Help with LED custom lighting?

[andrewjardin]

Hey everybody, so starting to think ahead about lighting for my 112 tank, i think i'm going to do led's. However i know absolutely nothing about them, and nothing helps more then talking to real people who have or are doing it themselves as well! So the tank is 5 ft long, or 60 inches. If anybody knows of any really awesome LED builds please let me know!! Where do you buy led's? At your general hardware store or do they have to be special 'aquarium' leds? I want to just affix them to a wooden plank that will hang from the cieling, so yeah. i dont even know what to ask lol, i just need information please! and approx. cost for such a large light?

 

[andrewjardin]

 

[andrewjardin]

Also, even though this thread is about lighting . . . . lol, do you need pumps for the overflow piping to draw water down from the tank, or do you just let it flow down naturally and connect ball valves on the return pumps? And how do you adjust the speed of water transfer so that the sump doesn't very slowly empty out or over fill?

 

[2quills]

Man, diy leds is alot of research involved, too much to cover all in one thread. Just do some internet searches on diy led reef lighting and read all you can, you'll find tons of build threads. Some places to check out for the lights is Rapidled and Reefledlights. Both places sell all of the components that you need to get started, they even package them up in kits that you can purchase.
Here's a vid to get your started so you can see one example of how it's done. This is part 1 of a 5 part series, you'll need to watch all 5 parts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I_5uh4R_QQ

 

[acrylic51]

Agree

with the DIY lighting statement made by Corey.... As far as pumps/plumbing.....Use gravity to feed the water from the tank to your sump below and pumps to return water back to the tank......

 

[andrewjardin]

Thanks guys, so do you all think that doing an LED DIY is worth the hassle of buying parts, reseach and all that jazz, or do you think I should just buy something premade? Does it save alot of cash this way?

 

[acrylic51]

I think the DIY vs premade could be argued!!!! Really depends on if you enjoy that type of thing and how big of a system your building. Even if your not going to build yourself well worth the time and effort to research and study.

 

[2quills]

Do you plan on this tank being a reef? If so you definately need the higher powered 3w leds that everybody is diy'ing. A decent pre built fixture in this range could easily run you $2,000-$4,000. You could probably build your own that would be just as powerful if not more powerful for anywhere between $800-$1,200 or more depending how elaborate you want to go with it. The key is to build something that won't burn your house down.
Some good threads to check out.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1973462&highlight=jp+s+led
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2026851&highlight=my+led+zeppelin
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1952442&highlight=diy+led

 

[andrewjardin]

Thanks a bunch! Yes it will be a reef, so i don't know what a 3W means but okay! lol Glad to hear it wont cost as much as i thought it would! Is everything i'm going to need for it available online do you think, if so on one site for easy ordering? Also is it really risky enough to burn down my house? I don't think my parents would be too happy about that, what do i need to do to ensure that something like that doesn't happen?

 

[2quills]

3w = 3 watt LED's High power led's that put out a lot of light. These are what everybody is using for DIY and "real" reef light fixtures. Not the cheap 1 watt marineland type light fixtures.
Most all of the diy components can be purchased from one or both of the sites that I mentioned above. The only things you won't find is like aluminum channel or tubing that folks usually use to make a frame to build the rig out of. Or screws, tools, wood or acrylic. You'll also need to get your hands on a multi meter for testing.
As with anything there is always a very real risk of fire and or even electrocution taking on a project like this yourself. Especially when water and electricity is involved. I wouldn't call myself a pro by any means but in my line of work I deal with electricity every day and have worked on and installed lots of different light fixtures over the years. I've grown up with a father who is an electronics specialist who I grew up watching and learning from, plus I've researched this particular subject for nearly a year strait now. So I feel fairly comfortable in the fact that I can come up with ways of building such a project that will work and be as safe as I can possibly make it. If you're not comfortable with it or do not have very good idea of the technology or the risks involved then you might want to wait and or find someone more knowledgeable who would be willing to help you until you are.

 

[andrewjardin]

Okay, it all looks pretty understandable, especially with all the pictures. I find the 2nd link there most helpful so thanks a bunch! Ive been doing lots of electrical in our house and taking electrical in school so the circuits look somewhat familiar. I think i could definantly handle it but im going to be extremely cautious and take my time once i start. Do multi meters only come in one unit of measurement or do i need a specific one?

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewjardin http:///forum/thread/386769/help-with-led-custom-lighting#post_3399357
Okay, it all looks pretty understandable, especially with all the pictures. I find the 2nd link there most helpful so thanks a bunch! Ive been doing lots of electrical in our house and taking electrical in school so the circuits look somewhat familiar. I think i could definantly handle it but im going to be extremely cautious and take my time once i start. Do multi meters only come in one unit of measurement or do i need a specific one?
"multi"-meters will take different types of measurements. Rapidled actually sells a cheap/inexpensive one that will work just fine for the build. If not you'll want something that can test for D.C. current and volts. Also, one that has a diode test feature would be helpful. Pretty much all of them will test for continuity so you're good there.

 

[andrewjardin]

Okay, so *add multi meter to set list* haha, if you wouldn't mind . . (Sorry for so many questions!) Can you explain why i need to test with a multi meter, and what kind of readings am i supposed to look for, like what would be good and what would be bad readings? And what if i get a 'bad reading' what am i supposed to do, i don't understand what it means on those other build threads when it says you have to move things around if the readings don't come back properly, wouldn't that be nearly impossible, or very annoying to do considering everything is soldered together and screwed into place? or whatever it said . . . .

 

[acrylic51]

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewjardin http:///forum/thread/386769/help-with-led-custom-lighting#post_3399347
Thanks a bunch! Yes it will be a reef, so i don't know what a 3W means but okay! lol Glad to hear it wont cost as much as i thought it would! Is everything i'm going to need for it available online do you think, if so on one site for easy ordering? Also is it really risky enough to burn down my house? I don't think my parents would be too happy about that, what do i need to do to ensure that something like that doesn't happen?
Your good friend......All parts are available online....Actually if you go to Rapidled, they have premade kits, that include the drivers, heatsinks, leds and such..3W stands for the wattage of the LEDs...You'll see 1W LEDs and 3W.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewjardin http:///forum/thread/386769/help-with-led-custom-lighting#post_3399371
Okay, so *add multi meter to set list* haha, if you wouldn't mind . . (Sorry for so many questions!) Can you explain why i need to test with a multi meter, and what kind of readings am i supposed to look for, like what would be good and what would be bad readings? And what if i get a 'bad reading' what am i supposed to do, i don't understand what it means on those other build threads when it says you have to move things around if the readings don't come back properly, wouldn't that be nearly impossible, or very annoying to do considering everything is soldered together and screwed into place? or whatever it said . . . .

The first round of testing that will need to be done before you ever even turn are your fixture should be diode tests (testing the emitters) to make sure they are good and are going to work, this can also be done using a couple of AA batteries. Once you get your fixture and leds wired up you're going to want to do some continuity testing to check to make sure you're connections are good and that you don't have any shorts anywhere. Those are a must do before firing up the fixture for the first time, unless you want to find out there is a problem only after you burn up a bunch of leds. Once that is done you're going to need to do run a current check to set up your drivers to make sure they are putting out the right amount of current for the leds. Everybody is doing something different and this is where research comes into play in deciding what is best for your specific needs.
Balancing strings (swapping leds) is something that is done if you are running leds in parallel strings and not necessary if you are running them in series.

 

[java1]

 

[andrewjardin]

I'm thinking that i will probably do something along the lines of two separate drivers (i think thats what they are called) each running a power to a string of leds on the same circuit board but not actually interacting with each other. Does that make sense?

 

[2quills]

You mean on a pcb board?

 

[andrewjardin]

Uhhhh . . . this thingy . . .

But only two, basically there will be two of those, and both will run power to a big string of leds all placed out across a 50 inch surface.
Also what are heat sincs for, i noticed alot of people attaching their leds to them. can anybody explain?
I'm basically doing a simpler version of this;

And since i'm only doing two separate strings of leds (so that i don't have to 'balance out' between strings) can't i just run the red power straight to the first led in the sequence, and then direct the black power "out" wire directly from the last led in the sequence?
And also, sorry, whats up with the two black cables going to nothing at the bottom of that picture^?

 

[2quills]

Yes those boxes are power supplies otherwise known as drivers.
When you say a big string of leds, how many leds are we talking about here? You need to know which driver you are going to be using before you can know how many leds it can power.
Heatsinks are basically pieces of extruded alluminum. They are used to dissipate heat from the leds. Led's get really hot and you need a good way to draw heat away from them or else they will burn out pretty fast. The cooler you can keep them the better, which is also why people use heatsinks with fans mounted on them kinda like typical light fixtures have fans in them to pull heat out and away from the internal electronics. Same with computers.
In the picture above the black wire is the hot (positive) wire and the red is the neutral (negative) wire. Power goes out from the driver through the black and is returned by the red. In the case of the pictures above that guy is running parallel strings so power goes out and then through fuses and resistors before the go to the leds. Those are there for current testing and protecting the leds incase of a failure in either of the strings. There are two black cords coming out of the bottom of the driver, if you look close you will see that they are hooked up to little dials which are the dimmer switches and they are called potentiometers. The black cord coming out of the tops are the ones that have plugs on them that get plugged into a wall outlet or power strip.