2Quills, 120G Re-build thread.
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2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448235
YAYYYYY....hopefully it will be smooth sailing
Thanks, I hope so too.
I spent the better part of the day today working on one of the heatsinks. I managed to get it cut down from 6x9 to 6x7 inches. This will help fit better for what I'm looking to do. I got everything layed out, drilled and tapped. I made it through the first heatsink on the same drill bit, but I did snap two of my taps within tapping the first 8 holes. After that I got the groove of things and made it through the remaining 28 holes without breaking any more. It's a rather long and drawn out process. But so far so good.
Some teaser pics....
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448235
YAYYYYY....hopefully it will be smooth sailing
Thanks, I hope so too.
I spent the better part of the day today working on one of the heatsinks. I managed to get it cut down from 6x9 to 6x7 inches. This will help fit better for what I'm looking to do. I got everything layed out, drilled and tapped. I made it through the first heatsink on the same drill bit, but I did snap two of my taps within tapping the first 8 holes. After that I got the groove of things and made it through the remaining 28 holes without breaking any more. It's a rather long and drawn out process. But so far so good.
Some teaser pics....
2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1Snapple http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448315
Sweet, Whats the total cost on those if you don't mind me asking.
Probably a little more than most would spend on scrubber/fuge lighting. But I'm looking at right around four when it's all said and done. I could do it for cheaper but then I probably wouldn't be as happy.
Originally Posted by 1Snapple http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448315
Sweet, Whats the total cost on those if you don't mind me asking.
Probably a little more than most would spend on scrubber/fuge lighting. But I'm looking at right around four when it's all said and done. I could do it for cheaper but then I probably wouldn't be as happy.
mr btldreef
Member
very nice .... you painted it black or is anodized?
2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr btldreef http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448344
very nice .... you painted it black or is anodized?
Thanks they are anodized. They are the new sinks that rapid is selling. I was ready to order from somewhere else and I saw these last minute so decided to try them out. I picked up some stainless black oxide machined screws to go with them.
Originally Posted by Mr btldreef http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448344
very nice .... you painted it black or is anodized?
Thanks they are anodized. They are the new sinks that rapid is selling. I was ready to order from somewhere else and I saw these last minute so decided to try them out. I picked up some stainless black oxide machined screws to go with them.
mr btldreef
Member
very sleek.
question for you... maybe i am not seeing something correctly...
is there only 6 blues on that pendant?
also you have 120g how many pendants are you putting in?
i do like the design aspect for the wiring you have done... are you going to drill through the heatsink to run the off centered led on the end of the string?
i know everybody does it x or zig zag pattern, i do like how you did it though.
also the heat sink comes with edges like that??? or did you make them? it looks great. i am just wondering if it is going to spread enough light front and back.
question for you... maybe i am not seeing something correctly...
is there only 6 blues on that pendant?
also you have 120g how many pendants are you putting in?
i do like the design aspect for the wiring you have done... are you going to drill through the heatsink to run the off centered led on the end of the string?
i know everybody does it x or zig zag pattern, i do like how you did it though.
also the heat sink comes with edges like that??? or did you make them? it looks great. i am just wondering if it is going to spread enough light front and back.
2quills
Well-Known Member
The heatsinks came as is. All I did was cut 2" off the length to make it work better for what I'm going to use these lights for and then drilled and tapped them for machined screws. These are being built to light my algae scrubber. Or they can double as a fuge light.
18 leds per sink. 12 osram red, 6 xpg 4500k neutral white. They only need to light a 10"x10" area. But I'll probably get a little more out of it then that. I chose the layout of the wiring for a particular reason but it's not entirely finished in those photos, no. I do plan to drill a couple more holes in the heatsink to pass my + and - wires to the driver/drivers. There's more to come, I pretty much just got started today. My LPF drivers will be here on monday. Then I just need to decide on some fans and how I want to enclose everything since they're going to be sitting darn near in my sump.
18 leds per sink. 12 osram red, 6 xpg 4500k neutral white. They only need to light a 10"x10" area. But I'll probably get a little more out of it then that. I chose the layout of the wiring for a particular reason but it's not entirely finished in those photos, no. I do plan to drill a couple more holes in the heatsink to pass my + and - wires to the driver/drivers. There's more to come, I pretty much just got started today. My LPF drivers will be here on monday. Then I just need to decide on some fans and how I want to enclose everything since they're going to be sitting darn near in my sump.
mr btldreef
Member
aaaahhh.... it all makes complete sense now. they looked like osrams but i thought possibly a new style led considering they make a new led every few months. that is really cool how it came like that. perfect light for a fuge then....well thought out.
my next plan is leds to replace the t5 lights on my display/refuge . i do keep frags and some corals in there so i will be adding some blues.
you are going to be lighting the main tank with leds too right?
my next plan is leds to replace the t5 lights on my display/refuge . i do keep frags and some corals in there so i will be adding some blues.
you are going to be lighting the main tank with leds too right?
2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr btldreef http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448366
aaaahhh.... it all makes complete sense now. they looked like osrams but i thought possibly a new style led considering they make a new led every few months. that is really cool how it came like that. perfect light for a fuge then....well thought out.
my next plan is leds to replace the t5 lights on my display/refuge . i do keep frags and some corals in there so i will be adding some blues.
you are going to be lighting the main tank with leds too right?
Some blue would be good for the frags for sure. That's why I went with the neutrals is for the spike in the blue range. Hoping that helps assist the red growing some algae. Correct I do already have plans to build a light for the display as well. Going to cut my teeth with the small build first. Tax time is right around the corner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448370
Looks very sweet Corey!!!!! Rapid was quick......
They were. I spent enough money I guess that they shipped priority mail for free. Actually everything came pretty quick. I did all my ordering last weekend on new years eve and I've gotten 5 out of 6 of my orders. Just waiting for the drivers which should be here on Monday.
Going to try to get the second sink drilled out tomorrow.
Originally Posted by Mr btldreef http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448366
aaaahhh.... it all makes complete sense now. they looked like osrams but i thought possibly a new style led considering they make a new led every few months. that is really cool how it came like that. perfect light for a fuge then....well thought out.
my next plan is leds to replace the t5 lights on my display/refuge . i do keep frags and some corals in there so i will be adding some blues.
you are going to be lighting the main tank with leds too right?
Some blue would be good for the frags for sure. That's why I went with the neutrals is for the spike in the blue range. Hoping that helps assist the red growing some algae. Correct I do already have plans to build a light for the display as well. Going to cut my teeth with the small build first. Tax time is right around the corner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448370
Looks very sweet Corey!!!!! Rapid was quick......
They were. I spent enough money I guess that they shipped priority mail for free. Actually everything came pretty quick. I did all my ordering last weekend on new years eve and I've gotten 5 out of 6 of my orders. Just waiting for the drivers which should be here on Monday.
Going to try to get the second sink drilled out tomorrow.
1snapple
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448379
Yeah....I found Rapid to be very quick too....regardless of what I ordered
Agreed. I really enjoy working with them. They are very helpful with decent prices too. Corey, would you mind showing me a blueprint for your display tank lights? I'm curious to see how you would do your wiring and the configuration of the leds.
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448379
Yeah....I found Rapid to be very quick too....regardless of what I ordered
Agreed. I really enjoy working with them. They are very helpful with decent prices too. Corey, would you mind showing me a blueprint for your display tank lights? I'm curious to see how you would do your wiring and the configuration of the leds.
al&burke
Active Member
That is going to be super sweet Corey - the scrubber lights look great. Man I have to get building some of these. I am just curious but any idea on savings in electricity bill running LED - I am finding my electrical bill pretty hight up here in Canada, It is actually making me think of alternatives - or taking a tank or two down, (who am I kidding) - FW has to go
2quills
Well-Known Member
Just depends, Al. If you're converting from running halides and actinic suppliments the monthly operating costs can easily be cut in half if not more. If you're switching from T5 to led then the savings will be a little bit less but you'll still save a little bit on energy. The biggest area of savings comes from not having to replace the bulbs every year. In most cases building your own led fixture will pay for itself after the first couple years of operation. After that it's pretty much all savings.
mr btldreef
Member
just my opinion:
i think the offset colors... your purples/reds/greens are a little close together. i know wiring wise this would make things extremely easy. i just feel mixing them up more would give you a better/ evenly distributed color . mixing up between the blues and purples also mixing reds and whites. i also don't suggest optics on any of the purples or greens if they even fit them.
do you think that is enough light? your tank is a 120g ..what is the dimensions? i know for a 24x24" section 48 3w leds are recommended for heavy sps. i always take a few out from that and say go 40-42 leds per 24x24" sections. you are going 86 including the offset colors not just blues and whites. i am very curious to see how this will look. i am sorry i haven't seen this done yet that's why i am asking all these questions.
i think the offset colors... your purples/reds/greens are a little close together. i know wiring wise this would make things extremely easy. i just feel mixing them up more would give you a better/ evenly distributed color . mixing up between the blues and purples also mixing reds and whites. i also don't suggest optics on any of the purples or greens if they even fit them.
do you think that is enough light? your tank is a 120g ..what is the dimensions? i know for a 24x24" section 48 3w leds are recommended for heavy sps. i always take a few out from that and say go 40-42 leds per 24x24" sections. you are going 86 including the offset colors not just blues and whites. i am very curious to see how this will look. i am sorry i haven't seen this done yet that's why i am asking all these questions.
2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr btldreef http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448433
just my opinion:
i think the offset colors... your purples/reds/greens are a little close together. i know wiring wise this would make things extremely easy. i just feel mixing them up more would give you a better/ evenly distributed color . mixing up between the blues and purples also mixing reds and whites. i also don't suggest optics on any of the purples or greens if they even fit them.
do you think that is enough light? your tank is a 120g ..what is the dimensions? i know for a 24x24" section 48 3w leds are recommended for heavy sps. i always take a few out from that and say go 40-42 leds per 24x24" sections. you are going 86 including the offset colors not just blues and whites. i am very curious to see how this will look. i am sorry i haven't seen this done yet that's why i am asking all these questions.
I don't plan on any optics for the red, green or violet leds. Everything else will run 80's and the fixture will be about 14" above the surface so it should give me pretty good color blending. The led count should be more than enough for an sps dominant tank using the latest and most efficient leds. A lot of the general rules for basic led counts were figured out a few years ago when people were still running XRE. With XPG and the new XTE leds these days you really don't need to run nearly as many these days as was thought in the past. But a lot depends on how you plan to driver them.
Originally Posted by Mr btldreef http:///t/378912/2quills-120g-re-build-thread/600#post_3448433
just my opinion:
i think the offset colors... your purples/reds/greens are a little close together. i know wiring wise this would make things extremely easy. i just feel mixing them up more would give you a better/ evenly distributed color . mixing up between the blues and purples also mixing reds and whites. i also don't suggest optics on any of the purples or greens if they even fit them.
do you think that is enough light? your tank is a 120g ..what is the dimensions? i know for a 24x24" section 48 3w leds are recommended for heavy sps. i always take a few out from that and say go 40-42 leds per 24x24" sections. you are going 86 including the offset colors not just blues and whites. i am very curious to see how this will look. i am sorry i haven't seen this done yet that's why i am asking all these questions.
I don't plan on any optics for the red, green or violet leds. Everything else will run 80's and the fixture will be about 14" above the surface so it should give me pretty good color blending. The led count should be more than enough for an sps dominant tank using the latest and most efficient leds. A lot of the general rules for basic led counts were figured out a few years ago when people were still running XRE. With XPG and the new XTE leds these days you really don't need to run nearly as many these days as was thought in the past. But a lot depends on how you plan to driver them.