Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board  

Go Back   Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board > General > DIY

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #41  
Old 09-18-2012, 03:10 PM
mseepman mseepman is offline
Gold Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Vernon
Posts: 2,529
mseepman is on a distinguished road
Default

Good to see the update. Did you take any pictures lately? How are the corals liking your light?
__________________
Mark...



290g Peninsula Display, 425g total volume. Setup Jan 2013.
Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old 09-18-2012, 03:32 PM
Seth81's Avatar
Seth81 Seth81 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 189
Seth81 is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mseepman View Post
Good to see the update. Did you take any pictures lately? How are the corals liking your light?
I haven't had many SPS coral long time, infact my first SPS was only two weeks ago. But my softies like this frogspawn are doing very well. My rose bubble tip and my green bubble tip actually hide from the light and they are near the bottom of the tank. I've had some Zoa's for about a month, and they are doing excellent at the bottom third of the tank, they are staying nice a close to thier host rock and aren't extending at all, and they have grown lots of new polyps. My Divisa (kinda like frogspawn is also doing amazingly well seems to have gown a lot, I don't see much skeletal growth though.


I'll try to get some tank wide pics once I fix my burnt out XML's.
Unfortunately I order them from Australia, so it takes a while.



I only recently (like yesterday) figured out how to take much better more true to life night shots, now if I could only get the shooting through thick curved glass thing down...

Last edited by Seth81; 09-18-2012 at 03:35 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old 09-18-2012, 11:12 PM
StirCrazy's Avatar
StirCrazy StirCrazy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Kamloops, BC
Posts: 7,872
StirCrazy is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seth81 View Post
1. UV and True Violet LED's bring out a little bit of extra color, and at night I can make the tank glow purple instead of blue...but IMO don't seem to be worth it if I were going to be doing it over.


2. Running XML's at 2.8 amps
you think that the XML's might just be a bit to powerfull for the TV to overcome? the systems that the TV makes the big difference on are the ones where all the LEDs are the same type. so all 1000ma or 800ma ect.

Steve
__________________
*everything said above is just my opinion, and may or may not reflect the views of this BBS, its Operators, and its Members. If cornered on any “opinion” I post I will totally deny having ever said this in a Court of Law…Unless I am the right one*

Some strive to be perfect.... I just strive.
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old 09-19-2012, 06:38 AM
Seth81's Avatar
Seth81 Seth81 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 189
Seth81 is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by StirCrazy View Post
you think that the XML's might just be a bit to powerfull for the TV to overcome? the systems that the TV makes the big difference on are the ones where all the LEDs are the same type. so all 1000ma or 800ma ect.

Steve

Well the UV effect during the day is not even noticble in the least. But at night it does seem to make the green colors more vivid then the royal blues.



Below I took two shots of two pieces of Acropora with the exact same camera settings (in manual) and also with same white balance. You'll notice when the UV/TV's are on the Acro in the foreground is much brighter green and the on in the back as well. This effect is very much deminished on the acro in the background as I turn up the royal blues, becuase the royal blues will wash out the faint green produced by the UV/TV.

Keep in mind I have about 80 watts of Royal blues vs 36.5 watts of UV/TV. Also the Royal blues really made the reds in the tank pop more so then the TV/UV. But this could just be becuase I have much more RB wattage.
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old 09-19-2012, 06:55 AM
Seth81's Avatar
Seth81 Seth81 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 189
Seth81 is on a distinguished road
Default

Two more pics I took with UV at full and RB at half power



Reply With Quote
  #46  
Old 08-12-2013, 03:55 PM
Seth81's Avatar
Seth81 Seth81 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 189
Seth81 is on a distinguished road
Default

I just thought I would update this a little. So I have recently upgraded my DIY LED's. I went from 5 pendints to 7, added extra UV LED's and also added cyan LED's. Oh and most importantly I added a second fan to all the heat sinks!

I am very happy with the color and brightness thoughout the tank!

Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old 09-27-2015, 06:36 AM
Seth81's Avatar
Seth81 Seth81 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 189
Seth81 is on a distinguished road
Default

Well I guess I will never be doing that again! For other people who try the DIY LED experience, make sure you have a splash guard!!

Also from my experience, I would have spent less just buying off the shelf solution.
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old 02-21-2016, 08:19 PM
byee byee is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Coquitlam
Posts: 291
byee is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seth81 View Post
Also from my experience, I would have spent less just buying off the shelf solution.
Where's the fun in that??!

Like yourself, I also started to build my own LED fixture but decided against it the light spectrum is crucial. My buddy also built his own to replace his MH lights which resulted with him losing lots of his corals in his 220g tank. Unfortunately, he sold his MH to finance his LED build.

I also built 3 x Arduino based controllers based on the - UK, RC x 2) before I decided enough was enough and purchased a Neptune. Spent hundreds & hundreds of dollars never mind the countless hours of tinkering with the controller. All I have to show for it multiple Aurduinos, TFT touch screens and add-ons.

Need to consider your time and prototyping costs vs buying off the shelf. Regardless, you've gained a wealth of information building the LED fixture which you can brag about to your friends and fellow canreefers.

Last edited by byee; 02-21-2016 at 08:23 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #49  
Old 02-21-2016, 11:34 PM
mike31154's Avatar
mike31154 mike31154 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Vernon
Posts: 2,073
mike31154 will become famous soon enough
Default

I have no regrets building my unit. Still going strong almost 4 years now. April will be the anniversary. I kept it simpler than most with only basic controls & used 10 watt multi-chip LEDs as opposed to single 3 watt jobs. Sure there was some trial & error, a few boo boos, but all in all consider it money well spent in my case. If I were to do it again, I may try fewer, larger multi-chips that are now available. Commercial fixtures were much more costly when I started my build & the selection was nowhere near what is out there today. If something breaks on mine, I can fix it, don't have to wait on a vendor or manufacturer.
__________________
Mike
77g sumpless SW
DIY 10 watt multi-chip LED build http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=82206

Last edited by mike31154; 02-21-2016 at 11:37 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #50  
Old 02-22-2016, 02:44 PM
daplatapus's Avatar
daplatapus daplatapus is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Port Alberni, B.C.
Posts: 1,315
daplatapus is on a distinguished road
Default

I also have no regrets building mine. As frustrating as the learning curve was, I had an absolute blast in the building process and am VERY pleased with the final result. But it is NOT a process I would recommend for anyone.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:35 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.