HeatSinkUSA. Getting excited! Link to comment
BowieReefer84 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Multimeter it is then! Well, 16" + 6" = 22" and I think optics are recommended for this height. I will probably end up hanging it 8" or so anyways, so optics gives me some room to play. I plan on keeping SPS up high, and LPS/softies down low. I also don't want light spilling out all over my classy living room edit: I snagged this paragraph from evil's ultimate LED guide: "Optics are not one of the parts that you will need in every application. The whole point behind them, whether they be reflectors or lenses, it to focus the light into a smaller area. These start to become more important for tanks over 12-14" tall. The amount of light at 12" is considerably less than at the surface, and it gets exponentially worse the deeper you go. Optics can help bring the performance back up to usable levels for deeper tanks." Pressing forward! NC/NT only has ten 60* XP optics left (they are getting out of the LED/optic game), so it looks like I'll be going with the 55* optics from RapidLED. I just ordered 3 TRC 700mA drivers and three 10k slider pots from NC/NT, and a 5.9" x 24" heatsink from HeatSinkUSA. Getting excited! With my 12 xre rb and 12 xpg cw on full blast I get well over 200 par on my sandbed without optics on a 29gal biocube... The fixture puts out 1600+ out of water directly at the fixture... WITH optics I cannot even imagine what it would be? That said, I totally agree and understand with wanting to direct the light into the tank and not have it scattered all over the room. Just make sure you dim the lights, and try to get a par meter to test. I bleached a lot of my corals at first. I am about to create a detailed thread, and I'll pm ya some info. Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 This fixture is going over a new tank so luckily I don't have to worry about bleaching anything except a maroon clown and YWG, lol. I'll definitely need to dim and acclimate new corals accordingly though. Yeah, lemme know when you do your thread and I'll follow along. Thanks for your advice Bowie Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 When I wrote that, we were still figuring out certain things. You shouldn't really need optics until you are about 20-22" from the sandbed, unless you want really high PAR. Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 The following has been ordered from RapidLED: Rapid LED Items 10 Bulk Wire (White) @ $0.25 = $2.50 10 Bulk Wire (Blue) @ $0.25 = $2.50 10 Bulk Wire (Black) @ $0.25 = $2.50 1 Arctic Silver Premium Thermal Adhesive @ $13.99 = $13.99 1 4 LED Moonlight Kit @ $18.00 = $18.00 1 92mm Vantec Stealth Fan Kit @ $45.00 = $45.00 14 CREE XP-G Neutral White 3W LED with 65 degree White Lens @ $6.00 = $84.00 3 3-Prong Power Cord @ $2.50 = $7.50 1 4 Hook Wire Hanging Kit @ $10.00 = $10.00 29 CREE XP-E Royal Blue 3W LED on star @ $4.00 = $116.00 1 CREE XP-G Neutral White 3W LED on Star @ $5.00 = $5.00 Sub-Total: $306.99 Shipping: $0.00 (USPS Priority Mail) I ended up buying one extra LED of each color to be safe. I may put both RB drivers on one power cord so they can be timed together, but I'm not sure yet so I ordered an extra power cord as well. Copious amounts of wire are there because I plan on doing another build for my 10g soon. I plan on getting the remaining 60* XP optics from Javisaman...he's shipping me 30 of them for $25, which is a sweet deal (he even painted the optic casing flat black, which me likes). Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Wait. I need a driver for these LEDs? Jk I ordered 3 TRC 700mA drivers and 3 10k slider pots from NanoCustoms yesterday Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 What's your opinion on the Vantec Stealth fans, Evil? I know how you like the SilenX fans... Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Actually, I like SilenX fans a lot less than I used to. Their quality has gone downhill. Still decent fans, but not like used to be. Vantec Stealths are my choice for easy to get fans, but they don't have them in thin profiles, hence why we still stock SilenX fans on the NT site. If I could get anything, and not worry about paying for them, I'd get Panaflo's. Best fan out there, but you pay dearly for them. Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Ah, exactly the answer I was hoping to get. Thank you kindly! Link to comment
sammy113 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 This is gonna be awesome man! Subscribed to see how it turns out. Looks like is well planned I still haven't read the whole thread. Will catch up later. Good luck on your build! Link to comment
nickijon Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Nice work with the planning! You've got all your ducks in a line. Hope this continues smoothly. What's the consensus on using basic (cheap) sleeve bearing computer fans for cooling? eg. from jab-tech.com? Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 This is gonna be awesome man! Subscribed to see how it turns out. Looks like is well planned I still haven't read the whole thread. Will catch up later. Good luck on your build! Thanks Sammy, obviously your build was the inspiration here. Nice work with the planning! You've got all your ducks in a line. Hope this continues smoothly. What's the consensus on using basic (cheap) sleeve bearing computer fans for cooling? eg. from jab-tech.com? I hope things continue smoothly as well, although we all know it won't I don't know a thing about fans except that a bigger fan ran at a slower speed moves much more air than a smaller fan ran at a faster speed. Bigger fans are quieter too. Link to comment
bensanders Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 I received my order from RapidLED in a VERY timely manner. Packaging was great and the order was spot on with no dead LEDs. They even provide a free AA battery LED tester to make sure no LEDS are DOA. The Vantec Stealth fans are unbelievably quiet. Really, just stupid silent. My Nanocustoms order (drivers and pots) has been delivered, also with great packing and quick delivery. I should receive the heatsink tomorrow. Hoping to get the build done over the long weekend. Stay tuned! Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Done! Pictures of are from my iPhone. I would buy a nice camera, but you can imagine where all my extra money goes. Wiring up pots Gluing down LEDs Initial testing of a couple strings Bright The most badass drywall anchors Lowe's had. Provides me with a factor of safety of around 15 Wiring up the driver boxes. Don't mind the misaligned pots. This is just temporary until I get a controller. Installing the anchors and hanging kit Whites only A decent mix I'm sure to have suspicious neighbors... Moonlights I'm pleased A final look with cord management and fan placement I was surprised to have zero problems with this build. LEDs are easy! Let me know if you have any questions. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Looking good. Don't forget to add it to the list. Link to comment
gabe3eb Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Finished product looks awesome. Very clean. Link to comment
doppelganger Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 great job! haha love the pic of the outside of ur house. Link to comment
bensanders Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Thanks! What are everybody's thoughts on having all three drivers piratically on top of each other in the box? The box gets pretty warm, cool enough to keep my hand on it, but definitely not as cool as the heatsink or my 10g's T5 fixture, which get's pretty damn hot. I'm thinking I should drill some holes in the driver box for ventilation, but that may not be the best idea since it'll be sitting near wet test kits/tweezers/specimen cups/etc. Link to comment
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