first diy

[werner5]

hey guys i am going to attempt my first diy led build lol

here is my tanks dimensions

L : 1500
H : 600
W : 600

how many leds will i need ? wil 90 leds be enough mixed 50/50
50% cool white and 50% royal blue i will only be keeping softies and lps

any suggestions or ideas are welcome thanx alot guys

 

[jimilutz]

My tank is the same size but 80cm deep and I have 70leds I also have 4x54w T5. The LEDs alone are not enough for my tank. 7 of my LEDs are UV and 7 red. I have dialled these down and if I did it again, I would have gone with plain white/blue 50/50. You should be fine.

 

[jimilutz]

I used thermal paste to attach the LEDs but next time i build a lighting unit I am going to try this HexaTherm Tape for star LEDS - High Power LEDs - Electronic Components - Rabtron Electronics
I made a few small spots for my frag tank and drilled/screwed the LEDs on because my thermal paste was finished, what a PITA.

 

[werner5]

thanx bud i think 90 leds should be fine. The only reason why i am doing it diy is the led units today are way overpriced, diy is ALOT cheaper imho, with the optic side i think i will go with 60 degree lenses and every third Led i will put a 120 degree lens

 

[jimilutz]

How high are you going to have the lights? 120degree might make the spread a bit too wide, I would stick with 60degree. The other nice thing about DIY is that you can make the exact size you want.

 

[werner5]

the lights will be about 10-15cm above the water. Ok cool i suck at the optics part lol so i must make all of them 60 degree

 

[jimilutz]

With 90 LEDs you should not get the disco effect and the 60 will keep the light focused on the corals and not on the glass.

 

[werner5]

awesome thanx for the help i will build a few small units to play with and test which will work best before i build the big final unit.. gonna be a trial and error exercise lol thanx again bud

 

[werner5]

ok so my suppliers has 2 different 60 degree lenses which should i get

Other Electronics - Led Lens 60deg Black (1W, 3W, 5W) for sale in Cape Town (ID:198726721)

Other Electronics - Lens 60deg Convex for 1W, 3W or 5W Led for sale in Cape Town (ID:196971062)

Other Electronics - 1W 3W 60 Degree Led Lens Clear Waterproof for sale in Cape Town (ID:198754350)

 

[jimilutz]

I would buy the first. The second has the lens far away from the action so you will lose light to the black sides. The third looks similar on the lense but the bottom does not look like it will fit on the LEDs that easily.

 

[werner5]

oky cool i ordered them so will get it in this week then the headaches can start lol

 

[werner5]

Oky so started playing with my new toys lol

 

[jimilutz]

Cool, where did you get the thermal plaster? I have been searching for some and could only find the very expensive one.

 

[jimilutz]

I followed the link from your lense post and found it, thanks.

 

[werner5]

here a link for the plaster
Other Electronics - Heatsink Thermal Plaster for sale in Cape Town (ID:199130514)

which combination should i use for the 3 rows
one row cool white
one row royal blue
one row cool white

or should i mix them on each row one white one blue one white ect..

 

[jimilutz]

Mix them so that you avoid the disco effect.

 

[goolam ismail]

@werner5, where you get the heat sink from?

 

[werner5]

I bought them on bid or buy ..
Finaly i am done soldering the leds to the star plates tomorrow night the wiring can start lol

 

[Rabbid dawg]

And now all the fun starts. All the wire stripping and soldering. On my last build I used warm white, blue and royal blue. The warm white brought out the reds and browns. And it came out very nicely.

 

[Uysster]

Tagging along...