Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - Novices need LED lighting questions answered.

mpyers · 08/26/2016, 08:11 PM

I didn't read all 5 pages of this, so forgive me if this has already been posted. But I have a plan in place for a DIY that I think sounds amazing.

MakersLED makes an extruded heat sink, that has T-Slots for "Nut and Bolt" Mounting of virtually all standard sized LED's including 3W stars and larger chips. It comes with endcaps and an acrylic splashgaurd, both installed in other slots in the frame. It looks very professional; something trickier to acquire from a DIY project. It has nice sized fins capable of dissapating enough heat for most LEDs. And if you manage to overload its heat capacity, it has slots for cooling fans. it has slots for drivers (which they sell very nice ones as well.) it has slots for a controller (they also sell). But obviously with the DIY you may want to choose your own drivers and controller.

They cut them to size so it will fit over any sized tank.

I am getting a 36" to cover the width of my tank for $149.
It comes with all the nuts and bolts, endcaps and acrylic splashgaurd.

Then I'm getting a driver that can drive 70 3W leds, for $60, and a controller for $50.

So $260, then I still need LEDs, Wire, Solder, and heatsink paste. I already have wire Solder and heatsink paste. If you don't you can get all that for under $20.

What I think is the greatest thing about them is, that after that initial purchase of $149, they are basically infinitely customizable and upgradable.

I can get all the lights I think I will need for under $60 (All 3W, 20 Blue, 10 purple, 20 white, 5 green, 5 red, 5 pink.)

And if I realize I need more, or less, or the ones I get suck, I can just add more, or replace them. After the initial purchase of the housing, to changes things later or upgrade all I have to do is spend $10 more dollars on another pack of LEDs.

I can do two of those for the price of a radion pro, and I have a hard time believing I wont match its par with just one. I'm going to have 65 LEDs dimmable and possibly driven at full wattage (if needed) for less than $350

I think thats a good deal.

Here is a link to their site.

http://www.makersled.com/

08/26/2016, 08:11 PM	#108
mpyers Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Cambridge, OH Posts: 311	I didn't read all 5 pages of this, so forgive me if this has already been posted. But I have a plan in place for a DIY that I think sounds amazing. MakersLED makes an extruded heat sink, that has T-Slots for "Nut and Bolt" Mounting of virtually all standard sized LED's including 3W stars and larger chips. It comes with endcaps and an acrylic splashgaurd, both installed in other slots in the frame. It looks very professional; something trickier to acquire from a DIY project. It has nice sized fins capable of dissapating enough heat for most LEDs. And if you manage to overload its heat capacity, it has slots for cooling fans. it has slots for drivers (which they sell very nice ones as well.) it has slots for a controller (they also sell). But obviously with the DIY you may want to choose your own drivers and controller. They cut them to size so it will fit over any sized tank. I am getting a 36" to cover the width of my tank for $149. It comes with all the nuts and bolts, endcaps and acrylic splashgaurd. Then I'm getting a driver that can drive 70 3W leds, for $60, and a controller for $50. So $260, then I still need LEDs, Wire, Solder, and heatsink paste. I already have wire Solder and heatsink paste. If you don't you can get all that for under $20. What I think is the greatest thing about them is, that after that initial purchase of $149, they are basically infinitely customizable and upgradable. I can get all the lights I think I will need for under $60 (All 3W, 20 Blue, 10 purple, 20 white, 5 green, 5 red, 5 pink.) And if I realize I need more, or less, or the ones I get suck, I can just add more, or replace them. After the initial purchase of the housing, to changes things later or upgrade all I have to do is spend $10 more dollars on another pack of LEDs. I can do two of those for the price of a radion pro, and I have a hard time believing I wont match its par with just one. I'm going to have 65 LEDs dimmable and possibly driven at full wattage (if needed) for less than $350 I think thats a good deal. Here is a link to their site. http://www.makersled.com/