DIY LEDs - The write-up
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stugray
Premium Member
Just to give everybody an idea of the light spread from these LEDs.
Here is a pic of my night lights.
They are just TWO CREE XRE 3watt driven at only 750mA.
They are about 10" off the water and spaced about 1/3 from each end:
They have no optics other than an acrylic dome
They also have no heatsink other than the star board they came mounted on.
Stu
Here is a pic of my night lights.
They are just TWO CREE XRE 3watt driven at only 750mA.
They are about 10" off the water and spaced about 1/3 from each end:
They have no optics other than an acrylic dome
They also have no heatsink other than the star board they came mounted on.
Stu
thelastlaugh9
New member
Gorgeous
dtech
New member
I've done it 2 different ways/
1) sandwich acrylic between 2 boards small hole on 1 board with air hose fitting adapted, larger hole in 2nd board, heat and use air pressure from air hose.
2) sandwich acrylic holes in boards the max diameter of need, heat acrylic and use a ball or such to set on acrylic and let sink, The 1 I did this way I used a pool ball and a heat gun from the bottom side to control the heat a bit.
Just a couple I have tried.
1) sandwich acrylic between 2 boards small hole on 1 board with air hose fitting adapted, larger hole in 2nd board, heat and use air pressure from air hose.
2) sandwich acrylic holes in boards the max diameter of need, heat acrylic and use a ball or such to set on acrylic and let sink, The 1 I did this way I used a pool ball and a heat gun from the bottom side to control the heat a bit.
Just a couple I have tried.
dtech
New member
I've done it 2 different ways/
1) sandwich acrylic between 2 boards small hole on 1 board with air hose fitting adapted, larger hole in 2nd board, heat and use air pressure from air hose.
2) sandwich acrylic holes in boards the max diameter of need, heat acrylic and use a ball or such to set on acrylic and let sink, The 1 I did this way I used a pool ball and a heat gun from the bottom side to control the heat a bit.
Just a couple I have tried.
1) sandwich acrylic between 2 boards small hole on 1 board with air hose fitting adapted, larger hole in 2nd board, heat and use air pressure from air hose.
2) sandwich acrylic holes in boards the max diameter of need, heat acrylic and use a ball or such to set on acrylic and let sink, The 1 I did this way I used a pool ball and a heat gun from the bottom side to control the heat a bit.
Just a couple I have tried.
stugray
Premium Member
Soundwave,
"It may be just fine at 750. I will bet that it does get warm but probably not enough to hurt it too bad."
Yeah, that's why I run it that way. Below the rating...
If I stick my finger inside the dome, the star is hot but not blistering.
"How did you bend the acrylic into domes? I've done a lot of bending but no domes."
I used the exact method dtech mentions above, with the air pressure.
You just need a pressure regulator that you can adjust gradually, and a heat gun.
Stu
"It may be just fine at 750. I will bet that it does get warm but probably not enough to hurt it too bad."
Yeah, that's why I run it that way. Below the rating...
If I stick my finger inside the dome, the star is hot but not blistering.
"How did you bend the acrylic into domes? I've done a lot of bending but no domes."
I used the exact method dtech mentions above, with the air pressure.
You just need a pressure regulator that you can adjust gradually, and a heat gun.
Stu
dawgdude1150
New member
Ive been following this for quite some time and have to applaud Soundwave and would like to extent a great thanks for the write up. I would really like to put some kind of set up like this over a 30 cube and have a question for you gurus to help me with.
You posted previously that the 6500k does not have any yellow as you would expect from other bulbs. However I am curious as to if the corals would get the proper spectrum of light. I have read other DIY threads where they used green and red mixed in to supplement the spectrum of light. Have you noticed any differences in your corals and do you have any thoughts on this?
Thanks again for the write up and kudos!
Happy Reefing.
You posted previously that the 6500k does not have any yellow as you would expect from other bulbs. However I am curious as to if the corals would get the proper spectrum of light. I have read other DIY threads where they used green and red mixed in to supplement the spectrum of light. Have you noticed any differences in your corals and do you have any thoughts on this?
Thanks again for the write up and kudos!
Happy Reefing.
Hey soundwave, just wanted to say ive read and researched this thread alot over the past week and am planning on diving into this myself. I have a 65 gallon tank...3ft by 2ft and am wondering if you had any suggestion on the amount of led's I might need. should I put 48 like you have done or do u think I will need less, I was planning on using wide angle optics with the setup.
Soundwave
New member
I'm going with the wide Carclo optics from LEDsupply. I would just do the same amount as myself given your dimensions. You could actually rotate my arrays 90 degrees giving you more front to back spread and a little less width spread.
dawgdude: You can add any color you want. I just don't exactly know the benefits of doing so. The only differences are that they are growing at a faster pace than when I had PCs. I'm not saying things are outgrowing the tank but a 1/4" of growth on a monti cap in about a week is far faster than with my PCs
Time will tell what the overall effect is. I hope to see my blue palys color up like when I bought them but who knows.
dawgdude: You can add any color you want. I just don't exactly know the benefits of doing so. The only differences are that they are growing at a faster pace than when I had PCs. I'm not saying things are outgrowing the tank but a 1/4" of growth on a monti cap in about a week is far faster than with my PCs
Time will tell what the overall effect is. I hope to see my blue palys color up like when I bought them but who knows.
tahiriqbal
Sialkot
110% great work......... just need to find out the results on coral growth......keep us updated sir...
dawgdude1150
New member
Here is an article I found that analyzes the spectrum of one of the LED fixtures and looks at the 6500K White and Blue LEDs spectrural output independantly. The long and short is that the 6500K covers the green and red spectrums well enough that I dont see any need to supplement green or red into the setup.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/review#h4
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/10/review#h4
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