Diy Led Build

[surfer85]

I'm going to be adding to this post but I just wanted to get on here and say how awesome they look. My 250w MH and the white LEDs have turned off and I've got the blue LEDs on at the moment. I'm running 24 blue and 24 whites on my 48"X30"X24" 150 gallon reef. The blues make every single thing in my tank pop! Everything!! The rainbow acans I've got at the very bottom are breath taking. I'll post pics and specs of the build within the next couple days...I've got to go stare at it some more...can't wait to see the new electricity bill!:shocked::shocked::shocked::shocked::shocked:

[Acefspds]

LED's are awesome but when I go and restock livestock I get to talk to alot of people. One of my biggest questions to them is what do you think about LED's? ALOT of people are telling me they have seen some light intence corals decline under LED's. They are better for your bill yea but alot of opinions tell me to stick with HQI lights. They really are not that much to run depending on the light system you are using. My 60g has 2 150w 20k's and it cost me like 150 a year to run them give or take. LED's might be half of that but my lights to buy didnt even come close to how much you would be spending on an LED setup. Most LED set ups I have seen run like $600.00+ so if you look at that cost it would take like 3 years for you to start saving money. Then you probabley have to start replacing things after that so really how much money do you really save?

[LarryM]

Waiting to see the pics...

[surfer85]

Sorry no pics yet...hopefully this weekend.

[surfer85]

LED's are awesome but when I go and restock livestock I get to talk to alot of people. One of my biggest questions to them is what do you think about LED's? ALOT of people are telling me they have seen some light intence corals decline under LED's. They are better for your bill yea but alot of opinions tell me to stick with HQI lights. They really are not that much to run depending on the light system you are using. My 60g has 2 150w 20k's and it cost me like 150 a year to run them give or take. LED's might be half of that but my lights to buy didnt even come close to how much you would be spending on an LED setup. Most LED set ups I have seen run like $600.00+ so if you look at that cost it would take like 3 years for you to start saving money. Then you probabley have to start replacing things after that so really how much money do you really save?

My LED build cost me around $500 for the whole setup. I've got a total of 48 LEDs over my 48"L 150g mixed reef. So far all my corals are doing great. I've noticed new growth. It hasn't been long enough to say that it's significant growth but they are growing. The corals colors are coming out more. I can also adjust the intensity of the blue lights to my liking. When I was running 2 175w MH and 1 250w MH my electric bill was $400 a month. My chiller would have to run a couple hours a day plus the fan running in the canopy during the summer months. To replace my MH bulbs it would cost about $200 every 1-2 years depending on when I'd remember to change them. With the LEDs I can go 11 years with only a 30% decrease in intensity (from what I've read) When I have to replace them it will run me about $200 to replace all of them. The intial investment is high but over the long run I'll save a lot by not running the chiller nearly as much, the power consumption of the LEDs compared to the MHs is way less and as of right now the corals are all looking good. I've got a couple that are unhappy but they were unhappy before the LEDs.

[surfer85]

I made my own heat sinks so that saved me a good $100.
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Heatsinks laid out with where everything is going.
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Finsished product without the mounting frame. The power supplies are open so I can adjust the output unitl I get my RKE to do it.
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Full tank shot
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[surfer85]

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[bpro32]

Keep letting us know how things grow.. I think that is what we are all most interested in :)

[LarryM]

Pictures look sweet. Nice job. Where did you find raw materials fo heatsinks?

I have been trying to find 3/4 to 1" stock.

[SDguy]

Very cool thread!!

Several people on the board have PAR meters. Might consider borrowing one to get some readings.

[surfer85]

Very cool thread!!

Several people on the board have PAR meters. Might consider borrowing one to get some readings.

Yeah. I'll definetly have to find someone with one. I've got them on pretty low right now becuase I want them to acclimate slowly to the new lights but am gradually raising the intensity.

[surfer85]

Pictures look sweet. Nice job. Where did you find raw materials fo heatsinks?

I have been trying to find 3/4 to 1" stock.

I've got a buddy who hooked me up. He works for a fabrication company. You should check out a scrap yard. I know there are a few places down in the Harbor Drive area at the south end of the Naval base.

[vinny73]

Curious to hear of your electric bill. I am running t5's, 8 on one tank, 6 on another, 2 systems and bill is about 330 a month.

[surfer85]

Our bill was around $350 last month. I'll post this months bill when we get it.

[LarryM]

I've got a buddy who hooked me up. He works for a fabrication company. You should check out a scrap yard. I know there are a few places down in the Harbor Drive area at the south end of the Naval base.

Where are you talking about? I am not familiar .

[surfer85]

32nd st Naval base. You go down harbor drive until you about to get on the 5 south, take a right at the light before the on ramp and there are a few scrap yards/recycling places. You should be able to find something there.


Where are you talking about? I am not familiar .

[surfer85]

So far I have seen some significant growth on the majority of my corals. I fragged my yellow tort a little while ago and the section that I cut has grown about two inches. I've seen alot of good growth. Alot of the corals have also had some very nice colors coming out. I have noticed two corals starting to brown just a little but overall I'm very satisfied with the results so far... My chiller hasn't turned on once so far... Awesome

[pazhope]

How did you attach the fins to the aluminum plate? did you use a thermal epoxy? or you solder them?

[surfer85]

They were welded. You wouldn't want to use an epoxy because the more metal to metal contact you have the better your heat will disipate.

[Techknowledgy]

This is awesome. When are we going to see great LEDS for reef tanks at reasonable prices? They are so much more versatile and "greener."

[surfer85]

Corals that browned out a little are coloring back nicely, noticed significant growth on quite a few corals, some you can tell are growing towards the leds rather than the one MH left on the tank. Will post pics once I figure out how to resize pics on a mac.

[CCLansman]

Have you considered using lenses to focus the leds to get better light penetration? Most people with tanks that deep have been using lenses to keep their par values up. Have you had a chance to put a par meter in and check the levels?

[willp2]

I agree with a tank that tall and the LED's a bit high above the tank even some moderate optics could help get more light in the water. If you are OK with the light levels as they are now, optics would let you run the LED's at lower power, saving more power and heat, plus also extending the LED life.

What LED’s and drivers are you using? Looks like Meanwell's I think.

[surfer85]

I haven't checked this post for awhile. I'm using Cree XPG cool whites and XPE blues (was supposed to get royale blues but ordered the wrong ones...they still look good). I'm running halides on my new tank for the time being. I'm going to build another module and install them on the new tank. I'm considering getting optics...maybe 60degree...I've got to replace some lights already. I had a fan blowing over the tank for cooling and the evaportation and lights didn't get along...go figure. The new setup will have a shield like I should have put on the first...live and learn...and pay.