ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Well after seeing alot of setups with LED's on them I decided to try them out. I decided I am going to do a build from rapid led. I am only lighting half of my 55g standard foot print. I was wondering if a fixture 10" long with 20 bulbs on it would be enough. the other half of the tank has metal halide and if I like the led I am going to put 2 10" lights on my 55. The way I have it set up now would be Bulbs: 2 controllable Mean wells 1 10"heat sink 8 royal blue ELN-60-48p 6 cool white 2 neutral white 2 UV 1 red 1 green all wiring would be solderless wireing Never soldered before( I think I could do it with no problem but just never did it this seemed easier) and if I go with two I would connect them later once I upgrade to a bigger system. Please let me know you guys input since dont know much about LEDs This total setup is 213 with shipping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I think you should source your items from another location and realize how much you will save. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 do you have any sugestions they were the only ones that I found that would be in my price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Look for sources out of china. dealextreme.com alibabaexpress.com and for the meanwell drivers Photo Dude posted in his led build thread where he bought em, I bought a replacement from there when the one from rapidled burnt out on me and it was $10 cheaper and had a few dollars cheaper shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Ok I will look into those sites. Thanks bio, would the size of the light and the amount of bulbs be good? I am completely new to led and kind of just winged this setup. I dont know how the cover what lights over power the others. Any input helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I personally use rapidled to get the size and equip req'd then I source it out to save money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Ok so now what can be used for a heat sink. any aluminum? Why do I see some people say led dont get hot at all and other saying they do. also what gauge wire do you need to use to solder with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 http://www.aliexpress.com/item/US-Warranty-Free-Shipping-Colorful-Full-Spectrum-Dimmable-120w-LED-Aquarium-Light-LED-Lamp-90Degree-Optic/652224221.html so I found some of the chinese fixture does anyone know anything about them? For this price it is as cheap as a DIY kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Here's a good thread to read: http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/23513-a-noobs-diy-led-lighting-guide and there are also good threads by Jason Jones and KevinB. I personally would use eqial numbers of 400-410nm, 450nm and 470nm blues. As to your question about about heat at 3 or 5 watts in a 2mm square LED chip it will get HOT. For a 3.3vdc CW @ 1500ma without fans you need surface area of 16 sq inchs to passsively dissapate the heat and this can be flat plate, channel or heatsink with fins. The problem I'm seeing with both chinese and american fixtures is the fans fail and the fixture overheats so make sure to incorporate thermal switches to turn off the driver in case of fan failure. Steve's LEDs and LED supply also have parts and I always get different parts from different sources. (Mike Frame has some heatsink material for sale I think.) Here's a PDF of the light distribution from a single CW LED star and a 3 LED star that you can use to calculate your light field. It will be best if you use a protractor and do a scale drawing of your tank hieght and width. You should also look at BuildMyLED.com. They have some tools that figure out the light field for thier fixtures so you can compare and decide which is the better route to go. Cree XP-G light field.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I think you should source your items from another location and realize how much you will save. RapidLED is a sponsor and donated two kits to the club last year. I'd love to hear a response from the winners of the kits and what they thought of them. The no-solder option is nice for people that want to try out different configurations and are afraid of doing that work themselves. Their kits contain all the necessary parts much like putting a model kit together. Like everything else, you can always save money by sourcing from different places and doing more work yourself. You just have to decide how much time/effort that takes and whether the supplier backs up what they sell. I think RapidLED is a good option for members who aren't comfortable diving deeper who still want to "customize" their fixtures a bit more than the BuildMyLED site allows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I own a rapid system it was a nice one stop shop but when a driver arrives DOA and they ask me to repair it as first option instead of offering repair I start sourcing from other companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I would do what Bio said and find other sources for your parts. You can build your own kit fairly cheap. 20 LEDs isn't very much for a 55 g tank. What do you plan on keeping? I had 24 LEDs on my 40 gallon and it wasn't even enough to correctly light my tank. Now I have to build another fixture with more LEDs Here are a few links to get you started. Some of the sites already have diagrams and LED layouts for certain tanks. stevesleds.com ledgroupbuy.com ledsupply.com rapidled.com aquastyleonline.com ebay.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshel1217 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 For coverage what size lenses are you going to use. Some say for tanks under 20" you dont need lenses but the wider the lense the more coverage and higher the fixture. Also check out powergate.com for drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshel1217 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I think you should source your items from another location and realize how much you will save. RapidLED is a sponsor and donated two kits to the club last year. I'd love to hear a response from the winners of the kits and what they thought of them. The no-solder option is nice for people that want to try out different configurations and are afraid of doing that work themselves. Their kits contain all the necessary parts much like putting a model kit together. Like everything else, you can always save money by sourcing from different places and doing more work yourself. You just have to decide how much time/effort that takes and whether the supplier backs up what they sell. I think RapidLED is a good option for members who aren't comfortable diving deeper who still want to "customize" their fixtures a bit more than the BuildMyLED site allows. I really like there heat sinks. They have groves in the fins for easy install of fans and a lower grove built in for splash guards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 sounds like I alot of reading to do. I would do what Bio said and find other sources for your parts. You can build your own kit fairly cheap. 20 LEDs isn't very much for a 55 g tank. What do you plan on keeping? I had 24 LEDs on my 40 gallon and it wasn't even enough to correctly light my tank. Now I have to build another fixture with more LEDs Here are a few links to get you started. Some of the sites already have diagrams and LED layouts for certain tanks. stevesleds.com ledgroupbuy.com ledsupply.com rapidled.com aquastyleonline.com ebay.com the 20 lights would only cover half, so total if I went full leds would be a total 40. I will go look at those sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Here's a good thread to read:http: //www.austinreefclub.com/topic/23513-a-noobs-diy-led-lighting-guide/?hl=%2Broyal+%2Bblue and there are also good threads by Jason Jones and KevinB. I personally would use eqial numbers of 400-410nm, 450nm and 470nm blues. As to your question about about heat at 3 or 5 watts in a 2mm square LED chip it will get HOT. For a 3.3vdc CW @ 1500ma without fans you need surface area of 16 sq inchs to passsively dissapate the heat and this can be flat plate, channel or heatsink with fins. The problem I'm seeing with both chinese and american fixtures is the fans fail and the fixture overheats so make sure to incorporate thermal switches to turn off the driver in case of fan failure. Steve's LEDs and LED supply also have parts and I always get different parts from different sources. (Mike Frame has some heatsink material for sale I think.) Here's a PDF of the light distribution from a single CW LED star and a 3 LED star that you can use to calculate your light field. It will be best if you use a protractor and do a scale drawing of your tank hieght and width. You should also look at BuildMyLED.com. They have some tools that figure out the light field for thier fixtures so you can compare and decide which is the better route to go. the link to the thread doesnt work but the adobe file was helpful thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 yes powergate llc was the driver supplier. I did a searcha nd found them and another store that was a couple bucks cheaper. I ordered from the cheaper source and nothing ever arrived except a refund 1 month later. Powergate personally called me to tell me the package got sent out and when to expect it then got my email to send me it all in writing so I didnt have to spend time writing down tracking info. I'll order drivers from them for here on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 bio have you had any experiince with the chinese fixture and not just buying the parts. I have found some good priced but alot of the information is uncertain to me so dont know if i should take a gamble on one of these http://www.aliexpress.com/item/US-Warranty-Free-Shipping-Colorful-Full-Spectrum-Dimmable-120w-LED-Aquarium-Light-LED-Lamp-90Degree-Optic/652224221.html so I found some of the chinese fixture does anyone know anything about them? For this price it is as cheap as a DIY kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I've never bought a chinese system. I alwas build it myself so I know the craftsmanship inside and how to repair if I ever need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 I saw someone say on here that chinese led light fixtures are cheap and burn out. Is there anyone else that has experience with some of the off brand chinese led fixtures. I am thinking of buying one and trying it out just hate to waste money if they suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Here is the setup I built.. It has worked great, but I have had a couple of the white bulbs go half way out. It was most likely due to heat. If I were to do one thing different I would use a single wider piece of U-channel instead of the ones I pieced together. PM me if you have any questions. http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?/topic/22439-Its-time-to-go-from-10-48"-t-5s..-to-LED..-PIC-UPDATE! -Jake Sent from my Android4.2 CM10.1 S3 Device Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Corrected my typing, sorry! Here's the link again: http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/23513-a-noobs-diy-led-lighting-guide/ There are some other good build threads in this DIY section. Two problems I'm seeing with is the fans being used are not lasting very long or are getting very dirty fast which causes heat issues with the fixture. The other problem is LED fixtures are usually mounted much closer to the surface than MH or T5 typically are and with the open design necessary for cooling with fans salt spray is easily sucked into the fixture causing corrosion problems. These problems can be mediated by regular cleaning and using a cover between the fixture and water or mounting higher. One quality that is very attractive about BuildMyLED.com fixtures is their waterproof design although in a closed hood ventilation will still be needed fortunately fans would not need to be close to the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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