DIY BC8 Led retro

[eliphant]

Just finished. Here it is! Lmk what you think.

Parts/equipment:
4x Cree XR-E Royal Blue LEDs
4x Cree XR-E Cool White LEDs
24v 6.5A Potrans Power Supply
2x Dimmable BuckPucks with potentiometers & metal knobs
7.75inch x 4.5inch heat sink
Thermal pads
80mm <14dbA 32cfm Silenx fan
22awg wire
heat shrink tube
solder iron/solder
aluminum strips to make brackets to hold in heat sink

Total cost, including purchasing a solder iron, wires, etc:
about $175

This whole DIY didnt take me too long (thankfully). Split it up into 2 days. Here are some pics! Lmk what you think!

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Post or PM if you have any questions!

 

[phi79]

How it's compare to your old T5?

 

[eliphant]

i like it SOOOOOOO much more than t5's. I've had PC's, MH, and T5HO's. Of course pc's dont compare, but LED is like T5's and MH combined, but better, in my opinion. I havent had the light on long enough to comment on growth, but coral colors are just amazing, especially when I dial down the white leds completely and have only the blues on. Better than any actinic bulb you can buy.

You get the shimmer like you do with MH. You can adjust the white and blue balance to get different color combinations like you can get with T5 bulb combinations. Ive had the light on and my water temps stay steady at 80degrees (heater/upgraded pump/k-nano too). With my stock PC's and stock fan under the biocube hood, my temps would rise to almost 84 degrees. Even my 20 gal with t5's get to about 83 degrees (since its warm in my room).

 

[fish scales2]

Thats what I am talking about! Nice job Eli.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

I thought LED's were supposed to run so much cooler than any other light source so why such a big fan?

Where did you source all your materials?

 

[eliphant]

Thanks Chris! I didnt need your solder iron after all. I ended up buying one from Radio Shack. Cost me like $8, lol.

porpoise- They do run much cooler, as in they don't radiate heat forward, but the backs of the led's do produce a good amount of heat, hence the heatsink. I could have used a smaller fan, but I wanted to bling it! jk. These silenx fans blow a good amount of air and are near noiseless. Also since the whole heatsink is enclosed in the hood, I wanted to make sure there was enough airflow to ensure the temp under the hood wouldnt raise my water temps at all.

I got most of my LED parts (the blue leds, buckpucks, thermal pads) from Ledsupply.com. The heatsink came from MPJA.com. The heatsink and white leds came from a member on nano-reef. Ledsupply and mpja ship REALLY fast, lol. I got the heatsink in 2 days (from florida i think), and the LED's in 2 or 3 days. They forgot to ship me 2 leds and I called them and they shipped 2 more the same day.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Great Job! If I get another one one of these tanks....I think I'll go LED.

 

[smoothie]

Oh sweet! A buddy of mine just got one and is already looking for upgrades

 

[cici22]

Very nice! I wish I had those DIY skills.

What kind of corals are you planning on putting in there?

 

[jdabs]

Very cool. Can't wait to see some pics with corals in there!!

 

[jcusmarine]

Very nice. Good choice on the Cree XR-E's....

Clean DIY.

You should build out a few for non-DIY folks around here since you have the know-how.

I can vouch for the LED shimmer and color....I love my LED's - no chiller FTW!

 

[eliphant]

When I get home from work I will post up links to where I bought stuff from in case someone wants to do a similar diy.

 

[brisco15]

Awesome!

 

[eliphant]

Heres what I used for those who wanted to know:

white leds (i ordered these from a member on another forum for cheaper because he had extras:
http://ledsupply.com/creexre-w107.php">http://ledsupply.com/creexre-w107.php</a>

Blue Leds:
[IMG]http://ledsupply.com/creexre-rb.php">http://ledsupply.com/creexre-rb.php</a>

dimmable buckpucks. theyre very small and easy to wire:
[IMG]http://ledsupply.com/03023-d-e-1000p.php">http://ledsupply.com/03023-d-e-1000p.php</a>

Power supply (you would need 2 if you want to set blues and whites on separate timers):
[IMG]http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=16854+PS">http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=16854+PS</a>

Heatsink (I ordered my heatsink from the same guy I got the white leds from because he had extras). Pretty much the same ones from here:
[IMG]http://heatsinkusa.com/">http://heatsinkusa.com/</a>

Silenx iXtrema 80mm fan (&lt;14 dbA noise level and 32cfm air flow):
[IMG]http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0251780">http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0251780</a>

 

[pufferchris]

Nice set up very clean work

 

[snowmansnow]

well done.. hope mine ends up that well