Ron's DIY LED Project

[RonMidtownStomp]

First, a quick overview of the system. I have a 72"x30"x24" display tank and a 48"x24"x12" shallow reef tank next to it. I'm reluctant to switch the display tank lighting over too quickly to LEDs. I would like to switch entirely pending the results of this build and a few months of observations to follow.

http://inlinethumb01.webshots.com/48640/2688932400038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

I currently have two 12 bulb strips of Cree 3W Royal Blue LEDs powered by Meanwell drivers and am very impressed with the colors I get under the lights. I have not yet used any white LEDs.

After reading a bit and looking at the Phillips Luxeon ES device specs and pricing, it seems to me as if Cree has been trumped for now in the aquarium LED arena. The Luxeon devices have higher output, higher temp handling and are about 70% of the cost with less expensive lenses available. There's almost too good to be true, so I am going to try them and see what results I get. http://shop.stevesleds.com/main.sc

I'll split into multiple posts for easier parsing by the forums.

[RonMidtownStomp]

Here is my invoice:

Order Contents:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty | Description | Price Each | Total Price
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | The Quad - Dimming LED Driver | $38.88 | $77.76
ma Current Rating: 1,000ma- For use with
high power Philips Luxeon LEDs

6 | 20 Gauge Driver Power wire | $0.20 | $1.20

100 | 24 Gauge LED Power wire | $0.10 | $10.00

2 | Thermal Adhesive - 1-Part Glue | $4.99 | $9.98

14 | Philips Luxeon ES ROYAL BLUE 3 Watt LEDs | $2.99 | $41.86

21 | Philips Luxeon ES COOL WHITE 3 Watt LEDs | $2.99 | $62.79

1 | Switching Power Supply 200w, 25 @ 8.3A | $24.99 | $26.99
Include Power cord?: Include 3-Prong Power +$2.00
Cord?

5 | Rivets | $0.08 | $0.40

40 | Optics for 3W LEDs - 30°, 60°, 90° | $0.45 | $18.00
Beam Angle: 90° Beam Angle
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal $248.98
Tax $0.00
Shipping (Priority 2-3 Day) $15.00
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Balance Due $263.98

I'd heard mention that he included extra devices and he was very generous with his extras. I received 21 blue and 24 white. I chose 90 degree lenses because of the depth of the display tank where I will also be testing these LEDs. I will eventually include PAR numbers in this thread.

I love his driver design, and as I had a Meanwell arrive with a bad pot, modular seems very cool and useful. I haven't done all of my reading on the drivers, yet, but I look forward to trying them.

[RonMidtownStomp]

Luxeon LED devices:

http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/47976/2979877310038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

Steve's custom x4 driver. Having done PCB design, I think it's brilliant:

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/49847/2583250170038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

Lens:

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/13629/2527976450038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

[RonMidtownStomp]

Required power supply, affordable and modular so it's easy to replace if it goes bad:

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/48425/2285810240038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

My quiet collection of 2W fans:
http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/49967/2157791760038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

And my soldering tools all ready to go:

http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/48359/2789936040038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

[Exotic Reef.]

I am following this

[RonMidtownStomp]

My intent is to make the C-Channel strips modular so I can move them around, try them on both tanks, try different color mixes, and keep things thermally separate. In other words, 12 Royal Blue LEDs on a 4' strip of C-Channel produce a certain amount of heat and require a certain amount of air flow. If you add 7 White LEDs, then you might add too much heat. I'd rather have 7 White LEDs on a separate strip of aluminum. I can also try 14 RBs, 7 whites, 14 RBs, 7 whites, 14 RBs that way with different spacings.

I'm going to start by building three strips of 7 white LEDs each on 4' sections of C-channel.

[RonMidtownStomp]

http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/50338/2032771460038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

Whites all pasted down. I'm thinking one 4' strip with 14 royal blues and a 2' strip with 7.

[RonMidtownStomp]

Those are all glued up, now. 10pm Pacific and I can solder. I have some driver wiring and wire prep to do before then.

[Saltwaternooby]

Pull an all nighter to get this done!!

[windowlicker916]

Going to have to knock at your door when you are done!

[RonMidtownStomp]

RC was "in backups" by the time I got to first light. I took a bit longer of a break than planned.

http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/49603/2211312830038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

Does anybody know why you're not supposed to use the same thermal adhesive for the drivers as you do for the LEDs? Is it because it's copper to Al instead of Al to Al?

http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/47788/2975924900038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

[windowlicker916]

Not going to put the drivers in a hobby box or something?

Guess they are cheap enough that if one blows it can be replaced easily enough.

[RonMidtownStomp]

The drivers are still $40/each. I will do something for them, but they need airflow. Meanwhile they're going to not run for more than a few minutes until I find a good solution for them. I have a little hobby box, and some small fans. I'll probably put them in there with the pots in the walls of the box. Not to that point, yet.

Here in a little bit (hour?) I get to see what this number of LEDs looks like on the display tank. I don't think I have quite enough, and I want to try these on the shallow reef first. If this is close to the right number of LEDs for the display tank and all goes well over the next couple of months, there is a coral sale and another build coming for the display tank.

[RonMidtownStomp]

The drivers are still $40/each. I will do something for them, but they need airflow. Meanwhile they're going to not run for more than a few minutes until I find a good solution for them. I have a little hobby box, and some small fans. I'll probably put them in there with the pots in the walls of the box. Not to that point, yet.

Here in a little bit (hour?) I get to see what this number of LEDs looks like on the display tank. I don't think I have quite enough, and I want to try these on the shallow reef first. If this is close to the right number of LEDs for the display tank and all goes well over the next couple of months, there is a coral sale and another build coming for the display tank.

[windowlicker916]

Based on calculations for te frag tank do you feel that technically that is all you need (or more) for that size tank?

Also what makes these drivers different in that they require cooling? The mean wells don't as far as I know.

[RonMidtownStomp]

I have 38 Royal blues (3 strips) and 18 whites for a total of 56 LEDs which should be plenty for a 4x2 shallow reef. In fact, it's the same number of LEDs that Steve includes in the kit for 44-56" reefs. It's almost enough light for the display tank, but not quite. It's interesting how much a few white LEDs change the royal blue color.

[joe perry]

subscribed

[Landsailor]

It's funny. A few years back when I was toying around with high output LEDs, Luxeon was the king and Cree was sort of just arriving on the market.

Also what makes these drivers different in that they require cooling? The mean wells don't as far as I know.

Everything that is converting energy from one form to another needs cooling. Put the Meanwell drivers in a sealed enclosure and see what happens.

Steve's LED drivers are DC boards and require an external DC power supply. The Meanwells have that rectification built into them and are contained in an enclosure.

[windowlicker916]

Seems you have some electronic experience, have you considered possibly building a Arduino controller to controls the sprectrum? Not sure if those drivers supports PWM or not.

[RonMidtownStomp]

I have an Electrical Engineering degree. More pictures tonight. Almost done riveting everything together! I tested them on the display tank and it's definitely not enough light in terms of appearance.

[RonMidtownStomp]

Luckylefty -- C-channel from Home Depot. Very reasonably priced and a descent heat sink. I like Steve's tube idea and fans he's using, but this is a very common solution.

Time for more pictures.

I feel like my soldering has improved.
http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/47428/2040361970038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

Testing, 1, 2, 3, Testing...
http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/49305/2791562370038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

[RonMidtownStomp]

And I have to say that the photo looks way better than it did in person. It looked dim in comparison to the Radiums in person.

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/49305/2791562370038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

And getting ready to get riveted together for the shallow reef.

http://inlinethumb11.webshots.com/18570/2240072100038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

This density should be much better.

[propeine]

Ron have you checked to see how many amps you're drawing per string? To be honest they look very dim even compared to the other free air shots I have seen. I know this is at quite the high angle so there shouldn't be that much spill but still. Thanks for writing this up for us!

[RonMidtownStomp]

I think I had them dimmed all of the way when I took the picture. I had no cooling fans on them in this position so I only turned them up for maybe 10 seconds to see what they looked like. Also, the camera was in manual mode and the rest of the picture is very underexposed. I'm sure it shot extremely fast due to the bright lights.

[RonMidtownStomp]

FTS with LEDs.

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/46377/2519526510038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

I had some stuff to draw up for work, so no more riveting tonight. I think the LED brightness in this shot is more representative of their actual blinding brightness.

[WSPepsilon]

looks nice, are you happy with the color?

[propeine]

FTS with LEDs.
I had some stuff to draw up for work, so no more riveting tonight. I think the LED brightness in this shot is more representative of their actual blinding brightness.

Thanks Ron. That looks much brighter!

[RonMidtownStomp]

Well the color changes drastically when you dial the brightness of the white LEDs around. I haven't used them for long enough to know, yet.

[RonMidtownStomp]

First thoughts after testing on frag tank --

1) I like them a lot, especially with the promise of major power savings.
2) The color goes from washed out white to disco party with a very small change of the pot controlling the white brightness. That's interesting and definitely leads me to believe that 2:1 blues:white is adequate.
3) I have to track down the PAR meter, because my eyes are so used to seeing everything under Radiums that it's very hard for me to say how much light I'm putting out with this setup.

[RonMidtownStomp]

I have some requests for a complete cost analysis.

Aluminum - ~$40
Fans - ~$30
Steve's LEDs total - $263.98
Two Meanwells - $70
Cree LEDs/lenses - Current price $4.60/each *24 = $110.40
Total - $514.38

[WSPepsilon]

I have some requests for a complete cost analysis.

Aluminum - ~$40
Fans - ~$30
Steve's LEDs total - $263.98
Two Meanwells - $70
Cree LEDs/lenses - Current price $4.60/each *24 = $110.40
Total - $514.38

Is this a cost comparison between going with Cree's vs Lux? No... that all adds up to the total. I thought you used everything from steves, did you change your mind on the drivers and switch to the Meanwells? Sorry, i'm confused...

[RonMidtownStomp]

I already had two strips of Crees with Meanwells. The final layout is:

12 Cree RB
6 Luxeon White
14 Luxeon RB
6 Luxeon White
6 Luxeon White
12 Cree RB

They're just riveted together, so I could drill them out and rearrange them in about 10 minutes. I am considering the Luxeons and the Crees to be more or less interchangeable. The Luxeons do appear to be visually a little bit brighter, but until I get the PAR meter, it will be hard to quantify anything. Our eyes are terrible at judging brightness.

[WSPepsilon]

which driver do you like better? the meanwells or steves?

[RonMidtownStomp]

The Steve's drivers are very cool from an engineering standpoint, but they get freaking hot in a hurry. I haven't figured out how to mount them so that they can benefit from the barrage of fans I'm going to set up. Cooling solution coming tomorrow.

[WSPepsilon]

yeah, it seemed like there's just way more you can do with them than the MWs.

[WSPepsilon]

don't look like the drivers are that big... maybe you could adhere them with some thermal glue to an aluminum sheet and then use a GPU style heatsink to cool them...???
$30 from tiger direct
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7166021&CatId=4027

[propeine]

Another thing to note is the light spectrum. The luxeon RB and Cree RB overlap a bit but they fill out the spectrum a bit by using both which from the aesthetics thread appears to be a good thing.

[WSPepsilon]

Another thing to note is the light spectrum. The luxeon RB and Cree RB overlap a bit but they fill out the spectrum a bit by using both which from the aesthetics thread appears to be a good thing.

hmm, so going with a Lux RB --- Cree RB --- Lux RB and so on may be an option too...???

[RonMidtownStomp]

Well the designer sells a bit of aluminum tube and a pressurized fan to cool them. I'm pretty sure if I put a PC fan along a piece of C-channel it will be enough. That's today's goals -- design thermal solution.

Cree/Luxeon/Cree is what I have for Royal Blue (because I already had the Crees) and I like it a lot, so far.

[propeine]

hmm, so going with a Lux RB --- Cree RB --- Lux RB and so on may be an option too...???

Ya if you look at the spectrum bands, depending on bins, royal blue ranges from about 420-460 and a better spread is usually considered a good thing. Sheer luck here I think but I plan on mixing them up a bit intentionally.

[O2Surplus]

Ron- have you tried turning down the voltage on your power supply? The Cat4101 IC's only need .5-.8 volts over your led string voltage to operate efficiently. You'll notice that they'll run much cooler if you do.

[RonMidtownStomp]

They 15 steps in the instructions could be summed up as:

1) Measure output voltage with no load, ensure less than 25V
2) Hook up to LEDs, turn down voltage until they appear dimmer, turn back up a little bit.

It seemed like it was going to be much more than 2 minutes work. At 22V instead of 24.7V, there is almost no heat now. I'm not even positive I need a fan for the drivers, now, but I'll give them one.

[RonMidtownStomp]

Makeshift temporary thermal solution. Amazing how well the c-channel does at cooling with a little bit of airflow.

http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/49055/2267896240038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

Excuse my wires.

http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/50269/2451476450038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

It doesn't look quite as blue in person. I need to play with the white balance on the camera I think.

[RonMidtownStomp]

They sure do make for pretty coral pictures.

http://inlinethumb11.webshots.com/49930/2023724090038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb11.webshots.com/51082/2878246910038763404S600x600Q85.jpg

[WSPepsilon]

Nice

[propeine]

Ron, I think it turned out very nicely! Thanks for posting progress pics and the final shot with all the LEDs installed and dialed in for your viewing pleasure.

[hionreef]

well i decided to dive into it - getting the kit with 84 LEDS - may be overkill but I would rather have too many than not enough - plus with more LEDS i can run at a lower voltage and hopefully the heat wont be too bad. the setup is for 2 x 60" strips but i ordered an extra 60" heatsink, w/ 2 more fans and may cut the strips in half for more flexibility and i had them switch out the 400w PS for 2 200wt supplies. we will see what happens...

[WSPepsilon]

Any luck on tracking down that par meter?

[WSPepsilon]

bump

[RonMidtownStomp]

No luck yet with the PAR meter. Still trying.

[windowlicker916]

I thought the old club treasurer had it. That not the case?

You running these full time yet and if you are how are the coral liking it?

[GRRjammm]

so would you recommend the phillips over the crees?? i have crees atm , but i think i may get some more blues as atm i have 1:1 blue and white..

[crn005]

Any luck getting those PAR readings yet? I've been doing a lot of research on which direction to go in the LED department and I would greatly appreciate any extra information!

[htreef]

unbelievable build. wish I have that kind of skills

[windowlicker916]

Any updates?

[Borchers]

Wondering myself! Updates Ron......uuuuupppppdates

[RonMidtownStomp]

Test SPS frags seem to not color up. Everything else looks great with good growth. Wish I had PAR numbers.

[hionreef]

So this is weird. I thought someone had a list of who had what. So who has the list and who has the meter. Is there a waiting list???