anyone with diy led lighting

[dondi]

i'm good with electronics and wiring but wanted some ideas or suggestions from anyone who has already been through it. pics would be a plus

 

[phalanx]

I'm in the process of building an array for another member on this forum with a 75g tank. I was going to start a thread soon detailing the entire process but here is the general idea. We are making a 100 led array with a 50/50 cool white and royal blue mix all of which are Luxeon Rebels. The general layout will look like this:

The heavier lines are the outline of the 2 heatsinks being used.

So far I have reflowed all the Rebels onto their stars:

And I just finished making a drill template for the holes to mount the stars to the heatsink. The 2 sinks are wrapped together with the large one on top:

This weekend I'm working on the prototype of the custom LED driver for the array. It will run directly off of 120VAC and will power up to 25 LEDs per channel. I'll be putting 2 channels on a single board so only 2 driver boards will be necessary for the entire 100 LED array. Once I have the prototype up and running, I will probably detail the design steps of making one in case other people are interested in the methodology.

 

[dondi]

thanks i've been checking on your thread since the day after i posted. if i had looked harder.i just figured this was such a good idea there would be a couple out there. cant wait to see the rest of your build thanks

 

[phalanx]

More updates. I got the first channel of 4 up and running. The empty space on the board is for the second channel. Channel 3 and 4 will sit on a second board.

Turned off (with a quarter for size reference):

Turned on (with 24 LEDs in series at 750mA):

 

[DoctaQ]

nice job phalanx, what is that little board that you mounted the IC to? i havent found any smt adapters for less than a dollar.

to the OP, what size tank are you looking to light? that will help you get an idea of the cost of the build.

 

[phalanx]

Please, call me Bill!

The SOIC adapter I used is this 20 pin one: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=495

They have an 8-pin one that is a dollar cheaper and a 28 pin one for the same price. I didn't do much research on price because I was already ordering parts from there and $3.95 was reasonable. The driver IC I used is available in an 8-pin package but I used the 16-pin version which has superior thermal characteristics.

 

[number1gsxxr]

Nice job Bill! That's going to be awesome with all 100 LEDs.

 

[labnjab]

I'm in the process of building a DIY led fixture for a 10 gallon we are setting up. We're using 10, 3 watt gu10 bulbs. They are internally regulated so all you need is the bulbs and sockets. We're going with 5 white and 5 blue. I don't know the par on them or how well they work on deeper tanks but I know sps grows very well in shallow tanks and the color is impressive plus you get a shimmer effect.

Heres the bulbs
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...796331&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_4742wt_996

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...893336&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_4742wt_996

and the sockets
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...54064&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1750wt_1137

Since they are internally regulated you just wire them to 120 volt replacement cord and plug them in. So far we have the housing built and are just waiting to receive the bulbs and the rest of the sockets. I'll start a build thread once everything is here

 

[dondi]

phalanx how do these campare to Mh same growth?

 

[DoctaQ]

i dont think bill has a tank.. but there are par numbers out there

5 dollars for a single board? on ebay they are a lot cheaper for smaller like 8 pin boards.

if you havent had the drilling and tapping done yet shoot me a pm

 

[phalanx]

phalanx how do these campare to Mh same growth?

i dont think bill has a tank.. but there are par numbers out there

doctaq is right, I don't have a tank. In terms of PAR, LEDs can meet and surpass Mh if done properly. From the numbers I have seen on other forums, this array will easily outclass a 125W Mh bulb and should at a minimum be on the level of a 250W Mh with the proper optics fitted. The density of the array allows for tighter optics which increases PAR levels substantially.

The biggest advantage is the light from the LEDs doesn't have an IR component so they will not heat your tank unlike a Mh which dumps lots of heat into the water.

 

[DoctaQ]

hey lab, i bet those would actually look pretty cool with an aimable track lighting fixture, i think ikea has one with an extender type dealie that would make aiming interesting.

 

[dondi]

Please, call me Bill!

The SOIC adapter I used is this 20 pin one: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=495

They have an 8-pin one that is a dollar cheaper and a 28 pin one for the same price. I didn't do much research on price because I was already ordering parts from there and $3.95 was reasonable. The driver IC I used is available in an 8-pin package but I used the 16-pin version which has superior thermal characteristics.

sorry bill went right past the please call me bill