redkneecoral Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 this is exactly like the fluval edge yeah but better cuz he made this beauty and graf what an awesome investment with the LEDs great job and looking forward to see those bad lights shining in ya tank Link to comment
mattdunn1991 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Dude i must say it looks amazing i have a fluval edge myself and you must have put alot of hard work into making that i cant wait to see the finished setup. great work man Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 got the LEDs wired up. I just did a quick test on them to make sure they all worked with the driver, and they do! Didnt take any pics of them on yet, will wait for the final wiring for that. These things are DAMN bright. My eyes hurt from just was testing to see if the solder worked and testing for shorts with 2 AA batteries! I knew not to look at them when powered by a driver, but damn, didnt think AAs would hurt. Also, I used JB Weld to epoxy the LEDs down. Cuoldnt find thermal epoxy locally. I cut a square of eggcrate for each LED and then stacked books on them to try and get as thin as a layer of JB weld as possible. Anyways tips for people new to soldering, like me: 1. Make sure you put enough solder on the star leads when you tin them. I didnt, so when I started wiring them I had to go back and add more solder to them all...which made my joints much worse I think. 2. Keep tip clean somehow. I couldn't keep mine very clean, but it is MUCH easier with clean tip. 3. I didnt use any flux. I just used the solder and pre tinned wire from steve's LEDs. Seem to work pretty dang easy. Next up: Mount the drivers to heatsink. Mount fan on powersupply. (this is my only complaint from the product steves leds offers. The middle sized powersupply requires you to mount a fan to it. not a huge deal, just an extra step..) PICS first group tinned layout lots o books lookn good wired up Link to comment
gearedforacure Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 whats the dimensions of the heat sink? Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 whats the dimensions of the heat sink? heatsinkusa 7.28"x9" Link to comment
redkneecoral Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 that is so awesome. have to ask, how easy is this to build. Asking cuz i don't have any electrical skills but willing to learn Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 that is so awesome.have to ask, how easy is this to build. Asking cuz i don't have any electrical skills but willing to learn Go for it! This was only the second or third time in my life soldering. Its more a test of your nerves than anything else. This is part of the reason I created this thread. I wanted to show people that it is possible to do a great DIY project with minimal experience and minimal tools. You just need to do your research, ask questions, take your time and have fun with it! Link to comment
longbeachstateofmind Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 hey man where did you pick your led up from? Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 hey man where did you pick your led up from? http://shop.stevesleds.com/ Link to comment
mattdunn1991 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 hows the tank coming along mate Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 hows the tank coming along mate slowly. In the middle of another 12 day stretch of working 13-14hrs a day in a row. Picked up some primer and brushes yesterday. Finally decided how I am going to mount the heatsink in the hood today. I am working on gluing that system in the hood right now and then hopefully can put primer coat 1 on tomorrow Link to comment
MGDMIRAGE Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 You did an awesome job on this. I also have to blame you for my recent adventure Dremel diamond bit powered adventure. Link to comment
redkneecoral Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Go for it! This was only the second or third time in my life soldering. Its more a test of your nerves than anything else. This is part of the reason I created this thread. I wanted to show people that it is possible to do a great DIY project with minimal experience and minimal tools. You just need to do your research, ask questions, take your time and have fun with it! I'm glad you did thrown in this tread. Makes me wanting to do a DIY LED lights even more than before. If or when I get to that point, I would like to get with you on this. Thanks Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 new pics. painting is done. Will give my thoughts on it tomorrow, too tired now. Hit a snag today too...the way the drivers from steve's leds mount to heatsinks are a little silly, as you can see in photo. They stick up too high and the top part of hood hits them...not sure how im going to fix. may have to buy a separate heatsink for them...silly Link to comment
Doc Holiday Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Nice so far! Just taggin' along. Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 just had an idea to fix my snag...how hard is it to cut aluminum with a dremel? If i take a notch out of that back fin on the heat sink I could mount the drivers lower.. Link to comment
mattdunn1991 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Quick question, what are you doing about the LED's and condensation? or have you not thought about it? This is obvs a massive upscale of the orignal size, which means alot more water! the original Edge is a pain with condensation i have blowing two sets of led bulbs due to condensation getting inside the blub and blowing the lights now i know yours arnt blubs but would they be effected by the condensation? just sumit for you to think about but its looks good cant wait to see it finished off and filled Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Quick question, what are you doing about the LED's and condensation? or have you not thought about it?This is obvs a massive upscale of the orignal size, which means alot more water! the original Edge is a pain with condensation i have blowing two sets of led bulbs due to condensation getting inside the blub and blowing the lights now i know yours arnt blubs but would they be effected by the condensation? just sumit for you to think about but its looks good cant wait to see it finished off and filled The LEDs will be sealed in a chamber in the hood. I have a 1/8" piece of glass that I will be using for the bottom of the chamber. I am also planning on sitting another thin piece of glass or acrylic on the top of the "glass rim" that sticks up from the tank to cut down on evaporation. To answer my own question earlier about a dremel and aluminum, yes, it cuts it very well 1Hr + my favorite tool = I will remount the drivers later. I also still plan to add painting tips, just havent had the time. Link to comment
fote03 Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Very nice build! cant wait to see it full of coral! Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 Very nice build! cant wait to see it full of coral! I can't wait either! Getting closer by the day! Mounted the drivers tonight, fits perfect! Also siliconed in the piece of glass into the hood. perfect Painting tips: 1. Priming is easy. I did 3 coats. Sanded between each coat. Use oil primer and oil paint for fresh wood. 2. Use a tack cloth after sanding, it will grab up any remaining particles 3. Gloss paint may be more glossy than you expect. Mine was more gloss than I wanted, but still looks good 4. The paint coat runs more than primer. Use as little as possible to cover the area. Keeping the surface flat also may help, so you dont have gravity making it drip 5. I used foam brushes, not the greatest, but cheap, easy, disposable and you dont need to buy thinner 6. A little goes a long way. I bought a quart of primer. WAAAAAAY too much. I bought 8oz of black, only used around half that. Aluminum tips: 1. Self drilling, self tapping screws are NOT good. They do not self drill very well. I had one slip and almost hit a led with my drill...never will use them again to drill 2. Drilling aluminum is SIMPLE. Took about 15 sec to drill a pilot hole for each screw to mount drivers. I used some oil to help drilling, not sure if it is necessary, but seemed to work great 3. After pre drilling, I used a hand screw driver to put in the self drilling self tapping screws, worked great 4. Dremel cuts aluminum like butter. I used the simple emory cutting disc, not the reinforced one. 5. I used 35000RPM to cut with dremel. Take your time and let the RPMs do the work. Dont apply too much pressure 6. Wear eye protections will cutting with dremel, aluminum particles will fly Link to comment
grafxalien Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 I have decided I don't have the time or the tool required to build the full stand. I started looking online for stands to set my setup on, however, I cant seem to find any that will fit it right. The tank will be 20" wide and 17.5" deep. This includes the hood etc. Any idea on aquarium stands that will fit this? Or ideas off any alternatives? TV stands or something? Link to comment
grafxalien Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 I have decided I don't have the time or the tool required to build the full stand. I started looking online for stands to set my setup on, however, I cant seem to find any that will fit it right. The tank will be 20" wide and 17.5" deep. This includes the hood etc. Any idea on aquarium stands that will fit this? Or ideas off any alternatives? TV stands or something? any ideas? anyone? went to petco, petsmart, walmart, target, lowes and a local store today and struck out everywhere... Link to comment
grafxalien Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 More light escape than I was hoping but o well. I like it still. Link to comment
FishSticks Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 You should send this to Fluval and tell them to produce a bigger edge! nice job! subscribed. Link to comment
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