Rickets Reef: DIY LED Light Fixture Pt. 3

[RUNWITHDAGUN]

for what is the fuckfinger in the beginning?`?

[RUNWITHDAGUN]

Thank you!! now im going to pimp my tank!! :)

[Arteolike]

May I ask, whats the solder your using?

[coryboyo]

mA means milliamps. nothing to do with voltage

[2friendstoking]

it would probably work better if you soldered the LEDs in parallel instead of in series

[lilmr5boros1]

@LILMAN1234ify 48 leds

[schwa6970]

This video is kind of crappy! IT did not show one of your soldering connections

[mr5boros1]

hello i need sum help wit my leds .was wondering if u can give me a hand please..thanks

[Arteolike]

I have another question, your driver is the "D" version. I wanna buy the "P" versions so I can wire it up to a RapidLED Daylight controller. Do you adjust the mA the same way as in this driver?

[Arteolike]

Man this dimmable junk is hard! The plain one looks so much easier, just plus to plus, minus to minus o the driver, and leds plus to minus, plus to minus, this has wires going here there, over there, through there! Grr! I'm so confused. I think the plain kit is what a starter like me who never sottered do. I have a question, With an 100 -25 gallon tank, can i keep SPS corals under 36 LEDS or should i just go with the 48?

[1mkwiet]

@Arteolike I never saldered before this build either so the dimming kit isn't that hard. In fact it's not hard with a tiny bit of extra effort. all you need to do is add a wallawart and a pot. that's it. the rest if the same and I show how to do that. anyway is that a 100 gallon or 25 gallon? I'll assume 100. you can keep SPS under 36 LED's on a 100, but you'll have to ensure the corals are under the light. see with mine I've got like 2 islands with 24 LED's above each island.

[Arteolike]

@1mkwiet Yes I know, but it seems so hard to adjust the drivers etc etc... One thing not adjusted , boom 12 led's down the drain.

[ShizzlePDX503]

just an FYI the mA means milliamps. and you were pronouncing the pot correctly it is a potentiometer which are usually just rheostats.

Great videos! I like the part about the binge which was in the part 2 video funny stuff!

[my1941willys]

very nice fixture. im thinking about doing LED's my self. you make it look easy..lol

[eyesonyou2ube]

See what you have done!!!!! Inspired me to do another DIY!! Yep Going to do a dt lighting and moon lighting what would you recommend for a 55 gallon set up?

[Dukeap1]

am looking at your led video because i think i might go your route and make it my self and I just ran into you saying about connecting it to your apex or reefkeeper control and I wanted to know if you have actually connected or if you plan to connect it to your apex now that you have it, so that it will dime it by it self when they go on or off

[1mkwiet]

@Dukeap1 ya it's connected. I used the var speed ports on the aquacontroller base unit.

[iamspuzzum]

One tip of advice that might make life a little easier when soldering.. when I tin "my" wires, I pull a bit of solder from the reel.. about 3" worth. I then sit the reel on the table or counter, and hold the wire and solder tip to the solder line. You could even sit the reel on one of the screws of your mount you made.. I've done that myself. Make sure to clean the solder tip on your sponge, and tin it good. A tinned solder tip will heat the wire a lot quicker.

Thanks for the vids :)

[1mkwiet]

@iamspuzzum good tip, thanks :)

[4zeroeffect]

You are a great help! Thanks so much just one question for you. Where did you wire in your multimeter when you tested it? Thanks!!

[jokzterx]

Sweet I think I got the layout down. I got one more question. I got the XR-E and the XP-G's and I was wondering if I could put them in series one after another. The XP-G's are 1500 mA and the XR-E's are 1000 mA. Would it be okay if I set the current comming out of the driver to 900? Would that be too low for the XP-G's?

[1mkwiet]

@jokzterx as far as I'm aware that will be fine. Might want to double check that on reefcentral LED threads I posted in the descriptions.

[1mkwiet]

@jokzterx or message rapid LED they're good with that stuff. If they sell the kit like that then I assume it's fine.

[jokzterx]

Hey there

I just received my stuff and I am wondering how to situate the heatsinks onto a fixture. Did you drill your heatsinks?

[1mkwiet]

@jokzterx I used some aluminum L channel from Home depot to make a resting channel for them. Then I put some bolts beween the heatsink fins to ensure it doesn't move.

[1mkwiet]

@jokzterx it's the stuff you use on wall corners before you drywall

[jokzterx]

@1mkwiet haha yeah I picked up probably the same L channel from home depot today but I wanted it secure so I was wondering if I should use adhesive or screws.

[1mkwiet]

@jokzterx I'd use screws personally. what I did was this.

1 - Measure the legth of L channel needed and add 3 inches

2 - used tin snips and cut along the middle fold (edge) of the L channel 1.5 inches on each side

3 - folded the 2 taps at the ends towards the middle

4 - drilled through the ends into the fixture.

[1mkwiet]

@bamboosharkbark actually I did. I turned it down to about 800ma max output. That way I don't accidently bleach the crap out of my corals, and the LED's will last longer. I use the pot's to adjust the brightness on the fly in responce to what I like to see the tank look like (blue'ish) and to respond to corals (ie. if they start bleaching, which they did a bit). atm my whites are only at about 1/3rd the power they could be. Blues are full 800ma.

[alfletch93]

what size of leds did you get modle # anything maybe its on here somewhere didnt see please help...

[1mkwiet]

@alfletch93 I got the high output package from rapidled.com

[1mkwiet]

@chbixx didn't make a vid of the install that's pretty straight forward....the hood is wood

[chbixx]

Just curious if you made a video of installing everything in the fixture. Also how what did you make the fixture out of? Im trying to make a hood for my 55G utilizing 4 -36" 96watt PC retro kits. I wanted to go plastic but havent seen many DIY hoods from plastic they are all wood.

[Vladle2099]

how much money spent so far on materials. and how much time spent. thanks

[spanishcastelmagic]

hey i was wondering where you got your potentiometer from, or what kind to get. also r you connecting all of you whites to one potentiometer and blues to another? what would i need for 12 whites and 12 blues? one for each what kind?

Thanks Ian

[1mkwiet]

@spanishcastelmagic I got a Mode Electronics 5k Pot from a local hobby electronics store. Think they have a website also...called Active Electronics. I have all 24 blues on one pot, and 24 whites on another. Both pots run off a single 10volt DC wall wart (well it tests at 9.2 volts). As long as the wall wart is between 8-10 volts it'll work. I also have the blues on one AC cord and whites on another for easy timer control.

[jokzterx]

@1mkwiet So are you running two drivings with one pot and one DC wall wart?

[clanimmune]

"hope your not going blind." Lol

[DaMan478]

when is the 4th part?

[jblizz510]

on the dimmer switch , how would you know if you getting the right amount of light for your corals?

[1mkwiet]

@jblizz510 when they don't die, and grow :P

well most people run their LED's at 700ma. At full blast with no dim I have my drivers set to 800ma. ATM I think I'm running around 400ma....going to run half for a week, then lower the fixture, then slowly start ramping up the ma.

[dm002a8686]

Hi m8 your right, you have the skill to do this I don't lol. Could you please help me I am going to get vortech mp 40 es flow pumps cost a lot of money in UK £350 each about .

How many would I need for my marine reef tank it's 750 litre about 150 of that's in my sump , do you think 1 would be enough

[1mkwiet]

@dm002a8686 for 150 gal two would be best.

[28GallonBowfront]

Dang thats bright

[jmurr8484]

how do leds compare to pc vho and metal halides. (price, use for corals, etc.) If you can help. Thanks

[1mkwiet]

@jmurr8484 I was going to add pro's and cons to the last video, but I'll give a small overview now.

Just comparing this LED DIY fixture to just T5's and MH.

Price: Upfront cost is more than cheaper T5's, but bout the same or less than higher end T5's (consider bulb costs also). Upfront about the same as most decent MH. No yearly bulb replacement. Major cut in energy bill.

Use: can be used for all coral especially with dimming. Plus adds shimmer effect and more glow.

More to come

[10GalReef]

Sweet.  How much would you charge for building one?

[dm002a8686]

Much quicker just to buy led light lol

[10GalReef]

@dm002a8686 yeah but, for a 90 gal tank like his, it would cost well over $2,000.

[1mkwiet]

@dm002a8686 ya but it'll cost 4 times as much to get the same amount of LED light. Also this way I know how to repair and customize my lighting needs.

[manta965]

did you rely need such big heat sinks lol i thought leds didn't get very hot or was it just convenient to use them

[10GalReef]

@manta965 LEDs do get hot. They still need fans.

[manta965]

@10GalReef oh ok didn't know that i haven't done any electronic stuff for a few years so i don't remember to much

[1mkwiet]

@manta965 more convenient, but they can get quite hot. Also the cooler they are kept the longer they last and better performance.

[TheGeoYangPro]

Man i am so confused looking at all these wires and weird names i ver heard of >.<

[1mkwiet]

@TheGeoYangPro lol that's how I felt at first. Read the forums in the first part description. Things don't really start coming clear until you try though :)

[iAaronProductions]

@TheGeoYangPro Read the Ultamite LED on nano-reef. c0m It's written by Evilc66 (LED Gawd) in the lighting forum stickies. You'll understand it a lot better.

[newyorksteelo]

Looks awesome. You should set up a company and make your own LED light systems for sale.

[1mkwiet]

@newyorksteelo I may do that one day. I may even start taking orders to build things once I get my frag tank setup. That's a dream atm though....

[TheGeoYangPro]

@1mkwiet i am so paying u to do a fixture for me...when i have the money of course...its just so confusing for me >.<

[gig603]

First view!