Looking for quality DIY LED

[Therapy1]

Hi all. I am researching my next build Thinking 180 reef mostly SPS. Looking for quality DIY LED kits. Any recommendations?

http://shop.stevesleds.com/SPS-Grade-LED-Retrofit-Kit-Package-64-84-tanks-8794102421.htm

An example. What are everyone else's thoughts or suggestions?


Tom

 

[mfinn]

I can only recommend one brand. Radions.

 

[halmus]

I had good luck with Rapid LED. They have some very DIY resources if you're up to the challenge. I built some DIY strips to supplement my MH on the display at the time. Check out their web sit some time.

I used 5 of their (Rapid LED) PAR38 bulbs over my 24" x 24" frag tank when I had it set up and they grew SPS like crazy. But, that was a shallow tank at 6" deep. That's a big difference when compared to a normal depth tank.

If I had more time, I would seriously consider building fixtures using their electronics for my current tank in progress. But, that's very labor intensive for a large tank.

I'll likely be going with either Radion Pro's or kessil's new fixture with numerous T5-HO to boost PAR and get a more even spread.


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[Katchupoy]

I have used rapidled in the past, and still using the same led light since 2010...

Here is the thread i created a long long time ago....


and here it is in my website...


The price have gone down dramatically... Even the ready made ones have gone down too...

Also check the "MakersLed" specially the cheap (price) drivers they are using.

Hope this helps...

Cesar

 

[Therapy1]

Katchupoy, I have just finished perusing your website LED build. Absolutely Awesome! Just what I was looking for and you were very careful to note anything of importance! 2 thumbs up! BM'd!!!

Thank you very much!

Tom

 

[Katchupoy]

Tom,

The price of that projects was based on old parts and what not. One major change I will do is to change the meanwell drivers to drastically lower the price. Example: The original meanwell driver I used cost $35.00 and the newer LDD-1000H is just $7.00. Amazing!!!

And right now I have been using 4 of these new drivers on another light setup... and it works.... The only issue is, the dimming on these new drivers are inverted compared to the old drivers.... it means that when you give it 5 volts to the signal, the driver is OFF, and when you remove 5 volts to the signal, the driver is ON. Other than that issue which can be fixed easily, everything works like the old driver. Plus the smaller footprint.

Cesar

 

[Therapy1]

Did you have any issues with heat on the heatsink/bar? I heard keeping the LED's cool is critical to longevity?

 

[Katchupoy]

If im going to do it again... im NOT going to use very long 4' alum square tube.... I will probably cut it into 20"... so instead of having 3x4' tubes... i will have 6x20" tubes, 3 on each side of the tank... I have a 75G so i have a divider/brace in the middle.

the idea is for the heat to escape faster on a shorter tube.... the only way it escapes is on both ends of the tube.

having said that, the 4 footers are not really that bad.... it is warm to the touch (around 100F-110F) but not hot to a point that you cannot touch it. And nothing LED cannot handle. They are designed to handle more heat than that.

Cesar

 

[Therapy1]

Cesar, just for fun, I found this and am going to use it instead of square tube. SUPER cheap!
http://www.heatsinkusa.com/1-000-wide-extruded-aluminum-heatsink/
Check it out.

Tom

 

[Katchupoy]

Yes yes definitely. That can do 4' no problem

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[Therapy1]

I'm going to do 6 foot. My tank will be 72"L x 30"w x 26"H. I will need more but you've pointed the way. You've been very helpful. Thx again.



Tom

 

[halmus]

That was going to be my suggestion. I've used that site for my builds. Good find.


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[Katchupoy]

That is really not a bad price... Now im itching to redo my 4 year old light rig... How about the delivery? are they ok? or have to wait more than a week?

 

[halmus]

Everything arrived in good condition for me. I don't remember the exact delivery schedule, but I'm guessing it was a few weeks. The only people I know that can ship under a week is an Amazon type company (because they have distro centers located in major metro areas.)

I would defiantly plan on ordering materials in advance.


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[Therapy1]

Cesar, I don't know.

 

[Therapy1]

Thx Halmus

 

[marinelife]

I used a 10 x 14 Heat sink for my DIY LEDs. it worked great and was always cool. I just switch out to remade ones a few months ago.
I would go with Cree LEDS on a mean well driver.

 

[burning2nd]

I went thru them all... inevitability all leds have a failure point,

what matters is how that are wired when they make the board (printed board) if its in series or parallel) *if you loose a entire bank because one led burns out


Ive found that throwing 100$ fixtures at the tank from amazon is more cost effective then spending 700$ on lights,



you buy a few 100$ fixtures, every 3-4 years and it cost less then buying a 1500$ @ a time and still only getting 3-4 years out of a set.

 

[1guydude]

Well i have 3-4 led fixtures and diy panels upstairs i hope to re do and DIY with all new components. They technology is really starting to move faster than me. Lol
D

 

[EZ2133]

I used Rapid LED to make a light for my 30 gal general reef tank. It worked great. I ended up mounting it to the wall behind the tank using a swing TV mount and it worked great. I had different lights operated by my digital controller to get the duration and intensity right.