DIY: Light Housing

[KafudaFish]

Anything from the molds end of things?

Don't worry you just keep working at your own pace.

We will stay tuned on the edge of our seats (just like last time)!

 

[c0mp|ex]

Looks great!

 

[kaserpick]

Yes agreed its looking good. Now lets get some work done:wildone:

Anything from the molds end of things?

Don't worry you just keep working at your own pace.

We will stay tuned on the edge of our seats (just like last time)!

This made me laugh. The speed is frustrating me as well. I'm trying to squeeze things in with my work schedule...although I think everyone else is as well. How does everyone do it so fast?!? Let me see if I can get some shots of the molds. I need to break 'em open. Thanks for following!

 

[KafudaFish]

Fast? I do not think it means what you think it means.

It took me over 50 days to make my rock for my 5.5.

I bought my 37 around Dec. 1 and it has a black back wall and a nice round hole as well.

Now where are those shots?

Great work!

 

[kaserpick]

Looks great!

Thanks!

 

[kaserpick]

Here we go! First 3 are pics of the molded 'rock' and the clay model. The last 2 are of the tank; I made an upgrade toward power and simplicity. I changed out the canister for an Eheim 1262. The flow is awesome! An MP10 will be used in the future, but for now, that's it for flow. I've been focusing more on the tank and the rock at this point. Since both the system and rock take time to cycle and cure, respectively, I'll have time to work on the LED's. (Don't worry. The rock will cure in FW buckets for 6-8 weeks).

Both together:

Clay model:

'Rock'...still needs trimming and sanding:

Tank:

As it looks in the room:

And now I'm off for work! I'll be back around 4am EST to answer any comments or questions. Again, thanks for the support, everyone! :thumbsup:

 

[DownwardDawg]

The light!!!! Finish the LIGHT!!!!!!!!! :bounce2:

 

[kaserpick]

The light!!!! Finish the LIGHT!!!!!!!!! :bounce2:

:lmao:

I'll get crackin'!

 

[kaserpick]

Supplies on the way!

Supplies on the way!

I just placed an order at Rapid LED; the drivers I wanted won't be back in stock until the 29th. That means it'll be a bit before I can power on the light, but I should be able to start putting this thing together.

I'm sorry for the wait; I've been stalling for a wise time to spend the money. As a side note, I also ordered a MR1 reactor for a carbon bag and heater. AND, I purchased the fan guards. I just need to order some T-Slot for the hanging arm.

Still waiting on the cure time for the rocks...

I'll update as things begin to arrive for the light. I'll be opening a DIY thread for the aquascape (in the DIY forum) and a Build thread for the whole system (in the Nano forum) soon!

 

[sahin]

Not sure how I found this thread, but DUDE you have serious DIY skill! That fixture looks so well built and so sleek too. Can't wait to see the finished article.

 

[kaserpick]

Not sure how I found this thread, but DUDE you have serious DIY skill! That fixture looks so well built and so sleek too. Can't wait to see the finished article.

Thanks, Sahin! It's been a slow process; right now I'm waiting on the LED's to ship. I've got an updated shot of the housing with the hanging kit and fan guards.

 

[kaserpick]

Here's a pic with the fan guards and the hanging kit.

This belongs in my future tank build thread, but I like to think of it as an extra...it's fun to share. Here's my make-shift in-line heater:

Things are coming to together. I'll be opening an aquascape thread soon...it's done...almost!

 

[seashark]

just saw this thread very good and clean job, tagging along .

 

[kaserpick]

Thanks Seashark! I'm hoping to have more to update, soon. LED's have shipped, so I'll probably receive them early next week. :thumbsup:

 

[kaserpick]

Mounting Update!

The LED's arrive early last week, but since I work in production, my time is usually exceedingly limited. BUT, I was able to get some work done on the light. Once I had the LED's, I knew that the first order of business to build the mounting system. You may remember in my earlier posts I mentioned wanting the light to come at an angle. The only way I knew to achieve this was using thin heatsinks (like the newer ones Rapid LED sells for their supplemental DIY kits), but if I angled those in a perpendicular orientation to the air movement, I'd kill the efficiency of the cooling. So, I came up with a method that might be considered a bit un-orthodox. Here are some pics to show what I did and the end result.

Original design of the heat sinks:

Cross-sectional profile shot:

Profile shot after trimming the height:

The idea of the layout:

The heat sinks cut into ~1.5" sections (done with hacksaw, so not perfect ):

All-thread and angle aluminum used to mount the heat sinks:

 

[kaserpick]

...and the finished result (before LED's of course):

Please feel free to leave comments and questions! :thumbsup:

 

[kaserpick]

They aren't perfect as far as alignment is concerned, but I'm very pleased!

 

[c0mp|ex]

Looks great! What optics are you using? The only thing i notice is that you might consider spacing the heat sinks further apart so that the raised edge of the adjacent heat sink doesn't shadow the LED output. Other than that it looks great! Creative idea!

Do you plan on having a small fan inside the fixture to blow air over the LEDs laterally?

 

[KafudaFish]

That was very smart.

I have been thinking about my tank and how I have three perimeter walls that need lighting vs. straight down like others.

This maybe a solution.

Now I just need to do it!

 

[kaserpick]

Looks great! What optics are you using? The only thing i notice is that you might consider spacing the heat sinks further apart so that the raised edge of the adjacent heat sink doesn't shadow the LED output. Other than that it looks great! Creative idea!

Do you plan on having a small fan inside the fixture to blow air over the LEDs laterally?

Thanks! I'm going to be using 45 and 55 degree optics; I think they'll all clear each other. I can always move them after I finish the LED's.

As far as the fan goes, I'm using acrylic and the two larger fans to channel the air through the fins. I'm concerned it might not be aggressive enough. I may be using a smaller fan to make it more aggressive. At the moment, I want to get everything set to see how the current system runs.

That was very smart.

I have been thinking about my tank and how I have three perimeter walls that need lighting vs. straight down like others.

This maybe a solution.

Now I just need to do it!

Thanks, Mike! I'm glad to hear that my idea may be of some use to you. :thumbsup: