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Zephrant · 10/05/2017, 12:27 PM

I'm not a fan of the LED strips, they burn out too fast and I'm not confident of their water proof protection. So I'm wanting to do an internal LED setup.

Here is my current plan:
Buy a cheap heater from Amazon and gut it, $12:
https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Heat.../dp/B06XYXFBL1

Or just a 25mm test tube for $11:
https://www.amazon.com/Rimmed-Glass-.../dp/B00X8CYCA6

I've been unable to find the red/blue grow LEDS on star boards, so have to make my own. I like the star board idea as that will make them easier to attach to a heatsink in this application.
Buy grow light bare LEDs $15:
http://www.topledlight.com/3w-660nm-...amp_p1488.html

Put them on star boards $1:
http://www.topledlight.com/aluminium...ght_p1805.html
(Ended up being $25 for 12 of the above LEDs and boards, with shipping included)

Process: Gut the heater (hope the end comes off), or use the test tube. Mount the LEDs on a piece of aluminum bar stock with thermal grease and screws, wire them together and place them inside the heater tube. Seal it up with epoxy or silicone, but I plan to leave the wire end protruding from the top of the reactor for extra safety (I won't submerse it). It will only be 24v DC, but still, I wouldn't trust the tube seal underwater.

Power supply, $6:
https://www.amazon.com/BSOD-Dimming-.../dp/B071CJ6M4Q

The heater is 0.875" dia. The test tube is 1", so I'll need a bushing to keep it water tight. One of these will work for both cases, for $2 (ea):
https://www.amazon.com/PG29-18-25mm-.../dp/B0143YLK02
They have a British thread on them though, so I won't be able to tap the hole they go in, but others I found were much more expensive.

The star boards are 0.65" in dia., so they should fit inside the heater tube without having to sand down the edges.

I'll cut a piece of plate aluminum just big enough to fit in the tube, maybe even round the edges a bit, but I'm concerned about dumping 18w of heat out of that tube. The tube will stay at water temp, but I'm not sure how to get good contact with the metal heatsink that will run up the middle of the tube. I could pot it in epoxy, but I'd expect the epoxy to degrade and discolor over time, unless it was pretty fancy epoxy (expensive). And that would prevent any possibility of repairing it if needed too. If required, I'll put a heatsink head on the top of it, but I'd rather not have that in the way.

As far as the rest of the setup, I have enough acrylic parts left over that I can steal parts from a Kalk reactor and a Waste Collector, and put together a 6" dia. tube that is 16" tall, with 1/4" plumbing inputs, with a twist-lock lid. Since I'll run the water exit to the sump, the entire chamber will be under less than 1psi pressure, so a twist-lock should be fine. The 1/4" plumbing is less than ideal, should be 1/2", but these are the parts I have on hand. I can always drill it out or put in more ports later if desired.

Without making new acrylic parts, I'll have to run the light tube though the twist-off lid, but that's acceptable for a one-off setup.

So grand total is $44, with 6 LEDs left over (less if you have a dead heater laying around) plus the aluminum and acrylic, which I already have.

Parts are on order.

10/05/2017, 12:27 PM	#1
Zephrant Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,234	DIY Chaeto reactor, with DIY LEDs. I'm not a fan of the LED strips, they burn out too fast and I'm not confident of their water proof protection. So I'm wanting to do an internal LED setup. Here is my current plan: Buy a cheap heater from Amazon and gut it, $12: https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Heat.../dp/B06XYXFBL1 Or just a 25mm test tube for $11: https://www.amazon.com/Rimmed-Glass-.../dp/B00X8CYCA6 I've been unable to find the red/blue grow LEDS on star boards, so have to make my own. I like the star board idea as that will make them easier to attach to a heatsink in this application. Buy grow light bare LEDs $15: http://www.topledlight.com/3w-660nm-...amp_p1488.html Put them on star boards $1: http://www.topledlight.com/aluminium...ght_p1805.html (Ended up being $25 for 12 of the above LEDs and boards, with shipping included) Process: Gut the heater (hope the end comes off), or use the test tube. Mount the LEDs on a piece of aluminum bar stock with thermal grease and screws, wire them together and place them inside the heater tube. Seal it up with epoxy or silicone, but I plan to leave the wire end protruding from the top of the reactor for extra safety (I won't submerse it). It will only be 24v DC, but still, I wouldn't trust the tube seal underwater. Power supply, $6: https://www.amazon.com/BSOD-Dimming-.../dp/B071CJ6M4Q The heater is 0.875" dia. The test tube is 1", so I'll need a bushing to keep it water tight. One of these will work for both cases, for $2 (ea): https://www.amazon.com/PG29-18-25mm-.../dp/B0143YLK02 They have a British thread on them though, so I won't be able to tap the hole they go in, but others I found were much more expensive. The star boards are 0.65" in dia., so they should fit inside the heater tube without having to sand down the edges. I'll cut a piece of plate aluminum just big enough to fit in the tube, maybe even round the edges a bit, but I'm concerned about dumping 18w of heat out of that tube. The tube will stay at water temp, but I'm not sure how to get good contact with the metal heatsink that will run up the middle of the tube. I could pot it in epoxy, but I'd expect the epoxy to degrade and discolor over time, unless it was pretty fancy epoxy (expensive). And that would prevent any possibility of repairing it if needed too. If required, I'll put a heatsink head on the top of it, but I'd rather not have that in the way. As far as the rest of the setup, I have enough acrylic parts left over that I can steal parts from a Kalk reactor and a Waste Collector, and put together a 6" dia. tube that is 16" tall, with 1/4" plumbing inputs, with a twist-lock lid. Since I'll run the water exit to the sump, the entire chamber will be under less than 1psi pressure, so a twist-lock should be fine. The 1/4" plumbing is less than ideal, should be 1/2", but these are the parts I have on hand. I can always drill it out or put in more ports later if desired. Without making new acrylic parts, I'll have to run the light tube though the twist-off lid, but that's acceptable for a one-off setup. So grand total is $44, with 6 LEDs left over (less if you have a dead heater laying around) plus the aluminum and acrylic, which I already have. Parts are on order.