TL550 Diy LED unit help

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Hey Guys

I want to build a led unit, i was thinking of using 18 3w leds, and removing 2 of the tubes in the boyu to fit them in.

My question is how many white and how many blue do i need and what degree lenses to use.

Will this be enough to keep lps and softies in the tank?
 
I did such build recently. You will find it by clicking on my username. It has pics and links to to the online stores. The only thing I havr changed is that I removed half the red and cyan. They have been replaced by blue. The softies grow well with this light and my birds nest frags seem to be surviving too.
 
I got a TL550 waiting in the garage.
First it needs a new stand and cabinet.
Secondly I want to replace those PL tubes with LEDS. But I want to keep the hood. And without hacking the hood into some DIY nightmare.


Something like what this guy did.
My LEDs build for nano Boyu TL 550 - UltimateReef.com
 
I saw some bad hacks on the lids and I wanted to retain the splash guard and the neat top so that I can move the tank to my office when I am finished playing with the tl550. There just is not enough space inside and the cooling flow is not good enough to just add some LEDs and keep it looking tidy.
I put 4 channels with different colour mixes in so that I could figure out what I liked before I upgraded the lighting on my 800l tank. As such I have each channel coming on and turning off at different times. They are all on for about 2 hours a day but this is not really nessecary for the softies. 18 3w LEDs will put out more light than the stock pl tubes and use triple the power ( and resulting heat). @RiaanP I did not show the end result but the splash guard was reattached and the grid on the lid was replaced so that the top looks identical to an unmodded tank. I even replaced the defunct buttons to keep it tidy. The hack at the back of the lid was there to allow for the hang on skimmer to fit on.
 
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i did the mod on my tank. fitted 32 x 3w leds. no heat issues. succesfully kept sps.
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3 white to 2 blue ratio.
 
@Nabzo I thought I would post here instead of your PM as it will help others looking into making a DIY unit and you don't want to spend a ton of cash.

The LEDS I had on my boyu were the LEDs from improvedlivingPE.
Final configuration I had was:
14 x 3 watt blue(R10.40 each = R145.60)
2 x 3 watt cyan (R10,80 each = R21.60)
6 x 3 watt cool white (R7.24 each = R43.44)
4 x 3 watt aquamarine extreme cool white (R8.33 each = R33.32)
2 x 1 watt UV (R5.40 each = R10.80)
2 x 1 watt red (R5.40 each = R10.80)
2 x 1 watt green (R5.40 each R10.80)

each LED also needs to be soldered onto a base plate (R2 each = R64)

Total for all LEDs plus base plates: R339.96

I never used my hood on my tank. I had a large heatsink that I mounted them on and went with out the hood as I prefer having my tanks open.

You cant glue them with superglue as it wont transmit the heat properly to the heatsink. You need to use thermal past, or thermal paste glue.

I had mine mounted on my heatsink with small self tapping screws. There are little cutouts either side the led baseplate that the heads of the screw will hold fast on. The thermal glue is easier as no drilling and screwing is involved but it becomes a minor hassle if you want to replace LED's for some reason.

I used the constant current (non dimmable drivers) from improved living aswell.
The drivers run off 220v power, no transformer needed.
Drivers were as follows:

For Blue and Cyan: (1x) 6 to 10 LED 3 watt driver 220 volt (R74.80)
(1x) 4 to 6 LED 3 watt driver 220 volt (R50.95)

For all white LEDS: (1x) 6 to 10 LED 3 watt driver 220 volt (R74.80)

For green, UV and red: (2x) 1 to 3 LED 1 watt driver 220 volt (R17.75 each = R35.50)

Total for drivers: R236.05

I see a forum member on here, I think Vertex is his name? Had nice big heatsinks available for around R300 each. He mentioned it in his thread, not on in the for sale section.

You may also need a 12v fan blowing on the heatsink from ontop depending on the size and thickness of the heatsink. Cooler LED's = longer life.

So grand total excluding postage, wire to connect, hobby box (to mount driver in) and switches to turn drivers on and off individually etc: LEDS + Drivers + Heatsink = R876.01

Add in the rest and you looking at plus minus R1000.

The unit was meant as kind of an experiment but worked so well I ended up using it for a while.
I kept various SPS with no problems and had good growth.
I eventually ended up buying a factory made unit only because I found one at a really great price.
If you don't have any understanding of how to wire up LED's etc and you still keen on a DIY unit, try find a reefer or someone in your area who would be able to assist you with putting one together.

Hope this helped.
 
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O ya it helps :thumbup:

I'm currently doing my purchase online with improve living

Do you run all this on one plug or you had a plug for each drive?
 
Nabzo said:
Do you run all this on one plug or you had a plug for each drive?
Click to expand...

I had it all on one plug. I bought 2 timers as I planned to put the whites and colours on one plug and timer and the blues/cyan on the other so that the blues would come on first and switch of last. Sort of a sunset sunrise if you will.
Just never got around to doing it... lol
 
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I see that's what I'm gona do put white one plug and blue on another with time switches

The way I have it in my head I hope it comes out just as great
 
@Nabzo before I forget, I didnt just crank all the leds on at once. I only had 10 of the blues and the whites on at first then slowly added the other drivers for the colour and then lastly the blues. Its about 80w in total and thats quite a bit more than the standard 48w of boyu PL tube lighting. The light output isnt as much as cree LEDs and the LED's don't have optics to concentrate/direct all the light, but they still a lot more potent than the stock lighting. Just be warned... lol
 
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Haha I see yess I'm gona start with 10 white and 10blue later as I go along I will add. I notice the led flood lights come with 30w led drive in them thinking I can dismental it and take the drive
 
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