LED Retrofit

[autopro]

After reading alot of great threads on LED retrofits I decided to take the plunge. Basically I had a stock BioCube 14g. and I want to keep some of the more light demanding corals and hopefully a clam. I also wanted to get the shimmer and much better color out of my corals than the stock lighting was able to provide.

My project included the following items:

• (6) CREE XR-E White LED’s (XREWHT-LI-0000-00D02 BIN #WG-Q5) http://www.etgtech.com/
• (6) CREE XR-E ROYAL BLUE LED’S (XREROY-LI-0000-00A0I BIN #D3) http://www.etgtech.com/
• (2) 1000Ma BuckPuck with Potentiometer (3023-D-E-1000P) http://ledsupply.com/03023-d-e-1000p.php
• (1) Heatsink 8.5” x 5” http://heatsinkusa.com/
• (2) MPJA Potrans 6.5A 24v power supply (FS -15024-1M) http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=17436+PS
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste http://www.frys.com/product/3820817?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
• 4-40 Tap and Drill Bits
• (4) Computer power cords
• 18 AWG stranded wire (several colors)
• 4-40 Stainless Steel Screws
• #4 Nylon Washers
• Connectors (male and female pairs)

Template and Wiring Diagram:

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/ledlayoutModel1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/leddiagram.jpg

I laid out my template over the heatsink so that I could mark with a punch where I had to drill the holes to mount the LED’s.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1862.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1865.jpg

Here they are after I drilled and taped all the holes in the heatsink. Remember to use some cutting oil when drilling and tapping and to go slow, that way you can avoid breaking bitts and taps. When tapping the holes for threads and you notice that it starts to get difficult to turn all you have to do is give it a half turn back and then keep going slowly.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1869.jpg

I screwed down my LED’s with the template in place so that I could follow the wiring diagram I had previously made. This allowed me to get the correct wire lengths and to also not screw up the wiring. Notice you have to go from positive to negative connections on the LED’s. It is a good idea to pre-tin all your wires and the pads on the LED’s, that way when you go to solder the wire to the LED it will make life easier. Use a good soldering iron, the one I used was a 40w Weller model and it worked quite well.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1870.jpg

[autopro]

I used some old computer power cords that I had laying around to power up my power supplies and the BuckPucks

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1866.jpg

Here they are all wired up, excuse the use of tape but I ran out of electrical connectors so I had to improvise just to test them out. Thermal paste was used on each of the LED’s prior to screwing them down with the 4-40 stainless steel screws and #4 nylon washers. I used 2 power supplies so that I could have the blues and the whites on different lighting schedules. All I can say is wow, these things are supper bright and I love that you can control the different color temperatures through the use of the potentiometers. These things are awesome!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1871.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1872.jpg

For the brackets to mount the Heatsink to the hood is used some old aluminum paint chip samples. Drilled a couple of holes to match the mounting posts on the hood and then another couple of holes on the sides to attach to the Heatsink.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1879.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1880.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1881.jpg

On the Heatsink I also drilled and tapped the holes for the mounting screws. You can also see in this picture that I left most of the stock wiring inside the hood and the moon lights. I did this so that I would still have power for the stock fans (I will take them out soon and replace with a bigger fan) and I wanted to keep the stock moon lights. I drilled a couple of holes on the back of the hood to get the wires from the power supplies to the BuckPucks. The BuckPucks are in there in that whole mess of wires. The potentiometers where mounted to the back of the hood, you can see the yellow and grey wires running to the back (sorry but I don’t have a picture of the mounting, will take one later).

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1882.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1883.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1884.jpg

The way I have it set up now allows me to have my moon lights on all the time, I can also control the on off time of the blues and whites independently. Blues come on 1 hour before and go off 1 hour after the whites and my fans come on with the blues.

[bpro32]

Is this just a test run for now or is it a full running lighting system?

[acbaldwin]

Awesome writeup. Printing the wire routes is a great idea. Reduce the amount of necessary thinking while doing the project = success!
What is your estimated cost for the whole shebang?

[autopro]

Is this just a test run for now or is it a full running lighting system?

It is currently running. I will take a couple of more pictures with the hood installed and a FTS also. These lights just make the corals really pop but I wasn't able to get a good shot of it with my camera.


Awesome writeup. Printing the wire routes is a great idea. Reduce the amount of necessary thinking while doing the project = success!
What is your estimated cost for the whole shebang?

LED's $ 6.00 each x's 12
BuckPucks $19.99 each x's 2
Heatsink $13.83
Power Supplies $14.95 each x's 2


These prices do not include shipping. Well worth doing it yourself since a lot of the available upgrades from some sites are worth a lot of money.

[Sam Maghsoodloo]

Hey man, I have to take a moment to tell you that you have a lot of skill, and it's obvious you also have experience. Good job on this project. I've been building stuff for a long time, and over the years I've slowly learned ways to make thing more legitimate, and to think ahead about problems; so I can tell by little details that you've built a lot of stuff before :) Bravo. I especially liked how you made a template to make everything standard, and you also tapped the metal.

[bpro32]

uhh, where are the pics of the light output?? :)

[88blazer]

Very nice job. let's see some pics with this on the tank

[autopro]

Sam Maghsoodlo:

Thanks for the compliment, I read alot before starting this project but I have also been building stuff for many years.

bpro32 and 88blazer:

I'll post them up right now!

[autopro]

Here is the picture of the hood installed back on the tank

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1917.jpg

I mounted the potentiometers on the back of the hood so the kids would be less able to play with them.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1918.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1924.jpg

Royal Blues Only

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1913.jpg

Full bright on both the Royal Blues and Whites, first picture without flash and second with flash. When I have the hood up I can light up my whole living room, they are that bright!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1911.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1912.jpg

[autopro]

In these series of pictures you can see how you can control the color temperature with the use of the potentiometers. First picture is with both whites and royal blues turned all the way up and the next three pictures shows how I was dimming the whites until only the royal blues where on in the last picture.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1898.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1899.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1900.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1901.jpg

I do not have many corals yet in this tank since it is still pretty new; it has only been set up for a month. I love the way the corals look with these lights, the problem is that it is very difficult to photograph. These pictures don’t really show how good the colors look in real life.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1904.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1905.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1906.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/energyauto/IMG_1907.jpg

Enjoy!

[LarryM]

First off.... Great work and documentation

Now the Questions,

Where are the power supplies mounted?

What kind of heat output have you noticed? Enough that heat sink is mandatory or could have an aluminum plate have been used?
Just asking beacause many led products (IE LED TV's) no longer require fans and are relativly cool to the touch.

[sbanks78]

wow!!!! awesome job on the build.

[autopro]

First off.... Great work and documentation

Now the Questions,

Where are the power supplies mounted?

What kind of heat output have you noticed? Enough that heat sink is mandatory or could have an aluminum plate have been used?
Just asking beacause many led products (IE LED TV's) no longer require fans and are relativly cool to the touch.

I have the power supplies just sitting on the floor since I do not have a stand for my tank but the power supplies stay relatively cool, they are only slightly warm to the touch.

When I was doing the test run on the unit I left it on for about an hour without a fan and the heatsink got pretty warm but not hot. I imagine that an aluminum plate that is at least ¼” thick will probably work fine, these are 3w LED’s so they get a bit warmer than the usual 1w LED’s.

Sbanks78:

Thanks!

[Sam Maghsoodloo]

Just asking beacause many led products (IE LED TV's) no longer require fans and are relativly cool to the touch.
LED tv's don't have regular LED's, they have oLED's

[acbaldwin]

LCD tvs typically use standard LEDs for the backlight. OLED tvs use OLEDS for the image and don't require a backlight.

[Sam Maghsoodloo]

oh yeah, i forgot they use led's for backlight now instead of fluorescent.

[A.M.S.]

Have you considered using optics to get more out of them? I saw they have cree optics pretty cheap at nanotuners, and evilc66 swears by them.

[Triggler]

Do you know how much it would cost to put this together using 20x3W white LEDs w/ ~120 lumens and 20x3W Blue LEDs w/ ~ 90-100 lumens each? Does this same plan work? Besides having to buy a bigger heat sink.

[RyanW]

Do you know how much it would cost to put this together using 20x3W white LEDs w/ ~120 lumens and 20x3W Blue LEDs w/ ~ 90-100 lumens each? Does this same plan work? Besides having to buy a bigger heat sink.

Would like to know also.

[Triggler]

I found the LEDs on eBay for $20 for 10x3W ones!

[SoCalBoo]

When I was pricing them out, I came up with about $4/W for bulbs, wire, buck puck and power supply. This didn't take into account heatsink, thermal paste, solder, etc. The stocking rates I've seen vary depending on what you want in the tank and how deep the tank will be, but many recommendations seem to hit around 3w/gallon, or 1 light (3W) per gallon. So for a 40g standard, I was looking at (roughly) $550 with heatsink. I could probably get by for a fair amount less since that tank isn't too deep.

[pazhope]

I am going this route and for what I have been reading at RC and nano-reef you get the same results of MH using 40% of leds. So if you have a 100W MH in your tank you can replace it with 40W of Cree led with optics.

Most of the guys add more leds than they need and they under run them, with the advantage of getting more flexibility to choose your color output.

Sorry I am not posting links but I am using a mobile phone.

[sgriffin760]

are there any stores in san diego where i can go check out these leds and piece together my project

[autopro]

You can find some stuff at the electronic stores here in san diego like Fry's, Willy's Electronic Supply Co or RadioShack. I doubt you will find the buckpucks or LED's (at least the ones you need) in any of the stores.