HELP! DIY Led fixture for 10g reef

[Lobey]

Hi guys,

I have a 10g tank with mainly Zoanthids and a few LPS. I currently have an EVO Green element led fixture with 10 3w LEDs ( 7cw and 3rb). The light is kind of a disappointment for me, so I've been looking into a DIY rapid led setup.

Do you guys have any recommendations for a good setup that will stay within a $100 budget? I'm in college so the budget is tight, but Im confident with all of the experience on this site I can come up with a setup that will foster the Zoa garden of my dreams.

The tank is just a 10 long from petco, so the light doesn't need a huge foot print. I've been trying to figure it out myself, but I can not decide which driver, dimmer and led combo to use that will give my corals the color and growth they deserve.

[mpderksen]

With a budget like that, you will give up some features, like dimmable and likely only get a single driver. Go to heatsinkusa . com for the heatsink, and purchase a drill/tap set with matching screws from the hardware store. (4" x 12" for $40). Get a Meanwell driver, and a mix of Cree Royal blue ($3.50 each) and white LEDs ($4.00 each). I think you can only run 14 with one driver, but if your budget allows for 2, then get 14 of each. These can be bought solder less from RapidLED. Pick up some Arctic Silver from a computer store (or Amazon) to create solid contact between the LED and the heatsink. Then get a basic digital timer from Home Depot. Get a 700 Meanwell driver for the blues ($15) and a 1050 for the whites ($26). Up to 14 LEDs per driver.
Once you have the pieces, the assembly takes time (tapping screw holes is tedious, and soldering is worse). If you did 10 of each LED, your cost would be about $160. If you went cheap, and picked 7 of each, and only the 700 driver (which would run the whites at about 70%, which is probably fine), you could build it for $110, plus wire etc.

[Lobey]

Thanks for the reply. I've contacted a gentlemen who builds the LEDs for my LFS and he can provide me with the same LEDs for $2 per as well as a heatsink for $20. With these prices and a $100 budget, is there a driver I could get that is dimable?

[perkint]

I would go with a PSU and three (or more) meanwell LDDs, a mix of XPG2 whites (mainly cool, but you could add a couple of neutral), some XTE royal blues and some XPE2 blues. And a decent heat sink. If you want more colour, add a fourth LDD and add a lime LED or two. Then get an arduino nano & RTC to provide the PWM. That should get you a light with good colour, only programmable from laptop (but how often do you change the lighting schedule?) but will do sunrise/sunset and should be feasible within $100 for zoas and LPS in a small tank!

Tim

[mpderksen]

Originally Posted by Lobey

Thanks for the reply. I've contacted a gentlemen who builds the LEDs for my LFS and he can provide me with the same LEDs for $2 per as well as a heatsink for $20. With these prices and a $100 budget, is there a driver I could get that is dimable?

Be careful which LEDs he is providing. There are serious quality differences for sure. In my first fixture I used an old laptop power supply and BuckPucks. Today, I would get MeanWell LDD drivers that are $7.50 each. You want the 700 for the blues and 1000 for the whites, and a potentiometer for each channel.
With a laptop power supply (potentially free if you have an old one in a drawer), you get enough power to run almost 30 LEDs total, if you start with less (at a few $ each, I don't see the point...) leave space in your layout to add more later when you can afford it.

[Lobey]

Perkint,

I am new to DIY LEDs, so I am struggling to understand your post due to my lack of knowledge on the subject. I've found the LEDs online, but there seems to be numerous options for everything else. If you get a minute could you share link or two to a product you would choose? Thank you for your time

[dadummy]

Not familiar the evo fixture, however, if I had one I would take it apart to see if the LED's can be changed out, or if any part of the fixture is useable for the heatsink.

Another inexpensive option is to use Ebay LED & drivers , JB Weld( thermal adhesive) and aluminum flat stock. You can order a bunch of different LED and mess around with the color spectrum. Ya ya ya Cree, ReBel, Bridgelux , not to discredit you but you are lighting a ten gallon tank, 300ma drivers and an array of LED will grow Zoanthids and LPS.

A buddy did his 12g nano this way, I have been giving him LPS and Zoanthids , everything is growing and colors are good.

just another option without breaking the bank, plus if you fry a string or burn out a few LED no big loss. Here's a few links of ones I have used

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-1W-Blu...item4d129baa12

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-pcs-3W-Ex...item35dcec8c3f

Was listed as 420nm when I purchased them
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-x-1W-H...item35cc291392

cheapo drivers, tons of options, depends on how many LED you want on a string. some shrink tubing, electrical box and cover for an enclosure

[dadummy]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pcs-85-265...item3f3592b9a9

[dadummy]

here ya go lol

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2494788

[Lobey]

Thank you!!!

[perkint]

Originally Posted by Lobey

I am new to DIY LEDs, so I am struggling to understand your post due to my lack of knowledge on the subject. I've found the LEDs online, but there seems to be numerous options for everything else. If you get a minute could you share link or two to a product you would choose? Thank you for your time

LOL - sorry mate. There are always a million choices

Essentially, you need some LEDs, a constant current driver and if your driver requires it, a power supply. So, LEDs, meanwell LDDs as drivers and then a PSU. For what you're doing, I'd be tempted to get a meaty 12V PSU, 3 Cree XTE royal blues, 3 Cree XPE2 blues, 2 XPG2 cool white and 1 XPG2 neutral white. Then three LDDs (700mA for the XPE2s and 1000mA for the XTEs and XPG2s). If you did that, you'd want a 12V supply at about 36W - higher power would be OK. Then an arduino nano and any one of the many downloadable programs to run on it. What the arduino does is fade the LEDs in and out based on the time of day - you would need to add a real time clock (RTC) for that.

If you do it this way, the one power supply will run the LEDs, the controller and also fans if you need them on the heat sink. You would have to shop around to find the best deals on the LEDs (here in the UK I'd use eBay, but you have to be careful), but you should be able to get LEDs, drivers, arduino and RTC for less than $60, leaving the rest for a power supply, fans and a plastic box to put the controller and drivers in. You would need a protoboard to build the circuit for the drivers and controller, and I'd also add a MOSFET so the arduino can turn the fans on and off as well, but those bits are less than $1...

This would give a good base for expanding or adding more functionality or light (and could do moon lights just by updating the code) but is quite a learning curve if you are not familiar with coding or building circuits - none of it difficult, but can be daunting if it's all new ground!

Tim

[wolfblue]

Originally Posted by mpderksen

Go to heatsinkusa . com

Dude thanks for that one! I think I'm in love with that place now.

[wolfblue]

Originally Posted by mpderksen

Be careful which LEDs he is providing. There are serious quality differences for sure.

Yep. I have had Chinese eBay led's pop in under a hour at 70%. EDIT-- Well sunk by me and never even getting warm. Like they are not bonded to the star good enough to transfer heat.

[perkint]

Or simply were not the ones you thought you were buying - there was a recent thread on here where the conclusion was the LEDs received were rated for half the power of those listed!

Tim