LED lighting project

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
JakeH;3673244; said:
I just don't understand the need for these giant heatsinks with the LED's... LED's produce ZERO wasted energy through heat. The only heat should be coming from the power supply/transformers, so why not just mount those seperately? Seems much easier & cleaner than those big heatsinks. I must be missing something.
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My Current retro gets pretty warm on top. I'm running the LED's at about 80% based on the graph with 8.4 volts going into the dim circuit.
 
Hi Scott,

Thanks!

Have you thought of adding mirrors above your aluminium channel?
I added these and it really helped spread the light throughout the tank.
Im adding some pics to the thread I linked to above.

Please let me know what you think.

J
 
Hey Neogenesis, great write up
you definitely inspired me to look into this further. And after seeing multiple diy led setups I decided this is exactly what I been looking for. I've been emailing with the supplier and they are getting new upgraded cree XP-G series led in next week that puts out 139 lumens. so that should be somewhat brighter. I have a 72" 125 gal and plan on using 42 leds 30 white and 12 blue. How is that metal channel working out as a heat sink, because I have no Idea where to get a heat sink?
cant wait to order these and slap them on my tank

thanks Neogenesis
 
They aluminum channel I got from Lowes will work ok with a low density LED design. I've only got 6 per 6' section with no type of fans. I'm not sure how many LED's U channel could actually support. Another option is find a fabrication shop and see if they have any square or rectangle aluminum stock. I think if you put a fan in the middle, it should be able to handle a higher denisty design.

But if your looking for the crem de la crem of heatsinks, check out heatsinkusa.com I just got my order for my salt build that I'm doing, and while WAY overkill, very nice work and with a low RPM fan I will never have to worry about heat issues. Ths is also the solution I see on a lot of the DIY LED builds on the salt forums. BTW, you are going to have a LOT of light in your tank. Enjoy....beacuase it will take on a whole new look once you change out the lights.

Scott

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Neogenesis;3978661; said:
They aluminum channel I got from Lowes will work ok with a low density LED design. I've only got 6 per 6' section with no type of fans. I'm not sure how many LED's U channel could actually support. Another option is find a fabrication shop and see if they have any square or rectangle aluminum stock. I think if you put a fan in the middle, it should be able to handle a higher denisty design.

But if your looking for the crem de la crem of heatsinks, check out heatsinkusa.com I just got my order for my salt build that I'm doing, and while WAY overkill, very nice work and with a low RPM fan I will never have to worry about heat issues. Ths is also the solution I see on a lot of the DIY LED builds on the salt forums. BTW, you are going to have a LOT of light in your tank. Enjoy....beacuase it will take on a whole new look once you change out the lights.

Scott
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GREAT, Im going to check out that website right now because I do want to do it right ya know , rather do it right the first time then have problems down the line. And alot of light is exactly what im going for. im probably going to op for the dimmable drivers so I can fine tune it to the exact look I want. Im using it for african cichlids and even with 4 t5 ho bulbs its just not doing it for me, with african I dont think it gets any better then an well lit tank "done right" . plus I need me a new diy project lol.
 
nice set up on the LED. I just stumbled upon this thread and I think I am going to try to go with this for my new tank that I am working on. I just not sure how many LED I will need for a 220 gal tank, 6'x2'x30. Do you have any idea how many I should be putting on a tank that big? I am going to be using a few blues for night lighting so i can see my catfish swim around.
 
Neogenesis;3978661; said:
They aluminum channel I got from Lowes will work ok with a low density LED design. I've only got 6 per 6' section with no type of fans. I'm not sure how many LED's U channel could actually support. Another option is find a fabrication shop and see if they have any square or rectangle aluminum stock. I think if you put a fan in the middle, it should be able to handle a higher denisty design.

But if your looking for the crem de la crem of heatsinks, check out heatsinkusa.com I just got my order for my salt build that I'm doing, and while WAY overkill, very nice work and with a low RPM fan I will never have to worry about heat issues. Ths is also the solution I see on a lot of the DIY LED builds on the salt forums. BTW, you are going to have a LOT of light in your tank. Enjoy....beacuase it will take on a whole new look once you change out the lights.

Scott
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Wow those heat sinks can get pretty expensive, expecially for the sizes that I would need. I was planning of doing 3 aluminum C channels across the tank with about 15 leds on each channel 9 white, 6 blue. its already going to cost a few pennies just for the led kit, those heat sinks my just push me over the limit. Im going to integrate some fans on the canopy that I will build for the tank also. Hopefully this will be enough to keep these cool. Do your channels get hot to the touch at all? also earlier you said you was going to add another string of lights. did you ever do that, id like to see the outcome.
thanks again.
 
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