Garage1217's 225G starphire / led / awesome build! - Page 9

110galreef · 03/07/2011, 07:57 PM

DAMN!!! I want you to build me one!!!

SWEEEEEETTTTT

Garage1217 · 03/07/2011, 08:19 PM

Thanks man, feedback is always appreciated. This build is kicking my butt. As soon as the fixture is done, time to start on the motorized lift system. All the parts are finally in! All I can say is robotmarketplace SUCKS. Stay away from them. Took me 3 weeks to get my motor in and it is not even the original I ordered as it was on backorder, even though it was marked and still is marked in stock. And they shipped to the wrong address, AND shipped via the wrong method... grrrr..

110galreef · 03/07/2011, 08:34 PM

yeah that sucks man. But special order limited stuff is hard to get!
Good luck and keep motivated!

tastydog · 03/08/2011, 04:47 PM

Garage1217 - I am working on my own LED DIY build and wondered, I have read on the CREE data sheets about how much humidity affects the life of the bulb. I know that above a tank is about as humid as it gets. Does one have to account for that and build a sealed cover around the LED's? Or a simpler way of asking, what does a guy do to minimize the effects of humidity on the diodes?

BTW, I love your lamp. It looks so very nice. I doubt mine will ever look that nice as I don't have the cash to spend on those bangin heat sinks. Great job all the way.

Brandon

Garage1217 · 03/08/2011, 05:23 PM

I do not have an educated answer for that other than from what I understand, it is humidity over X amount of time, prior to being put through a re-flow process. Not 100% sure on that but it was my understanding.

Edit:
As I thought, from crees data sheet

Quote:

Baking Conditions
It is not necessary to bake all XLamp LEDs. Only the LEDs that meet all of the following criteria must be baked:
1. LEDs that have been removed from the original MBB packaging
2. LEDs that have been exposed to a humid environment longer than listed in the Moisture Sensitivity section above
3. LEDs that have not been soldered
LEDs should be baked at 80ºC for 24 hours. LEDs may be baked on the original reels. Remove LEDs from MBB packaging before baking. Do not bake parts at temperatures
higher than 80ºC. This baking operation resets the exposure time as defined in the Moisture Sensitivity section
above.

tastydog · 03/08/2011, 06:24 PM

Wonderful, thank you for that info and clearing that up.

Rotknee · 03/08/2011, 08:40 PM

Wow...you have incredible skills my friend! I love the complexity of this project and I'm tagging along to see what you do next.

n0rk · 03/09/2011, 01:28 AM

That's one insane LED build man. My hat goes off to you for making it so neat.

110galreef · 03/09/2011, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastydog

Garage1217 - I am working on my own LED DIY build and wondered, I have read on the CREE data sheets about how much humidity affects the life of the bulb. I know that above a tank is about as humid as it gets. Does one have to account for that and build a sealed cover around the LED's? Or a simpler way of asking, what does a guy do to minimize the effects of humidity on the diodes?

BTW, I love your lamp. It looks so very nice. I doubt mine will ever look that nice as I don't have the cash to spend on those bangin heat sinks. Great job all the way.

Brandon

Brandon & Garage.....

ledsupply sells this led seal... Luxdrive Led Seal......
http://ledsupply.com/09013-07.php

According to LUXdrive you can spray it all over including the LED itself which would make the fixture totally waterproof.

I assume that you can simply spray a light coat over all your led's & connections to seal them from moisture....

Supposedly no PAR or color effect to the LED.

here some interesting proof! haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=07yWAi5Wkdo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=vR52SDkn3LQ

nemosworld · 03/09/2011, 10:15 AM

Sweet looking tank, Love the led fixture. awesome job!

Garage1217 · 03/09/2011, 12:15 PM

Thanks for the feedback and nice info on that clear coat stuff

May be something to think about for some, especially with leds in a canopy.

Garage1217 · 03/19/2011, 11:45 PM

Did a little electrical on one side tonight. Will possibly finish it tomorrow. Not exactly my best work by any means but gets the job done. Still need to number each of the molex microfit plugs and some other little details on this side, then have to finish the other side / finish it overall.

inktomi · 03/20/2011, 11:30 AM

Your build quality is really amazing. I love the look of the black heat sinks - I wired up ONE of those units for a poison dart frog tank in January and the black really makes it look a lot nicer.

I may have missed it - are you planning on using any sort of dimming for the panels - simulate clouds, etc?

For example, this person has built a driver box for LEDs that can simulate all sorts of things...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDfispZZiuM&sns=em
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rho2A...eature=related

I've thought of trying to do the same with an Audrino in place of the manual potentiometers I used between my drivers and my leds.

Garage1217 · 03/20/2011, 11:48 AM

Hello Inktomi,
Yes, the fixture will have dimming control and weather if I choose via my apex controller. I also re-designed a few things since my first post, I also plan my apex to control the fan assemblies & custom moon lights. After testing, the heatsinks were more than capable of keeping the leds at a reasonable temp without the fan assemblies even when testing at 900mA per string *LOL* So the fan assemblies are overkill but I will run them at a very low speed anyways just to keep things really cool since I will be driving the leds harder than most when at 100%

inktomi · 03/20/2011, 12:03 PM

I'm running my strings at 750mA without a fan on a 20"x10" heatsink and it never gets even to what I'd consider "warm to the touch". I used 10 3-up Luxeon Endorstars, two (for 6 emitters) per driver.

Garage1217 · 03/20/2011, 12:12 PM

Right on. Yeah these heatsinks are 8.5 x 14" and when testing 24 XR-E's at 750mA, The hottest I could get each sink was around 120F. Not bad at all. But over time when they get dusty, the temp will go up pretty rapidly. That and I will be driving them at 850mA... thinking about 900mA but have not made up my mind. I definitely have the cooling ability *LOL*

inktomi · 03/20/2011, 12:14 PM

900mA.. bah... aren't those emitters rated for 1000mA?

Garage1217 · 03/20/2011, 12:17 PM

Haha, yes they are rated "up to" 1000mA. 85-90% of their rated is plenty for me

FishboyDave · 03/20/2011, 12:39 PM

very nice build. How much have you spent on the led lights so far in the project?

Garage1217 · 03/20/2011, 12:43 PM

Way to much and still spending on it haha. Scared to add it up *LOL* Definitely did not go about this as a budget build and thank goodness I am a DIY type or my wallet would be in real trouble.

stumpovrtyme · 03/20/2011, 01:06 PM

truely awsome

AdamHI · 03/20/2011, 02:16 PM

Hi. Awesome looking build.

Boring question for you . . . how difficult is it to work with those Molex Microfit connectors? Is a special crimping tool required, or a luxury? I'm looking at a much smaller build than yours, but I still want to do some kind of pluggable interconnect without needing to spend a fortune in a single-job tool, or in blood-sweat-tears of frustration. I was planning on using Cat5 cable for the control and some sensor lines, but haven't figured out best way to do the 1A supply lines to the LED strings from the ELN drivers. I was leaning to using either hard drive power connectors (see below) and clipping the wires so the connector ends are already done, and splicing the wires, or possibly using 2 of the pairs in a Cat5 cable, - what would you recommend?

--adam

Garage1217 · 03/20/2011, 02:27 PM

Those are easy to work with, however I would recommend molex microfit connectors / use 20 - 22awg wire to string the leds and for quick connects on power wires, use terminal strips or molex minifit connectors. Crimpers for molex pins are not that expensive. That and you can get them in many styles and pin layouts

And if you really want to get fancy, use water resistant deutsch connectors

I did not use them on this since the fixture will be run open air and will be reasonable high above the tank / little risk of corrosion from high humidity such as in a canopy.

Just finished wiring the power supplies on the other side. Going to take a nap now and then get back on it later on

briankmarsh1980 · 03/20/2011, 02:45 PM

wow i new you were doing a DIY LED build but i had no idea you were building such awesomeness

very cool

Haplochromine · 03/20/2011, 03:03 PM

Just went through the build and was disappointed it hadn't been filled yet. Don't disappoint me again ha ha ha!

03/07/2011, 07:57 PM	#201
110galreef Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toledo OH Posts: 2,466	DAMN!!! I want you to build me one!!! SWEEEEEETTTTT __________________ Inwall Basement Setup w/ Growout Tank & Common Acrylic sump, SRO XP3000E, Neptune Apex, Bubble Magus Triple Doser, CLS- Super Dart Gold + OM 4way, 2-400w MH & 4-80w T-5, ROX .08 carbon...

03/07/2011, 08:19 PM	#202
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Thanks man, feedback is always appreciated. This build is kicking my butt. As soon as the fixture is done, time to start on the motorized lift system. All the parts are finally in! All I can say is robotmarketplace SUCKS. Stay away from them. Took me 3 weeks to get my motor in and it is not even the original I ordered as it was on backorder, even though it was marked and still is marked in stock. And they shipped to the wrong address, AND shipped via the wrong method... grrrr.. __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/07/2011, 08:34 PM	#203
110galreef Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toledo OH Posts: 2,466	yeah that sucks man. But special order limited stuff is hard to get! Good luck and keep motivated! __________________ Inwall Basement Setup w/ Growout Tank & Common Acrylic sump, SRO XP3000E, Neptune Apex, Bubble Magus Triple Doser, CLS- Super Dart Gold + OM 4way, 2-400w MH & 4-80w T-5, ROX .08 carbon...

03/08/2011, 04:47 PM	#204
tastydog Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 251	Garage1217 - I am working on my own LED DIY build and wondered, I have read on the CREE data sheets about how much humidity affects the life of the bulb. I know that above a tank is about as humid as it gets. Does one have to account for that and build a sealed cover around the LED's? Or a simpler way of asking, what does a guy do to minimize the effects of humidity on the diodes? BTW, I love your lamp. It looks so very nice. I doubt mine will ever look that nice as I don't have the cash to spend on those bangin heat sinks. Great job all the way. Brandon __________________ -- 90g mixed reef w/ATS and 230Lbs of Live Rock 12g closed circulation mixed Reef

03/08/2011, 06:24 PM	#206
tastydog Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 251	Wonderful, thank you for that info and clearing that up. __________________ -- 90g mixed reef w/ATS and 230Lbs of Live Rock 12g closed circulation mixed Reef

03/08/2011, 08:40 PM	#207
Rotknee Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Pasadena, CA Posts: 592 Blog Entries: 9	Better than McGuyver as I remeber it...5 Stars! Wow...you have incredible skills my friend! I love the complexity of this project and I'm tagging along to see what you do next. __________________ \| Lee-Mar 62x26x24 Eurobraced Starphire \| Profilux P3.1N eX \| GHL Mitras x 3\| BK SM200 + RD3 \| Vortech MP40 x 4 \| Reef Dynamics BP Reactor \| ATB Flowstar 1800 \|

03/09/2011, 01:28 AM	#208
n0rk More is better-er! Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bloody kangaroos! Posts: 251	That's one insane LED build man. My hat goes off to you for making it so neat. __________________ Benjamin Current Tank Info: A coupla thousand watts of light, massive tidal flows, and a whole lotta filtration

03/09/2011, 10:15 AM	#210
nemosworld Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,411	Sweet looking tank, Love the led fixture. awesome job! __________________ Felix Nice to meet you! Current Tank Info: 60 Gallon Cube

03/09/2011, 12:15 PM	#211
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Thanks for the feedback and nice info on that clear coat stuff May be something to think about for some, especially with leds in a canopy. __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/19/2011, 11:45 PM	#212
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Did a little electrical on one side tonight. Will possibly finish it tomorrow. Not exactly my best work by any means but gets the job done. Still need to number each of the molex microfit plugs and some other little details on this side, then have to finish the other side / finish it overall. __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/20/2011, 11:30 AM	#213
inktomi Aviator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 960	Your build quality is really amazing. I love the look of the black heat sinks - I wired up ONE of those units for a poison dart frog tank in January and the black really makes it look a lot nicer. I may have missed it - are you planning on using any sort of dimming for the panels - simulate clouds, etc? For example, this person has built a driver box for LEDs that can simulate all sorts of things... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDfispZZiuM&sns=em http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rho2A...eature=related I've thought of trying to do the same with an Audrino in place of the manual potentiometers I used between my drivers and my leds. __________________ ----------- Check out my YouTube channel as well. Search "ReefMan". Current Tank Info: 275g AGE, 5 Radion Pro, 4 MP40

03/20/2011, 11:48 AM	#214
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Hello Inktomi, Yes, the fixture will have dimming control and weather if I choose via my apex controller. I also re-designed a few things since my first post, I also plan my apex to control the fan assemblies & custom moon lights. After testing, the heatsinks were more than capable of keeping the leds at a reasonable temp without the fan assemblies even when testing at 900mA per string LOL So the fan assemblies are overkill but I will run them at a very low speed anyways just to keep things really cool since I will be driving the leds harder than most when at 100% __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/20/2011, 12:03 PM	#215
inktomi Aviator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 960	I'm running my strings at 750mA without a fan on a 20"x10" heatsink and it never gets even to what I'd consider "warm to the touch". I used 10 3-up Luxeon Endorstars, two (for 6 emitters) per driver. __________________ ----------- Check out my YouTube channel as well. Search "ReefMan". Current Tank Info: 275g AGE, 5 Radion Pro, 4 MP40

03/20/2011, 12:12 PM	#216
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Right on. Yeah these heatsinks are 8.5 x 14" and when testing 24 XR-E's at 750mA, The hottest I could get each sink was around 120F. Not bad at all. But over time when they get dusty, the temp will go up pretty rapidly. That and I will be driving them at 850mA... thinking about 900mA but have not made up my mind. I definitely have the cooling ability LOL __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/20/2011, 12:14 PM	#217
inktomi Aviator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 960	900mA.. bah... aren't those emitters rated for 1000mA? __________________ ----------- Check out my YouTube channel as well. Search "ReefMan". Current Tank Info: 275g AGE, 5 Radion Pro, 4 MP40

03/20/2011, 12:17 PM	#218
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Haha, yes they are rated "up to" 1000mA. 85-90% of their rated is plenty for me __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/20/2011, 12:39 PM	#219
FishboyDave Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: nc Posts: 96	very nice build. How much have you spent on the led lights so far in the project? __________________ 150 gal w/ 55 gal sump/refugium I have no clue what Im doing in this world, but my tank looks cool. Current Tank Info: 120 sps reef

03/20/2011, 12:43 PM	#220
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Way to much and still spending on it haha. Scared to add it up LOL Definitely did not go about this as a budget build and thank goodness I am a DIY type or my wallet would be in real trouble. __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more! Last edited by Garage1217; 03/20/2011 at 01:02 PM.

03/20/2011, 01:06 PM	#221
stumpovrtyme Reef Junkie Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buckeye State(Lancaster,Ohio) Posts: 489	truely awsome __________________ If everyone with a reef traded a frag would you have to buy any? My spelling sucks I know! Im a reefer not a teacher! Current Tank Info: 90 g. display, 55 g. planted tank/fuge,and 30g. sump

03/20/2011, 02:16 PM	#222
AdamHI Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 18	Hi. Awesome looking build. Boring question for you . . . how difficult is it to work with those Molex Microfit connectors? Is a special crimping tool required, or a luxury? I'm looking at a much smaller build than yours, but I still want to do some kind of pluggable interconnect without needing to spend a fortune in a single-job tool, or in blood-sweat-tears of frustration. I was planning on using Cat5 cable for the control and some sensor lines, but haven't figured out best way to do the 1A supply lines to the LED strings from the ELN drivers. I was leaning to using either hard drive power connectors (see below) and clipping the wires so the connector ends are already done, and splicing the wires, or possibly using 2 of the pairs in a Cat5 cable, - what would you recommend? --adam

03/20/2011, 02:27 PM	#223
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Those are easy to work with, however I would recommend molex microfit connectors / use 20 - 22awg wire to string the leds and for quick connects on power wires, use terminal strips or molex minifit connectors. Crimpers for molex pins are not that expensive. That and you can get them in many styles and pin layouts And if you really want to get fancy, use water resistant deutsch connectors I did not use them on this since the fixture will be run open air and will be reasonable high above the tank / little risk of corrosion from high humidity such as in a canopy. Just finished wiring the power supplies on the other side. Going to take a nap now and then get back on it later on __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/20/2011, 02:45 PM	#224
briankmarsh1980 I'm a member of **!!!!!! Join Date: May 2010 Location: Maricopa, Arizona Posts: 2,127	wow i new you were doing a DIY LED build but i had no idea you were building such awesomeness very cool __________________ My skim don't stink _______________________________________________________________ 210 gallons with stuff!!!!!!!

03/20/2011, 03:03 PM	#225
Haplochromine Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 205	Just went through the build and was disappointed it hadn't been filled yet. Don't disappoint me again ha ha ha! __________________ 20G Frag Tank - Koralia 750, Sunlight Supply New Wave 4x24W T5HO, 50W Eheim Jager Heater. 20G Frag Tank - Koralia 550, 70W Metal Halide 20K Ushio, 50W Eheim Jager Heater 10G Rimless Display - Koralia 425, 70W Metal Halide 20K Ushio, 50W Eheim Jager Heater 15G Empty

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