Questionon pricing on DIY LED vs premade

Croniss · 07/07/2012, 06:18 PM

I am currently looking into upgrading my terrible t5 48" marineland deluxe lights with a full LED system, Ive looked through the DIY LED setups and there are a few obstacles stopping me from making my own LED's. One is how intricate and complex the whole process seems, but as with most eletrical projects its overwhelming to look at from afar but up close it becomes simple (I hope thats the case with LEDs). The second issue I have is lack of information, Im hoping that someone has already figured in the prices on what it will cost for a 48" lighting system that will be suspended from the ceiling capable of supporting soft corals i dont plan on growing hard corals until ive gained a few more years experiance. In terms of the cost of materials and time spent making the fixture where is all the money saved? if you completely discount the time you spend making them (paying yourself $0 per hour) does the cost of materials out weigh the cost to just buy a system outright? I do not mind not counting my time as money because with any DIY project the self satisfaction of making your own equipment is payment in itself, im just curious how these numbers add up. Thanks in advance!

onetrickpony · 07/07/2012, 07:24 PM

MmakersLED is the most finished for a heat sink

GU10 LED is another option
So is the Ebay multichip nice thread here on RC

Here is a nice spread sheet HansRic on Nano Reef made up for LEDs
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3lx2w3u4u01tgre/8w-zoMzooF

Everyone is going to have a different recipe on LEDs; This is what I am planning to do, Full Spectrum

4 groups of 2- 3-Ups (2- Neutral white+4 Royal Blue), 2- Cool Blues, 2 True Violet, 1 OCW
OCW and TV @ 500Ma, 3-UP & CB @ 1000Ma both on dimmable drivers

Darth Vedder · 07/07/2012, 11:51 PM

My fixture I built cost right under $800 that is over my 120 (48"x24"x24")

It has 90 Cree LED stars, 28 royal blue, 14 blue, 14 UV, 14 Cool White, 14 neutral white, 2 Green, 4 Red, and there is 4 royal blue moonlights controlled by the apex lunar module

Its Mounted on two 18"x10" aluminum heat sinks and hung from the ceiling. Every color channel is independently dimmable (greens and reds are on one six string channel). It ended up over designed as I don't even run it near half intensity and have 400-600 par at the top shelf, with 120 on the sand bed. If carefully planned you could make one for probably half of what I spent since I'm not running it anywhere near max. Since I run it off an apex controller it is fully customizable as far as color and sunrise sunset effects

Croniss · 07/08/2012, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Vedder

My fixture I built cost right under $800 that is over my 120 (48"x24"x24")

It has 90 Cree LED stars, 28 royal blue, 14 blue, 14 UV, 14 Cool White, 14 neutral white, 2 Green, 4 Red, and there is 4 royal blue moonlights controlled by the apex lunar module

Its Mounted on two 18"x10" aluminum heat sinks and hung from the ceiling. Every color channel is independently dimmable (greens and reds are on one six string channel). It ended up over designed as I don't even run it near half intensity and have 400-600 par at the top shelf, with 120 on the sand bed. If carefully planned you could make one for probably half of what I spent since I'm not running it anywhere near max. Since I run it off an apex controller it is fully customizable as far as color and sunrise sunset effects

Wow thats quite the rig! Even at half that cost an LED system from a major brand would still cost less. I understand that you would have no where near the customization as you do with the type of set up you would, but i was hoping that you could spend maybe 100-200 and have a system comparable to any major manufacturer. Although youre set up does sound amazing..

Darth Vedder · 07/08/2012, 10:55 AM

An ecotech marine radion fixture runs 750 for one pendant with 34 LEDs, but you would need at least two for a 120 gallon tank. AI sols are around 400 per fixture and for an equivalent lighting coverage I would need probably 3-4 of those so if done right DIY in my opinion is still cheaper, but it all depends on what you want. The premade fixtures have some nice features for sure and the AI Vega full spectrum light looks really nice too

Other brands like Apollo, etc you will hear mixed reviews from people. I don't know enough about them to be able to tell you what is good or not. The components for a DIY are not as cheap as people think. The LED emitters are in the 3-5 dollar range per LED depending if you go CReE or bridgelux, and a meanwell dimmable driver is around 30 bucks nd can run 14 LEDs. Even if you save money by making your own heat sink out of aluminum u channel 100-200 will not be able to cover the costs of a rig that is comparable to a good commercial system

07/07/2012, 06:18 PM	#1
Croniss Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Arkansas Posts: 84	Questionon pricing on DIY LED vs premade I am currently looking into upgrading my terrible t5 48" marineland deluxe lights with a full LED system, Ive looked through the DIY LED setups and there are a few obstacles stopping me from making my own LED's. One is how intricate and complex the whole process seems, but as with most eletrical projects its overwhelming to look at from afar but up close it becomes simple (I hope thats the case with LEDs). The second issue I have is lack of information, Im hoping that someone has already figured in the prices on what it will cost for a 48" lighting system that will be suspended from the ceiling capable of supporting soft corals i dont plan on growing hard corals until ive gained a few more years experiance. In terms of the cost of materials and time spent making the fixture where is all the money saved? if you completely discount the time you spend making them (paying yourself $0 per hour) does the cost of materials out weigh the cost to just buy a system outright? I do not mind not counting my time as money because with any DIY project the self satisfaction of making your own equipment is payment in itself, im just curious how these numbers add up. Thanks in advance!

07/07/2012, 07:24 PM	#2
onetrickpony Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: TX Posts: 502	MmakersLED is the most finished for a heat sink GU10 LED is another option So is the Ebay multichip nice thread here on RC Here is a nice spread sheet HansRic on Nano Reef made up for LEDs https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3lx2w3u4u01tgre/8w-zoMzooF Everyone is going to have a different recipe on LEDs; This is what I am planning to do, Full Spectrum 4 groups of 2- 3-Ups (2- Neutral white+4 Royal Blue), 2- Cool Blues, 2 True Violet, 1 OCW OCW and TV @ 500Ma, 3-UP & CB @ 1000Ma both on dimmable drivers Last edited by onetrickpony; 07/07/2012 at 07:38 PM.

07/07/2012, 11:51 PM	#3
Darth Vedder Sith Lord Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Saint Charles, MO Posts: 481	My fixture I built cost right under $800 that is over my 120 (48"x24"x24") It has 90 Cree LED stars, 28 royal blue, 14 blue, 14 UV, 14 Cool White, 14 neutral white, 2 Green, 4 Red, and there is 4 royal blue moonlights controlled by the apex lunar module Its Mounted on two 18"x10" aluminum heat sinks and hung from the ceiling. Every color channel is independently dimmable (greens and reds are on one six string channel). It ended up over designed as I don't even run it near half intensity and have 400-600 par at the top shelf, with 120 on the sand bed. If carefully planned you could make one for probably half of what I spent since I'm not running it anywhere near max. Since I run it off an apex controller it is fully customizable as far as color and sunrise sunset effects

07/08/2012, 10:55 AM	#5
Darth Vedder Sith Lord Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Saint Charles, MO Posts: 481	An ecotech marine radion fixture runs 750 for one pendant with 34 LEDs, but you would need at least two for a 120 gallon tank. AI sols are around 400 per fixture and for an equivalent lighting coverage I would need probably 3-4 of those so if done right DIY in my opinion is still cheaper, but it all depends on what you want. The premade fixtures have some nice features for sure and the AI Vega full spectrum light looks really nice too Other brands like Apollo, etc you will hear mixed reviews from people. I don't know enough about them to be able to tell you what is good or not. The components for a DIY are not as cheap as people think. The LED emitters are in the 3-5 dollar range per LED depending if you go CReE or bridgelux, and a meanwell dimmable driver is around 30 bucks nd can run 14 LEDs. Even if you save money by making your own heat sink out of aluminum u channel 100-200 will not be able to cover the costs of a rig that is comparable to a good commercial system