Phasezero's DIY Led Fixture Cluster Redesign (radion inspired)

[phasezero]

Here is a recent video of the tank with our new HD Panasonic HC-V500 camcorder. You can get a sense of the growth from the corals if you compare the beginning of the video with the front tank shot and to the previous post which was taken about 2.5 months ago. Don't forget to watch it in 720 or 1080p.

 

[Mark2]

Nice set up! your led color choice and layout really inspired my led project which i just finished a few weeks ago. Loving it!

 

[Jozee]

You had to adjust your layout - did you have an updated layout of the colored LEDs that you ended up with in the clusters? I love the way that this turned out!

 

[phasezero]

Nice set up! your led color choice and layout really inspired my led project which i just finished a few weeks ago. Loving it!

I'm glad it was able to help you out. Thanks

You had to adjust your layout - did you have an updated layout of the colored LEDs that you ended up with in the clusters? I love the way that this turned out!

I did adjust the layout because I mis counted how many LED's were available to me. Here is the diagram of the layout I ended up using, It's pretty close to the original.

Just a little update on the fixture and some suggestions for anyone who might be using this for their own project

- I did not double check the forward voltage of these red/turquoise LED's, which turns out to only be ~2 volts per LED. I put 8 of them on one string giving me a total of about 16V. This does not fall within the 24-48V range of the Meanwell 48D Driver. This causes the string to blink on/off when I have them turned up. So just remember to double check your drivers specs and the specific LED's forward voltage that you plan to use, rather than go off the estimate of LED's the vendor says. I've been way too lazy to mess with this fixture to fix the issue.

- You could save 15-20 bucks and just get the non dimmable Meanwell LPC-35-700mA driver for the violets. I don't really see a point in dimming these when they are hard to notice as it is.

- These exotic branded LED's from ledgroupbuy have some very low heat tolerance. From the 2 weeks that I ran without fans have caused the built in lenses to discolor to a blackish brown burnt look. I think if I were to do it again I would get the Luxeon Rebel ES colored LED's instead. They'll perform better all around and give you the ability to change the optics rather than be stuck with built in ones.

 

[Mark2]

Didn't you just upgrade your tank size as well? What size is your tank now? Did you add more leds to the fixture for more spread? Also, what are your thoughts on UV leds, beneficial?

 

[tony73]

Hi, some pictures done now since June? to have the difference...

 

[tony73]

Hi Phasezero, where did you buy heatsink? Which size is?

 

[phasezero]

Hi Phasezero, where did you buy heatsink? Which size is?

Tony the heatsink I believe is sized 18 inches long by 5.9 inches wide and around 1.1 inches tall. It was just a plain extruded heatsink that rapidled used to sell. It's the same heatsink that all the other DIY LED websites sell. I don't have another update shot of the exact tank with the corals in the same position, but here's a picture of the new tank with the same light. You can probably point out the same corals from the previous pictures. Sorry this picture was taken with my cell phone.This is the last picture with this light. I'm upgrading the LED Fixture one more time which hopefully will be the last. The only thing I'm reusing will be the drivers. I'm using some custom 3-ups of Luxeon ES along with some Cree XTE royals. I'm also adding an additional driver to the mix for a total of 5 drivers.

 

[phasezero]

 

[tat2z_21]

So just a question. With the LED's partially exposed to air through the cracks, do you think you will be getting enough active cooling in there to properly cool the chips.

 

[phasezero]

So just a question. With the LED's partially exposed to air through the cracks, do you think you will be getting enough active cooling in there to properly cool the chips.

The picture of the LED's on the heatsink is a bad representation, I just chucked them on there to show them off, so they aren't positioned correctly or secured. When I actually have them properly mounted, I would say that more than 90% of the LED mounting star is still directly in contact with the heatsink. I also expect a much better transfer of heat with the use of a thin layer of arctic silver 5 versus a gooped layer of thermal epoxy. There is also 2 fans that come with the heatsink.

 

[tony73]

Ok
I know RAPIDLED
i write from Italy
My tank is 38x24x24 inch, around 80 gallons of net water

Di you think that 2 heatsinks described upper are good?

 

[sedrostyle]

Bump to subscribe.

 

[tat2z_21]

Tony I do believe that you should measure the inside of your tank if there is a cross beam, then you can decide on what size heatsink you will go with.

 

[phasezero]

Here's a quick shot taken we took when we were testing out my fiance's iphone 5. I didn't quite prep the tank for any kind of pictures so there's a bunch of algae everywhere and a hermit shell sale going on in the front of the tank. One of these days I'll pull the better camera out and take some real shots. I haven't been motivated to take much pictures because the transition from the old 26g bowfront to this completely new tank has been quite the journey. I'm still trying to get the parameters stable and back to where they were. On top of that, we're dealing with a bunch of pests.