Cheap ($25) DIY LED for Mixed Reef Picos & Refugiums

[MedievalITGuy]

On 1/29/2018 at 3:20 PM, Lingwendil said:

Does anybody sell individual Mint LEDs mounted to stars yet? I haven't seen any so far. I would love a few to play with..

Honestly, I'm not sure. I've been so focused on drivers and housings for my projects, I haven't started looking for someone supplying Mint/Lime LEDs yet.

[Lingwendil]

Steves LEDS and rapid both do the lime mounted, but mint is still pretty new. Theatrus (our member that does the BlueAcro boards) uses the mint in some of his newer boards, I like them a great deal, but want to see about getting a few mounted to play with layouts for future projects.

[mariahranch]

I know this is an older thread, but wanted to thank you for going in to detail about everything needed and the exact instructions on how to build the light. I just decided to start my first saltwater tanks, and got out two of my old Fluval Spec 1 tanks I used to have as fresh water  and needed an affordable lighting solution. This is my first lighting project. I followed your instructions and just finished the first light, I like it enough I'll build another identical light. 

 

My next problem was mounting the light over the spec tank, and I couldn't find any information anywhere for how to mount the heat sink. I've attached pictures of what I came up with. I had a piece of lexan cut to fit on top of the existing lid and then used four stainless bolts as stand offs to raise the light. The hole on the heat sink had to be driller slightly larger and the head of the bolts had to be filed so they would fit between the fins of the heat sink, this also helped hold the bolt in place while tightening the lock nuts. I know this solution won't allow me to adjust the distance from the tank but it looks decent and I can dim the light as needed while acclimating the inhabitants. Hope these pics might help anyone else following your tutorial!

 

 

[Cpl_Wiggles]

Great job! Not long after loaning my DIY light to a friend, the Driver burnt out and melted the switch housing. Not sure what I did wrong - must be the power supply?

[Lingwendil]

Probably a wiring issue causing the switch to short out.

[ajmckay]

So funny story...

 

The ballast on my t5ho went out so now I'm looking for ideas on how to light a simple display refugium.  Go figure my own DIY was #5 in my search results lol.  

 

Mariahranch, great addition with the simple mounting solution!  How's it holding up for you almost 2 years later?   Last year I took down the 3g fluval spec I used this light on, but I still have the light and it still works great. 

 

I'm trying to think if I would do anything differently with this now several years later and honestly I don't think I would.  Granted cheap offerings on Amazon have gotten better in recent years, but I still say that you get higher quality LEDs and a nice experience going the DIY route. 

 

One thing I may experiment with on my 40b is using an esp8266 or esp32 to give individual channel control.  Not quite as simple as this is, but it's the logical next step. 

[mcarroll]

On 11/4/2017 at 5:42 PM, ajmckay said:

This DIY is intended for a pico or small nano mixed reef tank that's around 1-6 gallons. Could also be used as a refugium light or other small scale need.  

 

I'm trying to get this DIY our there because pico tanks are super fun and they're becoming much more popular too. They also have very simple lighting requirements despite what some people might say.  You don't need to spend $100+ on a pico light!  Many of the commercially available lights are simply overkill for a typical mixed reef pico. On the flip side the cheap Amazon/eBay lights can have sketchy quality, bad color rendering, or low PAR. The cheap lights can also be overkill because they're so cheap that we tend to overbuy. 

 

So rather than spending a ton on a light that's overkill or buying a light that you don't know if it will even work take a look at DIY.  This light has exactly the features needed for a typical mixed reef pico or small nano.  Also it's super easy.  I'm tempted to buy these parts again and have my 7 year old try to build it - I actually think she could with some practice soldering.

 

FYI I'm using this light on my Fluval Spec III and it works much better than the stock light!

 

Still to do: Design a simple mounting solution.  I'll update with that video when I've made one.

 

 

Materials list - total cost: $25.

$5 Meanwell LDD-700 HW https://www.ledsupply.com/led-drivers/mean-well-ldd-h-series-cc-step-down-mode

 

$8 2x Royal Blue XT-E https://www.ledsupply.com/leds/cree-xlamp-xt-e-royal-blue-leds

 

$4 1x Neutral white (4000-5000K) https://www.ledsupply.com/leds/cree-xlamp-xt-e-white-leds

 

$3 12-24v LED PWM dimmer https://www.amazon.com/XtraLED-Dimming-Controller-Lights-Ribbon/dp/B00H8KTXNU (can get it prime for $6)

 

$5 12v 2A DC power supply https://www.amazon.com/Choose-Nice-TM-Switching-Regulated/dp/B00LPCX2BQ/ref=sr_1_34?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1509556333&sr=1-34&keywords=12v+power+supply includes plug adapter

 

 

You'll also need some wire, thermal paste, epoxy, and an old computer heatsink or something similar.

 

Credits: I did not come up with this idea, just modified the information found on thePlantedTank.net.

Very cool base project!

 

BTW, it's not dimmable by default (add $ and it is), but @TinyGiant's old "cheap Chinese led" thread is still by far the cheapest DIY I know of.  

 

Also one of the easiest since it uses ballasted gu10 bulbs and sockets rather than naked emitters...so it uses straight 110v current.   I've built a few renditions of the original design.  (The original design is quite rustic.  I don't build mine exactly that way.)

 

 

2¢