RSM 250 AI Sol Blue D.I.Y.

uxdesigner · Jan 10, 2012

Inspired by the Aqua Illuminations (AI) Sol Blue modules. I decided to build my own retrofit into my existing Red Sea Max 250 hood.

Specs:
48 3 Watt Cree LED's

16 Cool White
16 Royal Blue
8 Blue
8 Neutral White
4 Meanwell Drivers running 12 LED's each
Dimmable on a blue and white channel

Package Arrives:

Wiring and layout specs complete. I will be building 2 of these 16 x 6 (24 LED) modules.

Carefully gutted the hood. (Available for sale, PM if interested)

Installed the horizontal aluminum brace that will be used for mounting the modules. (You can also see I upgraded the fans to the Silenx)

Used connector bolts attached with epoxy to create the mounting hardware.

LED's attached (Thermal Adhesive)

All wired up. Lit them up to test and **** these are bright!

Was able to fit the 4 Meanwell drivers in the hood and retain the stock LED moon lights.

Installed the dimmer potentiometers under the timer lid (1 controls white, 1 controls blue). I really like the ability to mix the colors as well as slowly acclimate the tank.

Shot of the hood without optics for now as I still have a few things to clean up but needed to get some light on my corals that have been deprived for 3 days

All I can say is wow these things are bright! Really happy I decided to go LED, the shimmer is awesome! This is a FTS with the LED's running at 15%% without optics and they are equal to the 6 stock T5's in brightness. Next I'll be adding the optics.

I've heard of people burning their corals so I'm going to be safe and slowly acclimate. To be honest I don't think I will ever be able to run them at full brightness but we will have to see. Heat is zero, the air coming out of the side fans is cool compared to hot when the T5's were running. It's a great design as the fans blow air through the heat-sink fins from left to right.

revhtree · Jan 10, 2012

Nice job and yes acclimate slow!!!

ruadh · Jan 10, 2012

That's awesome! Was it cheaper to DIY rather than buying the SOL? Did you drill through the top of the hood to secure these?

uxdesigner · Apr 2, 2012

ruadh said:
That's awesome! Was it cheaper to DIY rather than buying the SOL? Did you drill through the top of the hood to secure these?

Total cost was right about half of what 2 AI Sol Blues would have cost. I added an aluminum strip across the top securing it to the existing framework and not needing to change anything on the hood aesthically.

Reef Breeders · Apr 4, 2012

I would not use optics, they tend to focus light into a much smaller area depending on what degree optic you use. None are needed in a tank 24" or shallower

bige · Apr 4, 2012

Good job. Looks great. Just go slow on the acclimating. I think this is why most people don't think leds are worth it. Coral seem to acclimate slow to them.

Reef keeper · Apr 4, 2012

Very nice!

Mike&Terry · Apr 7, 2012

Great project - thanks for taking the time to share it with us.
I really like the dimming pots. What would you need to add to be able to dim them with a controller like an Apex?

prsnlty · May 24, 2012

bige said:
Good job. Looks great. Just go slow on the acclimating. I think this is why most people don't think leds are worth it. Coral seem to acclimate slow to them.

+1
So TRUE!
I have AI Sol Blues. I LOVE them BUT....
Yes, acclimate very, very slowly. Don't use optics unless they are wide 70* or more. Also, after months of having them in operation (and I still love them mind you) I feel the color spectrum could be better. I have a combo set up of 2 AI SB and 2 24" T5s between them. (I could only afford 2 LEDs at the time). My tank is a 125g at 6' long. My AIs have timers set and the T5s are on at 11:00am - 6:00pm. I have noticed that some of my coral reach for the T5s when they come on. I think and am pretty sure it's due to lack of red and green spectrum. My Zoa and Palys seem to be having the most trouble with the intensity of the AIs. When moved under the T5s they open better.

This said; I am still sticking with them BUT when the new AI Vega comes out I will be getting the upgrade packages for full spectrum. They are AWESOME!