DIY LEDs - The write-up

[stugray]

Here's my latest build:

I took ~1" X 1" aluminum channel & mounted 3W CREEs to it every 8 " using the drill & tap method with nylon screws & thermal grease.

They are 84" long and were built to go over a fish display tank where each tank is 8" wide.
Each little fishy tank gets one 3W LED.

Here's a pic of the 3 strings lit:

Unlit:

End detail #1:

End detail #2:

Drivers:

For the splash covers I used the tubes for covering VHO fluorescent tubes.
They are $4 at HD in 84" lengths.

I used the same nylon screws that I used to hold down the stars as "standoffs" to keep the tubes from touching the emitters.

Each ELN-60-48 drives 12 LEDs


For those VERY observant types: one tube has a brown wire running up it.
That is a thermocouple used to check the temp inside the tube.
Ambient temps were 85 & after running for a few hours the temp inside the tube got to 100.
The aluminum at one end was warm to the touch.

I dont think this setup requires fans, but using some very small CPU fans would increase emitter lifetime.

Stu

 

[GeeTen]

What a great thread. Hats down.
Here am I at my first DIY LED experience.

After reading your posts, I figured out this is what I would need. Please someone with exp. give some advice.

1. 2ea x 3023-D-E-1000P Wired BuckPuck, 1000mA Output, DC Powered w/ Potentiometer
2. 6ea x Cree Royal Blue XR-E Star LED
3. 6ea x Cree XR-E Q5 Star LED
4. 5inch x 12 inch heatsink
5. 2ea x 24V DC 8.3A 200W Regulated Switching Power Supply

Thanks

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

GeeTen,

That'll work fine, though those two DC power supplies are really overkill. If you shot for supplies with 2A each you'd be fine (a 100% margin for safety, vs. 730% with the 8.3A version).

I'm assuming you are using two separate DC supplies so that you can turn them on and off individually?

Also, keep in mind you'll need lots of odds and ends - solder, solid core hookup wire (~20 gauge) for between the lights, stranded wire for the run from the buckpucks to the LEDs and the DC supplies to the buckpucks, plus perhaps a power cable for the supplies, if they don't come with one. And, screws, heatsink paste, etc.

What size tank are you planning this for? 12 LEDs would be nice on a small nano, like ~10 gallons.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Stu, nice build. I've wondered about using channel or other shapes instead of "real" heatsinks. It'll be interesting to see how you feel about it in a few months.

 

[kcress]

Yeah! Pretty slick Stu! Hope you can shoot us an installed shot eventually.

 

[GeeTen]

der_wille_zur_macht, thank you.
I'll replace those 2 power supplies with 24VDC 2A ones as you suggested.
I plan to build this module to see how it comes out and then make another 3 of them later on. I want to add the 4 modules as a supliment to my PC lighting for a 60G fish only.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

GeeTen,

With 12 LEDs on each module, if you add 4 of them to a 60g tank that already has PC lights on it, you'll have extremely intense light, like SPS-only territory! Depending on the PCs, you could probably get away with two of the modules, without optics (to keep the spread good). If you're really gonna put 4 on the tank, you might as well drive them at a moderate current (like 350mA).

 

[Reef_Matrix29]

GeeTen, what are you keeping in the tank and why a hybrid system of LED's and PC's?

 

[GeeTen]

GeeTen, what are you keeping in the tank and why a hybrid system of LED's and PC's?

At the moment it's a 6oG FOWLR, as I'm new in the hobby. I plan to add few corals as my tank matures and I'll get more experienced. I's 6-7 months old now.

I ordered 6 whites + 6 royal blue Cree LED's for now and plan to get other set of 6+6 after I see what comes out of this first project. Guess that when I have all 24 LEDs working I'll remove the PC lighting if it proves too much

 

[SnowManSnow]

i KNOW someone has though of this.. but for cheap effective DIY lighting.. why not use a PAR64 LED can light that DJ's and theaters use? I just bought a few for my church.. .. they are kinda bulky, but at $130 a shot.. wow.. AAND you can use a cheap DMX controller to control the dimming / color..

whats the problem with just mounting one of these?

b

 

[Doahh]

They use Cheap crummy little LED's... why not just mount one of these over your tank?

 

[sammy113]

Disco disco! Gooo good!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I actually like the look of those fixtures, it strikes me as similar to the can fixtures that are all the rage in Japan right now.

Though of course the LEDs used in them are total crap, meant for appearance sake, not for maximum output per watt in a very specific color (which is what we want, as reef keepers.)

So, I DIY'd my own "can" LED fixtures, which were cool, but turned out to be a bit too big visually for the nano I had them over - so I rebuilt them using stainless steel clip-on lamps. I'll get pics once I'm settled in, we moved last month and are moving again this weekend, so my reef stuff is in shambles right now.

 

[Reef_Matrix29]

Anyone got an opinion or is there a write-up for Exotic-Aquatics Sunbrite LED tubes? I'm finding that I have some dark spots (shading/shadows) toward the edges of my tank and was thinking of adding two of their 48" tubes of 20k and maybe the Pro-Pink, any thoughts?

 

[saraiva]

Blue Cree led

Blue Cree led

Hey guys, any comment on blue Cree led from http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1775 ?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Likely worthless. They don't give any bin information, so we have no idea what LED it actually is. And considering it's under the wholesale price of high-binned versions of the XR-E, I seriously doubt it's anything special.

Some would argue that lower cost offsets the lower efficiency, but it's a poor tradeoff, since you'll need more of the lower-efficiency LEDs to get the same output (so it'll cost mroe up front) and the lower efficiency will mean more heat and more wasted electricity, so more cost in the long run, too.

 

[HukItAK]

Does anyone have an updated list of the best components to use? I have been reading this thread, but after about 3 hours Im still not done. I want to build a fixture for my 150g reef tank.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

For white LEDs, Cree XR-E cool white Q5 or R2 brightness bin, or 100-bin Rebels.

For blue LEDs, XR-E blue or royal blue, or blue Rebels, in the brightest bins you can find.

For drivers, typically either buckpucks (can run 6 LEDs each, need a DC power supply) or various mean well drivers, depending on your dimming and capacity needs. Most people are driving at either 700 or 1000 mAh.

For heatsinks, on larger tanks, typically from heatsinkusa.com - for really small or creative builds, lots of other options.

For optics, it depends on your spacing. If you are using close spacing and want really intense light, 20 degree is fine. If you have average spacing, you should stick with 40 or 60 degree optics to prevent the "columns of light" look.

 

[MontyJack]

Hi Folks,
At first, sorry for my English! I write you from oversees. I'm from Czech Republic. And because we have no see, I will build one at home! I just started a 250g project. The tank is 59in by 31in by 31in approx. You know the difficulties with imperial and metric. I tried to read thru the whole thread and it tuck me a whole day (by my English). Thanks go(ogle)d I found it!!! Soudwave you start to be famous out of the states!!!
To my questions: At first, there is no question about to light my tank with LEDs! MH will just blow my electric bill.
So the main question is how much LEDs I need? I know there is a lot about it in the thread, bud time goes by and experience changed. Please people give me recommends. There shut be a lot SPS in the tank. My last estimate was 180 LED, but I'm not sure if it's too much or to les?
The second question is, I will use a ProfiLux III to control my reef and it provides a very nice variety of light controlling options via 1-10V control. Is there any way to implement this in a diming option of the LED circuits, the driver unit(s) or Buck Pucks??
And last but not least, what are the preferences to mount the LEDs? All spread to cover so much surface as possible, or in one, two or more setups? What are the pros and contras?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Monty,

Welcome to the forum.

I will soon be starting construction on a tank that will be a similar size as yours. I will be using 160 LEDs with 40 degree optics, driven at 700mA. You said you were thinking about using 180 - that would be fine.

For mounting, the best option is to spread them out evenly over the whole surface of the tank. Or at least over the areas you want lit. If you have a section of your tank that doesn't have any corals in it, you can use fewer LEDs there, if you want. Many people are mounting their LEDs in "bunches" but that is just for convenience based on the sizes of heatsinks being used.

You can control your LEDs with the 1-10V output from the profilux, but you have to make sure you get a driver that can handle a signal like that. The buckpucks would work with a circuit between to translate, since they take a 5 - 0v signal to dim. Meanwell makes some drivers that take a 0-10v signal, so that would be your best bet - it would require no external circuitry, you could just plug it in and go. The ELN-60-48-D would be the model you want. It can drive 12 LEDs and is dimmable via 0-10v signal. It also has an internal trimpot to set the base maximum current, which is an important step to take. Otherwise, the "full on" signal from your controller will result in 1.3 A current, which will be too much (you want to aim for 700 - 1000 mA).