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DIY Lighting Question


Wade

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Hey all,

I'm going to build a miniature reef system for my desk at work based on the PJ Reefs project (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/762563809/pj-reefs-bringing-the-ocean-to-your-desktop - no longer active). I need to construct an LED light capable of sustaining whatever softies and macro I put in there (zoas, maybe xenia, red grape caulerpa, etc.) I don't think I'll need much, maybe just two ro three LEDs, but I don't know what spectrum and wattage I'll need. The light will not be dimable, just on and off. I've not made a light myself yet so this will be a good project for me all around. What say all you DIY lighting experts? Thanks in advance:)

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Heatsink is going to be the hardest part of this.

I would probably get a dimming power supply just so you can adjust the intensity. Good LED's running at 100% can pretty much destroy coral even if they are only on for a few hours a day. With a dimmer you could keep the tank lit for much longer.

Something like this: http://www.rapidled.com/0-10v-dimmable-nano-driver-with-potentiometer/

Then add maybe 2 neutral white (XP-G) and 2 royal blue (XT-E) cree's and you should be good to go.

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+1

In this thread, there are a couple of pdf files with instructions on building a LED cannons using a CPU heatsink. They are useing 3 watt LED stars but the buckpucs used will work for 1 watt LED stars also and one of the cannons had I think 9 stars on it.

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@Kim: I'll make a journal with pictures of the progress and how it turned out and post it in the build threads.. Should be awesome. My desk at work looks like crap, but once a micro-tank hits it, it will shine:)

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The buckpucs used in the cannons were not dimmable but there are dimmable versions available that use 0-10vdc for dimming control. Also, you do not have to use the 1000ma or 700ma buckpucs if intensity is an issue, lower amperage options are available. My guess is you could fit 5 of the buckpucs if you're good with the spacing giving you 5 channels if you wanted to get fancy. I've also played with putting the heatsink and electronics inside a glass lamp shade instead of PVC but the design and layout is much more critical to get good airflow.

http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/23988-my-led-pdfs/?hl=cannon

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Here's a simpler cannon and PAR readings for it. It has a 1000ma buckpuc driving a CW and a NW 3 watt LED stars with 80 degree lens and a 700ma buckpuc driving a B and a RB watt LED stars with 80 degree lens. At about 14" from the fixture there is a cone about 8" diameter that has roughly 100 - 120 PAR. The buckpucs are hooked up to a 24VDC power supply but for running just two LEDs they only need a 12vdc 2 amp power supply (these are teh same used in the 60 watt cannon and can work with up to 32 VDC). Being open and just a total of about 14 watts and mounted to a heat sink designed for handling a lot more wattage fans are not needed.

post-1247-0-36469400-1411094003_thumb.jp

post-1247-0-94384700-1411094022_thumb.jp

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Nice looking cannon Tim. That is exactly what I'm looking for. I'd paint the PVC to match my other fixture, but I think it could really work.

Any thoughts on doing an update at one of the ARC meetings where we could build a few?

I've never built one but I don't imagine it would be that difficult.

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It can be fairly easy, the cannon above with 4 LED stars I used epoxy to glue the stars and buckpucs to the heat sink instead of drilling holes and screwing the components to the heat sink. Once all the components are laid out assembly can probably be done in about 20 minutes. I need to try it out but epoxy putty probably would work just fine as well.

Getting a couple of other people who have done DIY fixtures and doing a meeting so people can see some of the options they have is an excellent idea!

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