Snoopie's LED Build

[liz62]

Where did you get the LED seal from?

 

[Troylee]

bill reef led lights carries it... i heard he sprayed some leds with it and submerged them in a tank and the leds held up it's suppose to be some good stuff..... my fixture is high enough off the water i didn't bother with it but who knows maybe i will pay for it down the road...

 

[liz62]

bill reef led lights carries it... i heard he sprayed some leds with it and submerged them in a tank and the leds held up it's suppose to be some good stuff..... my fixture is high enough off the water i didn't bother with it but who knows maybe i will pay for it down the road...

I wonder if you can use this on reading made fixtures?

 

[Troylee]

If the LEDs or solder joints were exposed I don't know why not... If it's a totally sealed fixture I wouldn't see any benefit from it thou like most of them that are...

 

[liz62]

I would like to spray the whole fixture cuz unless it is a stainless steel housing it is going to rust when it exposed the humid/saltwater?

 

[snoopie]

Bill does not carry it ATM. I got mine from rapidled Bill is waiting for new batch because all cans were recalled 1 out of 3 cans would not spray

Sent from my EVO.

 

[Troylee]

I would like to spray the whole fixture cuz unless it is a stainless steel housing it is going to rust when it exposed the humid/saltwater?

It shouldn't there normally aluminum or painted or powder coated etc... I think it would be a waiste personally...

 

[greg0385]

i love to have those leds on my tank, but worried about having all those drivers. waiting on to see if dimmable drivers can handle more leds. 96 leds should work for my 48"x24" tank. maybe when the new smell wears off and see some long term growth and bulbs lasting as long as declared ill jump on board about the time the next best thing comes out.

 

[Saltwatercoral2]

Looks good!! Im ready to start building mine/

 

[btkrausen]

Great build thread. I've been exploring a DIY LED fixture for the last week for my new tank, but still unsure about it. I need to do some more reading

 

[Troylee]

i love to have those leds on my tank, but worried about having all those drivers. waiting on to see if dimmable drivers can handle more leds. 96 leds should work for my 48"x24" tank. maybe when the new smell wears off and see some long term growth and bulbs lasting as long as declared ill jump on board about the time the next best thing comes out.

you only need 4 drivers to run 96 LEDs you run 2 strings of 12 parallel for a total of 24 LEDs per driver "meanwell 60-48d" dimmable...

 

[snoopie]

What Lee said. But there are dimming drivers that can handle up to 90+ Leds but the main reason I went total 3 drivers for these LEDS is because I can control all the separate rather then one whole unit. Easily done but not to many drivers in my opinion. If you have any questions at all let me know I am happy to answer any questions or concerns you have.

 

[HenrysTank]

snoopie this looks great and is exactly what I am thinking about doing. The thing that escapes me is the controller. Can you talk about your controller, setup, use, additional hardware required, etc?

Also, has anyone used Bridgelux instead of CREE and if so, what are you opinions on that?

 

[Deanb]

Im using Bridgelux's i like them they have awesome colors

 

[FiReBReTHa]

snoopie this looks great and is exactly what I am thinking about doing. The thing that escapes me is the controller. Can you talk about your controller, setup, use, additional hardware required, etc?

Also, has anyone used Bridgelux instead of CREE and if so, what are you opinions on that?

cree's are the BMW of the LED world.

 

[HenrysTank]

Im using Bridgelux's i like them they have awesome colors

Where did you get kit from? The only place i can find is aquastyle.com and the drivers they claim are not dimmable using an electronic controller, only the thumb knobs.

 

[zemuss]

Nice build Snoop!

I am a noob at the LED's thing and wondered what tinning is.

Also is the fixture totally closed so no salt spray can get in?

 

[wld1783]

Nice build Snoop!

I am a noob at the LED's thing and wondered what tinning is.

Also is the fixture totally closed so no salt spray can get in?

not to jack your thread snoopie, Here's a link to some videos we have. Youtube Videos ReefLEDLights | LED Aquarium Lighting ReefLEDLights | LED Aquarium Lighting
Hope that helps.

 

[GR808]

The fixture are normally sealed with LED seal which is a professional silicone spray that protects the the fixture from the elements. It is a clear adhesive spray that dries quickly.
Tinning is prepping the area to be soldered with solder so when u apply the material to join(solder together) it is easier to solder together..
Sounds right eh Snoopie, Bill?

 

[reeferdale]

Led's from Bill at reefledlights.com Thanks for answering all questions!

After Letting The Thermal Epoxy Dry Over Night I Start To Wire All My Leds. I Did 3 parallel
Strings Of 12 That's A Total 48 Blues And 24 White With Only 3 Drivers. I Have A Total Of 6 Drivers
For Backup And Also When I Get My Xpg High Noon Lights Later On.


Hi, I am getting ready t do my build. I need to wire this in parallel and was wondering if you could share your wiring diagram with me? Basically how many LEDs per driver, what kind of drivers. I would like to be able to run my strings at 350mA minumum, do you think tis is enough? or should I be shooting for something that lets me run up to 500Ma (or more). One of the issues I can't seem to nail down is what kind of reistors and fuses to use and exactly where these get mounted and how they get mounted? (soldered in line after the last LED going back to the fixture)? Have you ever heard of a ballast resistor or power resistor? My understanding is these allow you to adjust the resistance after the build is done, instead of tearing it apart to try to balance the strings, you can dial in the resistance? Any help wold be apprciated