LED Design

[jbdreefs]

This thread is doing much for my need of instant gratification... And it's driving me crazy.

BUT...

I truly have enjoyed following and I've learned some things along the way. Thanks for sharing everything with us.

Now, if you could just wrap things up!

 

[giulianom]

JBDreefs;750342 wrote: This thread is doing much for my need of instant gratification... And it's driving me crazy.

BUT...

I truly have enjoyed following and I've learned some things along the way. Thanks for sharing everything with us.

Now, if you could just wrap things up!

Oh, no kidding.. I'm almost done with my lights, and the tank is nowhere near being ready for it..

Edit: Wiring up the 10,000K LEDs.

The wires are soldered to the connection tabs on the inside of the plastic frame.

The tabs on the top and bottom could also be used, but I'm going to cut those off.

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[giulianom]

Considering adding 5 x 5W UV LEDs in between the 6 x 50W LEDs.

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Thinking about using 120 degree optics, with the black plastic lens holders sticking out of 7/8" holes in the bottom of the unit.

 

[jbdreefs]

I like!

 

[dme330i]

Looks good. Why the UV? Any new news on a spectral plot?

Edit

Just saw your other thread. Will look at it now.

 

[giulianom]

Yeah, the 10,000K and 20,000K 50W LEDs have good coverage in most of the spectrum, but drop off in the 400-410nm UV range.

Looking at eBay, 5W UV 400-405nm star LEDs go for about $16 each.

At 25 Watts of UV, that's about 8% of the other 300W so I figure that's about right.


Plus the space in between the existing heatsinks is just right for a 75x75x10mm heatsink, good for up to a 10W LED. I may also consider using 10 x 3W UV instead.

There's plenty of airflow, no additional fans required.

 

[wmboots]

GiulianoM;750343 wrote: Oh, no kidding.. I'm almost done with my lights, and the <span style="color: red">tank is nowhere near being ready for it</span>..

Edit: Wiring up the 10,000K LEDs.

The wires are soldered to the connection tabs on the inside of the plastic frame.

The tabs on the top and bottom could also be used, but I'm going to cut those off.

>

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My 150 will be going up this week you could always pass this LED setup to me. I'm sure my tank would be more than happy to give them a good test drive.

 

[giulianom]

wmboots;750752 wrote: My 150 will be going up this week you could always pass this LED setup to me. I'm sure my tank would be more than happy to give them a good test drive.

Woof, you're a long ways off, but I'll think about it... Could let you borrow it for a week or two...

Or, I could go with Plan B, run an extension cord out to my curb and blind passers by.. In the daytime.

 

[wmboots]

GiulianoM;750801 wrote: Woof, you're a long ways off, but I'll think about it... Could let you borrow it for a week or two...

Or, I could go with Plan B, run an extension cord out to my curb and blind passers by.. In the daytime.

Plan B could wind you up in JAIL and the draw back to Plan A is getting the setup back :yes:

 

[rdnelson]

Or plan C.......Land 747s in your front yard.

 

[giulianom]

LOL...

Yes, I would be afraid of not getting this setup back... My precious!

 

[giulianom]

Looking at this small heatsink for either 1 x 5W UV LED Star, or 2 x 3W UV LED Stars:


http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=073-060">http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=073-060</a>

I've seen the same ones on eBay for upwards of $7, and not all of them are drilled and tapped for 3 x LED Stars or 1 10W LED.

It includes the mounting hardware, and has a handy technical drawing under the Manuals / Resources section.


However, it would be nicer if it didn't have the wide channel in between the fins - I'd be mounting the LEDs on the underside of the heatsink anyway, and that's a waste of surface area.

 

[giulianom]

Better pictures here, same heatsink:

 

[giulianom]

Here's what I'm thinking of doing for the UV's:

2 x 3W UV LEDs per heatsink, with the lens holder plastic rings and either 90 or 120 degree lenses..

5 heatsinks, for a total of 10 x 3W UV LEDs - 30 Watts or about 10%.


The heatsink is drilled and tapped already for 3 x LED stars, making this a bit easier.

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The UV LEDs will be spaced in-line with the 50W LEDs, right in the middle between the 6 of them.

Set to be 1/4" off the inside bottom, with the plastic lens holder rings being just flush with the outside bottom.

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[lilrobb]

120degree would not require a plastic lens - that is the standard spread on 3W chips...

 

[giulianom]

LilRobb;750903 wrote: 120degree would not require a plastic lens - that is the standard spread on 3W chips...

Yeah, I realized that afterwards... I'll try 90 degree lenses for now, 10 of them were only like $5.


Speaking of which, do you have 10 of your UV LEDs that you'd be willing to part with?

Do you have the star PCBs too, or is it just the LEDs?

 

[giulianom]

Rather than go with the inline fuse-holders I had originally ordered, I decided instead to get some clip-based fuse holder boards, which are easy to solder wires to.

I got 5 boards of 2x fuse holder clips, but I'm only going to need 3 of them to cover the 6 LEDs.


This will make it a bit easier to run the wiring.

The rubbery things on top are vinyl covers that go over the fuses to protect them.

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[giulianom]

Wiring up the fuse blocks for the "Negative" wires.


The wires are relatively thick 14 Gauge wire, to match the power output wires coming from the 185 Watt drivers.

Two negative source wires on the left, spliced into bundles of 3 connecting to the fuse blocks.

There are two because there are two drivers...

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[dme330i]

As FYI, realized that one of my fans stopped working, so the LED was just passively cooled via the heatsink. Interestingly, the LED only ran 12-14 degrees F warmer - still under 100 F.

Jon

 

[giulianom]

Yeah, I had about the same results... With the fan off, the heatsink is hot to the touch - almost too hot.

With the fan on, its absolutely cold, except for right around the LED.

I have three leds wired up, should be able to wire up the driver this weekend and get some light glowing.