DIY LED Build

[vanished88]

Well I am now committed to doing an led build, just ordered 180 cree leds :thumbs:.

60 cree xp-e royal blue
60 cree xp-e blue
60 cree xp-g cool white

Now.... lets see if i can incenerate some corals

 

[KrisDeitz]

How much cash? I want to do a DIY over a 10 galon

 

[vanished88]

PFCDeitz;629313 wrote: How much cash? I want to do a DIY over a 10 galon

was $800 for all 180 leds.

Edit:

Amici;629315 wrote: Did you order any optics? I read an article recently that showed 70deg are some of the best for coverage and par. Ill have to look around to see if I can find it again.

I have not ordered optics yet, I can not find anywhere to get the 70deg optics for the xpe/xpe series. I will most likely end up going with 60deg optics. Optics will probably the last thing I order, my tank is only 24 inches deep so i may not run optics on all the leds or I may do a mix of 40,60,&80. I guess ill cross that bridge when I get there = ).

Next up on the order list is 6 8.46"x18" heatsinks. I will be mounting 30 leds on each heatsink ( 4 rows containing 8,7,8,7 leds). The heatsinks will be mounted 3 inches apart across the length of the tank.

I am planning to mount leds in this sequence

B W R B W R B W B = Blue
R B W R B W R W = White
B W R B W R B W R = Royal blue
R B W R B W R

 

[vanished88]

well my diagram didnt post the way i typed it but you get the idea. The row of 7 will be staggered between the row of 8s so that i end up with a triangle configuration of R W B. This setup should get the me coloration and adjustability of the AI SOL blue units, just bigger with more leds for larger coverage area = ). My tank is 30" wide.

 

[phi79]

Where did you get your led from.

 

[vanished88]

phi79;629339 wrote: Where did you get your led from.

http://www.ledgroupbuy.com">www.ledgroupbuy.com</a>

Edit: I got in on the group buy that ended today so my leds should show up in 2-3 weeks

 

[morganatlanta]

HOLY CRAP! Those are crazy low prices for CREE LEDs!

 

[mockery]

Where are you getting the drivers from?

 

[guerry]

here is souce for optics, I'm using and will say they make a major diffence the par meter doesn't lie

 

[vanished88]

MorganAtlanta;629374 wrote: HOLY CRAP! Those are crazy low prices for CREE LEDs!

Yeah its the best price I could find on them, I was even considering using Semileds until I found ledgroupbuy. I could not find anything bad about them, so them seem like a legitimate company. Ill let everyone know once they show up.

Edit:

Mockery;629415 wrote: Where are you getting the drivers from?

I am calling thomas research tomorrow to see If/when their drivers will be available. After looking around on their website, apparently they sell directly to the end user, you just have to call them. Just guessing from nanotuners pricing on the drivers they should run around $150 each for the 150w 0-10v dimmable ones, and ill be able to run 60 leds in series off these drivers. 3 of these will only be $450 compared to 18 meanwell 0-10v dimmable drivers @$34 which is $612. I really want 0-10v dimming because I will be getting an apex.

 

[darcurr]

Thanks for the Info!! Those are the best prices:yay: I'm starting to plan my LED build and that should save me some serious coin!

 

[vanished88]

Guerry;629440 wrote: here is souce for optics, I'm using and will say they make a major diffence the par meter doesn't lie
http://reefledlights.com/shop/images/169/JD_10201_0014_300x300.jpg/">http://reefledlights.com/shop/images/169/JD_10201_0014_300x300.jpg/</a>[/QUOTE]

Yeah, at the moment I am leaning towards running 60deg optics on all of them. I am running enough leds that spread should not be an issue as long as I mount the leds 6"-8" above the water. My Canopy is suppost to be 14 inches tall so I will have plenty of room to play around with mounting hight.

Edit: [QUOTE=][B]darcurr;629510 wrote:[/B] Thanks for the Info!! Those are the best prices:yay: I'm starting to plan my LED build and that should save me some serious coin![/QUOTE]

As soon as they show up I will let everyone know how my experience with the company went and I will post some pictures of the leds. My total on all the leds was $776.xx and that includes insurance and shipping. That averages $4.30 per led, you cant beat that considering that is the price to my door.

 

[vanished88]

anomaly;629943 wrote: That's a great deal on those LEDs.

Here's a cheap driver if you're interested:
http://shop.stevesleds.com/The-Quad-Dimming-LED-Driver-The-Quad.htm">http://shop.stevesleds.com/The-Quad-Dimming-LED-Driver-The-Quad.htm</a>

I actually found this guys site after looking into doing a DIY driver myself. He used the CAT4101 driver. Very easy to use. It's set to dim with PWM as well. The only thing I'm concerned with is the heat of the drivers, I hadn't looked much into that yet.[/QUOTE]

Ill check into them if i cant get the thomas research drivers.

Edit: Actually after looking at them I saw it said

<span style="font-family: Verdana">"The Quad Dimming LED Driver was designed to run FOUR entire arrays of LEDs with a combined forward voltage up to 25V."</span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana"> </span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana">That being said, It would be more cost efficient to just go with the meanwells. 2 dimmable meanwells will run $64. one of these will run $52 + $25 for the powersupply.</span>

 

[vanished88]

Just giving everyone an update. I decided to add a few more leds for a 40% cool white, 30% Royal blue, 30% blue mix. This will give me a total of 240 leds, so I should be able to adjust them from 14k-20k and not have to worry about loss in par from having to dim one color too much. I also got my heatsinks ordered today, I will be using 6 8.46"x20" heatsinks. I am now waiting on the thomas research drivers to become available (thomas research said they will be shipping in 3-4 weeks). I will be using 2 120W 0-10 dimmable drivers to run 48 xp-g cool white leds each. 1 200w 0-10 dimmable driver to run the royal blues and 1 200w dimmable driver to run the blues. I will be getting the 700mA drivers, I believe with 240 leds i should never have to run them above that (will most likely be running them at around 400-500mA)

 

[basscyn]

Maybe I missed it...
What size tank are you building these for?

 

[vanished88]

BASSCYN;631458 wrote: Maybe I missed it...
What size tank are you building these for?

72"Lx30"Wx24"T

I have seen this size tank called a 240 wide some places, but actual capacity is closer to 225g. I was on the fence about just buying an led fixture but since my tank is 30" from front to back, It was going to cost a fortune to get good coverage.

 

[darcurr]

did you ever get the LEDs in?

 

[vanished88]

Not yet, they are suppose to ship 2-3 weeks after the buy ends. I am expecting them to be here in a week or two.

 

[vanished88]

I got 2 emails today saying that both my orders are awaiting shippment. I was supprised that the second order will be shipping with my first since I did not order the 2nd batch in time for the first group buy. As it stands I will be using 96 cool white xp-g, 72 xp-e royal blue, and 72 xp-e blue. I am hoping this 40% white to 60% blue will give me a nice blue color.

I am using 6 8.46"x20" heatsinks with 16 white, 12 royal blue, and 12 blue on each

I am looking for suggestions on how to layout the leds on each heatsink.

 

[ghotit]

Where did you order your heatsink from?