wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 So I've been running T-5 over my 90g but I really really want to setup LED's again. I ran LED's over my 40B and I really miss it. I'm looking to get a soderless kit from RapidLED.com. I've read a ton of great things about them and since I'm very new to it I wanted to do a kit. I'm going soderless because it's easier to change things in the future. I'm looking for as much input as I can get on this. I've never done a DIY project like this. So far I've read what they include is great for getting you up and going (I'll post a pic of what's included for lights). I'm thinking of adding 6 more UV lights to it though (will also post there diagram). I'm hoping to get as much information out of y'all as I can before I buy the kit. Here is a picture of what LED's come with it. Here is a diagram of how they set up the lights. And last a link to there site: http://www.rapidled.com/solderless-90g-tank-dimmable-kit/ I'll be using my Apex to control the lights. Any reading material you recommend I will read for sure. Thanks in advance all! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katarian Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 I have been looking into doing my own LED fixture as well. And so far what I have read, a lot of people recommended not using a lot of lenses, just a few if needed. But I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who highly recommend lenses. Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlu_gt Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) It's always fun and rewarding on any DIY projects. For that price you might want to consider ReeFi LED (I am biased since I'm making these). :-) ReeFi LED features: 150 watts max, Cree LEDs. 5 channels, individually controlled. Wi-Fi built-in, program/control with Android app or any web browsers. CH1: RB x10 CH2: 4000K x5, RB x5 CH3: UV 395nm x5, UV 420nm x5 CH4: Deep Red x5, Cyan x5 CH5: RB x10 Adjustable optics for more focus or more diffused lighting. Adjustable ramp speed in 5 modes (sunrise, midday, sunset, night, and moon). Auto moon phase calculation for moon lighting. Programmable Cloud covers in mid day mode. PM if you're interested or want to know more. I'm running 4 on my 235gal at 55% max power during mid day. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk Edited September 5, 2016 by danlu_gt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlu_gt Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Here's pic on my 50gal cube with optics removed for very diffused lighting. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 It's always fun and rewarding on any DIY projects. For that price you might want to consider ReeFi LED (I am biased since I'm making these). :-) ReeFi LED features: 150 watts max, Cree LEDs. 5 channels, individually controlled. Wi-Fi built-in, program/control with Android app or any web browsers. CH1: RB x10 CH2: 4000K x5, RB x5 CH3: UV 395nm x5, UV 420nm x5 CH4: Deep Red x5, Cyan x5 CH5: RB x10 Adjustable optics for more focus or more diffused lighting. Adjustable ramp speed in 5 modes (sunrise, midday, sunset, night, and moon). Auto moon phase calculation for moon lighting. Programmable Cloud covers in mid day mode. PM if you're interested or want to know more. Thank you for your offer. I'm pretty sold on Rapid but shoot me a pm and I'll keep a open mind. I would love to hear why you would do your LED setup a little differently then Rapids. Like I've said I'm still very amateur to lighting... Well the aquarium hobby in general lol. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 So Daniel my two cents is that it is cheaper and has a better fit and finish to use pre made LED lights. After you factor in the kit $295 plus the heat sink a case fans and your time, you are near $400. Which I think there is a lot out there for that price range. Not trying to discourage you, but you are getting someone else R&D plus a warranty. But on the other hand projects are always fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Sorry thought thread was started by Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 And if you decide to go with that kit I would do less CW I would throw in more RB like 26 and 12. With 18 white it will be too white Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) Thanks Brian I'll definitely take all of that into consideration. I really want to do a DIY a lot for the pride of saying I did that. I think it would be a super fun project also. It will also push me to have a better understanding of how it all works after. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited September 5, 2016 by wmcbane200 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Nothing wrong with that at all. I think a lot of times people think it will we. "A lot" cheaper DIY but sounds like you will enjoy doing it so that will be worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Those are really nice kits, no doubt about it. I was a DIY LED guy in the beginning. Current lights are retrofitted D120 style leds, 80-90 bucks each and a handful of replacement LEDs. For sure less than 100 bucks each, and I have 8 of them. It is hard to justify doing the whole build myself with so many great options out there. Daniel's lights look quite nice to me. Another good option are the sbox refrofit kits or the sbox lights themselves. Good luck on the research! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenbasketreef Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Make your design a 3 channel instead of 2 channel. You need to separate true uv or violet from white otherwise you will be wasting uv / violet if set in the same channel as white. Because when you dim white you also will dim uv / violet in that channel, you may want to run uv / violet at 100% all the time not dim most of the time. Plus UV / Violet maximum drive is at 700ma and white can be up to 1.5amp on XP-G2, they are not suppose to be set up in one channel. It will be better to do 1:1 ratio of CW and WW and you will not need red & green diodes anymore. You will get all the green, yellow, orange and red spectrum from WW diode and casting more natural spectrum than single red or green diode does. Your overall spectrum will be more like 12K with the ratio of white and RB as per rapidled recommendation. You need 2:1 (RB:CW) to be able to pull closer to 20K spectrum. Since you plan to control the fixture it will better to be able to pull closer to 20K and you can adjust / dimming to make it more white. You will find out that most corals other than sps will not take white spectrum easily, the main cause of bleaching in aquarium are too much white led and tank temperature. You have 10 RB per channel, you can go up to 14RB per channel and run it at 1amp, the same for white channel, you can have 14 diodes also per string at 1amp. Instead adding 4 RB I would suggest adding 4 Blue / 470nm, blue & RB can be set in one channel. You can add RB to your white channel to complete the 14 diodes per string. This additional of RB act as supplemental so will be OK to put them in one string as white. This particular rapidled set up is an old school and old design / layout. I build like this layout over 5 years ago and will give you more white crisp look of the tank with less color pop. Daniel's reefi incoporated current design lay out with separate channels for each type of diodes for better control of overall spectrum posibility via control adjustment. You can achieve the same control capability with your diy if you are adding Storm or Bluefish controller, these are programmable and open source program available that you can download for free. Theclark is very experience programming this type of controller. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 Thanks for the input! That's very helpful. I realized after reading more yesterday since I will be using my apex to control it I'll be upgrading to the second driver setup on the list which means I'll be having 4 drivers instead of 2. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Rudy has given very solid advice here and covered much that I did not think of. The storm controller is a great piece of equipment and gives you total control. I have not used the bluefish controller but sure it works well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) I'll probably stick with the apex controller only because my brother already has it so its one less huge expense out of pocket right away. The best thing about DIY I can change it anytime I want! Y'all have given me solid advice and i so appreciate it! I spent probably 3 hours yesterday just watching videos on it. Now to sell some stuff so I can afford it! I might hit y'all up for some diagram advice since it looks like I'll be changing the colors a ton. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited September 5, 2016 by wmcbane200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Good luck with your venture and hopefully you have fun doing it. Post pictures when you get it up and running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 Thanks Brian i sure will! So I'll want my UV on a completely separate channel then everything else is what I'm hearing for sure. I can use one of the other controllers for my CW/WW doing all of them on the same one being 14. So does the UV's count as blues to offset that 2:1 Blue to white ratio? If so what I was thinking was 8 UV on one controller and then 10 RB on each of the other two controllers. This would put me at 42 of the 48 lights that come with it so I would still have to figure out what to do with 6 more lights. Not sure of I'm thinking this through correctly. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) I guess there is also 5 different types of violates to choose from... Is it good to do a mix of those guys? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited September 5, 2016 by wmcbane200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlu_gt Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Very informative advise from Rudy! Most led drivers will take pwm input to control it. I'm not sure how many pwm apex have, but if not enough and you want more channels, look at programming an Arduino mega. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 what exactly is pwm? Very informative advise from Rudy!Most led drivers will take pwm input to control it. I'm not sure how many pwm apex have, but if not enough and you want more channels, look at programming an Arduino mega.Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 (edited) https://www.neptunesystems.com/led-dimming-module/ So I have no clue what this means it says it can control up to 4 channels but it only has 2 spots to plug something in. Does this mean it will not work? I Think I might have answered this question myself. Each port can handle two drivers since there using the ice cubs kind of like each ice cub can handle multiple phone lines because it separates out each port. So there should be 3 wires on supporting cable for the VDM. One cable is for the first channel, second wire second channel, and the third wire should be a ground to be used by both channels ground wires. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Edited September 5, 2016 by wmcbane200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Not sure on this one. I think it's why most use the storm x controller lol. (Ease of operation) you will have to either get the module for apex or the storm to control them and the cost is about the same. The downside to apex is seems like everything needs a module and the formatting is outdated. If it were me I would run and purchase a few extra UV channel 1,2,3 would need to be 1 amp and I believe the drive for the UV could still be 700h but at 460$ for this hit you would up have lots of LED options. I know. I know uou wan the DIY lol 20 RB 6 blue 7/7 ww/cw or mix of 10 uv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 So I sent a email to them and yes I was correct on the VDM and it will run all 4 drivers. I also drew up a diagram of how I think I'll set it up if I decide to go with the kit. Still taking a lot into consideration. The biggest this other then I just really want to build it is that if o ever need to replace anything I know how to easily since I built it. I like this a lot vs having to send a light for warranty. I'll upload the diagram in a bit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmcbane200 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 So the package comes with 48 lights this puts me at 46 so I'll just order 2 extra UV the grid that I will use on the heat sink will spread it out enough i will be able to add more lights latter. Ideas? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriscarper_21 Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 I had this light setup was not a big fan. I had the DIY set. There are to many drivers makes a big clutter. I switched to the evergrow from barrier. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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