diy led lights

[xandrew245x]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums, and fairly new to saltwater, I'm about a month and a half into my first tank

I have a 75 gallon tank, that I bought off of some guy, it came with T5 lights, powerheads, sump, heater, skimmer, return pump and a few other things. I got it all for $400.

I don't like the T5 lights, so I am planning on building my own led fixture.

I attached a picture of my basic design.

Heres my parts list.

Rapidled.com

2-36 Ultra Premium LED DIY Kit with Dimmable Drivers $280.00 ea
1-4 LED Moonlight Kit $18.00ea
1-DIY 2 color dimming kit $30.00 ea

Heatsinkusa.com

2- 12x8.5 heat sinks $29.52 each

coolerguys.com

2-Lian Li 140mm Crystal Clear Ball Bearing Fan w Blue LEDS CF-1412A $12.95 ea
1-CG 110v AC to 12v DC Power Supply with 4 Pin Molex (2000mA) $14.95 ea
1- Case Bay 4pin Molex Extension for 3.5in Bay $4.95 ea

I currently have these led fans mounted in the back of my entertainment stand with a temp controller and they are awesome!

Aluminum stock for frame $34.70

I believe this is it, minus the tools, which I all have except for a soldering iron, let me know what you guys think.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

That's a LOT of LEDs for a 75g. What are you planning on keeping in the tank? If it were me, I'd drop down to a single 48 LED kit assuming you're buying from rapidled. And I'd ask them to change the ratio to something other than 1:1 of cool white XP-G to royal blue XP-E, since that'll look rather white to most people. I'd also ask them about swapping some of the cool white XP-G for warm white or neutral white, to avoid a washed out look due to the lack of red/yellow in the cool white XP-G.

With the massive heatsinks you are planning, you don't need the fans unless the heatsinks will be completely enclosed in a hood or otherwise restricted.

 

[xandrew245x]

Oh yeah, I forgot to say, I was going to do 1 white to three blues, I was recommended two 36 light kits, but I too thought that was a little excessive since I was going to use lenses on them anyways.

I want to be able to keep any kind of coral in my tank, but I think I am going to focus on a mixed reef right now.

I'm not sure yet if I am going to build it into a hood yet or not, but I am going to make it so it can be easily incorporated into one if I ever make up my mind.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I was recommended two 36 light kits

...by someone who's trying to sell you LED kits I suspect?

If you trace the "history" of LED lighting on reef tanks back to Soundwave's first build on his 75g, you'll see he was able to keep a typical mixed reef. He had only 48 XR-E LEDs, which off the top of my head are probably around 30 - 40% less efficient than the LEDs you're talking about using. He also had no optics, which is a very big factor depending on your fixture's height above the tank.

Unfortunately, I think many people are still using rules of thumb that were developed based on older LEDs, and are not taking into account the increased efficiency and potential for higher drive currents we have with newer LEDs. This is pretty obvious if you read through recent LED threads on here. I can't remember anyone recently complaining about their fixture not being powerful enough, but there are lots of threads where people are bleaching corals or running gigantic fixtures dimmed way way down.

 

[xandrew245x]

Okay, that saves me like $150 bucks on leds! If I threw in a couple neutral whites, would I need another driver to power them? What about doing cool whites, and maybe throwing in 2 or 3 red leds?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I'd just substitute neutral or warm for some of the cools, not add them as additional LEDs. But of course it's up to you.

I really don't like the concept of using monochromatic LEDs for adding warmth. You get a wider spectral distribution from the warm or neutral LEDs vs. monochromatic reds.

 

[jayjigga]

That's a LOT of LEDs for a 75g.

Wait, say wha?? Haha...not to threadjack, but you would probably say that 42 leds per half of a 90G is overkill then, huh?

Hmm...

And OP, I don't recommend reds either. Let's see the build soon

 

[xandrew245x]

Thanks guys, how many cools should I substitute out?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Jay - for reference, I'm running roughly 72 LEDs on a 360g tank and am able to bleach corals to death if I'm not careful. Granted, 16 of these LEDs are XM-L running at 2A but still, it goes to show that high counts aren't a requirement.

Andrew, it's hard to say, since this is an area that depends somewhat on personal preference and is more or less still being "figured out" in general. I'd start with half of your whites cool, and half either neutral or warm - choose depending on whether you want to emphasize red (warm white) or yellow/orange (neutral white). Don't worry about the tank looking "too warm" as you'll have enough royal blues to keep the typical deep-blue look. The neutral/warm is just there to round things out.

 

[xandrew245x]

Okay thanks, for my frame I was thinking about either using 1"x1.25" .125 thickness rectangular tube, or 3/16 thickness 1"x1" L shaped aluminum, thoughts? I'm leaning towards the L shaped because one its cheaper, and it would be easier to mount my heatsinks to.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Use whatever you want if it's simply structural. Those heatsinks are HEAVY so keep that in mind.

 

[xandrew245x]

Yeah, I know they are heavy, thats why I was asking for advice, I don't know what thickness to use, I don't want them to bend in the middle or anything.

 

[coreyg]

I used the L shaped aluminum and no bending with 3 heat sinks mounted to it. I used pop rivets to attach it to the heat sinks.

 

[xandrew245x]

What thickness did you use?

 

[coreyg]

not 100% sure maybe like 14gauge, I bought it from lowes.

 

[xandrew245x]

Okay, I know aluminum is strong, so I think 3/16 thick would be strong enough, but I really want to make sure before I buy it.

 

[coreyg]

I tried to search lowes website, but they didn't list it. Its in the hardware section at lowes. I ran a it down both sides of the heat sink. I'll draw up a pic of what I did and post it on here.

 

[xandrew245x]

I was going to make a rectangular shape out of the L shaped stock, and then run a brace across the center for extra strength.

 

[2Quills]

...by someone who's trying to sell you LED kits I suspect?

No that was actually me.

Andrew came to me on another site and asked for a recommendation and sounded like he had a little cash to play around with so I recommended the two 36 kits. But also recommended we keep his build out in the open so that he can hear some different perspectives other than just mine. Especially since I'm pretty much the polar opposite of a minimalist when it comes to just about anything that I do.

Certainly not necessary to have that high of a count for a mixed tank. But he was talking about adding red leds so I figured he might be the type who may want to experiment with some different colors in the future.

Was thinking maybe he could run 48 leds for his main lighting, blue and whites. And then have a couple of drivers to play around with for supplimental experimentation. I see lots of folks start out with a minimum only to end up adding things to it in the long run. This way he'd be set up with what he needs and have the option of not having to make major changes to his rig down the road. Could simply swap out some colors to experiment with while still hanging on to a basic combo that we all know works for sustaining corals.

It's very difficult to make recommendations to other people when it comes to lighting as was pointed out...everybody has different tastes. And there are a million and one ways to skin a kitty.

 

[xandrew245x]

I do have some cash, but I would like to keep it as cheap as I possibly can. I think I would rather use one 48 led kit, its cheaper, and should get the job done with using the lenses. I appreciated everyones advice from the other forum, but I wanted some others opinions before I dove right into this project!