Whens this gonna be done???

Just kidding :mrgreen: She's a beast and should be sweet when its fully up and running.

:(
 

To be honest I could have done about 80 % of it today and monday but ran out of Artic Silver 5 and won't get any till wednesday or so. :( I can't leave cause I'm on call and can only go to Edmonton (which is 2 hours away) after work on Wednesday. This sucks!!! This was my plan for the long weekend. :(

Erick

Best wire Stripper in the WORLD!!! WOW
 

Hey guys

So I bought this wire stripper made by Paladin Tools (pricey but worth every Penny !$100) I stripped about 400 wires in 30 mins. Amazing. Use to take me hours doing that before. I will post a photo now.

take a look.

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29981...BUILD?h=77ee11

I will also start epoxying the optics before I solder cause it won't sit flush if I solder first.

I'll keep you posted.

thanks
erick

Can you link the stripper? Why was it so easy to do 400 wires with it in 30mins?

Hey milad what do you mean Link the stripper? Like where I got it? or a video on how it works?

let me know

thanks
Erick

Nice looking build, I'm midway through my build as well, just got the LEDs all fired up and tested for the first time tonight. I've got a 240g 6' x 24"x 26" and I'm doing 84 LEDs (42 XM-L Cool Whites and 42 XR-E Royal Blues) running off a meanwell HLG-240-48A. I'm not planning on doing optics, but I'm really interested to see how your build works out.

Cheers!

link to it on the paladin site would be good
Also how does it work, why is it better than the other strippers?

Paladin Tool
 

Hey Milad

Here is the link,

http://www.paladin-tools.com/view_to...&parent_id=169

This stripper is fast and easy to use. The one thing I like about it is it doesn't bend my wires while I hold it. Usually I have to hold the wires so I can cut a small part of the tip. but this one here just cuts it smoothly. all my wires are still straight with no bends. :D

Easy and a life saver. I saved tons of time. Approx ($100)

Thanks
Erick

Build Update
 

So I finished mounting all the LEDS and now just need to wire the CW and NW. I am waiting for color coded wires so it's easier for me to trouble shoot. I also got a hanging bracket welded and constructed out of aluminium angle brackets. Take a look at the photos.
Tomorrow I will see if I can ohm test all the wires I've done so far. Then maybe fire up the RB. We will see.
I used a hot glue gun to temporarily hold the wires in place. I will epoxy the wires later on once everything is tested and working. I will then glue on the 60 degree optics and then coat everything with Super Dope ( supposed to prevent any arching I think ! ) Hopefully it will work. LOL


http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29981...BUILD?h=77ee11

Let me know if you guys have any other cool Ideas I can use for the build.


thanks
erick

wow, it looks good! looking forward to see what it looks like on!

Finally LEDS FIRED UP !!!
 

I have one last string of CW and NW to wire up and test before I put on my optics and Super Corona Dope everything.

I tested the RB and the CW and all was perfect except one LED that had the bulb gone. Defective or blew up not sure. LOL Anyways here is the fixture with the lights lit up. I have them dimmable but this setting was set to the lowest setting possible. Way too bright.

:D

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29981...BUILD?h=77ee11

enjoy

thanks
erick

Ive been following this for a while now, all I can say is wow. I was considering starting one myself, but electronics has never been my strong point. You'll have to keep us informed on your results.
Bob

Pretty Simple to build
 

It's pretty simple just time consuming. I can help you out if you got questions.

thanks
erick

Finished all the wiring
 

I finished all the wiring and epoxying the optics. Super super super bright. :O Now I will just put a couple coatings of Super Corona Dope to prevent Tracking and Finish up the driver wiring and hopefully can have her up and running in the tank soon. I will keep you guys posted. :D

thanks
erick

Finished the canopy cover and mounting
 

I finally got my canopy attached to the LEDs I will finish it up in 2 weeks. I'm away for work for atleast 2 weeks and can't work on it. :(

I am still trying to figure out the best way to mount the canopy. Very Very Heavy (150 lbs)
I still have to finalize the final wiring and the LOW RPM fans but other than that I should finish everything in a weekend. I hope.

Take a look and let me know if you got any questions

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29981...BUILD?h=77ee11

thanks
erick

Very nice job. You could probably light a small stadium with that!

Finally Completed my DIY LED Build
 

Sorry Double Post

Finally Completed my DIY LED Build
 

So it's been about 2 months now and I finally had the time to complete my LED build. I put it up over the tank about 30 mins ago and fired it up. LOOKS GREAT !!! WOW !!! Between work and shooting GOPHERS, I haven't had much time to work on it. :D

I can't even remember what I wrote last so if I say things twice sorry. I got my wiring and the Zener diode (limit my output voltage to 9.6 volt from the Apex) for my dimming controls done today. Also mounted my moonlights. I bought 2 X 5 LEDs from neptunesys USB powered and went that route so my apex can control all my moon functions. I haven't had time to do any programming with the apex so I will try to learn and complete that this week.

I also used Super DOPE to isolate all my contacts and make them touch safe. I got two 120mm Fans for cooling and wired it up to a power supply. I will turn it on when it gets hot.

For hanging I used aircraft cable and a barn door track system. I got a 12 foot barn track cut in half and used 2 X 6 foot tracks running parallel with roller wheels. This way since my canopy was so heavy I can roll it pass my tank and work on in without worrying about the tank below. This track also holds up too 700 lbs of weight. Pretty cool to just wheel it one side and work on the canopy below and above using a ladder.

Here is a barn door track setup.
http://www.renovation-headquarters.c...rs-sliding.htm

I will take more photos tommorrow and maybe a tank and canopy shot if I get a chance to clean my tank. LOL been neglected since christmas. Seriously I haven't clean my glass since Christmas. :D hope you guys enjoy and Pm me if you have any question about a DIY LED build.

I will try to get all the cost and what items I used gathered up but no promises.
here are some more photos of the canopy completed.


http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29981...BUILD?h=77ee11

thanks
erick

Also if anyone is going to build a new LED setup you should use a PLED with it
 

I wish I put this in my build but I finished all my wiring before I saw it. It's a PLED. This is a shunt resistor that allows the rest of the led to still work if one fails open and prevents you from losing power for your whole string. It's a nice feature and well worth the price. It goes parallel with the LED and nuclearheli on reefcentral has it on his Version 2 build. Great Idea and very well planned. His work is just amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH4q-CrnSJk

he's even got a video on youtube about it. :D

Enjoy and read his build thread you can get everything you need from it.


thanks
Erick

Holy Crap Dude. If time is money, you definitly didn't save any. Those lights look incredible!!

- Brad

Got some more new LEDs and an Apogee Par Meter
 

Sorry it's been awhile. Busy with work and going to have a baby this year. :D:D:D

So far the LED is doing great and been saving some money with Electrical cost. From 8 amps Before with Halides and VHOs down to 1 amp with the LEDs. I'm currently running them at 40% and will increase this week to 50%. I have some photos of my current tank setup but I took these photos with my iphone so it's not the greatest.

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29981...BUILD?h=77ee11

So I heard about True Violet LEDs and ordered some. I will add it to my setup this week and see the difference. I also coughed up money to buy an Apogee PAR meter. Don't know how it works yet but I will mess around it with.

I just wanted to ask if anyone notices any benefits with having True Violet in the LED build or should I go and add some red and green also? Is it just for personal viewing preferences?


Thanks and will try to post newer photos this weekend.

Erick

Looks good Eric. Did you ever find the parts you needed for your reactor?

No parts for the reactor yet
 

I will give you a call later this week I need to special order them from Deltec I guess.

Thanks
Erick

True Viloets (420nm True Violets) really bring out some intense colors. Especially in the light greens. They also give a good color to the tank.


Reds are good if they are the 660nm
For greens, I dont really recommend them but I do like the 495nm Turquoise which when combined with the 660nm red and 455 royal blue turns all the light to a nice white color and brightens the tank. The turquoise also makes the oranges and reds pop.

BTW that build looks amazing (just finished looking at all the pics)

Thanks Milad
 

Thanks Milad

I got my order for the True Violets from Ledgroupbuy but haven't installed them yet. I just wanted to confirm that they don't need optics correct? Also I might take your advice and maybe throw in some Turquoise color we will see.

I will have time this weekend (hopefully) :D to solder and take more photos with a better camera. I hopefully can get some PAR readings. BTW What percent in intensity do you run your LED's at?

I might have to do a Tank Journal eventually. :D

Thanks
Erick

looking great erick buddy cant wait to see it all finished:):)cheers bud:)

True Violets are equipped with 60 degree optics so you dont need any additional optics. I run mine at 600mA max but to acclimate everything you should start out about 20% intensity.

Changed a few LED to True Violet
 

So I finished installing about 12 True Violet and can't see the difference with all the rest of the LEDs LOL. I have way too many RB and CW to even make a dent. LOL it's okay I just left them there and hopefully I will notice one day.

Here are some current photos of the modifications today. I still never got to use the Apogee Par meter yet so bare with me.

Also I will be trying to setup another 65 gallon Hexagon Seahorse tank and will build an LED light for that setup along with my refugium. I just have to find some aluminum heatsinks.

Thanks Milad I will be placing some orders shortly to get some more LEDS for my Refugium.

Check out the sliding door hanger I attached to the canopy so I can move it for cleaning and repairs if I need too. Don't forget this canopy is about 150 LBS if not more. :D Works perfectly.

Sorry for the dirty tank need to clean up this week and I will take better photos.

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/29981...BUILD?h=77ee11

Enjoy

thanks
Erick

Ya 12 isnt going to make a huge dent because of the number of RB you have running. Make sure you dont driver them past 700mA (keep them at 650mA to be save), they will burn out.

If you want to see what they pop, just turn their driver on and turn off everything else.

So it's been over a Year now
 

It's been over a year now since I installed my LED over my tank and it's absolutely amazing the colors and the corals are doing great so is the cost of electricity and lets not forget changing of the bulbs. LOL I haven't had much time to do anything to it so it's been pretty much the same since I last spoke about it. I did build another Led setup for my Berghia nudibranches and my refugium lights and hopefully can post photos in a little while.

I bought a photo light meter about a year ago and haven't used it yet. LOL sorry just been busy with basement renos and 2 month old baby and yard work. :D

I will clean up the tank this weekend and post photos maybe even tommorrow we will see.

but hope all is well and just wanted to update you guys.

thanks
erick