Tropenhelm
New member
OK a Litle hint please, what thread #or page #?
Its a Little much to scroll through thousands of threads.
Thanks
Helmut
Its a Little much to scroll through thousands of threads.
Thanks
Helmut
DIY LEDs - The write-up
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
- Status
marinelife
Active member
Just order the kits from rapidled.com
This is the best option I think!
This is the best option I think!
Tropenhelm
New member
OK Thanks I had a look at these, but how many do I need to get the right ammount of light? I saw the one with just 6 LED`s but that calculates to 18W LED`s. To how much Power Compact Watt is this to compare?
So would two Set`s of these be enoughf for my 29Gal Biocube.
I still coud not find the Thread from akindbro4u and his Lightfixture for the 29Gal.
Thanks for the help.
Helmut
So would two Set`s of these be enoughf for my 29Gal Biocube.
I still coud not find the Thread from akindbro4u and his Lightfixture for the 29Gal.
Thanks for the help.
Helmut
akindbro4u
New member
heres my build post, and you got pm
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16810757&postcount=2440
Tropenhelm
New member
Thanks akindbro4u,
I did see that earlier, but did somehow not get that this was for Your 29 Gal.
How was Your expierience with this Light? Better than the PC that is originally provided?
I have looked into these kits ((edit) from Cutter), and found the one I like.
The 12 LED Ultra version with dimmer. To play arround with.
I will having these on Timers, so seperatly turned on, first and last of the Day will be Blue only and during peak Daytime will be the white added.
The simple Timers should not cause any interference? I hope.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
Helmut
I did see that earlier, but did somehow not get that this was for Your 29 Gal.
How was Your expierience with this Light? Better than the PC that is originally provided?
I have looked into these kits ((edit) from Cutter), and found the one I like.
The 12 LED Ultra version with dimmer. To play arround with.
I will having these on Timers, so seperatly turned on, first and last of the Day will be Blue only and during peak Daytime will be the white added.
The simple Timers should not cause any interference? I hope.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
Helmut
akindbro4u
New member
To do dawn/dusk will require you to have your blue, and whites on different drivers. What were you planning on using?
Reef_Matrix29
Water Lover
Cool, I follow now and definitely agree.
Tropenhelm
New member
Good Morning,
so far is my List as Follows
from Rapidled their Ultra 12 Retro kit. with 6 Cree XP-G 5R; 6 RB XR-E with Lenses. No Lenses for the XP-G available at the moment. Driven seperate with 2 Meanwell ELN 60-48D dimmable drivers.
A heatsink with the exact mesurments what could fit in my Hood after removing the PC Stuff, about 11x8.5 Inches. the fans in the Hood I would like to get also rid of as they are too loud. I saw the Idea of using the bigger ones with less noise and hang them each on the circuit of the LED`s. If possible
Question, how much Watt do these Led`s have? 3W or 5W?
Thanks
Helmut
so far is my List as Follows
from Rapidled their Ultra 12 Retro kit. with 6 Cree XP-G 5R; 6 RB XR-E with Lenses. No Lenses for the XP-G available at the moment. Driven seperate with 2 Meanwell ELN 60-48D dimmable drivers.
A heatsink with the exact mesurments what could fit in my Hood after removing the PC Stuff, about 11x8.5 Inches. the fans in the Hood I would like to get also rid of as they are too loud. I saw the Idea of using the bigger ones with less noise and hang them each on the circuit of the LED`s. If possible
Question, how much Watt do these Led`s have? 3W or 5W?
Thanks
Helmut
Hello all!
Firstly, let me know if I am being too lazy and just need to do more research.
Secondly, here is my question.
I'm putting a pretty basic 12 LED fixture together. I've already got the power supply so I will be using Buckpucks rather than a Meanwell. Here is what I would like.
I would like to be able to dim the colors separately and have the blues come on first.
I've got two Powers but am wondering which Bucks to get: Plain, Dimming or Dimming w/POT. Would I save money by going with the Dimming model or would it end up being more expensive after getting POT from like Radioshack.
I guess if someone could just enlighten me on the Dimming and Potentiometer features of the Buckspucks then I would really appreciate it. I usually cannot find much info on these features in people build threads.
Firstly, let me know if I am being too lazy and just need to do more research.
Secondly, here is my question.
I'm putting a pretty basic 12 LED fixture together. I've already got the power supply so I will be using Buckpucks rather than a Meanwell. Here is what I would like.
I would like to be able to dim the colors separately and have the blues come on first.
I've got two Powers but am wondering which Bucks to get: Plain, Dimming or Dimming w/POT. Would I save money by going with the Dimming model or would it end up being more expensive after getting POT from like Radioshack.
I guess if someone could just enlighten me on the Dimming and Potentiometer features of the Buckspucks then I would really appreciate it. I usually cannot find much info on these features in people build threads.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Getting it with the pot is just more convenient - you could probably save money by getting a pot separately, but we're talking a buck or two here so it's not a huge deal unless you're building a gigantic rig.
I guess I'm just worrying too much. I should just make the orders already.
One last order list to satisfy my OCD.
6 CREE XR-E Q5 Whites
6 CREE XR-E RBs
2 MPJA PowerSuplpies 6.5 Amp/the one everyone gets, had them since last June
2 1000Ma Buckpucks with Dim and POT
Have Arctic Silver
Still debating fans depending on what heatsink I get. The ones from HeatsinkUSA are pricey. A $16 heatsink is like $32 to get it to my door. I am currently looking on E-Bay.
Light is going over my 10 gal.
One last order list to satisfy my OCD.
6 CREE XR-E Q5 Whites
6 CREE XR-E RBs
2 MPJA PowerSuplpies 6.5 Amp/the one everyone gets, had them since last June
2 1000Ma Buckpucks with Dim and POT
Have Arctic Silver
Still debating fans depending on what heatsink I get. The ones from HeatsinkUSA are pricey. A $16 heatsink is like $32 to get it to my door. I am currently looking on E-Bay.
Light is going over my 10 gal.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Aluminum channel from your local hardware or metal shop, or several CPU heatsinks, etc. On a small tank, it's easy to get creative for heatsinks, no need to spend an arm and a leg on heatsinkusa.
Whatever you build, be sure to test it thoroughly in conditions that mirror how you'll actually run it.
Whatever you build, be sure to test it thoroughly in conditions that mirror how you'll actually run it.
Dannyrotorpilot
New member
Got my stuff in!
Got my stuff in!
Ok so I recieved some of my order. Enough to get one section done but man, I am not sure what to do.
First issue is whoa, those heat sinks are very heavy. When speaking to the Heatsinkusa guy he said the 10" wide only comes in 3inch fins and that it was extremely heavy so I had to go with the 8 inch wide and got 16 inch long pieces. At first I was going to do 16x16 with 36 bulbs each but it is way way too heavy. Remember, im going to make three of these to replace 3 250W MH on a 180 gallon tank.
So, I can put them all on one heat sink but I am afraid I am not going to get the overall coverage so I thought, can the outer edge LED's be mounted so they are angled out a few degrees? Also, a metal halide mount like a HQI has a base narrower and shorter that this 8 x 16 so can I just run them all on there and use wider optics on the outer LED's?
Next, I was recommended to get 18 Blues and 6 Whites, isnt that a bit lopsided in light color? I ended up getting 24 Royal Blues and 12 XP-G's's Whites. Is it going to look way too blue?
I put up a pic of how they would be laid out, they have around 2.5 inches between each other. If you look carefully, you can see the XP-G's's in there.
Lastly, does anyone have a simple wiring diagram for the actual LED's? Looking at the pictures, I assume the heatsink is being used as the ground?
Thanks! :thumbsup:
Got my stuff in!
Ok so I recieved some of my order. Enough to get one section done but man, I am not sure what to do.
First issue is whoa, those heat sinks are very heavy. When speaking to the Heatsinkusa guy he said the 10" wide only comes in 3inch fins and that it was extremely heavy so I had to go with the 8 inch wide and got 16 inch long pieces. At first I was going to do 16x16 with 36 bulbs each but it is way way too heavy. Remember, im going to make three of these to replace 3 250W MH on a 180 gallon tank.
So, I can put them all on one heat sink but I am afraid I am not going to get the overall coverage so I thought, can the outer edge LED's be mounted so they are angled out a few degrees? Also, a metal halide mount like a HQI has a base narrower and shorter that this 8 x 16 so can I just run them all on there and use wider optics on the outer LED's?
Next, I was recommended to get 18 Blues and 6 Whites, isnt that a bit lopsided in light color? I ended up getting 24 Royal Blues and 12 XP-G's's Whites. Is it going to look way too blue?
I put up a pic of how they would be laid out, they have around 2.5 inches between each other. If you look carefully, you can see the XP-G's's in there.
Lastly, does anyone have a simple wiring diagram for the actual LED's? Looking at the pictures, I assume the heatsink is being used as the ground?
Thanks! :thumbsup:
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Dannyrotorpilot
New member
Ok so I was thinking of adding a 4 inch piece to make it a total of 16x12. That would help spread out the LED's as on one side they are only about 2 inches from each other.
shackscs
Super Premier Member
Diagram would be - from one LED to + of the next LED for each of the LEDS for that string. Repeat until string is complete.
If you are looking to control blues and whites seperately, keep this in mind when you are wiring up.
Make sure you do not exceed the total power available you from the driver that you are using per string.
If you go back one page there is a pretty nice diagram that was used by Sammy113.
Also Soundwaves layout was pretty clean.
Mine is layed out in my build thread here: (Shamless plug
)http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1814351&highlight=shackscs
Hi,
I set up my rig and I have a problem with the dimming from the meanwell drivers, it seems like less than 1 volt wont really turn them on at less and then at one volt they go on 10% which is pretty bright. It wasnt the slow turn on I imagined.
Is there something I'm doing wrong like trying to spread that across too many drivers?
I set up my rig and I have a problem with the dimming from the meanwell drivers, it seems like less than 1 volt wont really turn them on at less and then at one volt they go on 10% which is pretty bright. It wasnt the slow turn on I imagined.
Is there something I'm doing wrong like trying to spread that across too many drivers?
n0rk
More is better-er!
Guys, I'm running into a dilemma in the design phase of my pendants. Because I've found a 1:1 mix of XP-E Royal Blues and XP-G R5 Cool Whites to be far too blue for my tastes, I've opted for a 1:2 mix instead. Problem being... I'm struggling to work out the best way to position the RBs amongst the whites.
Basically, the arrays will be 3 across and 6 deep (18), and all mounted like 2.5' above using Carclo Medium Ripple optics (28º FWHM from memory). Should I go for the wide optics for the blues and try to blend them in that way? Any ideas would be great as I'm at a real loss.
Basically, the arrays will be 3 across and 6 deep (18), and all mounted like 2.5' above using Carclo Medium Ripple optics (28º FWHM from memory). Should I go for the wide optics for the blues and try to blend them in that way? Any ideas would be great as I'm at a real loss.
Dannyrotorpilot
New member
I dont know how I looked pass this post but thats a nice setup. That has to be so freaking heavy though. That is for a 125 tank?? Man Im gonna need a lot more lights for my 180 then?
Some pics to share from a 96 LEDs setup for a 125G tank
Used 4 modules with 24 LEDs each (10x8" heatsinks)
Meanwells ELN 60-48P between each bank.
Used Q5 CW and XRE RB 60 Degree optics
8- 90mm 2000 RPM low profile fans
Sorry for the crappy cel pics.
Sucks to build something that is already out of date cause this technology is going crazy fast growing and there are lots of cool new stuff coming out. Anyways, bet this thing is going to light up very nice.
Dannyrotorpilot
New member
1:1 was too blue? Holy shiat, Im gonna have to buy a lot more whites then! I was told to buy 18 Royal Blues and 6 Whites! Yikes!
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