New Custom LED is KILLER!!! DIYed by local friend (not myself)
 

So, we just finished testing the PAR on my new LED that a friend of mine is building for me tonight. We're using 26 total emitters of 10w LEDs (12 x 10000k; 8 x 455nm Blues; 3 x 20000k; 3 x 6500k) for 260w max over a 5'8' x 2' x 2' 165g full reef tank.

I used our group buy Apogee PAR meter on the metal halide (Phoenix 14000k 150w) in water at different depths and an inch under the light.

We then fired up the LEDs and at 100% power, the inch under the light reading is 3 times what my metal halide was reading and in water, it was double the PAR readings. The manufacturer lists the lumens as being 700 to 750 for the whites and under 300 for the blues. However, every colour spectrum tested out at about the same PAR. Woohoo.

When we dimmed it down (oh, did I mention he built in individual dimmers:wink:), it's about the same PAR at 50% as the metal halide. So, for my 165g, once everything is finished, I'm looking at 130-150 watts for my lighting with no heat issues and near silent operation. Each light spectrum has its own dimmer switch and there are three plugs (10000k; blues; 20000k/6500k) so I can put them on different timers. He was going to build digital timers for each light spectrum but he decided it was too complicated a fix for a simple issue.

The power supply heats up to about the same temp as metal halide ballasts, so he's going to add more heat sinks &/or fans to the power supply in the final prototype version.

I'm freakin impressed with this unit and can't wait for it to be finished completely.

For my fishy friends who want to check out the new LED over my tank before I pull it off to let my buddy finish the build, contact me and come over tomorrow afternoon/evening.

BTW, under 80w of 455nm blues, the corals glow like they're radioactive and the colours are the most spectacular I've seen (particularly the red flowerpot and red brain corals).

I'm in South Burnaby (and yes, though there is already a waiting list, my friend can build more lights as he gets some free time). This is a prototype so we will be doing a lot more testing on it before the next unit is built.

Anthony

Nice! Which tank are you running this over?

Sounds like a great setup. Can't wait to see it running

So, we just finished testing the PAR on my new LED that a friend of mine is building for me tonight. We're using 26 total emitters of 10w LEDs (12 x 10000k; 8 x 455nm Blues; 3 x 20000k; 3 x 6500k) for 260w max over a 5'8' x 2' x 2' 165g full reef tank.

:biggrin:

Holding pretty much a reefer get together at my place tomorrow afternoon for my fishie buddies who want to come looksee.

Anthony

I know, a thread like this without pics is not worth much sooooo...

Some quick pics of the LED array over the tank:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...c/DSC_0147.jpg

Pic 1: 12 x 10w 10000k (120 watts total)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...c/DSC_0149.jpg

Pic 2: 12 x 10000k; 3 x 6500k; 3 x 20000k (180 watts total)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...c/DSC_0150.jpg

Pic 3: 12 x 10000k; 3 x 6500k; 3 x 20000k; 8 x 455nm blues (260 watts total)

The left side is open top, the middle has about 3 panes of dirty glass tops for the light to pass through, and the right side has one pane of dirty glass top to pass through.

Thanks for looking.

Looks like it'll do the trick! where did you find 10w Leds? I havent seen a build with anything over 3w yet, but I am still a newbie!

Ordered them online.

10 W LED's sounds good !

My bad. Got lost in all those numbers before. I like the low profile look. Are the LEDs recessed or just mounted on the heat sink surface?

Also, who's the manufacturer of the 10W LEDs?

They are screwed onto the heat sink surface. My friend is going to add a 2" aluminum "shield" around the entire unit to block off the light so someone looking at the tank or walking by won't see the LEDs.

(more numbers to get lost in:wink::twised:) Each emitter has a 100 degree spread which is perfect. 13 emitters per 5'8" heatsink and it's 12" wide, 2" tall. It's literally only 3.5" from the water surface, with good shimmer, full spread and no "spot lighting" or "disco ball effect". The two fans blow air up on the right side but most of the cooling is my conduction/convection. With all the lights on, there were still sections of the heatsinks that were cool to the touch and at most it was barely warm in parts. My friend will be adding pieces of aluminum on the open ends of the rectangular tubes which will make the fans more effective.

I can literally pick up the lighting unit with one or two fingers.:surprise:

Just running the blues at half power and I've noticed one advantage of these LEDs is that even though none of the white lights have been on for at least 4.5 hours, many of my corals are still fully open. They usually closed up under the old moonlights within an hour or two of the MH going off. I'm liking this development:wink:

Hi Anthony

The lights look great. You are definitely on the right track.

What a win win.

Better Par at half the juice.

I look forward to coming over for a real good look.

Tom R

It's looking really nice. What manufacturer makes those 10w leds?

Sounds like a kick arse unit!! I would love to have a par meter to test out mine to.

WOWZERS!!! Check this out, 100W LED! They also have 50W LED, but the 100W got my attention.
http://www.ledssuperbright.com/30w-l...ower-led-p-226

Light
 

Very cool may i ask what the cost was on the unit and where on line did u find 10 watt units or will your guy build me one too!
Thanks

Aha, I've been waiting for a build like this since I have 4 similar 10watt LEDs kicking around (cool white I think) that I ordered as samples to try out. Haven't done anything with them except hook a 9 volt battery to each to make sure they work. I'm assuming they're the same form factor as the 100 watt ones Reefie links to in his post? Would they look something like this?

https://public.blu.livefilestore.com...LED.jpg?psid=1

Sounds like your friend has used aluminum channel to mount them with only a couple of fans? This is my plan as well. So no optics at all? I ordered mine with glass optics and some sort of plastic bracket the optic fits on to. If you end up having success without optics, that's a bonus. Also got a couple of heatsink/fan integrated gizmos that one of these 10 watters could be mounted directly on to. Might be more useful for the higher wattage arrays like 30 & above.

I'll be watching your progress with keen interest. I have seen threads on various forums that dismiss these 10 watt arrays as not having sufficient penetrating power, but going by your par readings, they may be talking through their hats. Some hobbyists have been beating the Cree drum for quite a while & it's nice to see positive results from something other than discrete 3 watt Crees or comparable Bridgelux etc.

The huge advantage I see in using these 10 watt LED arrays, is that the operating voltage is typically between 9 & 12 volts DC, so you could theoretically run them off a standard battery bank charged by solar, wind or whatever. Wouldn't need drivers or power supplies to convert AC to DC and dimming is possible with a simple variable resistor. Although for peace of mind, a current or voltage regulator to limit those paramaters if something goes awry would be a good thing. Definitely interested in more details of how your friend has constructed the fixture!

These arrays have actually been around for a while now, but I think the 100 watters are a bit overkill for our application and they need a very good heatsink with fan. I would choose multiple 10 watt arrays over any other due to the 9-12 volt DC operating voltage. Makes it much easier to drive them and while they still need a decent heatsink, you might be able to get away with one fan for multiple units of these LEDs. The 100s need some weird voltage like 36 VDC to drive them and power supplies/drivers in that range are less common. Plus, with the 10 watters, your colour mixture can be better customized. Price is better as well & if one 10 watter burns out, it's not as much of a kick in the a$$ to replace. Make a mistake with the 100 & burn it out, it's a few $$s more.

you guys def have mad skills i would love to have someone buildme a light set for my 180. i have thought of tryngt build a set but lack the knowledge. of soldering maybe one day ill get brave lol. looks great tho maybe you and your bud shoudl make a side buisness and sell a few for us lest fortunate ones :)

Plenty of alternatives to DIY a LED build without soldering these days. Modular LED is one & there are PAR, MR16 & E27 base spotlight bulbs available. I think there are even star LED boards available with leads already on there for quick connection.

DUDE! That looks amazing. LED are the future of this hobby. I am a stronger believer once you try it out you will never go back to anything else. Tank looks good. I hope that powder blue is doing good.
BTW I just installed all 9 of the AI on my tank and boy is it ever bright. I fricken love it. Come by and check out the new 300 some time.

Just remember to dim it down or you risk bleaching out your corals.

I think 5 hours at full blast should be okay, don't you? I got mine amped up from 10-12 the 12-5 100% 5-11 amp down.

Any updates on your LED fixture? You mentioned you were still trying things out & it was a bit of a prototype at this point. Interested in any changes or news.

OK. Time for an update.

So we're onto V2 or Version 2 of my LED unit using 10w emitters. My friend built V2 with more aluminum bars to create a bigger heatsink so NO fans are needed. It's completely passive cooling and no problems even at full power. Warm but not hot to the touch. I changed out the mix of colours to 6 x blue 445 nm; 6 x blue 455 nm; 3 x 6500k whites; 3 x 20000k whites & 10 x 10000k whites. I like a very blue look to my display tank so I may even switch out some 10000ks for more blues.

As for how well V1 & V2 work for growing corals, I picked up a branching hammer mid-July with about 8 big heads and a few baby heads. Now it has a total of 47 heads on it (as of tonight) and the entire "branch" is covered when the lights are on. So roughly went from 17 to 47 heads in 3 months.

It took a while for the LPS to adapt to the higher intensity of 10w LED emitters but now I can blast full power if I want (280w total over a 165g) without any issues. I usually have the blues on 100% and the whites at 60-80% though cause I like the bluer look.

Will post pics this weekend hopefully.

looks good, any better picture of the fixture its self?

where are you guys getting these 10 watt LEDs from?

Steve

Mine were ordered from DealsExtreme.

Good components, but terrible service. Too long to get my last order of emitters.

fleabay

I've been sitting on the fence on the 1W / 3W LED's for the past year. I'm considering building a 10W LED setup for my 120g tank.

Do you have all the atinic's (blue 445nM and 455nM) LEDs, 10,000K & 6,500K and 10,000K on separate timers?

How do you have the 455nM, 445nM, 6500K, 10,000K and 20,000K LEDs arranged over the tank for each of the runs?

Thanks in advance!

Do you have some pics of these led lights?

My LED friend is building new units with each colour on separate timers with new controllers. Can't wait to see the new lights when he finishes making them. I think these will be much more compact than the original prototypes and he's looking at building Kessil-type pendants as well. I have one retro-fitted into my Solana aluminum dome-pendant light and so does another Canreef friend. These pendant lights will be hung off custom stainless steel hanging kits.

I need to see pics.

Has your buddy finished building you your new LED lights?

We're all waiting to see photos!