DIY LED Build- 6g JBJ Nano

[bruinbball]

After seeing all of the great results on here, I was inspired to create my own LED lighting system in my 6 gallon Nano Cube. I'm sure I made a few mistakes that will be pointed out here shortly in the responses. Overall, I didn't start any fires or hurt myself so I consider that a success in itself. My main goals were to create a lighting upgrade from the stock CFLs, while keeping the costs to the bare minimum. I figured the initial costs of the LEDs would pay for itself in place of replacing the CFL bulbs every 6-9 mos at $20 a pop. This was my first time attempting anything related to electrical lighting and I must say it was fun putting it all together.

 

Here's a photo recap of what I created. Feel free to add any helpful hints or suggestions.

 

Supplies:

Inventronics dimmable driver

4x4 heatsink (RapidLED)

AC cord (RapidLED)

Wire connectors

5- 445nm blue 3w LEDs (Generic LEDs from ebay. Yes, I was on a budget)

4- 12k white 3w LEDs

Potentiometer and knob

Heatsink plaster

 

 

 

Here is a pic after I plastered the LEDs on the heatsink and wired them. I also wired up the potentiometer and the AC cord.

 

Edited April 24, 2012 by bruinbball

[bruinbball]

Here is the initial test run of the lights. I admit I was a bit hesitant to plug in the cord in fear of fire, explosion, etc. Luckily, it turned on successfully.

 

 

 

 

Next step: diassembling the stock hood to make room for the LED retro.

 

[bruinbball]

I attached an L-bracket to the heatsink and screwed it into one of the hood holes. Next came mistake #1 (or at least the first one I'm aware of since I know I probably made a few): I decided it would be a great idea to hook up the fans (red and black wires in the pic) to the same output as the LED. Bad move for several reasons (and I'm sure many more). First the lights weren't as bright. Also, the fans were now operating through the dimmer and sounded like a jet engine when turned all the way up. Needless to say, I quickly detached the fan wiring and they are no longer attached...to anything...(probably another mistake to be discussed later).

 

 

Here is the LED with the stock watershield put back on. Minus the fan wiring, which I took off after my initial mistake.

 

Edited April 26, 2012 by bruinbball

[bruinbball]

Here is the lighting on the tank at about 1/3 of the dimmer strength to let the corals acclimate. My zoas immediately started to open up within minutes of turning on the light. Some that weren't opened for days even started to peek out.

 

[tennis20]

Finally someone else with a jbj 6g!

[bruinbball]

Finally someone else with a jbj 6g!

 

Good to see another 6g on here! They seem to be pretty rare around these parts. I was trying to find someone else with a 6g LED that I could copy off of but I couldn't find anyone.

[bruinbball]

One of the main issues I think I have is cooling/air-circulation. Since detaching the fans from the dimmer, I have nothing circulating the air. There are 4 vents on the hood from the fans but no active air. I know that these LEDs run way cooler than my CFLs but I'm guessing I still need a fan or 2.

[PinkDamsel]

If you don't mind my asking, what was your total cost in parts?

 

BTW, I appreciate however you posted your pics - most are blocked by my corporate firewall, but I can see yours!

Edited April 26, 2012 by PinkDamsel

[bruinbball]

If you don't mind my asking, what was your total cost in parts?

 

BTW, I appreciate however you posted your pics - most are blocked by my corporate firewall, but I can see yours!

 

It was around $70-75 for everything including shipping. My biggest savings was getting the driver (slightly) used on ebay for around $30; normally around $50 new with tax/shipping, and also using generic LEDs. It would have been even cheaper for a non-dimmable setup but I like the coolness factor of the dimmer and was afraid of having too much light for my small tank without a way to dim it down. I already had a soldering iron, and a cheap wire cutter/stripper tool (not necessary but makes it a lot easier) so take that into account too. I can give you a breakdown of where I bought everything if you need.

 

Not sure what I did differently on my pics, but happy you can see them.

[PinkDamsel]

Thanks for sharing, and congrats.

[TJH8]

PM sent

[I'm Batman]

Hey I’ve got a JBJ 6g LED too and there’s literally no product information or support.

 

My LEDs were on the fritz and just burned out. I used Current USA leds under the hood as a replacement but they aren’t very bright. 
 

Has anybody tried a replacement driver for the original lights in the unit?