Rapid LED upgrade to Biocube

[STRIPERVIPER]

So i made the decision to do an LED upgrade to my Biocube. I went with the Rapid full spectrum solderless kit with the dimming option and the basic three channel dimmer. I will say the final outcome is nice. The lights really give me the pop and color i was looking for and everything fits neatly under the stock hood. ALTHOUGH that being said i must comment on the installation process. It took me a long time (Like 5 HOURS TOTAL) to complete the installation. There were numerous pitfalls and things Rapid could have done before they sent the kit out. First they could have easily mounted the LEDs to the heatsink and ran the wires from light to light (now I know different people want the lights laid out differently but that could be a do it yourself option) its a real pain spacing them out and then trying to get the short little wires to reach from tile to tile. Next much of the wiring that you have to do could be taken care of at the factory. Wiring the very thin wires from the dimmer to the drivers was a real pain and nothing is color coded in any way that i could discern. Also the driver for the light that carries the UV and Red lights needs to be set at a maximum output which requires you to open the driver and adjust the setting with the use of a multimeter ($30 at Home Depot not bad but wish i knew before i started). Also they give you NO WIRING DIAGRAM at all and theres nothing online to show how to do it so its trial and error until the lights work. And lastly they don't give you enough connecting hardware to wire everything up. You'll need wire nuts, wire strippers, electrical tape, shrink tubing, ect.... to get the job done correctly. That all being said this is by no means an easy kit to install and I feel that Rapid should either charge more money and make this kit more plug and play or let you know in advance that quite a bit of work and electrical knowhow is needed to install this kit as they sell it now. When i spoke with the rep from Rapid i was led to believe this was a simple install and believe me it is not. But once again i love the way my tank looks all my corals look great and I'm getting lots of shimmer in my tank. Just my two cents. Oh and by the way I have all the guts for anyone who wants them for the CFL for the Biocube. Two bulbs (4 months old 10K and actinic) driver and the hardware it took off free for anyone to pickup in Canarsie or Babylon.

 

[DustanT]

The only thing I didn't know was the kit doesn't come with the wire for the driver to led's other than that read this page.

http://www.rapidled.com/led-university-1/

 

[STRIPERVIPER]

Thanks for the reply but that page has no solutions or answers for any of the issues I had. After showing u how to remove the old lights and install the heat sink you're on your own with this kit.

 

[STRIPERVIPER]

And mine came with all the necessary wires just no info on how to hook them up.

 

[DustanT]

All the information is there it's just separated in a way it was difficult to find and understand, if they took 4 of the docs and put them into 1 doc it would be easier yes. I had to read the led wiring doc then the driver doc then the controller doc and back and forth a few times. I agree it could be easier tho and they should make a full video of the install. It's a great kit tho once it's done.

 

[homer1475]

There is a reason it's called a DIY kit.

If it was all prewired and had the LED's already screwed down, it would be a bolt on accessory not a DIY kit. Rapid has all the info you need on their website, and if it's not, a simple phone call would get you all the help you need. That was the one thing that I really liked about rapidLED, their CS is second to none.

You bought a DIY kit, it's assumed you have some knowledge on how to wire things properly(black to negative, red to positive, etc).

Not trying to bash you or your lack of knowledge, but it is a DIY kit, what you want is a bolt on accessory.

 

[ReefWreak]

I agree that the kit is more complicated than implied, but all retrofits are unfortunately. I agree that there is a big learning curve to setting it up, and it is not for those who are not handy and have access to basic electronics tools (multimeter, pliars, heatshrink tubing, etc.).

Sorry you had trouble with it. If you ever have questions or issues, or want to talk it through with someone, I'm here on RC, and you can always catch me in person, I live in Astoria.

There is actually a really good walk-through here which is also available on the product's main page.

I know you have it in now and probably don't want to mess with it, but I would strongly recommend adding quick disconnects like these, which I added to mine so I can just simply disconnect them when I want to remove the hood from my tank and not drag all of the electronics out with it.