Budget DIY light

[miran2782]

Built a very low budget DIY light a few years ago with mostly Cree led stars (except for some UV ones) using an arduino with a modified Typhon code to control Meanwell LDDs via PWM. Using a simple piece of U-channel aluminum about 3.5" wide as a heat sink with a scavenged computer fan above for cooling. Also used a bent electrical conduit as a mount(hard mounted to U-channel) for the light which help as an extension of the heat sink. I have a Raspberry Pi Zero W and I am looking to build a Reef-PI as soon as I get my 3d printer working again to make a case.

 

[Copingwithpods]

That's really cool, what did it come out to and how have you liked it, good growth and color?

 

[miran2782]

That's really cool, what did it come out to and how have you liked it, good growth and color?

I have been running it for about 4 years or so. Originally I built it as a very basic system to get my feet wet on my first SW tank. I also originally intended to use a 3D printer to make sides and a top (a trapezoid profile) and mount a couple of the fans recessed into the top. A Mars Aqua type black box probably would have been a bit cheaper but I wanted five or six channels independently controllable and half the fun is DIY. My plan was to use it the first year or so to figure out what I wanted and upgrade to something prettier but it seemed good enough to keep it going. Mostly just doing LPS, have a lot of hammers, frogspawn, candy cane, acans, duncans and blastos which seem to grow well.

 

[Steven Garland]

How is the spectrum,what leds did you use and all that ? It looks good for not having a body on it.

 

[miran2782]

Never tried to measure the spectrum but I like how it looks. Visually, I tend to like it more on the blue side than the natural side. I usually start to ramp the whites down at dusk and just have the blues on the last two hours before bed.

Started with:
five Cree XTE Cool White
eight Cree XTE Royal Blue
three Cree XP-E Blue
The rest I'm not sure of the brand/model but I think I got them from Steve's LEDS:
two Deep Red
five UV

After a year or so I added:
two Cyan Luxeon?
two Lime Luxeon?

Running the XTE's using Meanwell LDD-1500L and other using LDD-600H.


I really like the Cyan but don't really care for the Lime.

 

[Steven Garland]

Sounds like a nice little light.

I didn't care for lime,but mint is AMAZING for some reason even though they are extremely close in the spectrum to one another.