Dustin Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Ok so im finally going to start my build after weeks of time restraints, and general craziness, I will start my build of my LEDs for my future 40B. Im hoping that this thread will be informative, and enlightening. (Haha no pun intended) I will try to give exact prices on everything that was needed, as well as other common questions that I needed answered prior to buying the stuff. I would at this point like to give a HUGE THANK YOU!!! to Upinder (eugenereef), for all of his help with this build. He has answered all of my dumb questions, and has volunteered his time to allow me to come inspect his lights, give me advice on dimensions and other fun stuff, as well as offer to help me put it all together so I can get a good result from the lights. So thank you so very much Upinder. Ok back to the build it will consist of 24x 3W Cree XPE royal blue @ $3.60 each 24x 3W Cree XPG cool white @ $4.50 each 4x meanwell ELN-60-48P @ $28.90 each 1x DDC-01 PWM Daylight Controller @ $59 I will list the other materials and prices for all of it later, because I don't remember that at the moment I just wanted to get something up. Stay tuned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Excited to watch the progress here! Good luck and we are tuned in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 Thanks garrett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMiller Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Subscribed as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellowithgills Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I heard you were going to do some work on it today from Upinder, what did you get done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 We sized it up and got the pieces for the heatsink cut and basically got the heatsink put together ill try to get pics up tomorrow but I have a wedding to go to so may not get to it also may have decided to go with 36 LEDs Upinder thinks that 48 over this size tank may be overkill and possibly bad for future corals so I've got to plan that out now as well more info will be up soon though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugenereef Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 You are very welcome Dustin. Glad to be of help here. From what I can envision, the fixture is going to be really cool and improved over what I have!!. And I have become true believer in LEDs. Up until now I was not sure about the coral growth or coloration, but now after about 4 or so months, those of you who have seen my tank would agree that the corals are growing like crazy and the pattern of growth is very natural. They are more spread out like bushes rather than trying to reach out to the light! This could be due to even spread of light in every part of the tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bswe22 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Ok, I'm on board to follow this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattv Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Upinder is the man! He helped me out too. I used 42 on my 30" cube and its plenty of light. You can run no more than 3 drivers on the daylight module. 36 is going to make that tank crazy bright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 Actually you can run more than 3 drivers if you put them into the same terminals but then you can't control them individualy but as I mentioned I believe im going to drop my LED count to 36 and run a driver/w twelve RB a driver/w 12 CW and the a driver/w 6 of each if it turns out as pictured in my head it will be very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattv Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 My bad it looks like you can run up to 9 drivers. I started out with 2 drivers running 14 on each and it was a ton of light. Its cool that now the daylight controller is available with a remote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugenereef Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Yeh! The controller just regulates 0 to 10v for the drivers. The current is not a issue here so you can run more than a few drivers ( just guessing based on electronic principles ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 Ya it says something about it in the manual and I just saw that yesterday that they had a remote now wish I had waited a little longer Haha o well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugenereef Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Ya it says something about it in the manual and I just saw that yesterday that they had a remote now wish I had waited a little longer Haha o well You could call the guy and ask him if can exchange it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 Ok sorry for not getting an update up sooner its been a busy week for me but I have managed to get the heatsink mostly finished today and now im on my way to a bday party but I will try to get pics up tonight or tomorrow and give some more details thanks for hanging with me on this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMiller Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Hey Dustin, could you give me exact prices? I am wanting to put a fixture over my 20g, and was recommended that I have 21 LED's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 OK so i have updated original post with a few prices on LED stuff keep in mind i got the stuff on sale that being said I'm going to list here what normal price is on the items to give you a better idea CREE XP-E Royal Blue 3W LED on star @$3.60 each CREE XP-G R5 Cool White 3W LED on Star @ $5.00 each Mean Well ELN-60-48P dimmable driver @ $34.00 (i chose this driver because it was compatible with rapid LEDs daylight controller but the other dimmable driver is the same price so it depends on how you plan to control the lights also they have constant current drivers that are cheaper if you don't need dimming capabilities) DDC-01 PWM Controller @$59.00 (again if you have a rkl or apex or something like that you can get the other driver and wont need this if you don't have one of those as an option this is much cheaper and still does a pretty good job) other things needed and i will put these in the original post also but for a reply to you kmiller- for the heat sink i used aluminum strips i think they are 1/16" thick x 1 1/4" wide and 36" long each were around $6.00 also need aluminum channel i don't remember the exact dimensions but i think it was a 1/4" opening doesn't really matter its just used to add surface area to dissipate heat they were also around $6 each i used 5 i think but for a 20 gallon you wont need that much without dimensions for the tank id say 21 LEDs would be plenty of light (10 CW 11 RB) and you would only need 2 drivers and it depends on your tank dimensions how much metal you need then you have wire its like $4.50 for a 25ft roll i bought a roll of black and a roll of red to help tell which light color is which but only need 1 probably Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 all my leds aluminum stuff driver controller wire the nearly finished heatsink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugenereef Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 (clap) Nice job with heat sink Dustin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 Thanks it looks pretty good I still have a couple things to throw on it tomorrow but its very close thanks for your help with it I also owe emily a big thanks for her assistance today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMiller Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Wow, looks awesome Dustin!! Thank you for being so specific! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 no problem if any of my rambling is confusing at all pm me and i can explain further i was hoping to get the heatsink finished today but apparently im going to the coast so i will not get a chance probably but tomorrow for sure it will be finished and then im hoping to start wiring and what not next weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMiller Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Do you have your tank set up? What are the dimensions of your LED fixture? I am asking because I am looking to build one for my 20g. Do you remember approx how much you have spent on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 I do not have a tank set up yet im piecing it together a little at a time and when I move to my own place where I can set it up I will do so the light is going over a 40B the light dimensions are 36"x17" I think is the widest point and as far as total cost im hovering around $400 which after doing some research is pretty cheap compared to most plug and play fixtures including some MH and T5 fixtures plus you get the bonus of not replacing bulbs yearly for a 20 gallon tank its only going to be cheaper and again you can cut cost by using constant current drivers if times are tight or if you are still skeptical even after seeing upinders Haha also if you aren't too strapped for time sales come up every now and then like the channel I spent $6 upinder paid like 77 cents for Haha you could probably throw a dimmable setup on a 20 gallon for under $250 for sure id think and that's buying everything full price so that's not too bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 soooo im very sorry that i have not updated this thread for so long i have had a lot of personal stuff going on in the last few months and have not had time or energy to finish but this week i have picked it back up and have nearly finished all i have left to do is purchase a plexi glass for a splash guard i have had it on a few times just to marvel at its beauty haha i do not have a tank and due to the afor mentioned "stuff" probably wont for awhile but it is nice to know its done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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