DIY LED Build For 210 gallon 72X24X29 Help and ideas Please

Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum

Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:

REEFER JOHN

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
22
Location
Snohomish
Hi,
I'm going to start building my LED's for My 210 Aqueon dual overflow Reef being able to keep anything. I want to make it completely dim able and separated and using both whites both blues, violets and greens and maybe a few cyan. probably want the light 10-12 inches above tank...need help with layout and either one long heat sink or 3-4 separate? what optics for best performance? Thank-You :)
 
Sounds like an awesome build. I would say that three separate heatsinks with 48 LEDs on each would give you more then enough lihting for your tank. I say to go with the individual heatsinks because one solid heat sink is heavy.
 
Here is a pic of what a 18" heatsink with 48 LED's looks like.

DSC_0034.jpg


And all three heatsinks mounted into the top of the hood

DSC_0030.jpg


And the top side

DSC_0024.jpg


This will light your 210 to grow anything you want. Our lights are only 6"ish above the tank but thats because we wanted a low profile canopy. 10-12" above would not be an issue what-so-ever.
 
Eww has a great light fixture for a 180 or 210. My lighting configuration is a bit different and I will build two more of these 60 bulb fixtures for my 210 when I set it back up.

IMG_0248.jpg

IMG_0252.jpg


Of course, I will have to remove the black trim and sync the three of them together.
 
Eric and Becca's build is amazing, the electrical layout is prestine, and the thought behind the design is outstanding. Difinitely a build to go off of.
 
I am in complete awww of how clean these builds look. I was very hesitant to start a project like this. Most DIY LED builds I had seen worked but were no visual appealing. These are prime examples of both. Clean and fully functional!!!
 
Eric and Becca's build is amazing, the electrical layout is prestine, and the thought behind the design is outstanding. Difinitely a build to go off of.

Ditto on that. Eric and Becca have a very nice layout and super clean look for the wiring. Awesome job guys :D Gives me some ideas for my next build. :lol:

Cheers,
Alex
 
Ok reeferjohn as requested here is an option/concept.

reeferjohn1.jpg

Parts list:
62 CREE XP-G R5 3W COOL WHITES
32 CREE XP-T 3 W ROYAL BLUES
30 CREE XP-E 3 W BLUES
6 CREE XP-E 3 W GREENS
6 PHILIPS CYAN (FROM RAPID LED)
6 PHILIPS VIOLET (FROM RAPID)
6 ELN 60-48D DRIVERS
12 FUSES
12 1 OHM RESISTORS
142 CARCLO OPTICS AND HOLDERS ( I WOULD SUGGEST RIPPLE WIDES)
6 PLUGS FOR THE DRIVERS
3 TWO FAN KITS
1 ARCTIC SILVER ADHESIVE
3 18X8.46 HEATSINKS FROM HEATSINKUSA

* Your still going to need wire, solder, wire covers and so on, but thats up to you on how far you take it.

Wiring thoughts:
2 drivers are going to be run with all cool whites in parallel , so they will hold two strings of 12 each with a fuse and a resistor on each (48 total) run at 700ma
1 driver will hold two strings in parallel with all royal blues again with a fuse and resistor on each (24 total) run at 700ma
1 driver will holld two strings in parallel with all blues again with a fuse and resistor on each (24 total) run at 700ma
1 driver will again have two string in parallel BUT it will have 8 cool whites and 4 royal blues on each string with a fuse and resistor (24) run at 700ma
1 driver will have two strings in parallel BUT it will have 3green, 3violet,3cyan,3blues per string with a fuse and resistor (24) run at 500ma.

So with this you will be able to control each driver individually based on what you are going to use, so the fancy one from boostled ($50) to your existing apex?? to a potencial meter for each (3 bucks each) .

hope it helps


Mike
 
Last edited:
Thank You MIKE :)
Very Very Cool Builds Guys.... Looks Good and Clean ....Just how I Like it ....Very Nice Eric & Becca..What was Your budget on those lights? And is there certain drivers and LEDS that have to be used in conjunction with Reef Keeper or automatic controler?
Thank So Much :D
 
As far as your drivers go, they have to be 0 to 10vdc dimming for your ReefKeeper ALC to take care of it. Keep in mind though that the ALC only has 2 channels so you would have to buy a couple in order to control all of your lights and at 70 bucks a pop not cheap. So in this case an Arduino style or Typhon would be your best bet. 50 to 80 bucks and you have an awesome controller. Or you can elect to go the manual way with just your timer to turn each on and you turn a dial to adjust intensity.
 
A calculator to help you.

Also, when I built mine Dec 2010, the ongoing price was 10/led. That includes everything, driver, optics, wiring etc. except controller. Now prices have dropped big time so you can build yours more cheaper.

Also another thing to consider is the "MULTICHIP" LEDs ranging from 10, 20, 50 and 100 watt fixture....

6831344691_4cc4494b05.jpg



this one is just an example...

comparison with led star...
b83829e5-f5e0-ed9c.jpg


6967581359_d984329384.jpg


6967581835_715027b34c.jpg
 
Last edited:
Those 100w multi hips are amazing. I love mine. I did not go with the optic though. That heatsink is a serious heatsink.
 
tat, can you show a pic of yours?

mercenary, on my previous post, I have a link there that includes price.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top