LED build for idiots help pls

[andthe_brain]

Ok after reading up an some more reading an a little bit more reading, im still scratching my head about building diy led units...could someone post a link or do a step by step for me on this subject. I just cant get my head round it all...any light you could shed would be great
Thankee
steve

[Ace25]

These will give you some idea how to put them together. Certainly not the best videos, the guy building it is doing shoddy work. They used the wrong type of wire on this fixture though which is making attaching the wire to the LEDs much harder than it needs to be. Bad soldering iron and not using flux are also bad. You can search youtube for things like "DIY LED", "soldering cree LED", things like that to see more videos. As I tell everyone, it is very intimidating at first, but once you build 1 light you will kick yourself after realizing how easy it is. Everyone I have taught has done that and gone on to build many more LED lights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msMUFbaMIgE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf_HtUbsYpY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wOSsBIIUsU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7oHZNbPMSE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upN7AbyCXOI

[andthe_brain]

Im not too worried about building it as such. im more concerned about what parts i need and where to source them as im in the uk....do i get 1w leds or 3w bulbs, drivers???? do iget a dimmable or constant an how powerful a driver do i get?? Heatsinks? How big? Will i blow the leds if the leds run at 750ma an i put a 1000ma dricer on them??

[Ace25]

First, how big of a screen are we dealing with? Constant current drivers are fine for a scrubber. Heatsink, as big as the screen if your not going to use a fan, if you use a fan it adds a whole extra level of complexity to the build. You definitely don't want to run LEDs above their rated current, not only will you not see much extra light output by doing so, you will reduce their life severely.

This driver seems like it would handle 8 3w LEDs @ 700mA.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Driver-Transformer-700mA-Constant-Current-220-240V-AC-/170700515382?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Light ing_SM&hash=item27be8b2836#ht_507wt_1163

Or this one does 18 1w LEDs @ 350mA.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Driver-Transformer-350mA-Constant-Current-220-240V-AC-/170700521096?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Light ing_SM&hash=item27be8b3e88#ht_507wt_1163

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20pcs-1W-Red-660nm-power-LED-1watt-plant-grow-light-/250944193987?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6d7085c3#ht_4697wt_1396

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10pcs-3W-Red-660nm-power-LED-3watt-plant-grow-light-/270851110767?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0ffbf76f

[kotlec]

1. First you decide if you go 1w leds or 3w leds.
2. Decide how many LEDs you need to cover your screen.
3. LEDs should be red 660nM best and 630nM possible as well.
4. For 1w LEDs look for drvier that supply 350mA constant current and can handle as many or more LEDs thatn you need for design.
5. For 3w LEDs look for drvier that supply 700mA constant current and can handle as many or more LEDs thatn you need for design.
6. You also need heatsink. If you can fit big heatsink - go for it . You will not need any fans then, and I recomend for fanless design. Less parts first of all. Fans usually not prone to humidity.
7. Easiest way to fix LEDS to heatsink is thermo glue (Arctic silver adhesive is the best IMO). Possible way is tapping and fixing via screws. More easy to exchange blown LED after.
8.You will need wires, solder iron and all you use to solder.
9. Very good idea is to cover leds with layer of laquer spray to protect from humidity. There are even special ones.
Making acrylic cover for LEDs is also good idea.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Heatsink-Cooling-Cooler-Heat-Spreader-5-x-3W-Aquarium-LED-Light-/270868410613?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1103f0f5

Theres module ready for wiring to driver.

[andthe_brain]

Screen is 8 x 9 inches how many 1w leds would i need per side..thanks for all the advice so far

[andthe_brain]

Also if i was to use 2 drivers could i run them off the same socket?

[kotlec]

Also if i was to use 2 drivers could i run them off the same socket?

Absolutely yes. If you can run microwave from one socket , then you can run many, many drivers too :D :D

[Ace25]

Absolutely yes. If you can run microwave from one socket , then you can run many, many drivers too :D :D
Yes and no, Meanwell drivers have a very high startup surge. I believe it is around 5.5A for less than a second. If you wire 3 meanwell drivers together and plug it into a 15A circuit it will pop the breaker when they turn on because the in rush current is 16.5A. On smaller drivers you can do more per socket, just make sure you take into account the startup amperage, not the operating amperage (which is usually 1/2 the startup). On meanwells I wire 2 drivers max per socket.

[kotlec]

I have run few of them and never had problem. Must say I live in 220V world. May be things are different.

[kerry]

I wish we had 220V everyday outlets here in the USA. The homes here have just a couple for like the electric stoves, cloths washer, and AC units but, the rest are 110V. Our service is 220V but its split at the power (fuse/breaker) distribution box or utility pole.

[andthe_brain]

So could i use these drivers making a diy aquarium light? How many leds would be needed to sufficiently light up a 80 gallon tank? Would the same equation of using a 1/5 of the power needed by t5s?? I run 6 39w at the minute an i would need roughly 50w of led power??

[Ace25]

First tank, I use 24 LEDs on a 60G, it replaced 6 T5HOs. LEDs = 60w, T5s=324w, so yes, 1/5th the power on that tank. I do need to run both strings of LEDs at full power (1000mA on Cree LEDs) for this LED light in order to get good output.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6143/5980516042_4d6e0e3865.jpg http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6017/5941779913_d3510371f7.jpg http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6144/5979957647_3935632677.jpg

Second tank, I use 48 LEDs on a 75G cube tank. It replaced a 400w MH + 4x 24w T5HOs. LEDs=100w, MH+T5=496w... so again.. 1/5th the power. Hmmm.. funny, I never actually did the math on those tanks like that, funny to see how they both come out the same. The 75G LED light can go up to using 144w at full power, but I overbuilt the LED light (first one I made) and I can actually only run the whites (24 LEDs) at 50% power, anything higher will nuke my corals.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5246/5253259840_9544e02dc4.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5205/5253259872_c96f0cc7ce.jpg

Here is a DIY LED light I made for a fellow reefer that has a 60G cube (24x24x24). I used 26 LEDs on this one, 14 Royal blue, 12 Cool white + 4 moonlights.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6108/6321637444_04cc779615.jpg http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6111/6319093945_ae6437db2d.jpg

After teaching another fellow reefer how to make his own LED lights he has gone on to build several himself. He had zero electronics, soldering, or LED experience before I showed him how easy it was. This one he just completed last night, 192 LEDs for a 240G tank.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii178/6uillo1/20120209_113609.jpg

On an 80G display tank, if it is a normal 4' tank, I would go with 36 LEDs minimum, 48 maximum. Again, distance from the top of the water to the LED light determines if your going to use optics and what type. On a display tank optics are super helpful and will easily give you 3x-4x more light output just by using optics, but the drawback to that is you have to mount the LED light high above the tank, 12" minimum.

[andthe_brain]

How many drivers are you using to light those beautys up?? Are they dimmable drivers? And are they 3w leds?

[Ace25]

All 3w LEDs, I personally use Cree for display lights. I find them by far the best. The last fixture, the 192 LED light, is all China LEDs. I don't expect them to last nearly as long as cree's from my past experience. For the big one he used 3 large meanwell drivers, the Meanwell HLG-185-42B driver which can handle up to 72 LEDs per driver instead of 24 tops on the ones I get. Normally your supposed to only run 12 LEDs per ELN driver but you can go up to 14.. per string, and you can put on 2 strings if you crank up the internal POT to 1500mA, which then gets cut in 1/2 with 2 strings so each one gets 750mA, which is perfect for Cree LEDs. On my first LED light, the 48 LED one, I actually ended up using 4 drivers, 12 LEDs per driver, because I was new at it and didn't know you could run more in series back then.

I use ELN-60-48 drivers (D or P model depending on how I want to dim them). D models use dimmer knobs and are manually dimmed, P models use PWM which comes from a controller like a Typhoon or DIM4 controller.

I usually get my supplies from www.RapidLED.com but you can shop around and save a few $ if you get parts from multiple places.

[andthe_brain]

I was also looking at mounting under a hood? Is that possible with these type of builds with evapration etc??

[Ace25]

My 48LED light is mounted in my canopy, just took out my MH/reflector, cut the hole out a little bigger, and set the LED light in where the MH used to be. I don't run the T5s anymore, this picture was when I first mounted it. I have a tall canopy though and the LEDs are 14" from surface of the water to the optics on the LEDs.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5204/5308115753_64db730737_z.jpg

[andthe_brain]

Hmmm probably around 5 inches in my canopy...do you think i could get away with no optics? Maybe just increase the spacing between the leds for a more even spread?

[Ace25]

When I had the 24 LED light over my 29G I had it just resting on the glass top, no optics, and it worked just fine. You don't want to spread the LEDs out though, that won't give you any extra intensity. If you don't use optics you would want to almost double the amount of LEDs used in order to get the intensity desired for corals. When I replace the 29G with a 60G I simply added optics to the LEDs, raised it up, and I actually get more light out of it now by using optics than when I had it resting on the glass without.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUlInNEgVwk

[andthe_brain]

Gotcha...its sourcing the bloomin stuff is the problem. the only shop in the uk remotely close to rapidled is www.rapidonline.com i dont fancy getting things shipped due to our strict customs in the uk...its a real PITA

[andthe_brain]

Also what degree are your lenses??

[Ace25]

I use 60 degree optics. They are labeled oddly though, some say 55, some say 65, so I just stick with 60. I tried 40's and they are way to tight of a beam, you would practically need to mount them on the ceiling to get the LEDs to blend colors. 80's work good as well if you can find them, and would allow you to lower your light to under 12", still 5" is pushing it but may work (blending the colors would be the biggest concern), I would probably guess 8" is the sweet spot for 80 degree optics.

I hear you about customs stuff and wanting to buy within the country. Unfortunately I don't know any places other than Ebay for the UK, but I am sure there are a few good places to order from. Just need to find the people there that know the right answer, or hope someone on here knows and will chime in.

[andthe_brain]

Yeah..that rapidonline seems ok. no cree leds tho?? May just stick to ebay and get a cheapy one done so i can find my feet building them...

[andthe_brain]

Thanks for all the sound advise. much appreciated. its actually nice to be on a forum an not be overehelmed with conflicting advice.
Thanks again

[MorganAtlanta]

Thanks for all the sound advise. much appreciated. its actually nice to be on a forum an not be overehelmed with conflicting advice.
Thanks again

Which just means we are infected with "group think"

[kotlec]

I have my LEDs sitting almost on the water surface. No lens at all. Splashguard is indispensable though.
All cree LEds . White MX-3 1Wx 12, RB XP-E 2W x12. For my 16G it is too much even for SPS that grow like mad.

You may want to look in to new toys, that promised to be even more friendly pricewise :

http://reefbuilders.com/files/2012/02/Cree-XT-E-White.jpg

http://reefbuilders.com/2012/02/08/cree-xte-royal-blue-buddy/#more-54272

[marineguy]

Could one of you led experts give me your thoughts on these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100W-15000K-High-Power-LED-Panel-Aquarium-/220907074064?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336f167210#ht_1201wt_916

[Ace25]

I have never used those types of LEDs, but maglofster on this site has and he is from your side of the pond. I thought it came out looking great.

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1301-Elos-120-ATS-only

[kerry]

I have thought about getting a couple 10 watt units and seeing how they work. I think they would need optics for sure and mounted up at least 8+ inches depending on the build.

[andthe_brain]

Bet you'd need some big ass drivers for a bank of those bad boys

[Floyd R Turbo]

I started a new thread here

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...nes-and-Builds

trying to pool DIY LED info. Please check out this thread and add anything you think is useful!

[Floyd R Turbo]

link fixed

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1711-DIY-LED-Scrubber-Lighting-Guidelines-and-Builds