anyone here have led diy experience

S

Skuba

New member
i posted a thread around for a led build i wanna start on my display fuge but haven't gotten any answers hopping i can get some here so i can order

I have a Aqueon Evolve 8 gallon plumbed to my display as a display refugium with some nice display macros.
My goal is a nice looking light that will easily support any macros, and possibly a occasional frag so i plan on doing a full spectrum build. I'm new to LEDS so I'm gonna need some critiques to my plan.
I already have the heat sink.
So heres my first plan and want to hear some opinions.
6 Cree XT-E royal blues
3 TCree XT-E Neutral white
4 True Violets
1 or 2 ocean coral white pucks
and 1 or 2 Royal blue moonlights
all with standard 120 optics

I'm also thinking of adding 1 cool white far away from the cluster in the back tp light my overflow chamber bc i have a ball of chaeto back their that i don't want to see, or maybe illl just scrap the chaeto back their.

The light I'm planning on building some kind of canopy to block the light spill from the sides of the tank, since its next to my main display I'm currently getting a lot of light spilling over and don't get the nice nighttime observing in their at the moment.
for drivers I'm thinking 2 of the Rapidled nano drivers with built in potentiometers(1 for royal blue and violet, 1 for cow and whites) and 1 moonlight driver

Misc items: Solder gun, solder, thermal grease, wires

Anything you'd suggest or change please don't hesitate, also not to sure on how to lay the leds out so I'm all ears
 
Hey skuba.. sorry no one has answered. To ME, that seems to be alot of money & light for a(n) 8 gallon fuge just growing Macro's although in your statement you would put an occassional frag or 2. So I also understand what you are going though. You will have to really decide on what suits you best. As far as the cheato in the overflow chamber.. your statement already made the decision for you.. "i have a ball of chaeto back their that i don't want to see, or maybe illl just scrap the chaeto back their." So no need to put a(n) LED and no need to make things more complicated for you build.

As far as the pattern design for your lighting, your going to have to figure that out. The amount of LED's and color ratio's play a role.
I went with the standard criss cross pattern for mine with each string having 14 LEDS.
RB W RB W RB W RB W RB W RB W RB W
W RB W RB W RB W RB W RB W RB W RB
If you look for my LED build you'll understand more... Rapid LED also has a diagram on how to string them.

I did mention that to you before about light spilling out since the tanks are side by side.

ALL LED's have the 120* optics.. that's pretty much a manufacturer standard.
You may want to look into adding additional 60 or 80* optics to go over the led's to focus the light inside the tank, those are free with purchase.

Building a canopy will help, however you will still have light shining into the other tank because of the proximity of each tank to one another. Unless you build a closed box with an open front or perhaps use black vinyl for the sides of the tank to help.

Sometimes it's best to keep things simple and sweet... I still have a hard time following my own advise LOL!! GL... ju can do it!!
 
Thanks OPG. Yea I'm not having a algae issue with the spillage but I don't like the bright light disrupting my nighttime viewing. I think I am going to build a canopy with sides. When I was using the 10 gal as originally planned I painted the side. But after breaking two 10s I went acrylic. The build I figure would only run around 100$ if I'm using 6RB. 3 NW. 4UV and 1 OCW. I'm not sure if I'll hang the fixture like 10" above with the canopy doin can easily get in and out of it. Or with the makers heat sink you can bend tubing to make legs for it to sit in the tank. But then it'll be a pain to put my hand in the tank.
I haven't ordered yet since I'm waiting on tips like this.
U seen my setup and know what I'm looking to achieve. So what would you reccomend I do. I already have the 6" makers heat sink. And it's sexy lol
 
I looked at your build again and the only solution I can see is what was mentioned (the canopy with sides). I'll also have it built with a removable top flap and have the new fixture hang down so that way you raise or remove the flap and then you can move the fixture out of the way, so now you have access to the inside. JMO...
 
Yea I got a few ideas for that. The carpentry is the easy part for me. The LEDs ate another language tho lol. I've gotten about 6 different opinions from people on what colors to use. And being that I've yet to see any in person besides manufactured fixtures I don't know what's best and need to just take a trust worthy opinion and go with it. What would your opinion be for the lights as far as amount colors and optics and models
 
Your growing Macro's... doesn't require much lighting except the Dragon's Breath. You can even use a 18W 50/50 power compact.

1 driver set at 700mA non dimmable with 14 leds and put ALL the LED'S together. 6 RB, 6CW & 2 UV. (You run the driver at 650- 700mA so as not to blow out the leds.) Then add the MoonLights to it. Simple, Sweet and Works. Also buy a multimeter and go with 80* optics.
 
I actually have the old coralife fixture layin around. I think uses 2 9w pcs. But seems like of bulbs are hard to find. I guess that's a option. Or even that jbj macro glow they have in like a 25w
 
Looking at rapids full spectrum par38. But the more I think about it I think with macros I want a less blueish tint. So I may try 2 royal blue. 2 cool white. 2 warm white and 2 true violet. Put the whites on one dimmer and the blue and uv on another. You think this would give a nice macro tank look? I already have the heat sink and really want to try a DIY led for fun. If not maybe I'll save it for a 24 gallon aquapod I have in storage and make a frag tank with it lol
 
Whoops meant ledtrics par38. ANSI thought the violet didn't do much but add a little pop? U don't think it's good in their if I wanted done small zooas? What layout would you do on this set up
 
The PAR38 from there are for home use, color temps are very yellow; I'd only use the 5K for fuge only. The RB and B will give most zoos a pop but if you're looking for a little more the violet will add a nice touch but I'd probably stick to just 1.
 
The WW will have plenty of red...

This is the WW color spectrum
final__61062_zoom.jpg


and the red spec
final__97742_zoom.jpg
 
Over an 8 gallon I'd also recommend a par38 for ease of use, but if you want to do a DIY custom with a focus on macro, I'd do 2CW, 2WW, 2RB (only need RB if putting a coral in - it will also whiten the WW up so it looks a bit less yellow). There will be plenty of red spectrum in there to grow macro. I'd use 80 degree lenses unless you are installing them in a hood very close to the water, then go lensless and keep the leds centerish to maximize spread. If going with 80 deg lenses, you're going to want to be 1-2feet off the water. I dont think you have to use a separate dimmer for RB with this application unless you want to spend the extra $30. Rapidled has a new 700mah dimmer-based nano driver (the black one on their site) that will work well for you. You can turn down the brightness a bit when introducing new macro so you dont shock them as much, and although the leds can go to 1500mah, 700mah is more than bright enough - you gain very little perceptible brightness when approaching 1amp on these LEDs - thats what I've observed. And it feels good to drive them well within their comfort range which will extend their life and reduce heat.

4 whites as I recommended over a 8g is going to be overkill and will give you some headroom - dont listen to those that say you need a led per gallon or whatever.. the same folks that then run at 35% brightness?!? :) I run a par38 over my 12g which has 2 cw and 3rb and I've grown almost every sort of corals, even SPS, very well. I later did add 6 more blue but I was going for the dr seuss look and I wanted to experiment a little with LEDs - 6 turned out to be way too much, 3 would have done it.

If the TV is the same as the "UV," skip it. Its useless and if memory serves, doesnt UV kill algae?! :) I put a UV over my tank to see what all the fuss was about and as soon as the RB turned on it was invisible - like I held my finger over it and couldnt see anything change. On its own, it only accentuated greens in corals. I think UV is a fad that will pass once more people actually start trying it. I'd also skip red - tried that one too and it only accentuated my red sponges and gorgonian, and it gives an awful cyanoish tint to everything.

On my new build, I used blues with my RB in 1:2 ratio. I can see why people like them, its a bit more natural, but I think I prefer the look of the RB's on their own, or with maybe only 1 or two blues just to bring the color a hair more towards "cyan" than "purple." For a macro tank with occasional coral use, I'd skip blues- it will only add to disco effect and I dont know what benefit it will give macro spectrum-wise.

Keep it simple! Good luck!
 
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That's the driver I been looking at with the pot already on it. Basically if you see my thread of my tank I got my display and rite next to it is the display fuge. It's a aqueon evolve 8. The led that came with it probably is enough light and don't look bad. But since I get a lot of light spilling into my display and gotta build a canopy/partition anyway I figured I'd upgrade. And found someone selling a 6" makers heat sink for a good deal and impulse bought it. So even though a par bulb prob is easiest I don't want to waste the makers. Which par bulb would you go with? And if I go with the par you think I'd be able to use the 6" sink for a light on a 24 gallon aquapod? It says it can hold 25 LEDs
 
I guess it depends on how many leds you use and how long it is..

I dont know what the best par bulb is now. I'd get one you can configure. Mine is a Evil which is no longer made.
 
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