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How To - Aquastyle DIY LED - Coral Photos Added


Trogdor447

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sounds like there is

A: A bad connection

B: A bad led

 

Please do as I said - remove the LED from the chain and power it up without it -

 

THEN put a different LED in it's place (if you got an extra one or 2.. which he normally sends)

 

Yup going to do that when I get home from work. Just was curious.. thanks!

 

EDIT: Turns out the neg and the pos pads on that LED were switched somehow so its all up and running now... just have to hang it now.

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first day with the lights on.. but only half of the corals are opened, is there a chance they could be in shock from the lights? idk

 

 

Yes very likely that's the case I would keep the leds running at a minimum power! They are drastically more powerful

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I'm thinking about ordering a light kit to put over a 40 breeder project i'm about to start. My question is - would you say the 36 light kit with two heatsinks is more than sufficient for a 40 breeder mixed reef - softies, lps and a few sps, or would 2 of the 24 light kits be a better choice? If i go with only one kit, i'd save about $60...

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Sorry for the lack of updates life has been crazy - earthquake, hurricane, flooding, house sitting, prepping a move, travel for a job.. So i will get back to updates soon - GHA is starting to grow in the tank .. Lack of maint - have not been able to get at it..

 

I got a bigger powerhead and a 'sump' take that is going to be a temp tank when i move.

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Sorry for the lack of updates life has been crazy - earthquake, hurricane, flooding, house sitting, prepping a move, travel for a job.. So i will get back to updates soon - GHA is starting to grow in the tank .. Lack of maint - have not been able to get at it..

 

I got a bigger powerhead and a 'sump' take that is going to be a temp tank when i move.

 

Trog, sorry to hear that. It has been nuts here Central, PA. Luckily I was safe from the flooding with only a little groundwater that wet the corner of my basement. I am so glad that your levee held up there!

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I have a 29 Gallon tall measuring 30"L x 18"T x 12"W. I am wanting to upgrade to LEDs and should I get the 36 LEDs DIY Dimmable Kit for my tank? And will I be able to have SPS including acro's with these LEDs?

 

I am somewhat a novice at wiring, but I do know people who know how to do it. :)

 

Also, what color combinations should I get? I want he best viewing colors of the corals, and also the best growing rate.

Should I get:

18 White, 18 Blue

18 White, 16 Blue, 2 UV

18 White, 14 Blue, 2 Red, 2 UV

 

I'm also assuming that you guys all bought them from AquaStyle Online?

 

Thanks

 

Damien

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I have a 29 Gallon tall measuring 30"L x 18"T x 12"W. I am wanting to upgrade to LEDs and should I get the 36 LEDs DIY Dimmable Kit for my tank? And will I be able to have SPS including acro's with these LEDs?

 

I am somewhat a novice at wiring, but I do know people who know how to do it. :)

 

Also, what color combinations should I get? I want he best viewing colors of the corals, and also the best growing rate.

Should I get:

18 White, 18 Blue

18 White, 16 Blue, 2 UV

18 White, 14 Blue, 2 Red, 2 UV

 

I'm also assuming that you guys all bought them from AquaStyle Online?

 

Thanks

Damien,

 

You do not have to order the default color selections. If you just email them before and tell Ray what you want, he will take care of you. The trend right now is 2:1 RB to W. I substituted 2 red and 4 uv in my 36 LED set-up. I counted those as blues.

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Why not just go half and half and dim out the whites a bit? I have a 50x1w fixture right now with 25w and 25b LEDs and I think with more blues it would just look too blue?

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Why not just go half and half and dim out the whites a bit? I have a 50x1w fixture right now with 25w and 25b LEDs and I think with more blues it would just look too blue?

Sanchez, I guess it will come down to what aesthetically pleases you. My opinion though is the whites will drown out the blues for sure, even at a 50:50 ratio. I would take pics of mine but each string has a mix of blues and whites. The predominantly white string blows out the blue string and has to be dimmed down quite a bit to get a good 14 K look.

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Thanks to the OP, i referenced this thread a few ti

Es during my build I ordered the 24 dimmable. Just finished the build today. I used 2 UV, 10 White, 12 Blue and the color is about 14k whith both set at the same intensity. I am very happy with aquastyle. I will try to post a before( with a 70w MH) and an after with the new led fixture.

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Sanchez, I guess it will come down to what aesthetically pleases you. My opinion though is the whites will drown out the blues for sure, even at a 50:50 ratio. I would take pics of mine but each string has a mix of blues and whites. The predominantly white string blows out the blue string and has to be dimmed down quite a bit to get a good 14 K look.

 

Cool, thanks for the input. Looking at getting one of these for my 40br project. Maybe I'll go 1.5:1 instead of 2 cause I like a little blue personally :)

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Here is my before and after shots i promised. Again the before is from a 70w fishneedit light with their stock bulb which is supposed to be 20k but looks like less than a 14k, anyways and the new light is the 24led dimmable unit from aquastyle with one string of 10 white and 2UV, and a string of 12 blues. Its on my 12g NC with no lenses. (might try those later and see. The leds are all turned up all the way and i get about the look of 20k, maybe a little lower but def more than 14k, which is perfect for my taste.

 

edit: sorry , didn't label very well, obviously the one that is more blue is the led (after) shot.

post-41391-1316789568_thumb.jpg

post-41391-1316789747_thumb.jpg

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I have been contemplating getting one of their smaller kits, 18watts, 6x3watts led kits for over my picotope reef. Its only 35bux. Sounds reasonable to me :) would you recomend this?

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jea i'd recommend it :) As you can see great success so far in here - I'm having GREAT growth so far on my GSP - my one sps died because of GHA (this was caused from all the trama of hell lately) I cant wait to get this move done and over with will be a 20L sump baffled and getting a skimmer.. Doing it 100% right after next move..

 

But Yea i just use a 1-1 ratio and dim the whites out - looks great.. You may like more blue though this is perfect imo with a little dim - plus i can set it down a little bit some days kind of mimicking clouds if you will. But thats silly i just let em rip :)

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jea i'd recommend it :) As you can see great success so far in here - I'm having GREAT growth so far on my GSP - my one sps died because of GHA (this was caused from all the trama of hell lately) I cant wait to get this move done and over with will be a 20L sump baffled and getting a skimmer.. Doing it 100% right after next move..

 

But Yea i just use a 1-1 ratio and dim the whites out - looks great.. You may like more blue though this is perfect imo with a little dim - plus i can set it down a little bit some days kind of mimicking clouds if you will. But thats silly i just let em rip :)

 

nice, thanks for the reply. the kit for my pico i was looking at doesnt have the dimmer but thats fine. i think the 1:1 white and blue ratio would be just perfect. i really want to do one of these diy leds, and gotta get a soldering iron. never used one, but youtube had some informative videos. closest thing i ever did to solderinig was welding class in highschool lol. soldering looks like cake ;) yeah i think if i get that small diy for my pico, i will probably see some crazy growth :D we will see. i keep you posted

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What other things do I need to get in order to complete the Aquastyle DIY 36 Dimmable LEDs? I know I need a soddering iron, electric tape, etc., but what else do I need?

 

Thanks!

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What other things do I need to get in order to complete the Aquastyle DIY 36 Dimmable LEDs? I know I need a soddering iron, electric tape, etc., but what else do I need?

 

Thanks!

where are you going to mount the pots? i got a project box at the Shack for 3 bucks and put them on there and the drivers inside. then mounted the box in the cabinet

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where are you going to mount the pots? i got a project box at the Shack for 3 bucks and put them on there and the drivers inside. then mounted the box in the cabinet

 

Forgive me stupid question, but are the "pots" the dimmer switches? And is a project box all I need?

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Forgive me stupid question, but are the "pots" the dimmer switches? And is a project box all I need?

Yes, the pots (potentiometers) are the dimmers. You do not "need" a project box. Some of us have done them but in no way are they a necessity.

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