LED Project

[jbdreefs]

Yep... I'm mounting the leds in my canopy now. There should definitely be more light on the sides when I'm done.

 

[jbdreefs]

Here's a pic of the moonlights I put together. I used the LED strip lights from autozone. They are water proof and provide more than enough light. I used a 12v power supply that I had laying around. Total cost, $20.

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Here's a pic of how I connected the lights to the drivers. It allows me to disconnect things easily when needed.

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See my canopy build thread for more pictures.

 

[frank]

Dude, are we attached at the brain or something?

I was just looking at those strip lights on Sunday morning and thinking about doing the same thing.

 

[jbdreefs]

I've read several posts about using them. Everyone seems to be happy. I actually feel like they are a little too bright. Although, I'm not sure how to dim them. Does anyone else know?

 

[frank]

I think I'm going to dedicate a few of my blue LEDs to being moonlights.

When wiring your drivers, did you max out at 24 per (I think I read 24 on the site) or did you leave it a bit more even?

 

[jbdreefs]

Frank;719991 wrote: I think I'm going to dedicate a few of my blue LEDs to being moonlights.

When wiring your drivers, did you max out at 24 per (I think I read 24 on the site) or did you leave it a bit more even?

Because the white LED's were rated at 10,000K, I decided to do a 1:1 ratio of white to royal blue. So, my pattern worked out nicely: 4 strands of 18 LEDs. According to the supplier, these drivers are rated for 12-20 LEDs.

 

[enderg60]

What are the measurements of your tank? and what spacing did you use for the LED's?

 

[jbdreefs]

EnderG60;720009 wrote: What are the measurements of your tank? and what spacing did you use for the LED's?

My tank is 6' x 18" x 24". LED spacing worked out to be between 2 and 3 inches. I think it was about 2.5".

Edit: Light rack is 4' x 10".

 

[jbdreefs]

I have an update for those that are interested in the heat issue I had.

Once I finished the canopy and installed the fans, my heat issue was resolved. After running for hours, the aluminum is just warm. I used two 200mm, 110 cfm fans mounted on the top of the canopy blowing air out. I cut two 3.5" vents on the rear of the canopy for cool air to enter.

I should clarify my last post... My rack is only 4 foot long because the fishies only have about 5 feet of distance to swim. I have non-traditional overflows that take up about 6 inches of horizontal space on either side.

If I had to do everything again, I would have found a way to mount all the LED's to the 1/16th inch thick aluminum. I can't say whether or not the 1/16th inch flat bar would be good, but the 1/16th angle stock works great. The 1/8th inch aluminum flat bar that I used is the only part that gets warm.

Thanks to all that followed and contributed.

 

[tbrennan]

i Watched this thread all the way . Turned out very nice I will be using this as a reference when building Mine.

 

[basscyn]

I may have missed it somewhere in this thread...but where did you get the aluminum channel?

Looks really nice!

 

[jbdreefs]

I didn't find and channel. I used flat bar and angle (or "L") stock from HD because I was too lazy to shop the local metal shops.

 

[gort]

I have a tank, 24x36x18. 24 deep.

I do keep SPS. How do I know what i need if i would want to buy one of the LED kits.

Right now i have halides.

 

[jbdreefs]

Gort;723727 wrote: I have a tank, 24x36x18. 24 deep.

I do keep SPS. How do I know what i need if i would want to buy one of the LED kits.

Right now i have halides.

I'm not really one to say how many you need because I have very little experience. Probably the best way to obtain good input is to search for LED threads (especially on the national sites) for people who did LED kits a year or more ago and look for their updates on how things are going.

I read somewhere that 1 3w LED per 15 square inches of water surface (at the top) would grow most anything. The same person said that 1 LED per 10 sq/inch would grow anything. This was just a general rule. I think it omits a lot of important factors such as depth of tank, brand of LED's, number of hours run, etc.