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Fluval Flex 15 reef conversion


LogistcalReefer

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LogistcalReefer

Started this tank 3 weeks ago.  Initial plan was to add 2 actinic strips to the stock lighting and see how it did.  This worked OK.  Probably was good enough for lps and softies. 

 

How it looked before the mod

 

IMG_20180614_103624317_HDR.thumb.jpg.84c158902ab65149027732411a264ca5.jpg

 

But I ran across a member here selling 3 blue acro pucs for pretty reasonable price. I grabed then used 2 to upgrade my home 35gallon cube light, and used the 3rd to be the basis of a diy light for the flex

 

Parts:

Blueacro acrostar half mega pro

2x700 mAh ldd-h drivers (could of gone one but leaving option open for controler and let me use a lower voltage psu)

5.5in makers led slim heatsink

Laptop powersupply I had laying around.  

Fan/heatsink I had from a beamswork freshwater light that clips perfectly onto the heatsink.  I am running it at 5v so it's basically silent.

5v buck powersupply for future controller and powering fan.

 

Build was simple, mounted everything inside the heatsink.  Wired up the fan on top to the 5v converter, then cut a 5in hole centered over the display section of the tank.  Currently held in place with gorilla mounting tape.

 

Future plans is converting one of the reer chambers to a refugeum, possibly getting an intankedia media basket for the other chamber.  Maybe upgrade the pump but it's not horrible so prolly run it until o have a reason to swap it out.  

 

Pics below

 

IMG_20180616_150024897_HDR.thumb.jpg.98c942daecca7586a11108eb344181b9.jpg

IMG_20180616_145952963_HDR.thumb.jpg.bda9c6e583e850b8293d3995ae88fc63.jpg

IMG_20180618_085742511_HDR.thumb.jpg.099a98f1af4f38bdf60615402872ed4b.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello! Looks like you did an excellent job on your light upgrade! I am really interested in these Blue Acro LED pucks, but I'm a total noob with electronics. Would you be willing to post a little more information about the components you selected, and how you wired everything together? I would really appreciate it!

 

Thank you!

 

-Detritus

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LogistcalReefer

its really pretty simple wiring.  used 2 ldd-h 700mah drivers, could of done it with one, but keeping the build open to some type of controller later on.  the supply side gets wired to the power supply (needs t be 3v higher or more than the leds draw) then you wire up the leds from the driver, with one puck its pretty much wire + to + - t -, blueacro has some nice wiring diagrams.  if you want dimming, gets a bit more complicated and many more options out there, easiest is using a bluefish mini which is what the nanobox lights use it and is very user friendly.

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Thank you for the info! That Bluefish controller looks really great, so I appreciate the tip. For me, I'm hoping to control the LED's using ReefPi, a Raspberry Pi based home-brew controller project. I'm just trying to get a general overview of what you need to do this, and what it costs. So far do you like the light the Blue Acro puck?

 

Thanks!

 

-D

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LogistcalReefer

i have dabled with that reef pi, it will work fine with the drivers i used. i'm kampo on reef2reef my freshwater tank uses reef-pi for its controller

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LogistcalReefer

yes i like the blue acro puck, i have 2 over my main reef as well, plaining on a hybrid light when I go bigger at home. 3-4 pucks + 4 t5s

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Wow, very cool! I have dabbled in Linux since 1995, so the ReefPi project appealed to me. I am "Fish Fan" on R2R, and I am occasionally active on the ReefPi discussion there. The project owner, Ranjib, is AWESOME about replying to my stupid beginner questions. And I too am also interested in using ReefPI on my freshwater tanks, and I noticed that Blue Acro has a freshwater planted LED strip available. This appeals to me because I am tossing around the idea of having two "twin" tanks side-by-side, basically the same, except one saltwater and one freshwater. I'd like the lighting systems to more or less look the same on both tanks, except, of course in the light spectrum of each. For example, if money was no object for me, I would do twin Kessil A160's, one sun and one blue. The play nicely with the ReefPi project, and would look great, but are a little spendy for me right now. So with these Blue Acro LED's, it looks like I can do a DIY fresh and saltwater build, and incorporate the ReefPi controller fairly inexpensively. 

 

Thanks for your help!

 

-D

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LogistcalReefer

i have twin 20in cubes, one is freshwater high tech other is a reef. my fresh tank uses a "fresh fish" cob from phillips and a vero 18 2700k cob combo and its really amazing. 

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Cool! Do you have more info or pics of that system anywhere? I want to basically do that kind of thing with two IM Fusion 10's in the corner of our living room. Are you on any planted forums or anything? And are the COB sets you mentioned dimmable with ReefPi, do you know?

 

-D

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LogistcalReefer

yes i'm fairly active on plantedtank.net  there is a build thread on there for my tank, has not been updated in a bit. i've gotten the reef bug lately

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Believe it or not, I am not a Facebooker, so that link didn't wrok too well for me. I am, however, on PT.net myself. Could I look up your build?

 

Thanks!

 

-D

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