DIY Heat Sink

[Nchula]

Quick question for anyone out there with experience in building their own LED lighting fixture. Would it be okay to use a 25 gauge, galvanized steel wall stud. It is a very common item found at any Home Depot store, and very affordable at $4.25 for an eight foot stud. I was wondering if it would not transfer heat enough when used for lighting a reef tank and cause the LED's to become damaged or shorten their life span. I built a LED fixture using this material for my 75g freshwater tank. It has been running for 3 years without any problems, however I don't keep the lights nearly as bright as they would be on a reef tank. I tried to attach a photo, however I do not seem to be able to so I will describe what I built. The studs are about 2 inches wide and in a 'U' shape, so I attached the LED's to the inside of the U shaped channel and hung it over the tank. I used 10 royal blue and 10 white LED's. Thank you for any opinions.

 

[Reefing Madness]

No, I wouldn't use it. The aluminum thats used with fins dissipates heat really well, even used for computer mother boards. But, its up to you.

 

[tdiddy]

It really depends on how many led's your running on it. But if your building a large LED array with expensive led then i'd suggest getting proper heat sink. No point in ruining a expensive leds with a bad heat sink. I suggest you look at heatsink usa. They usually pretty reasonably priced.