Smoothdog's Multichip LED build

smoothdog

smoothdog

Active member
So after seeing jtrasap's multichip leds I decided to take a crack at it myself. I've been tossing around the idea of leds for awhile but the cost was too prohibitive and with a 30" tall tank I wasn't sure that the smaller individual emitters were up to the task of reaching the bottom of the tank without using extras which would drive the cost up even more.

I purchased 3 100W 20K multichip emitters (from the same seller that Jason used) with the plan to build a fixture for my 29G tank, and if I liked the results, build a dual fixture to go over my 110G based on the 29G design.


Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr

I find fans tend to not be very reliable over time so I didn't like the idea of using a heat sink that required a fan to keep the temp of the emitter in check so I splurged a little and got three of these:

Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr

The fans push a lot of air and are very quiet but the unit is rated to cool 250 GPUs so even without them the heat pipes are very efficient and keep the chip cool.

The mounting plate for the gpu cooler was the perfect size to go around the chip so I was able to screw it down to the cooler with no special modifications. I initially planned to use 60deg lenses and mount them higher but the spread was just too narrow and created horrible shadows.

Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr



Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr

I didn't have any plans to ever use a controller on the small tank so I just got one of the cheaper manually dimmable Chinese drivers for that tank.


Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr

Once I got everything wired up I tried a test run over the big tank. It produced a very bright crisp white light but I was expecting more of a blue tone with it being rated as 20K.


DSC_1319.JPG by ksw2005, on Flickr

Phoenix 14k for comparison:

DSC_1321.JPG by ksw2005, on Flickr

Side X side:

DSC_1323.JPG by ksw2005, on Flickr

I didn't like the look of the white by itself so I decided to supplement with 3 10W multichip emitters.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/32091727508...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_4051wt_1182

I also upgraded from the 45mm 60deg lens to a 78mm 90deg lens to get better spread and re-purposed the smaller lenses for the 10W chips.

Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr
 
At this point I needed to build something to mount everything on so I build a simple aluminum frame using L brackets and rivets.

Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr


Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr

On the big tank I will be trying a product called solder-it for aluminum to secure the corner brackets for a cleaner look.

Next were the sheet metal cut outs to hold the lenses.

Untitled by ksw2005, on Flickr

Finally paint and threaded rod with more aluminum L channel for legs.

DSC_1354.JPG by ksw2005, on Flickr

Finished product:

DSC_1356.JPG by ksw2005, on Flickr

I plan to create a hanging rig instead of using legs over the 110.

Tank with sunpod 150 HQI Phoenix 14k:

DSC_1349.JPG by ksw2005, on Flickr

Tank with LEDs:

DSC_1351.JPG by ksw2005, on Flickr

I would guess I am only running the 100W led at about 30-40% right now based on the position of the pot knob on the driver and the 10W actinics are un-dimmable.
 
Cost breakdown per light:

100W LED $30
100W driver $50
Cooler $45
large 90deg lens $10
3 small 60deg lenses $12
3 10w actinic leds $15
30w driver $15
Misc building supplies $30

Total $207
 
Thanks Nick. I am planning some minor changes for the big tank and will post updates once I make some final decisions.
 
One other note, I bought meanwell drivers that are pwm, resistance or voltage dimmable for the big tank so I have more dimming options down the road. That upgrade adds $15 to the price per light.
 
dbuesking said:
Great job Kirk. Thanks for posting this. About how many hours do you have in the build?
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave. It's hard telling, wiring and soldering the LEDs went pretty quick since there were only 4 of them, and the frame was built in a couple of hours easily, it took way longer to paint because I used a hammered finish paint. Aside from the painting I'd say, labor wise, I could hammer out one of these in a few hours if I had everything set up to do it. Now the planning, hardware store runs and waiting on parts arrival, those were the real time killers. I've really just been doing bits and pieces over the last couple months or so with the majority of the labor getting done the weekend before last.
 
Cool build.
I've been toying around with converting my 72" aqualight pro over to all LED's, the multi chip seems like it would work well for that.

Why do you suppose it came out so "white" when you were supposed to be getting a 20k unit?
 
Link to heatsink? I love this build.

I searched mwave, but couldnt find that heatsink. Also, thats not listed in price breakdown???

Again, very nice build.
 
u4ick said:
Cool build.
I've been toying around with converting my 72" aqualight pro over to all LED's, the multi chip seems like it would work well for that.

Why do you suppose it came out so "white" when you were supposed to be getting a 20k unit?
Click to expand...

From what I understand, color temps are more of a loosely generalized thing. Even halide bulbs of the 'same' color temp can vary pretty widely in visible color. It appears pretty common for the 20k LEDs to have more of a white look from what I've been reading. I'm actually pretty happy with the way things turned out because now I can control the look of my lighting more and not depend on the factory set color.

Patricklong said:
Link to heatsink? I love this build.

I searched mwave, but couldnt find that heatsink. Also, thats not listed in price breakdown???

Again, very nice build.
Click to expand...

Listed it as:
Cooler $45
Instead of heat sink.

These aren't CPU coolers, they're GPU/VGA coolers.
Dang, they're on sale now too! :mad2: Just my luck. :headwalls:
Here's the link:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearc...ling Accelero Xtreme 5870 VGA Cooler ATI HD58

If you want it centered on the heat sink you could go with this one, I just decided to save $15 (since I got 3) and go with the offset:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearc...ling Accelero Xtreme GTX Pro VGA Cooler, nVid

They also have a single fan unit that's rated for 120W that's only $15, but like I said, I rather have the bigger better heat sink in case the fans go out down the road. I can put my finger on the heat sink now and it's actually still cold. I will probably look into better heat sinks for the 10W units though, I just used the memory sinks that came with the VGA cooler and they do ok when the fans are running but get pretty hot when I just run the actinics.
 
Oohhhhhh I didnt know that they came with the actual heatsink. I thought the coolers were just the fans. :doh:

How did you get power to the fan?
 
You're welcome, thanks for asking, I forgot to include it in the build and didn't include it in the price breakdown because it was just laying on a shelf in the closet with a bunch of others. If you needed to buy one you can get them on ebay for just a few bucks.
 
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