Minimalistic multichip DIY LED build

Thanks Lassef, I'll chech them out and let evryone know what I come up with.
Does anyone else have a suggestion on a good dimmable driver?
Lassef said:
I think the 2 x 50 watts should be fine for your tank. I would probably choose the 60 degree lens and adjust the height above the water for a good beam pattern.

However, I would not choose the driver. With it, you must connect in parallel for not more than 1.5 A to each chip. If one of them break, you burn the second chip directly. I would opt for two separate 50 watt drivrers. If there is AC-RC you order from - write and ask what he recommends. Dimming is not good - it is done via a potentiometer and you can not control via a controller. I have one of those driver for 100 watts and do not like the way it dims - dimming becomes intermittently.

A better idea is if Meanwell has dimmable drivers working at about 1.5 A and regulates between 30-36 V. Their drivers can be controlled by 1-10 V or PWM.

Sincerely Lasse
Click to expand...
 
following along I just put together the 10K /actinic hybrid chip pretty happy with color and very happy with it drawing .56 amps!
my question is do the optics make much of a difference?
I have a 450 replacing my MH's going to order 2 more set ups not sure on the optics
thanks
 
pdfrogman said:
my question is do the optics make much of a difference?
I have a 450 replacing my MH's going to order 2 more set ups not sure on the optics
thanks
Click to expand...

Yes they do. They focus the beam from 120-140 degrees to for example 60 degrees, the light gets more intensive in that beam.
 
Maglofster and Lassef! Thanks for your help. Now here is what I am purchase....

HLG-120H-54 (mean well)
Constant Current Region: 27-54 Volts
Current Adj. Range: 1.1-2.3A
Circuit: Connect 2 x 50W LED in series
LED specs: 27 volts, 1.8A

ELN-60-48 (mean well)
LED operation voltage: 3-48V
Current Range: 0-1.3A
Circuit: Connect 5x10W LED in series
LED specs: 9 volts, 0.9A

Will this work?
I have gone through EVERY mean well datasheet and this is the best I could come up with.
 
1. If the LED spec for 50 watts is forward voltage 27 V it will probably work with HLG - 120H-54 (2 x 27 = 54) but you are in the upper limmit. The forward voltage is depended in some degrees of the current. If you have problems - just try lower the current a bit - let us say to 1,5 A. I have not test so I´m not 100 % sure that its work. By the way - the normal FV on 50 watts is between ap. 31 - 36 V. I have seen one multichip with FV between 25,6 V - 28,8 V - I suppose thats your chip.

2. My experinces with some 10 watts is that RB has a higher forward voltage than the white ones - around 9,5 -10 V. You have to calculate with this. But your general idea is right - ad the forward voltage and compare to the drivers specification. Has your chip 9 V as forward voltage - 5 will have 45 V - its in the range of the driver (3-48 V) Even here - if problems - lower the current. The drawback is a little bit less light - the advance is longer lifetime (cooler).

Sincerely Lasse
 
1% you will burn your house down :D jk

OT I purcashed 20W Royal blue EPISTAR for test, and I have heatsink from AMD Athlon CPU.
 
Lassef said:
Hi again

The fixture is one of three which I use for a 450 liter (119 gallon) aquarium. The picture in post 206 shows the underside of the aluminum plate I use as a primary heat sink. On top I placed a Xigmatek Bifrost graphics card cooler with heatpipe technology. The module is then placed in a cradle and can be moved both foreward / backward and sideways. Attached images might explain how it's done. The connector you see is part of a temperature control for the fans. Initially it was thought that the design would meet about 60 watts, but the results were so good that it is now installed nine pieces of chips per plate. Total consumption about 80 watts per plate. The working temperature is around 35 degrees C (95 F).


Sincerly Lasse
Click to expand...
Hi Lassel
What thickness is the Al. Plate :) I was thinking about using Plate and adding Fans / Heat sinks on top
As using all Heat sinks across a 5ft tank is way expensive.
Thanks
Simon
 
bigguyuk said:
Hi Lassel
What thickness is the Al. Plate :) I was thinking about using Plate and adding Fans / Heat sinks on top
As using all Heat sinks across a 5ft tank is way expensive.
Thanks
Simon
Click to expand...

We have been experimenting with aluminium square "pipes". They work fairly well on the smaller chips. Just make some holes in the top of the pipe (in the middle) and push air into the pipe, the air and heat will escape through both ends of the pipe.
 
maglofster said:
We have been experimenting with aluminium square "pipes". They work fairly well on the smaller chips. Just make some holes in the top of the pipe (in the middle) and push air into the pipe, the air and heat will escape through both ends of the pipe.
Click to expand...

Only reason i ask is i have a reef beam clone and its just a aluminium Plate with 3 fans above it
Not saying run 10w or 50w leds but possibly 3w leds and stick some heat sinks on top of the aluminium and put fans on top :)
Just a thought

what size sqare tube i have also seen people use aluminium channell ?
 
Well this was an interesting thread. Thank you for putting it together.

I am not an equipment junkie but I really enjoyed it.

I did not get a chance to watch your video back a few pages yet but will.

I was looking through the ebay store and they had a premade fixture that would work for my nano tank and was wondering if someone could say a yes or no

http://www.ebay.com/itm/500mm-27W-2...835?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33724b9803

I know that this is a diy subject but I really like a simple solution.

Thanks again for the thread. It should be a thread of the month.
 
Well I just placed about $1000 worth of orders, LEDs, heatsink, Fans, etc. I will post pictures as I start getting everything in.
 
bigguyuk said:
Hi Lassel
What thickness is the Al. Plate :) I was thinking about using Plate and adding Fans / Heat sinks on top
As using all Heat sinks across a 5ft tank is way expensive.
Thanks
Simon
Click to expand...


As you can imagine, we have experimented a lot up here in northern Europe. We need light during our long, dark winter (and much to do) :)

Here are some pictures of the first solution I tried using a square aluminum tube 50 mm x 20 mm and 3 mm walls. (1.97 x 0.79 x 0.12). This is asymmetric because of special requirements regarding the aquarium decor. Later I did the same thing but with LEDs evenly dispersed and only a fan. The pipes are 500 mm long (19.69) Its both monted in a Red Sea Max canopy. Both tubes are run with 700 mA just in case.


View attachment 181924 110523-RSM-LED3.jpg 110523-RSM-LED4.jpg View attachment 181926 View attachment 181928​

Sincerely Lasse

The plate in the modules is 12 mm thick (0.47)
 
Last edited:
Another experiment is a ramp that I built to get a light on my background where I want to have coral climbing up. The ramp sits in front of my 100 gallon aquarium and is directed at a 45 degree angle to my background. There are two thin aluminum lid is joined to a pipe with a cooling body between the lids. Two ventilators 10 x 10 watts (2 RB, 4 x 10 000 K, and 4 x 16 000 K white chip). In addition, there where 10 Cree RB - 3 watts. All are equipped with lenses and runs on 900 mA



110901-andra-sidan.jpg 110901-chip-skydd.jpg 110901-lock-fläns.jpg 110901-nästan-kompl.jpg 110901-skydd.jpg​

Sincerely Lasse
 
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