Late to the DIY led game

[activecactus]

A few years ago I bought a bunch of parts to make an LED light fixture for a 90g, and am just now getting ready to put it all together.

I noticed that there aren't many builds as there used to be (I'm guessing 'cause of the fancy fixtures that are out now), but I'd like to hear from those that have or have had similar setups.

How are your LEDs holding up?
Did you supplement or get rid of certain LEDs?
What would you do different?
Any tips?

Here's what I'm working with:
-8 total 4-3/4" X 4-3/4" cluster arrangements
-each arrangement has
(3) 3up- 2RB, 1NW LEDs
(2) OCW LEDs
(4) HV

They will be powered by:
12 3up-RB's on a single 75w 700ma driver
-NW's on a single 40w 700ma driver
8 OCW on a single 75w 700ma driver w/pot.
2 strings of 8 (parallel)TV on a single 50w 1100ma driver

All inventronics dimmable drivers controlled by apex VDM module.
(each channel for a different led)
I have 8 drivers total that will be plugged in the apex energy bars.

I'm just starting to organize everything and I have to tip my hats to you guys that have pulled this off. It seems daunting!

 

[blasterman789]

The reason a lot of us have stopped doing DIY is the commercial fixtures, particularly the Chinese ones are so darn cheap it isn't worth the time.

I'm also sick of working in 3watt territory when much bigger platforms are available, but not in small volumes. Even the Luxeon M, which is my current favorite Royal platform to work with because it's essentially 4x3 watts on a single die is increasingly tough to get ahold of. I'd love to build a light around Luxeon S3000 royals and help my friends with big tanks retire their 150watt black boxes with some real firewpower, but I'm not buying a reel of them.

 

[asting]

^ This.

DIY fixtures made sense before you could get solid fixtures for less than a hundred bucks. If you have the equipment it's worth putting it together, but most aren't as interested.

 

[activecactus]

The reason a lot of us have stopped doing DIY is the commercial fixtures, particularly the Chinese ones are so darn cheap it isn't worth the time.

I'm also sick of working in 3watt territory when much bigger platforms are available, but not in small volumes. Even the Luxeon M, which is my current favorite Royal platform to work with because it's essentially 4x3 watts on a single die is increasingly tough to get ahold of. I'd love to build a light around Luxeon S3000 royals and help my friends with big tanks retire their 150watt black boxes with some real firewpower, but I'm not buying a reel of them.

Definitely something that I will have to look into on the next fixture. How long can I expect these LEDs to last?

 

[mcgyvr]

How long can I expect these LEDs to last?

The cooler you keep them the longer they will last.. A properly cooled fixture should last at least 50,000 hours

 

[activecactus]

Here is my arrangement.


I will have a fan mounted to the other side of the heat sink.

 

[saf1]

To me it comes down to price and performance. DIY still holds the advantage of both if you have basic DIY skills. There are some close systems off the shelf exceeding 700 US dollars. To me that is a deal breaker and makes no sense when I am currently building my entire system for about 400.

For me the choice is easy. Spend 2100 for name brand over the counter system or 400 and go it alone.

 

[asting]

No one is suggesting that a $700 fixture is a better value than DIY...

Seems like you are missing the point. Unless you are buying in extreme bulk and assembling them for free you will not be more economical than the "165w"/"180w" lights you can get for under $100.

 

[saf1]

No one is suggesting that a $700 fixture is a better value than DIY...

Seems like you are missing the point. Unless you are buying in extreme bulk and assembling them for free you will not be more economical than the "165w"/"180w" lights you can get for under $100.

Didn't miss the point. Most people are buying off the shelf products. Those that DIY will pick and choose what makes sense. You are still better off than paying for the knock offs or imports. I am under 100 bucks easy per muli-chip and get better quality with full control & integration to my controller.

 

[asting]

Didn't miss the point. Most people are buying off the shelf products. Those that DIY will pick and choose what makes sense. You are still better off than paying for the knock offs or imports. I am under 100 bucks easy per muli-chip and get better quality with full control & integration to my controller.

I'd love to see a build thread and comparison against the popular "mars aqua" or reef breeders variant.

 

[activecactus]

I forgot what I paid for everything, but with the VDM module it had to be around $500...and this was 3plus years ago.

With my limited soldering skills and fabricating a nice fixture, it's gonna take me a while to put together.

 

[spjames]

Here is my arrangement.


I will have a fan mounted to the other side of the heat sink.

I may be wrong, but isn't the consensus to cluster the leds tightly around each other so the colors mix better, rather than spaced out as in your photo ?

Another consideration would be what lenses/optics, if any, are you going to use ?

 

[activecactus]

Ideally I would assume you'd want them closer, but I left room for adding more colors in the future.

The optics on the Cree are 60*. I think the others have optics built in at 60*
They will be 8-10 inches a over the waterline when done. I'm hoping that will give me good coverage.

 

[oreo57]

I'd love to see a build thread and comparison against the popular "mars aqua" or reef breeders variant.

50 3W "Bridgelux type" LED's will cost you $12 on ebay.
5 LDD's to drive them $35
36v 350 w ps $12
http://www.ledsupply.com/power-supplies/mean-well-lrs-enclosed?gclid=CJKQnN_ovc8CFU08gQodP4wJjA
Chunk of aluminum:
http://www.communication-concepts.com/model-99hs/ $22

Controller $25-$100.. Average $50 (Ignore if you just want on-off)
Add a second ps for 2 channel on-off
$131...
Throw in another $20 for lenses and fans..
Scavenge the fans power supply..

Of course asst. parts.. wire thermal compound..

but here is the advantage:
4-10 channels..
Full control as opposed to "pots"...
If a driver fails (not uncommon w/ the "bricks" ) easily replaced and Meanwells seem to have a very low failure rate. Can't guarantee the ps though..;
Same w/ a diode failure.

disadvantage:
Tendency to upgrade all the parts.. i.e CREE , Luxeon LEDs.. expensive LARGE heat sinks..wireless controllers or APEX compatibility.
No real "case"..
You got to do it yourself

Yes it is almost impossible to build a cheap light cheaper than a cheap Chinese light but the operative word is "cheap"..But so are most ebay diodes

Not saying it is not perfectly "functional" nor will die soon (most are under-driven to begin with like @350-500mA)

It is fairly easy to "do the math" for a realistic idea..

This isn't a new concept. you could rarely build a cheap computer at the price of buying a cheap computer.

Always thought the point of DIY was to do it better than base level.

 

[Gorgok]

You also get the neverending tinkercycle... not sure if thats an advantage or not.

I need to tweak mine some, i have some Bridgelux V8 cobs sitting here in boxes waiting to get stuck onto the lights. But i wanted to print out some boards to stick them on (and some luxeons) and do it fancy... Been sitting over a year though. =/

 

[perkint]

As said by both the above - very few people build a direct competitor to the cheap off the shelf options. They often use better LEDs, almost always mount them better, usually build better control systems, etc. A lot of the cheap off the shelf ones have LEDs which should be reflow soldered to the PCB held in place with thermal paste and the contact solder points. This leads to poor cooling meaning the LEDs degrade much faster and give poorer efficiency from the start!

Yes, they do the job and look a lot neater than a lot of DIYs, but that doesn't make them directly comparable!

Tim

 

[activecactus]

I did some more searching around and found that a couple years ago another forum member has done quite a bit of testing with some different colored LEDs.

From what I've found, lime LEDs and pc Amber LEDs can help out older DIY setups.

(Thanks jedimaster!)

 

[activecactus]

disadvantage:
Tendency to upgrade all the parts.

Yep. Already looking at options

 

[activecactus]

Well here is a picture of my led array before I figure out the wiring.
I already upgraded with 2 limes and 2 pc ambers per cluster.

I've read that my hyper Violet's will wear out in 6 months. At that point I will replace with better quality ones along with the OCW.

 

[spjames]

It's coming together nicely, well done !

I'm at a similar stage with my light rebuild (some wiring completed) using several clusters based around Ben's 'Evil cluster'.