Soundwave
New member
So I started a few weeks ago with no knowledge of how to use LEDs for creating a shimmer effect in the water. Those of us that do not use halides will like this. I researched a ton and finally got it working. I posted this on BNARC but thought I would share with all of you guys as well. Enjoy!
OK, here goes…
What you will need:
1 Aluminum “angle iron†1 inch by whatever length you need. (I used a 3 ft section for a 4 ft tank)
This can be found at Farm and Fleet, Lowe’s or Menard’s. ~ $6-$10
1 Small tube of heatsink compound. Found this on Ebay for $2 shipped. I’m sure you can get it locally at a place like Computer Deli.
1 Buckpuck. Depending on what kind of LEDs you use, the buckpuck will differ. (I’ll explain later)
This can be purchased from LEDsupply.com. ~ $19 shipped
1 AC/DC Power supply. Depending on the buckpuck chosen, the power supply will differ. ~ 10 on Ebay.
LEDs â€"œ The buckpuck will handle up to 32V DC. Each LED requires 3.5 to 4V to run. On Ebay, you can get packages of 5 LEDs. 1W or 3W or even 5W. 5 LEDs will require about 20V of power to run. You can buy 10 but would have a few left over after your project. Each set of 5 will run anywhere from $15 to $45. The 5 watt LEDs aren’t cheap. I would stay away from the 5 watt models. The 3 Watt is the easiest to use in this situation as it’s the one I used. To find these, search on Ebay for “5x watt LED†This will bring up any 5x LED auction with either 1,3 or 5 watt LEDs.
You’ll also need some speaker wire or any other low gauge copper wire for connecting the LEDs to the power supply.
Some 1-minute epoxy will also be helpful for mounting the buckpuck and securing wires.
A soldering iron is a must.
BEGINNING
Figure out how many LEDs you want. Remember that each buckpuck can only handle 32V. That means each string of LEDs that come from each power supply will max out at 8 LEDs. You don’t want to under-drive the LEDs. I chose 4 LEDs for my 4 foot strip and it looks just fine. I used a 24V power supply for this.
Space the LEDs out on the aluminum strip and trace them so you know where they will end up. A sharpie works great here. Each LED will need to be mounted to the strip via screws. I used two 6/32 machine screws per LED to secure them to the Aluminum. You will need to drill and tap the aluminum strip for this to work. Place a tiny tiny tiny amount of heatsink compound to the back of the LED and screw it to the aluminum. LEDs get pretty warm and the aluminum strip acts as a heatsink. I used a small cutout of a paper plate with a hole in the center to insulate the screw from contacting any of the metal contacts on the LED. I don’t know if this is required but it appears that the screw will touch the contacts if you don’t.
THE BUCKPUCK. This little thing can get confusing. I’ll explain it the best I can. You will want to get the wired version of the buckpuck found here - http://www.ledsupply.com/wired-buckpuck.php - You most likely will not need a dimmer so just pay attention to the top 3023-D-N-XXXX models. When purchasing your LEDs, there should be a place that describes the current needed for the LEDs to operate. 3 watt LEDs are usually 700mA. 1 Watt models are usually 350mA. You’ll notice that the buckpucks very in respect to their current output. If you choose the 3 watt LEDs, odds are you’ll need the 700mA model and so on. I purchased the 3023-D-N-700 for the 3 watters.
WIRING
The LEDs should be wired in series. This means that each LED is connected to the other like this…
Positive from the buckpuck to the positive of the first LED. The negative of that LED to the positive of the next and repeat until the last negative goes back to the negative on the buckpuck.
Make sure you solder each connection well and wiggle it once the connection is made. If the connection is not secure, it could fall off. DUH. Each LED has 4 contacts but it would seem that you can’t quite solder anything to them. If you look at how the LED is mounted to the little board it comes on, it looks like the LED, itself, is soldered to the board. I soldered my connections to the previously soldered points. This makes for a nice, strong, worry-free connection.
Once this is all wired up, you are ready to connect the whole deal to the power supply. Look at the power supply you get and figure out which wire is positive and which is negative. There is a diagram on every power supply that describes whether the inside or the outside of the plug is positive or negative. Generally, the wires inside the supply are red for positive and black for negative. Test with a voltmeter if you are still unsure. Cut any tips off the power supply and solder one wire to each the positive and negative of the buckpuck. You may need to extend the wiring depending on where it will plug in.
You’re all done with the wiring. Now make it look pretty. Use the 1-minute epoxy to stick the buckpuck to the aluminum. Use it to stick the wires to the aluminum as well. It would be a good idea to use liquid electrical tape to cover all the soldered connections on the LEDs, as well. (I didn’t do this, though) Find a way to mount this whole unit inside your canopy or where ever else you want. I used a section of PVC with Ts on the ends to set my unit inside my canopy .
Good luck and if you have any questions, just ask.
OK, here goes…
What you will need:
1 Aluminum “angle iron†1 inch by whatever length you need. (I used a 3 ft section for a 4 ft tank)
This can be found at Farm and Fleet, Lowe’s or Menard’s. ~ $6-$10
1 Small tube of heatsink compound. Found this on Ebay for $2 shipped. I’m sure you can get it locally at a place like Computer Deli.
1 Buckpuck. Depending on what kind of LEDs you use, the buckpuck will differ. (I’ll explain later)
This can be purchased from LEDsupply.com. ~ $19 shipped
1 AC/DC Power supply. Depending on the buckpuck chosen, the power supply will differ. ~ 10 on Ebay.
LEDs â€"œ The buckpuck will handle up to 32V DC. Each LED requires 3.5 to 4V to run. On Ebay, you can get packages of 5 LEDs. 1W or 3W or even 5W. 5 LEDs will require about 20V of power to run. You can buy 10 but would have a few left over after your project. Each set of 5 will run anywhere from $15 to $45. The 5 watt LEDs aren’t cheap. I would stay away from the 5 watt models. The 3 Watt is the easiest to use in this situation as it’s the one I used. To find these, search on Ebay for “5x watt LED†This will bring up any 5x LED auction with either 1,3 or 5 watt LEDs.
You’ll also need some speaker wire or any other low gauge copper wire for connecting the LEDs to the power supply.
Some 1-minute epoxy will also be helpful for mounting the buckpuck and securing wires.
A soldering iron is a must.
BEGINNING
Figure out how many LEDs you want. Remember that each buckpuck can only handle 32V. That means each string of LEDs that come from each power supply will max out at 8 LEDs. You don’t want to under-drive the LEDs. I chose 4 LEDs for my 4 foot strip and it looks just fine. I used a 24V power supply for this.
Space the LEDs out on the aluminum strip and trace them so you know where they will end up. A sharpie works great here. Each LED will need to be mounted to the strip via screws. I used two 6/32 machine screws per LED to secure them to the Aluminum. You will need to drill and tap the aluminum strip for this to work. Place a tiny tiny tiny amount of heatsink compound to the back of the LED and screw it to the aluminum. LEDs get pretty warm and the aluminum strip acts as a heatsink. I used a small cutout of a paper plate with a hole in the center to insulate the screw from contacting any of the metal contacts on the LED. I don’t know if this is required but it appears that the screw will touch the contacts if you don’t.
THE BUCKPUCK. This little thing can get confusing. I’ll explain it the best I can. You will want to get the wired version of the buckpuck found here - http://www.ledsupply.com/wired-buckpuck.php - You most likely will not need a dimmer so just pay attention to the top 3023-D-N-XXXX models. When purchasing your LEDs, there should be a place that describes the current needed for the LEDs to operate. 3 watt LEDs are usually 700mA. 1 Watt models are usually 350mA. You’ll notice that the buckpucks very in respect to their current output. If you choose the 3 watt LEDs, odds are you’ll need the 700mA model and so on. I purchased the 3023-D-N-700 for the 3 watters.
WIRING
The LEDs should be wired in series. This means that each LED is connected to the other like this…
Positive from the buckpuck to the positive of the first LED. The negative of that LED to the positive of the next and repeat until the last negative goes back to the negative on the buckpuck.
Make sure you solder each connection well and wiggle it once the connection is made. If the connection is not secure, it could fall off. DUH. Each LED has 4 contacts but it would seem that you can’t quite solder anything to them. If you look at how the LED is mounted to the little board it comes on, it looks like the LED, itself, is soldered to the board. I soldered my connections to the previously soldered points. This makes for a nice, strong, worry-free connection.
Once this is all wired up, you are ready to connect the whole deal to the power supply. Look at the power supply you get and figure out which wire is positive and which is negative. There is a diagram on every power supply that describes whether the inside or the outside of the plug is positive or negative. Generally, the wires inside the supply are red for positive and black for negative. Test with a voltmeter if you are still unsure. Cut any tips off the power supply and solder one wire to each the positive and negative of the buckpuck. You may need to extend the wiring depending on where it will plug in.
You’re all done with the wiring. Now make it look pretty. Use the 1-minute epoxy to stick the buckpuck to the aluminum. Use it to stick the wires to the aluminum as well. It would be a good idea to use liquid electrical tape to cover all the soldered connections on the LEDs, as well. (I didn’t do this, though) Find a way to mount this whole unit inside your canopy or where ever else you want. I used a section of PVC with Ts on the ends to set my unit inside my canopy .
Good luck and if you have any questions, just ask.
Just watch out for copper corrosion down the road vs a tinned wire.
