DIY 72 LED build
 

Hey guys. Just received my 72 led from aquastyle. Going to build my LED lights for my 75 gallon. Will post more picture as I progress with the build. Enjoy
http://img.tapatalk.com/4ac696ff-b994-5b77.jpg
This is the heat sink where the LEDs are going to be mounted.


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http://img.tapatalk.com/44944e7d-05f7-c75b.jpg
These are the LEDs I will be using. 36 royal blue, 18 10k white, 18 6.5k white.

http://img.tapatalk.com/44944e7d-0659-37b0.jpg
LEDs layout,18 LEDs per heatsink.

http://img.tapatalk.com/44944e7d-06ac-7b2a.jpg
The ballast that I will be using. Blue on one and white on the other. 12 LEDs per string and 3 strings per ballast. That should give me around 620ma per LED.

Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.


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you might want to reconsider your white-blue ratio, I originally went with a 50/50 ratio but found it to be too white, I now run 24 wh and 48 blue which gives me about 20,000K. I also run blue and royal blue. IMO.

I use these same emitters in 50/50 ratio and I dim back the whites to about 80% and I like the result. If I was to change mine I would substitute some reds instead of the white.

On my setup, I have 8 x 10w blues at full power and the 20 combined 10000k, 6500k & 20000k are barely on for a 15-20000k blueish look which we prefer.

For those used to metal halides, the intensity of LEDs will be a big surprise and how dim you'll have to set your lights to NOT light shock your corals will make you think the tank is dim.

Thanks for the input guys. I think I will do what snaz is doing and dim the white. They will be hooked up to the VDM port of the apex. How do you guys like your LEDs?


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I love mine, sunrise/sunset simulation, shimmer, good coral growth, low heat and energy efficient, no lamp replacement.

i had 1:1 rb:cw ratio and didnt like it, the 2:1 royal blue to neutral white is waaaay nicer IMO. GL with build

I love my LEDs. I went from 2 x 13W Power Compact lights to LED so I have no comparison to MH. I think anyone in the know would say my tank is too white but I like it. I have seen Seahorse_Fanatic's big tank and it is gorgeous of course but a little too blue for my liking.

Here is a true colour FTS with blue and whites at 100%

http://snaz.com/marine/870.jpg

Looks good... Thanks for so,e great ideas.

BTW. What is the rose/salmon colored coral on the left?

http://img.tapatalk.com/44944e7d-6dac-d9db.jpg

All the LEDs gluded on. Time to wire them up tomorrow.

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Good job. It looks like a lot of emitters on each bar... are the bars going to be enough of a heatsink or am I missing something?

Whoops just realized that Snaz wasn't the OP. sorry about that earlier strange question.

But.. I do have a question. Where did you order the parts from? I'm thinking of doing a build like this soon.

Have you seen examples of a similar heatsink being effective?
Are you intending on fan cooling it some how?
It looks good, but I question the effectiveness.

These LEDs were ordered from aquastyle. Do a search for them.... not sure if I can post an address here.

Other people used these u channels before as heatsink. Some use fan and some didn't. I do have fans ready if needed. I will do a temp test as soon as I get them up and running.


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Make sure you have sunglasses ready. :smile:

I will make sure I have some sunglasses on :) Anyone know where I can find some 1 ohm 3-5W 1% resister? I went to 2 eletronic store and cant find any.... All I can find are 1 ohm 5W 5%.

If you strike out elsewhere, I've dealt with Allied before
Takes about a week

http://www.alliedelec.com/search/sea...057-4294953424

Try digikey.ca they got me all my stuff.

Thanks guys. That's a lot of stuff on there. Anything local like in Edmonton?


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May I ask where you get you C-channels from?

I got them from homedepot.


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Hope with the channels you can keep the LEDS cool enough to get good life out of them. I know from my LEDS they put out a tonn of heat & I have to keep all 4 of my fans running on high while they are on.

We will soon find out..... I should have the white running sometime tonight.

Got the white running and I left them on over night to take some reading. The room temp was at 26, driver 58, side of heatsink 32, middle of heatsink 39. The heatsink when touch just feels warm. The driver won't burn you but she is warm. But that's running it for 10 hours on max output. Even with the blue running and no fan... I don't see a problem with these heatsink.

http://img.tapatalk.com/4ac69681-5d08-8a5a.jpg
The 6 leds on the left has 60 degrees lense on.

http://img.tapatalk.com/4ac69681-5d60-63b2.jpg
The pot is just temp until the unit is hooked up to the Apex. Measured the current for the 3 strings. 678, 670, and 660ma.

http://img.tapatalk.com/4ac69681-5e17-63f1.jpg
Driver mounting location. They got pretty warm after the overnight full power test. Any suggestions on keeping them cooler?



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Very interesting build. Glad to see it coming together. This is somewhat similar to my build on a slightly smaller scale.

I was concerned about heat on some of my channel but after investigating (mostly on RC) it appears that all the LED gurus have indicated that you only need to start worrying about the heatsink temp if you can no longer touch it safely....and I'm a far cry from that as are you.

Great job. Two thumb up

I'm sure someone who uses them probably has a better idea, so I'll just throw this out there ...

Are the driver housings plastic ? If so, an old school CPU heatsink and fan are out of the question
How do you feel about mounting them away from moisture and cutting holes in them ?
Then you could use little DC fans - they come as small as 25mm

Are the driver housings plastic ? If so, an old school CPU heatsink and fan are out of the question
How do you feel about mounting them away from moisture and cutting holes in them ?
Then you could use little DC fans - they come as small as 25mm[/quote]

That's a pretty good idea. Trying to find out how hot these drivers need to get before I have to worry about them. I am sure they will stay nice and cool with your hole and fans idea.


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The Data Sheet for the LPF drivers says the working temp is 40-70°C and at 90°C it shuts down and won't power up until restart. Sounds like it has thermal protection, not bad at all, but I'd hate to test it :P. Generally, the cooler you can keep electronics the longer they last, fans will help the whole system and are pretty cheap, I've got a couple 140mm fans that are expensive at $20 and are near silent.

Thanks lampshade for the info. The lights is completed now. Just need to wait for the VDM for the apex to arrive next week. I will get some before and after leds shots.

Going to leave the light on max again tonight and take some temp tomorrow morning.

http://img.tapatalk.com/44944e7d-0984-eea5.jpg
It's so bright... my phone wouldn't focus.
The left side has all 60 degree optics. These optics makes a huge difference for the light output.

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I built this same light for a 75 gallon, (18 bridglux on a 4 foot rail, times 4) 6 months ago. No fans needed. I used 60 degree optics around the outside and 90 for the rest. It sits an inch off the water, with some dico balling. I have the intensity at 100%. It is bright, and all inhabitants seem to be fine. I used a six bulb t5ho before.

What is the size of your tank? Any SPS?

Mine is a 75 gallon also. My lights will be 10" off the water. Running 4 T5 and 2 250W MH. Just a few pieces of sps.

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75 gallon. Sps dominate. Tank has been up for close to two years.

But what is the dimensions of the tank?

48x16x24

Almost seems these leds would put out way too much light if I have them at max.

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Yes, way too much probably.

72 x 3w = 216 watts

My entire 165g has only 280 watts at max and even with the whites at 70%, it was too much for many of my LPS. Now blues at max and whites are just barely on and it gives the tank a 15000-20000k look and the corals are loving it.

I would reduce your whites and max your blues to help make your corals pop and not light-stress them when you change the lights over. Just my experience.

I think you have the correct # of leds but the wrong ratio of blue & white, the par is about the same except we see the whites as brighter, the corals just see the par.
I have 72 3w on my 90g, I run the blues @ 100% at 1amp (48) and the whites @ 85% at 1.3amp (24), it's @ 20,000K I think.